Social Media Marketing and the Business Performance of SMEs in Latin America: A Systematic Literature Review

Introduction

Despite the growing body of research on social media marketing and SMEs, a considerable gap remains in the integrated understanding of the current state of knowledge regarding the effect of social media marketing on SMEs' business performance.

Objective

This study aimed to synthesise the evidence on the association between social media use and the business performance of SMEs in Latin America by identifying patterns in scientific production and collaboration, as well as the thematic and semantic evolution of the field. It also sought to identify capabilities, innovation, entrepreneurial orientation, gender, firm size and geographical context as explanatory factors.

Methods:

A quantitative approach was adopted, combining scientometric and bibliometric methods to characterise the scientific production under study with a systematic literature review, thereby guiding the analytical process and synthesising the evidence in accordance with the search protocol.

Scopus, Web of Science (WoS) and Dimensions were considered, yielding a relevant selection of empirical studies on the association between social media use and the business performance of SMEs in Latin America. Study selection was guided by the PICO question and documented using the PRISMA flow diagram.

Results:

The findings across the empirical contributions converged around three main clusters: (i) the first cluster comprises the most established concepts in the field: digital marketing, consumer behavior, social networking online, social media, commerce and business performance; (ii) the second cluster includes terms such as digital transformation, artificial intelligence, big data, data analytics, digital technologies, information systems and decision making; and (iii) the third cluster groups concepts such as corporate social responsibility, sustainability, innovation, digitization, business development and technology adoption. Overall, the evidence supports a positive association between the integration of social media and marketing capabilities and the business performance and competitiveness of Latin American SMEs, as online presence and the use of digital tools create favourable conditions for improving business development, sales and operational efficiency.

Conclusions:

The reviewed scientific evidence indicates that social media marketing has been used effectively by SMEs across Latin America, although within a conditional paradigm that requires complementary capabilities and consideration of the multidimensional effects of firm size, managerial gender and geographical context on the development of digital maturity. This systematic review also provides a solid foundation for future longitudinal research and for the design of public policies that promote digitalisation by strengthening digital skills training.