Social Media Marketing Adoption Strategies: An Exploratory Multiple Case Study of Landscape Industry Small Businesses

Despite research contending that marketing is a pivotal factor in small business success, many small business owners continue to underutilize low-cost marketing options available to them. Of the low-cost marketing option available, social media marketing is a useful tool to maintain competitiveness in the larger marketplace. However, the adoption of social media best practices in small business remains deficient. The landscape industry is a large and growing field with small businesses making up a large, and growing, share of the larger industry. Yet some landscape industry small business owners lack strategies to adopt innovative social media marketing strategies to help ensure business viability. This study incorporated a qualitative exploratory multiple case study design to explore how landscape industry small business owners use social media marketing strategies to help ensure business viability. Results indicated that successful marketing strategies tended to incorporate Facebook as the primary social media tool and included content such as service, education, and holiday posts. Benefits of social media marketing primarily centered on low-cost marketing options for improved visibility, while challenges included a trial-and-error learning curve. Results of this study might benefit small businesses to improve their long-term viability through social media marketing strategies, with the potential to improve local economies through increased tax revenues, resulting in more resources for schools, public safety organizations, and other institutions, improving quality of life in local communities.