Harnessing Social Media: Elevating Business Performance in Klang Valley's Small and Medium Enterprises

This paper investigates the multifaceted impact of social media on the business performance of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in Klang Valley, Malaysia. In the digital transformation era, social media has become a key platform for businesses to communicate with their audience, but its efficacy, particularly in the SME sector, is underexplored in this region. This study investigates the impact of social media strategies involving social advertising (SMA), customer opinion awareness (SACO), and customer relations (SMCR) on social media engagement (SME) and business performance (BP) among SMEs. Findings indicate that both SMA and SACO positively influence SME, which in turn improves BP. Specifically, SMA enhances engagement through advertising, while SACO drives engagement by responding to customer opinions, with both paths positively impacting BP via SME as a mediator. In contrast, SMCR exhibits a negative direct effect on SME and an indirect effect on BP, suggesting that an exclusive focus on customer relations may detract from engagement and performance. The results underscore the importance of a balanced social media strategy that integrates advertising, customer responsiveness, and relationship management to optimize engagement and business outcomes.