The impact of digital marketing on the growth of small and medium enterprises in Uganda

Digital marketing can expand the visibility of small and medium enterprises, but online activity does not automatically generate profitable growth. This article critically reviews evidence on social media marketing, online advertising, mobile marketing and digital customer engagement, with emphasis on Uganda and selected comparative settings. A narrative review combines academic theory, Ugandan empirical studies and methodological research on advertising effectiveness. Technology acceptance, resource-based, dynamic capability and behavioural reasoning perspectives explain different stages of adoption and value creation. The synthesis finds that customer interaction and organisational execution are more informative than platform presence alone; that digital and relational resources may substitute for one another under some conditions; and that reported performance associations require caution because many studies rely on cross-sectional surveys. The article develops an integrated conceptual framework, a customerjourney illustration and an implementation and evaluation cycle. It recommends measuring fulfilled orders, customer retention, acquisition costs and contribution margins alongside engagement indicators. The main conclusion is that digital marketing is a conditional growth opportunity whose value depends on capability, context and credible measurement. These are literature-based findings; no new firm-level field data or causal growth estimates are reported.