AWARENESS AND USAGE OF SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS FOR ADVERTISING BY BUSINESS VENTURES IN SOUTH-SOUTH NIGERIA

Abstract

This study investigated awareness and usage of social media platforms for advertising by business ventures in South-South Nigeria. The study focused on three states in South-South Nigeria: Rivers, Akwa-Ibom and Delta States. The main objective of the study was to examine social media usage among business ventures in South-South Nigeria. The study was guided by the technological determinism theory. This research adopted the descriptive survey method. The population of the study comprised 5,069 registered businesses registered in Rivers, Akwa-Ibom and Delta States, and 18,092,300 residents of the States. The sample comprised 371 registered businesses in the states, and 391 residents of the States. The researcher used the multistage cluster sampling technique to identify the respondents that provided information for the study. The instrument used in collecting data was questionnaire. Data collected were presented using frequency distribution tables and analysed using simple percentage and weighted mean score (WMS).  Findings of the study showed that the extent of awareness of business ventures in South-South, Nigeria about social media platforms is at a high extent. The business ventures consider social media platforms as beneficial for the growth of the business. Results show that business ventures mostly make use of WhatsApp and Facebook platforms for their businesses, while there is less usage of Instagram, TikTok and X accordingly. The study concluded that there is a high awareness and usage of social media platforms for advertising by business ventures in South-South Nigeria. The study recommended that businesses advertisers should stay aware and responsive to social media advertising trends both online and offline.