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

Journal of Social, Behavioral,

and Health Sciences

2020, Volume 14, Issue 1, Pages 211–220

DOI: 10.5590/JSBHS.2020.14.1.15

Original Research

Social Media Marketing Adoption Strategies: An

Exploratory Multiple Case Study of Landscape Industry

Small Businesses

Crystal Lupo, PhD, DBA

American Public University, Charles Town, West Virginia, United States

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3867-4065

Jason R. Stroman, PhD

University of Phoenix, Phoenix, Arizona, United States

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4124-762X

Contact: [email protected]m

Abstract

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 these options, 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 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 help small businesses improve their long-term

viability through social media marketing strategies.

Keywords: social media; marketing; adoption; social exchange; social media marketing; small business; landscape

industry

Date Submitted: February 6, 2020 | Date Published: September 17, 2020

Recommended Citation

Lupo, C., & Stroman, J. R. (2020). Social media marketing adoption strategies: An exploratory multiple case study of

landscape industry small businesses. Journal of Social, Behavioral, and Health Sciences, 14, 211–220.

https://doi.org/10.5590/JSBHS.2020.14.1.15

Introduction

Across the United States, small businesses fail at an alarming rate. Recent research studies have indicated that

as many as 54% of small businesses fail within the first 5 years of operation (Atanassova & Clark, 2015; Perry,

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Journal of Social, Behavioral, and Health Sciences 212

2014; SBA, 2016). Several studies point to marketing as a pivotal factor in small business success (Atanassova

& Clark; Gray & Mabey, 2005; Perry). Despite evidence suggesting that social media marketing is beneficial to

small business success and can allow small businesses to remain competitive in the larger marketplace, many

small business owners continue to underutilize this low-cost marketing option (Castronovo & Huang, 2012;

Perry; Shang, 2014; Taneja & Toombs, 2004).

Atanassova and Clark (2015) noted that as small businesses become immersed in social media marketing,

they become stronger market contenders by acquiring valuable market intelligence. Incorporating social

media best practices within small businesses can help them increase viability and improve competitiveness in

the larger marketplace (Broekemeir et al., 2015).

The landscape industry is continually expanding, with revenues averaging 93 billion dollars, and forecasted to

grow by 5–6% annually (IBISWorld, 2018). Successful small businesses within the landscape industry

employ, on average, 15 people and have approximately 1.1 million dollars in revenue (IBISWorld). The average

profits of successful small landscape companies average around 11% (Lawn & Landscape, 2018). Since small

landscape businesses make up a large and growing share of the landscape industry, an opportunity exists to

increase both revenue and overall vitality with the use of proper social media strategies. This study addresses

the specific business problem of some landscape industry small business owners lacking strategies to adopt

innovative social media marketing strategies to help ensure business viability. Little to no research currently

exists in understanding social media marketing strategies in successful landscape industry small businesses.

Thus, the purpose of this qualitative, multiple-case study was to explore how four landscape industry small

businesses in central Alabama have successfully incorporated social media marketing strategies to help ensure

business viability.

Theoretical Basis

Adoption theory has previously been used to understand the successful implementation process of a multitude

of innovations and new business ideas (Chien-Wen, et al., 2014; Lupo, 2015; Ramirez, 2013; Rogers, 2003;

Setiowati, et al., 2001; Taylor, et al., 2011). Elements of adoption theory include an understanding of how

innovations begin, communication channels that guide innovations, adoption rates, and adopter categories

(Lupo, 2015; Rogers). Rates of adoption vary based on relative advantage, complexity, observability, and

compatibility (Rogers). Adoption theory research has focused on identifying specific variables that describe

innovation adopters, categorizing adopter variables, and defining socioeconomic differences in adopter

groups (Chien-Wen et al.; Lupo, 2015; Ramirez; Rogers; Setiowati et al., 2015; Stone, 2016). Adoption theory

is useful for understanding innovations that are new and for understanding the initial incorporation of

existing innovations (Lupo, 2015; Rogers). Social media marketing is an existing practice but is considered an

innovation due to its underutilization or complete lack of adoption within many landscape industry small

businesses (Lupo, 2018).

Once small businesses adopt social media marketing strategies, a series of exchanges occur between the

business and customers (De Clercq, et al., 2010). All economic actions between the business and customers

become a balance between business self-interest and the development of sustainable relationships (De Clercq,

et al.). Social exchange theory has the potential to maximize mutual benefits while minimizing costs (Homans,

1958; Surma, 2016). In this sense, social exchange theory was used to understand how social behavior

resulted from this exchange process.

Online social networks, like Facebook or Twitter, are an ideal platform for social exchange because of the

opportunity for new and continued business-customer relationships at a relatively low cost to businesses

(Surma, 2016). We used adoption and social exchange theories as a basis for understating the social media

adoption and exchange process for landscape industry small businesses included in this study. Adoption and

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social exchange theories helped us understand factors that resulted in a successful adoption process, factors

that could hinder the adoption process, and the impact of the overall social exchange process within facets of

social media marketing.

Method

A qualitative, exploratory multiple-case study design was used to explore how landscape industry small

business owners use social media marketing strategies to help ensure business viability. A qualitative case

study design was appropriate for obtaining an in-depth understanding of how and why landscape industry

small business owners used social media marketing strategies. Incorporating data from a variety of sources

strengthened the understanding of landscape industry small business owners’ successful use of online

marketing strategies. Using a multiple case study design ensured data saturation by providing more

substantial data that allows for comprehensive analysis and pattern repetition (O’Reilly & Parker, 2013; Yin,

2014). After obtaining IRB approval (approval #11-03-17-0487630), data collection commenced and included

both semi-structured interviews and content analysis of the social media sites of landscape industry small

businesses included in this study.

Potential participants for this study were initially contacted through their social media sites on Facebook. This

offered an advantage because it was important to understand the level of online two-way engagement of the

participants since this was a social media marketing study. We gave participants consent forms and the

interview questionnaire. Participants within the study were allowed to return the questionnaires to me in a

manner of their choosing. Some of the responses were verbally captured, while others were emailed or

captured in online message correspondence. We reviewed the responses and asked follow-up clarifying

questions when necessary. An advantage of using this dual technique was that the participant was able to

clarify their intended responses, thus improving reliability and validity. Once the interviews concluded, social

media content analysis followed. Key data captured in the content analysis included the number and content

of posts across various social media sites including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and company websites. The

four cases used in this study were designated as Landscape Small Business (LBS) 1–4 in the results below.

Results

The purpose of this qualitative multiple case study was to explore how four small businesses within the

landscape industry located in central Alabama have successfully incorporated social media marketing

strategies to help ensure business viability. Several key findings emerged from our thematic data analysis. Key

findings included social media usage as part of an overall marketing strategy, the use of Facebook as a primary

type of social media, similarities across Facebook content, and the benefits and challenges of social media use.

Marketing Strategy Adoption

Each small business within the landscape industry used social media marketing, including Facebook, a

company website, Twitter, and Instagram, as part of an overall marketing strategy; however, the extent varied.

For example, LSB 3 used social media marketing for “more than half of all my marketing.” Whereas, by

contrast, LSB 1 primarily relied on word-of-mouth referrals with limited use of social media for those

referrals, highlighting the importance of social media as “a placement aspect of marketing, in that hopefully

more people in our area are aware of our service.”

Word-of-mouth referrals were an interesting finding because they encompassed both social media marketing

through service reviews as well as traditional word-of-mouth marketing through friends and family. For

example, LSB 4 stated, “I guess I just take pride in publicly posting my work and seeing who looks at them and

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Journal of Social, Behavioral, and Health Sciences 214

likes them in hope that they would want to hire me in the future.” This statement highlighted the importance

of word-of-mouth marketing in that the owner was able to start a word-of-mouth referral through pictures,

and when multiple people “liked” a picture he was able to promote his company’s work. Participants’ pride in

their work was often a key element noted in the importance of providing customers with social media picture

displays. Similarly, LSB 2 stated, “when customers see my work and like my posts, then other potential

customers will sometimes call and say, ‘I saw this rock bed you did on Facebook’ and then want something

similar.” Overall, both followership and likability were important factors in word-of-mouth marketing as they

related to social media marketing and the participants’ abilities to expand their customer base.

Facebook as a Key Social Media Tool

The second theme revealed through data analysis regarded the primary types of social media used. All

participants used Facebook as a primary social media marketing tool. Some also used social media tools such

as Instagram, Twitter, and a company website, but this was less prevalent in their overall marketing strategy.

An interesting finding was that although many of the companies had briefly used, either currently or in the

past, other social media marketing tools, Facebook was the primary social media site used.

For example, LSB 1 discussed how Facebook, in his experience, was the best way to reach a potential customer

base, noting “Facebook shows the reach of your posts and the insights on the statistics/demographics of who

and how many people have seen your posts. Facebook insights will also tell you what days and what time of

the day are best to reach the most people.” As LSB 3 discussed, “Facebook works best as I can get my

customers to follow my page but I have not had as much luck with Twitter or Instagram.” LSB 2 noted the

ability for customers to directly message through the Facebook page: “I get a lot of customers who see work I

did on someone’s Facebook page, then they message me directly. It saves the customer time because they

don’t have to look up my phone number, they can just click a button rather than having to place a phone call.”

Many participants noted that most of their customer base had a Facebook page of their own, unlike other

social media tools such as Twitter or Instagram that tended to appeal to a more limited audience. Despite the

noted lack of customer use of Twitter or Instagram, most participants reported that they did use other forms

of social media such as Instagram, Twitter, or a personal company website to reach and expand their

customer base.

Three of the small business owners interviewed indicated that they did have a personal company website at

one point but that they were no longer active, noting a lack of two-way communication on a website as could

be experienced through Facebook. Although some of the small businesses had used Twitter, one stated, “I

have not had as much luck with Twitter,” primarily due to a lack of followers. Interestingly, even though

participants quite often used Facebook to post pictures of their services, none of the participants used

Instagram despite it being a picture-based social media tool. Participants noted not having very many

customers and/or followers who regularly used the site. Table 1 illustrates the main types of social media used

in each case and how, despite trying out various types of social media, Facebook remained one of the most

used tools across the cases included in this study.

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Journal of Social, Behavioral, and Health Sciences 215

Table 1: Type of Social Media Used by Landscape Small Business Cases

Case

Twitter

Facebook

Company

website

Instagram

LSB 1

yes*

yes

yes**

yes*

LSB 2

yes

yes**

LSB 3

yes

yes**

LSB 4

yes

Note. * indicates site is not currently used; **site no longer active.

Facebook Content

Participants’ Facebook content fell into three commonalities across all cases; these included services offered,

educational postings, and holiday posts (Table 2). We measured these commonalities through a content

analysis of the last six months of each participant’s Facebook page.

Table 2: Facebook Posts by Topic During a 6-Month Period (July-December 2017)

Case

Services

Educational

Holiday

LSB 1

18 (67%)

3 (11%)

6 (22%)

LSB 2

11 (79%)

3 (21%)

0 (0%)

LSB 3

9 (60%)

3 (20%)

LSB 4

12 (100%)

0 (0%)

Total

50 (74%)

9 (13%)

All four cases posted primarily about services offered. Services included general landscaping, irrigation, as

well as flower and bed installation. Posts about services offered or performed made up 74% of all Facebook

posts across all four cases. Within cases, LSB 1 posted about services 67% of the time, LSB 2 posted about

services 79% of the time, LSB 3 posted about services 60% of the time, and LSB 4 posted about services 100%

of the time. Educational posts made up about 13% of the total Facebook posts, across cases, during the six-

months. Educational posts consist of articles, links, and general posts aimed to educate customers. LSB 1 and

LSB 3 both discussed the challenge in finding educational content that was informative yet at a level that

someone with little industry knowledge could understand. Holiday posts made up about 13% of the total

postings across cases. Holiday posts included messages such as “Merry Christmas,” “Happy Fourth of July,”

and other holiday-themed posts such as employee birthday and anniversary posts.

Benefits and Challenges of Social Media Use

The benefits and challenges of using social media as a marketing strategy were surprisingly similar across all

four cases. The major benefits included social media as a low-cost marketing option and a strategy to improve

visibility to increase customer base and improve customer retention. The major challenges included the trial-

and-error learning curve associated with social media marketing, as well as the ability, or inability, to direct

customers to the businesses’ social media sites.

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One of the greatest benefits discussed by all participants was the ability to use social media at a relatively low

and, often, no cost. LSB 1 stated, “It is free! It has also increased our list of potential clients.” LSB 3 noted,

“The best thing about using social media is that it’s free. That once my customers caught on they shared my

information with their friends. It eventually spread via word-of-mouth which kept my advertising costs

down.” Each participant noted the low- or no-cost nature of social media. As researchers have noted, online

social networks are an ideal platform for social exchange due to the opportunity for new and continued

business-customer relationships at a relatively low cost to businesses (Araujo, et al., 2015; Hamilton, et al.,

2016; Kohli, et al., 2015; Surma, 2016).

Small businesses have used social media marketing to promote themselves and increase visibility (Taneja &

Toombs, 2004). They found that the increase in self-promotion and visibility helped them survive in a

competitive world (Taneja & Toombs, 2004). The participants’ comments in this study mirrored Taneja and

Toombs’s (2004) research findings regarding self-promotion and visibility. For example, LSB 1 noted that

“pictures are important so people can see what I am capable of producing. Especially in my field, I can have a

fancy webpage but that won’t do me any good because people won’t really know what I am capable of doing.”

Researchers have indicated that as small businesses become immersed in social media marketing, they

become a stronger market contender by acquiring market intelligence; yet, the adoption of social media best

practices in small business continues to be deficient (Atanassova & Clark, 2015; Shang, 2014). The question is

why? This was answered through a major challenge noted by several of the participants, which was having to

learn by trial and error to see what worked and what did not work in the world of social media marketing. LSB

4 discussed a major challenge in “figuring out how to successfully set up the pages myself and also how to

generate likes and followers to get people to have interest in my page.” LSB 2 noted that the “greatest

challenge was having the time to come up with creative, intriguing posts to engage people to hopefully

increase your reach.” LSB 1 employed a younger employee to run their social media sites stating:

I have delegated the social media aspect of the business to our 22-year-old employee, who is likely

more knowledgeable about the in’s and out’s and tricks of the trade (like hashtags) of posting on

social media. She seems to be able to do it much more quickly and more effectively than I did. She

also has more time in her work week to do that.

Discussion

Social media has changed the way companies implement their marketing and customer relationship

management practices (Dewan & Ramaprasad, 2014; Felix, et al., 2016). Two-way communication channels

within each social media tool largely impacted participants’ adoption decisions. Participants’ lack of two-way

activity used on company websites, Twitter, and Instagram aligned with previous research noting the

importance of two-way communication in social media adoption (Chang, et al., 2014; Csordas & Gati, 2014).

Although social media marketing adoption provides several important advantages, certain factors hinder or

slow the adoption process (Franklin, 2014; Pechrová, et al., 2015; Verheyden & Goeman, 2013). The successful

factor in this study was the adoption of a specific social media tool. Adoption decisions were based on a

balancing act to mitigate between the best and most effective two-way communication tools available and

extensively used by both customers and businesses. For example, Facebook was more effective than a

company’s website because customers were more likely to be on Facebook.

The low-cost nature of some social media sites, such as Facebook in particular, provided an opportunity for

businesses to reach both new and existing customers as well as solicit two-way exchanges that are so valuable

in terms of word-of-mouth marketing strategies (Charalabidis, et al., 2014; Chien-Wen, et al., 2014; Soyoung,

et al., 2016). When service, education, and holiday social exchanges occurred through social media posts,

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Journal of Social, Behavioral, and Health Sciences 217

overall visibility of the participants’ small businesses increased. Brand loyalty was reinforced through the

visibility of services, as well as through educational posts. Companies also fostered a sense of community

through the inclusion of holiday posts.

The challenges presented in this study supported Pechrová et al.’s (2015) research, which discussed a lack of

understanding, familiarity with possibilities, and lack of experiences using social media as key obstacles to

adoption. The business owners in this study were able to overcome these barriers to adoption. However, not

all small business owners have the time or resources to mitigate the challenges to social media marketing

adoption. So, while an effective business practice might be to adopt social media marketing, the obstacles

might be insurmountable to small business owners who lack computer literacy or other resources to

adequately create and maintain a social media presence. Despite the challenges presented and given the

possibilities for increased visibility and effective word-of-mouth marketing at a low cost, small businesses

should attempt to incorporate resources to enable the adoption of social media marketing, at least on some

level.

The research problem presented in this study may be of significant interest to leaders who have the goal of

positive social change. The SBA (2016) noted that small businesses have added roughly 8 million new jobs to

the United States economy over the past 25 years; while by comparison, big businesses eliminated roughly 4

million jobs during that same period. Researchers have suggested that entrepreneurship and small business

activity contributes to the larger society in terms of creating financial, environmental, and social wealth

(Zahra & Wright, 2015). While small businesses provide job opportunities to the United States economy, their

continued failure rate has prevented the full realization of social change benefits. If small businesses can

improve their long-term viability by incorporating social media marketing strategies, social change could

potentially occur through an improved local economy and quality of life. Increased tax revenues due to viable

small business ventures could contribute to positive social change through improvements in social

institutions, such as public safety and schools.

State and community small business training efforts should focus on adoption of social media marketing

strategies. Training could include local community classes on how to develop and effectively use social media

sites to promote a small business, how to use social media on a smart device, as well as resources on how to

find public computer availability at local colleges and libraries for those without in-home computers.

Literature could be made publicly available at small business resource locations, such as the SBA, local

libraries, labor boards, and community centers. Literature could describe the benefits and potential ways to

incorporate social media into small businesses’ overall marketing strategies. Training schedules could also be

made publicly available at these venues.

Future Research

The participants in this multiple case study were limited to business owners with no more than 20 employees,

within central Alabama, who had experience using social media marketing. Similar research could be

performed within larger companies in the landscape industry as well as adapted to other industries. The study

location could be expanded to a different state, region, or even across the United States to see if results vary. It

might be interesting to see, for example, whether landscape industry small businesses in New York differ in

their efficacious use of social media marketing, particularly if the post content subthemes of services,

education, and holiday messages would be similar. Finally, broadening the study to the larger United States

on specific uses of social media marketing, using a quantitative approach, might provide insight on social

media usage on a much larger scale.

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Journal of Social, Behavioral, and Health Sciences 218

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