Adoption of social media for effective marketing by micro-hospitality businesses in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

Abstract

The rise in popularity of social media as a marketing instrument has fundamentally changed the way in which small to medium enterprises, and small hospitality businesses in particular, interact with their clientele, especially in marketing their products and services. These small hospitality establishments (formal accommodation, guest accommodation, game lodges, events centres, restaurants and support services) have been influenced by social media and are compelled to adopt these platforms for effective marketing to keep pace with modern dynamics in tourist behaviour. The literature indicates that social media marketing in general has gained significant momentum across all sectors, with micro-hospitality establishments having embraced it fully in more economically developed countries. Although prior studies indicate that social media, with a particular reference to travel review sites such as TripAdvisor, are now regarded as the major sources of reliable travel information for tourists, as well as influencing their decisionmaking processes, evidence from the literature shows that there is limited industry-specific research into the adoption and utilisation of social media for marketing regarding small hospitality establishments in the context of a less economically developed country, and this is at a time when these establishments are struggling to survive and to regain their market share due to recent and ongoing travel restrictions. Research in this area is limited. This research was conducted to address this gap. The main aim of this study was to determine the effectiveness of social media as a marketing strategy taking small hospitality establishments in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa as a case study. To achieve this, a review of literature provided insights into social media adoption for marketing, backed by relevant theoretical frameworks and specifically the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology 2 (UTAUT2). For data collection, both electronic and hand-delivered questionnaires were distributed to micro-hospitality establishments in KZN. Telephonic and live interviews as well as observations were also conducted with fifteen small hospitality establishments. A total of 70 respondents we engaged for this study through interviews, observations and questionnaires. The results from the study revealed that although social media marketing has been adopted extensively by small hospitality establishments in KZN, its effectiveness as a marketing strategy is not uniform across establishments and cannot be generalized. Empirical results further revealed that these establishments were not being systematic in the utilization of social media marketing, that other marketing strategies were sometimes as effective in this context and that some were failing to optimise the opportunities that exist. The major challenges highlighted by most small hospitality establishments were: lack of adequate funding, lack of specialized human resources, and the difficulty of measuring the actual impact of social media adoption. The conclusion drawn from the above empirical evidence and from the literature is that social media marketing is not an all-round strategy for effective marketing particularly for small establishments in a rural setting who are competing with hotel chains and franchises in urban areas. It is however the most significant marketing tool. It was therefore concluded that a combination of social media marketing, star grading and other informal means of assuring service quality, along with a clear marketing strategy adapted to the needs of the individual establishment, could provide the optimal matrix for effective marketing of small hospitality establishments in the context of a developing country. This study contributed in two ways: firstly, the research addresses the gap identified in the literature by providing evidence on the relative effectiveness of social media for marketing by small hospitality establishments in the context of a less economically developed country and, secondly, a social media marketing framework was proposed based on the evidence of shortcomings in marketing strategies by this group, highlighted by this study.