Social Media Marketing and Survival Strategies for Rural SMMEs’ Growth During and Beyond the Covid-19 Crisis in KwaZulu-Natal

Rural SMMEs in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) are, generally, faced with limited access to markets, resources, and infrastructure; however, the Covid-19 crisis exacerbated existing rural SMME vulnerabilities, threatening their sustainability in KZN. As these small rural enterprises were unable to trade in-person during the pandemic and with mobile devices more frequently used for online activities during and after the crisis, an assessment was undertaken of SMME owner-manager perceptions of social media benefits for their businesses. The study was intent on gauging the advantages to rural SMMEs in using social media use through online trade or interaction with customers, as it not only contributes to their economic sustainability, the facilitation of digital transformation would also assist these enterprises to reach out to customers and diversify revenue streams. The investigation focused on whether social media marketing and survival strategies are effective as innovative tools for rural KZN SMME business growth during and beyond the crisis resulting from the Covid-19 pandemic. The research design employed was quantitative, with data collected from 374 SMMEs in rural KZN, by means of a closed-ended 5-point Likert scale questionnaire and analysed using the statistical package for social sciences software. Key findings include a positive connection linking rural SMME use of social media and increased product sales to ensure continuity and sustainability during the Covid-19 pandemic and future crises. The findings were used to develop and propose a framework for optimised social media marketing use and survival strategies for rural SMMEs in KZN.