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Mapping the Business Functions of Social Media Marketing: A Five-Domain Systematic Evidence Synthesis

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15 July 2026

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16 July 2026

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Abstract
(1) Background: Social media marketing, the use of social platforms to build brand awareness, engage customers, gather market insights, distribute content, and drive sales has become essential to business strategy across firm sizes. (2) Methods: A systematic review of literature from Google Scholar, Semantic Scholar, and Scispace, published between 2020 and 2026, was conducted using PRISMA-based screening, yielding 14 studies for full-text analysis, a supplementary VOSviewer keyword co-occurrence analysis of study titles and abstracts was also performed. (3) Results: Five core domains were identified, expressed as each domain’s share of the 43 total domain-study codings across the 14 studies: brand awareness and promotion (26%), customer engagement and interaction (30%), market research and insights (9%), content creation and distribution (14%), and sales and lead generation (21%). Customer engagement and brand awareness were the most consistently supported outcomes, while market research remained comparatively under-investigated; the keyword analysis independently corroborated this gap, surfacing no cluster corresponding to market research or content creation. (4) Conclusions: Social media effectively drives brand visibility, engagement, and sales through quality content and consistent interaction, though its use as a market-intelligence tools remains underutilized. Businesses should prioritize content quality, platform-appropriate strategy, and internal social media capability, while future research should address this documented gap across broader contexts.
Keywords: 
social media marketing
;  
systematic review
;  
business
;  
domain
Subject: 
Business, Economics and Management  -   Marketing

1. Introduction

Marketing refers to the activities a company undertakes to promote the buying or selling of its products or services. Marketing is the activity, set of institutions, and processes for creating, communicating, delivering, and exchanging offerings that have value for customers, clients, partners, and society at large [56]. In a world where connectivity is king, social media marketing has emerged as the undisputed ruler, transforming the way businesses engage with their audience. Study of Rosario et al. [43] states that marketing in social media is a strategy to communicate brands, services, products, and ideas, thus strategies in social media represent an intangible benefit related to marketing communication objectives. Guoqiang & Bhaumik [18] added search engine optimization (SEO), search engine marketing (SEM), content marketing, influencer marketing, content automation, e-commerce marketing and etc. can significantly benefit enterprises.
Social media has become an essential part of the modern customer journey, underlining the importance of social media marketing for businesses of all sizes. Even as economic constraints bear down on marketing budgets, executives are still prioritizing social media investments—and with good reason. As consumers spend more time on social media, the channel offers features including content distribution, social authentication and user interaction significantly shapes consumer purchase behavior and brand attitudes [61]. However, leveraging social media effectively can be challenging, as businesses must keep up with ever-changing algorithms, audience preferences, and emerging trends. Crafting high-quality, engaging content that reflects a consistent brand voice requires creativity and strategic planning. Data analytics are essential for understanding customer behavior, but analyzing and interpreting this data can be complex.
Social media has become a vital resource for businesses of all sizes, offering tools for growth, engagement, and brand building despite the many challenges they face. For small business start-ups, it requires more strategies to gain value creations to lead increase in sales growth, small businesses are constantly trying to find new ways to gain exposure and improve their marketing plans. While some business owners may still be resistant to the idea, study prove that interaction, electronic word-of-mouth and trendiness are the key elements influencing consumer brand awareness, then strengthening brand awareness and brand knowledge [6]. Additionally, since there are multiple popular social platforms out there, that translates into more ways for small businesses to promote content. Whether they favor Instagram stories or Facebook Messenger, businesses have options to express their creative side and showcase their expertise. For example, providing stats and fun facts about the products you are selling or services that you are providing can prove to viewers your business is worth taking a chance on.
Large-scale businesses, meanwhile, use social media to maintain brand presence, reach new markets, and manage their reputation on a global scale. However, the challenges of keeping up with algorithm changes, responding to vast customer interactions, and curating engaging, consistent content apply across the board. Social media analytics tools help businesses of all sizes gather valuable insights into customer preferences and behaviors, allowing them to refine marketing strategies for better engagement and ROI. Furthermore, Riley [42] explains that social media brand communities provide a unique competitive advantage by enabling customers and brands to interaction, co-create value, and sustain customer engagement. Rather then simply reaching large audiences, these communities foster deeper relationships that contribute to long-term business value and customer loyalty. . This review highlights the major ways in which social media can help business demonstrating importance in customer engagement and growth.
Despite growing academic interest in social media marketing, systematic evidence synthesizing how social media contributes to specific business functions such as brand awareness, engagement, market research, content strategy, and sales remains fragmented across the literature. This study addresses this gap through a systematic review of 14 empirical studies published between 2020 and present, identifying five core domains through which social media drives business outcomes and highlighting where empirical attention has concentrated and where it remains thin.

2. Materials and Methods

A systematic review was used in this study to evaluate the role of social media for businesses. The methodology involved four key phases. The initial phase involved an extensive literature search. A thorough investigation was carried out across various databases, including Google Scholar, Semantic Scholar, and Scispace. The search utilized keywords such as “social media in business,” “social media marketing,” and “utilizing social media for business” to locate articles published in English from 2020 to 2026. This search focused on identifying articles that have undergone peer review, as well as review papers and empirical research, which investigated the use of social media for enhancing customer engagement and driving business growth. The second step involved establishing criteria for including or excluding studies to ensure their relevance. Articles were included if they explicitly discussed the role of social media in improving specific elements of business strategies, such as increasing brand visibility, fostering customer engagement, and boosting sales growth, and if were published between 2020 and 2026. Studies were excluded if they did not concentrate directly on social media marketing, lacked empirical evidence or robust methodologies, or were published prior to 2020. The third step entailed a thorough analysis and reading of the selected studies. Information was extracted from these identified works concerning the role of social media in business contexts, along with any limitations noted by the authors and their recommendations. This data was then synthesized to identify domains where social media can be used as business strategies. The concluding phase involved a comprehensive examination of the gathered data to comprehend how social media can benefit the business sector. This methodical approach was crafted to thoroughly evaluate the present condition of social media within businesses and to uncover potential paths for additional research and development.
A total of 102 studies were initially identified through database searching from three electronic database [Figure 1]. Specifically, 49 studies (48.04%) were retrieved from Semantic Scholar, 43 studies (42.16%) from Google Scholar, and 10 studies (9.08%) from Scispace. During the identification stage, 31 studies were removed because they were published outside the specified inclusion of 2020-2026. This reduced the number of studies subjected to title screening to 71. At the title screening stage, the titles of the remaining studies were examined for relevance to the research topic. As a result, 24 studies were excluded because their titles indicated that they were not directly related to the focus of the review. Consequently, 47 studies advanced to the abstract screening stage. During the abstract screening, the abstracts of the 47 remaining studies were carefully reviewed to determine whether they met the study objectives and eligibility criteria. After this assessment, 12 studies were excluded because they failed to satisfy the established inclusion requirements. This left 35 studies for full-text eligibility assessment. In the eligibility stage, the full texts of the remaining studies were critically evaluated. A total of 21 studies were excluded for failing to meet the predefined eligibility criteria. The primary reasons for exclusion included unclear research domains (n = 12), the absence of a specific business scope, and other methodological or contextual limitations identified during the full-text review. After completing all stages of the screening and eligibility assessment, 14 studies satisfied all inclusion criteria and were included in the final systematic review. These studies served as the primary sources of evidence for the synthesis and analysis conducted in the present research.

2.1. The Social Media 5 Academic Domains

Through careful examination and qualitative analysis, this review identified 5 core domains where social media significantly impacted business industries, each domains encompassing unique roles that collectively enhance the landscape of social media marketing strategies. The first domain, Brand Awareness and Promotion encompassing targeted advertising, content marketing, influencer collaborations, user-generated content, cross promotion across platforms, analytics/ performance tracking. Influencer-driven content shaped brand impressions and audience engagement [60], operating through source-credibility mechanisms such as trustworthiness and expertise [57], and measurably affects advertising attitudes and purchase intention [21]. The second domain is Customer Engagement and Interaction which encompasses real time communication and engagement using integrated features including messenger, comments, like or shares for customer inquiries [34], Feedback and Surveys providing valuable insights into customer needs and expectations, allowing for data-driven improvements in products and services, Content Sharing and Interaction encouraging customers to share their experiences with the brand through user-generated content (UGC) and testimonials, Customer Support and Service or Chatbots through social media channels [63], addressing issues and resolving complaints publicly or privately, Content Engagement Metrics (likes, shares, comments) [11] to understand what content resonates with the audience.
Additionally, the third domain is Market Research and Insights which includes Audience Analysis utilizing social media analytics tools to gather demographic and psychographic data about followers and potential customers [37], Trend Monitoring with marketing analytics, firms can more accurately predict consumers’ changing preferences and formulate appropriate strategies to engage with them and become more market-adaptable and competitive in the present and the future [65], Competitor Analysis providing insights into competitors’ strengths and weaknesses, helping businesses identify opportunities for differentiation and improvement like online reviews and maps visualized the text-net technique as efficient representation of satisfaction and dissatisfaction [27], Product Development Insight ensuring that new products or features align with customer needs and preferences, increasing the likelihood of success [38].
In the fourth domain, Content Creation Strategy and Distribution which is creating and sharing engaging content that resonates with the target audience , driving traffic and interest in the brand. It involves Content Strategy Development which ensures that all content aligns with business objectives and resonates with the intended audience [33], maximizing engagement and effectiveness, Content Creation engaging users through diverse formats, catering to different preferences and increasing the likelihood of shares and interaction, Visual Content Design to capture, attention and improves engagement rates, as visually appealing content or visual congruence is more likely to be shared and remembered [3], Audience Engagement with social media-based brand communities fostering a sense of community and encourages ongoing interaction, which can lead to increased brand loyalty [14], User-Generated Content (UGC) Promotion to Builds authenticity and trust, as potential customers are more likely to engage with content created by their peers[16] , SEO and Hashtag Strategy to enhance the visibility of content, making it easier for users to find and engage with the brand [40,47]. Finally, the fifth domain is Sales and Lead Generation by using social media as a channel for generating leads, driving conversions, and increasing sales through targeted advertising and promotions. It includes Social Media Advertising to increases visibility and generates leads through paid promotions, allowing for precise targeting based on user data [19], Engagement and Relationship Building builds trust and rapport with potential customers, making them more likely to consider the brand when making purchasing decisions, Customer Testimonials and Reviews encouraging potential customers to consider the brand, as social proof can significantly influence purchasing decisions [9,58], Promotions and Discounts as customer loyalty offering exclusive promotions, discounts, or limited-time offers through social media channels to incentivize purchases [5,36], Webinars and Live Events; Host webinars, live Q&A sessions, or virtual events to showcase products, provide valuable information, and engage with potential leads [4,8,17]. [Table 1] shows the analysis of the 14 included studies, and [Table 2] shows the mapping studies of the five social media business domains. [Figure 2] shows the 5 domains where social media impacted Business Industry . [Figure 3] shows the potential contributions of social media in business industry.

2.2. Keyword Co-Occurrence Analysis

To complement the manual domain coding described above, a keyword co-occurrence analysis was conducted using VOSviewer (version 1.6.21). A corpus file containing the title and abstract of each of the 14 studies was compiled and imported using text-data mapping function, with structured labels (e.g., “Purpose”, “Method”, “Findings”) and copyright statements excluded prior to term extraction. Binary counting was applied so that each term was counted once per study regardless of repetition within an abstract, reducing the influence of individual studies with longer or more repetitive abstracts. A minimum term occurrence threshold of 2 was applied, yielding 63 candidate terms from an initial pool of 410; of these, the 38 most relevant terms, as determined by VOSviewer’s default relevance scoring, were retained for the final map. VOSviewer’s clustering algorithm, based on the VOS (visualization of similarities) mapping technique, was then used to group terms into thematic clusters based on their co-occurrence patterns across the 14 studies.

3. Results

3.1. Social Media for Business Industry

Today, a variety of social media platforms play pivotal roles in supporting business growth, each offering unique features suited to specific business needs. Social media are one type of communication channel that organizations currently use to support these strategies [55]. For instance, popularity of social media proposes a huge potential for businesses in terms of marketing Popularity of social media proposes a huge potential for businesses in term of marketing [1], customer relationship management, and even strategy [32]. Such value creation is especially important for smaller firms with limited financial resource. Creating value or providing an attractive value proposition is the strategic goal of any organization. In addition, various social media platforms have different features that are available for use by the subscribers. Social media has also made it easier for people to do business. This is mainly due to the fact that it opens up the global market and it is also cheaper to advertise [53]. Efendi [10] states, empirical findings suggest that businesses offering visually oriented products such as those in the fashion and culinary sectors tend to select platforms like Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook, given their visual and interactive features that align well with product presentation and consumer appeal.
For instance, findings in a study of Yoo [62] regarding the use of Instagram for businesses, found that: (1) luxury brand images with logos and brand names had higher user engagement whereas fast fashion brand images did not show this same trend; (2) the size of the brand name and logo in an image was negatively related to the user engagement or had no effect, regardless of the brand category; and (3) the use of embedded text within an image positively influenced user engagement for luxury brands whereas it negatively influenced user engagement for fast fashion brands. On the other hand, TikTok also has become a game-changer for businesses targeting younger audiences, especially with short-form, entertaining content. Study of Hou et al. [22] on Pinterest indicates that Pinterest is the visual discovery platform where people find inspiration, curate ideas, and shop products for all life’s moments. An in tentful journey can start when Pinners (users) click on Pins and arrive at the Closeup surface, where they can continue to explore or refine their intent by browsing related content powered by our visual search and related recommendation engines. Product Pins, or contents that are linked to merchants and are buyable in general, are critical to realizable fulfillment in Pinners’ exploratory journey. Sun & Zhang [52] also found significant findings on TikTok stating, TikTok platform provides a wide space and possibility for brand marketing with its unique short video format and precise user positioning. Through creative content, KOL cooperation, user interaction, and other methods, luxury brands have effectively enhanced brand awareness and user stickiness. At the same time, with the continuous improvement of the functions of TikTok platform and the changing needs of users, the methods and strategies of brand marketing are also constantly innovating and developing. Meanwhile, Facebook is also commonly used for community building for reaching younger audiences [46].
The platform’s viral nature and algorithm make it ideal for quick brand awareness and engagement, yet its business analytics and ad management are more limited compared to Facebook or LinkedIn. LinkedIn, meanwhile, remains essential for B2B marketing, recruitment, and industry networking. It enables businesses to connect with professionals, generate leads, and establish thought leadership, but its audience focus makes it less effective for direct-to-consumer sales. LinkedIn can be utilized consistently supporting formal professional identity, recruitment, and institutional signaling [44]. For businesses that benefit from interactive customer feedback, Twitter is invaluable, offering real-time engagement and customer service capabilities. Brands can communicate directly with customers, address complaints, and stay relevant with trending topics, though it can be challenging to stand out due to rapid content turnover. As per by Cripps et al. [7], twitter facilitates building relevant business relationships through the exchange of new, expert and high-quality information within like-minded communities in real time, between companies and with their suppliers, customers and also their peers. Twitter is for B2B marketing and demonstrated that it can be a tool for crowdsourcing, knowledge sharing and creating innovation in B2B markets.
Furthermore, YouTube plays a unique role by providing long-form video content opportunities, allowing businesses to build in-depth product tutorials, brand stories, and educational content. However, video production can be resource-intensive, and YouTube’s algorithm prioritizes engaging, high-quality content, making it necessary for brands to invest in consistent content creation. As such, YouTube Advertising influences brand awareness and brand image, whereas brand awareness and brand image do not affect purchase intention. YouTube ads are directly related to the purchase intention [13]. Finally, WhatsApp and Messenger are increasingly integrated into business communications, especially for customer service and personalized marketing. They allow direct messaging between businesses and customers, facilitating quick queries, order updates, and customer feedback. Main tasks of messenger marketing are defined: automation and optimization of managers’ work, which makes it possible to minimize the response time to the application, qualification of potential customers (leads), optimization of advertising costs [48]. On the other hand, WhatsApp business can help businesses expand their reach and increase engagement with customers directly [24].
Each of these platforms serves distinct business functions, from direct sales to customer service and brand building. Selecting the right platform based on target audience and business goals is crucial, as each social media network brings unique advantages and limitations to the digital marketing landscape .[Table 3] shows the comparative analysis of the most famous social media tools for businesses. Beyond platform-specific features, broader empirical evidence points to social media’s uneven but generally positive effect on business performance, particularly among small and medium enterprises (SMEs). On the study of Pellegrino & Abe [41], a bibliometric review of 293 Scopus-indexed articles published between 2007 and 2022 found that SME-focused social media research has concentrated heavily on customer engagement, ROI metric, and marketing strategy, while identifying persistent gaps in how firms actually quantify social media’s financial return. This measurement gap is echoed elsewhere in the literature: despite widespread recognition that social media has become embedded in everyday marketing practice, researchers note that companies continue to struggle to calculate return on investment from their social media efforts, often focusing narrowly on tangible outcomes such as sales while overlooking intangible outcomes like brand awareness, customer relationship, and electronic word-of-mouth [30].
Adoption itself is not automatic, even where the potential benefit is clear. A study of 508 Indonesian SMEs employing the Technology-Organization-Environment Framework found that technological concerns, specifically perceived complexity and cost, created hesitancy toward social media marketing adoption, while organizational factors such as topic management support and perceived employe capability, along with external customer and vendor pressure, significantly propelled adoption forward; critically, the study confirmed a substantial positive relationship between the strategic incorporation of social media marketing and the enhancement of SME performance [15]. This finding is consistent with more localized evidence. A study of SMEs in Palembang, South Sumatera Indonesia found that social media marketing has an impact on annual sales performance ranging from 10 to 30 percent among adopting firms [31]. Taken together, this broad literature suggests that social media’s business value is real but conditional. It depends on organizational readiness and management support as much as on the platform-specific features discussed above, a pattern that aligns closely with the adoption barriers and firm-performance outcomes examined across the 14 studies reviewed in this paper.

3.2. Analysis of the 14 Included Studies

Table 1. Analysis of the 14 included studies.
Table 1. Analysis of the 14 included studies.
SN AUTHOR & YEAR TITLE MAIN FOCUS KEY FINDINGS SOCIAL MEDIA APPLICATIONS IN BUSINESS LIMITATIONS RECOMMENDATIONS
1 Zollo et. al (2020) Unpacking the relationship between social media marketing and brand equity:
The mediating role of consumers’ benefits and experience.		 To examine how social media marketing (SMM) activities influence consumer-based brand equity (CBBE) among Millennials by investigating the mediating roles of consumer benefits obtained from social media brand communities and brand experience in the luxury fashion industry. The study found that cognitive, personal-integrative, and social-integrative benefits significantly mediated the relationship between social media marketing activities and consumer-based brand equity, hedonic benefits do not. Businesses can strengthen brand equity by developing social media brand communities that provide informative content, encourage customer interaction, and foster meaningful brand experiences. Rather than focusing solely on promotional content. Research was limited to 326 Millennials followers of luxury fashion brands, restricting the generalizability of the findings to other industries, age groups, and cultural contexts. Cross-sectional design also prevented causal conclusions. Business should design social media strategies that enhance consumers’ cognitive and social experiences through interactive content and community participation. Future studies should investigate different industries, demographic groups, and longitudinal effects of social media marketing on brand equity.
2 Febrian et. al (2022) The Role of Social Media Activities to Enhance Brand Equity To examine whether quality of social media activities influences brand awareness and brand image among MSME online shoppers, and whether consumers’ social media experience moderates these relationships The study found that social media quality including content quality, interaction quality, and contact availability significantly moderate the relationship between social media quality and brand equity outcomes. Businesses can improve brand awareness by providing high-quality, relevant, and interactive content, maintaining accessible communication channels, and encouraging two-way customer interaction rather than relying solely on frequent promotional posts. The study focuses on MSME online shoppers, which may limit generalizability to larger firms and other industries. The cross-sectional design also restricts causal interpretation MSMEs should prioritize content quality, responsiveness, and customer interaction, and future research should examine other industries and longitudinal effects of social media quality on brand equity.
3 Sajane et. al (2022) Research on the Impacts of social media on Business/Startups To find out exactly influence of social media on new startups and business. And to find out the customer approach towards the social media platform and what the point of view of new entrepreneurs towards social media. Study concluded based on the results that many businesses/startups are using social media for more to reaching customers to collect market information, for hiring new employees, to know the customers like and dislikes. Startups use social for customer acquisition, market information gathering, recruitment, and sales promotion across multiple platforms. The study relied on self-reported perceptions and did not extensively examine negative outcomes such as misinformation, reputational risks, or negative customer feedback. Startups should develop long-term social media strategies, diversify platform use, monitor customer feedback, and use analytics tools to improve engagement and sales performance.
4 Zeqiri et al. (2024) The impact of social media marketing on brand awareness,
brand engagement and purchase intention in emerging economies		 Examine the impact of social media marketing (SMM) on brand awareness (BA), consumer brand engagement (CBE), and purchase intention in emerging economies. Social media marketing has a positive impact on brand awareness, brand engagement, and purchase intention, while country moderates the relationship between brand engagement and purchase intention. Social Media’s impact on brand communications, providing consumer insights that help companies design effective SMM strategies, using similarities and differences in emerging economies. The study used samples only from some emerging countries; hence, it cannot be generalized in all contexts. The study provides managerial implications that can be considered in online branding campaigns. Study shows that SMM campaigns generate and develop brand awareness, including brand recognition and recall.
5 Infante et. al (2022) The Potential of Social Media as a Means of Online Business
Promotion		 Determine the effectiveness of social media as an online business marketing medium The study found that the higher the intensity of the use of social media from business owners, the greater the perception of business development (R = 0.803). Social media was used for online promotion, customer communication, relationship building, personalized content delivery, and market expansion. The findings were based on perceived business development rather than objective financial performance, and the study acknowledged challenges related to consumer trust, online fraud, and dependence on social media engagement Business should maintain active communication, personalize content, use visually engaging posts, focus on appropriate platforms, and continuously monitor customer feedback to adapt their strategies.
6 Setiawan et al. (2024) The Influence of Social Media Marketing on Brand Awareness, Brand Image, Customer Engagement, and Purchase Decision The study analyzes how social media marketing (SMM) influences brand awareness, brand image, customer engagement, and purchase decisions. Findings indicate that SMM is an effective tool for increasing brand recognition, shaping positive brand perceptions, and boosting consumer engagement. All these factors contribute to more favorable purchase decisions. Companies can design more effective SMM strategies to enhance their marketing performance by understanding these dynamics. Investing in SMM can yield significant results in increased brand equity and consumer loyalty. The study employed purpose sampling which may introduce bias of selecting participants and the criteria used are consumers who have seen or interacted with SilverQueen’s social media marketing content Marketers should create engaging and interactive social media content to maximize SMM’s impact on consumer behavior.
7 Suartina et. al (2022) The role of brand love in mediating the effect of intensive distribution and social media promotion
on brand loyalty and e-WOM		 The study aims to examine and explain the role of brand love in mediating the effect of intensive distribution and promotion of social media brand loyalty and e-WOM. Results showed that the intensive distribution had a positive and significant effect on brand loyalty and brand love. Brand love is able to mediate the effect of intensive distribution on customer loyalty, brand and e-WOM and brand love are able to mediate the effect of social media promotion of brand loyalty and e-WOM. Businesses can use social media promotion to strengthen emotional attachment, encourage customer advocacy, and stimulate positive electronic word-of-mouth through platforms such as Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp The study focused on customers of minimarket franchise business in Bali, limiting generalizability to other industries and geographical settings Future research should investigate additional mediating variables, including broader demographic groups and evaluate long-term changes in consumer loyalty across different business sectors.
8 Simbolon et al. (2022) The Influence of Using Instagram as a Promotional Media in Building Brand Awareness and Its Impact on Purchase
Decision of Bulog Products in Shopee		 Aims to test and prove the effect of social media marketing using Instagram on purchasing decision through brand awareness for Bulog products in Shopee Results find that social media marketing through Instagram significantly influences brand awareness. Brand awareness also significantly influences purchase decision and mediates the effect of social media marketing on the purchase decision. Companies must make social media the main tool for marketing programs. It can improve marketing personnel’s competence and creativity in creating marketing content on social media Only one social media used in the study, and so it cannot be generalized to other types of social media. Only involves one e-commerce, even though other e-commerce sites promote Bulog products, hence the generalization area is limited. Study recommends that every company use social media like Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and others to conduct marketing programs. It is crucial to provide training to the company’s marketing personnel. They should improve their competence and creativity in creating marketing content.
9 Jasin (2022) The Role of Social Media Marketing and Electronic Word of Mouth on Brand Image and Purchase Intention of SMEs Product The study aims to analyze the effect of social media marketing and electronic word of mouth on purchase intention through brand image. Results proves that Social Media Marketing and Electronic Word-of-Mouth (e-WOM) has a positive and significant effect on Brand Image. While Social Media Marketing and e-WOM has a positive and significant effect on Purchase Intent. SMEs have used social media in their companies. Widely used are Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Benefits of using social media are for personal communication with consumers, marketing and advertising, recording consumer’s needs, responding and decision making. Did not measure sales increase accurately so that analysis of the effect of using social media on increasing sales can be done more accurately. And used non-probability sampling may be a bias, and the study relies on active social media users. SME entrepreneurs need to make optimal use of social media and consistently update information every day to develop market share and increase product sales
10 Khan (2021) Do brands’ social media marketing activities matter? A moderation analysis The study examines the role of SMMA in forming brand experience, developing an attitude towards the brand, and improving purchase intention. The study considers the consumer generation (Millennials/Non-Millennials) and customer engagement (high/low) as moderator variables. Findings suggest that SMMA influence the brand experience, attitude, and purchase intention towards the brand. Subsequently, results indicate the crucial role of brand experience in developing attitude and purchase intention. Besides, customer generation (Millennials vs. Non-Millennials) and the level of customer engagement (high vs. low) moderated the relationship between SMMA and brand experience. Well-managed social media marketing campaign can help to develop purchase intention and an attitude towards the brand. Thus, these outcomes intend to notify markets to strategically plan and manage their SMMA due to their significant role in determining consumer responses. The study used non-probability sampling techniques that limits generalizability. It also categorized customer generation into millennials and non-millennials subgroups and excludes like Gen. X vs. Millennials or Millennials vs. Centennials subgroups, and the study assessed customer engagement as a moderator. Marketers should understand consumers’ perceptions and evaluations of their brand activates on social media platforms. Managers should create and maintain several stimuli such as texts, images, videos on their social media pages with a clear focus on brand experiences to create for their targeted customer segment.
11 Thomas et.al (2020) A Study on the Influence of Instagram on
Business Development of Unorganized
Netpreneurs Among Various Popular Social
Media Platforms		 The study aims at the influence of Instagram on business development of unorganized netpreneurs. 90% of respondents agree Instagram is a top platform for marketing; cost-effective for customer relations and brand introduction. Instagram supports product promotion, customer relationship management, brand introduction, promotional campaigns, and collaboration among online entrepreneurs. Social media marketing requires substantial time for content creation and customer interaction, and managing business accounts consistently may be difficult for small entrepreneurs. Businesses should use promotional offers, maintain regular customer communication, and consider outsourcing social media management whether resources are limited.
12 Ali et al. (2023) Examining the Influence of Social Media Marketing on Purchase Intention: The Mediating Role of Brand Image To conduct a comprehensive examination of the impact of social media marketing on purchase intention, with a particular emphasis on the mediating role of brand image. Findings highlight a significant and positive relationship between social media marketing efforts and brand image perception. It was also discovered that brand image significantly influences consumers’ purchase intentions. Social media platforms are used to update consumers about regularly particularly available discounts, promote new products, and engage with consumers and get real-time customer feedback to improve their products if required, online surveys also gather opinions for possible diversifications. Study is taken from National Capital Region (NCR), a specific region that limits generalization. The study focuses only on brand image as mediator. Businesses are encouraged to establish a strong presence on social media platforms to effectively promote their products and services. Organizations can effectively steer consumer purchase intentions by harnessing the synergy between social media marketing and brand image.
13 Negara (2024) Social Media Marketing and Purchase Decision: Insights from Indonesian MSMEs The study aims to examine and analyze the effects of various social media marketing dimensions like entertainment, customization, interaction and trendiness on purchase decisions. The study confirmed that customization, interaction, and trendiness have a positive and significant effect on purchase decisions. Conversely, entertainment was found to have a non-significant effect. Among the variables, interaction had the greatest impact on driving purchase decisions. Social media strategies including entertainment, customization, interaction, and trendiness are crucial in influencing customer purchase decisions especially in a market where competition exists. Strategy play a profound role in achieving purchasing decisions. Focuses on customization, interaction, and trendiness only while other variable outcomes such as repurchase intention, brand trust, and brand awareness among SMEs did not include. When utilizing social media for marketing, MSMEs should prioritize dimensions: entertainment, interaction, and trendiness. While entertainment remains important for engaging consumers. Meanwhile, customization, interaction, and trendiness are crucial dimensions that significantly influence purchasing decisions and should be emphasized by MSMEs.
14 Lopez (2024) The Influence of Content Marketing Strategy and Customer Engagement in Social Media on Firm
Performance of Selected Small and Medium Enterprise (SMEs) in Tagum City, Davao Del Norte		 The study aims to determine the impact of content marketing strategy and customer engagement in social media on the firm performance of selected small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Tagum City, Davao Del Norte It was found that the respondents has a high level of content marketing strategy, a high level of customer engagement in social media, and a very high level of firm performance. There was a significant relationship between customer engagement in social media and firm performance. Content production context and content marketing organization have a significant influence on firm performance; effective content marketing can make the firm recognizable and provide a competitive edge in the field of business. The study was conducted specifically in Tagum City, Davao del Norte. And selected SMEs only. Platform Differences not examined and Industry variation was not stated. SMEs must develop a well-organized content marketing systems to establish marketing roles, workflows and content management. Strengthen customer engagement on social media and build emotional connections with customers. Encourage customers to learn about and interact with the brand.

3.3. Mapping the 14 Studies to the 5 Social Media Domains

Table 2. Mapping the 14 studies to the 5 social media domains.
Table 2. Mapping the 14 studies to the 5 social media domains.
SN AUTHOR & YEAR DOMAIN 1:Brand Awareness and Promotion DOMAIN 2:Customer Engagement and Interaction DOMAIN 3:Market Research and Insights DOMAIN 4:Content Creation and Distribution DOMAIN 5:Sales and Lead Generation
1 Zollo et al. (2020) Brand loyalty, awareness and perceived quality improved via community-based brand experience Encourage customer interaction and participation in brand communities − Informative content prioritized over promotional content −
2 Febrian et al. (2022) Brand awareness and image improved through quality, accessible content Two-way customer interaction via accessible communication channels − Content quality and relevance as core driver of outcomes −
3 Sajane et al. (2022) − Customer acquisition and reaching new customers Market information gathering; learning customer likes/dislikes − Sales promotion across multiple platforms
4 Zeqiri et al. (2024) Positive impact on brand awareness Positive impact on consumer brand engagement Provides consumer insights to design effective SMM strategies − Positive impact on purchase intention
5 Infante et al (2022) Online promotion enhancing business visibility Customer communication and relationship building − Personalized content delivery Market expansion supporting business growth
6 Setiawan et al. (2024) Brand recognition and positive brand perceptions Boosts consumer engagement − − Favorable purchase decisions; increased brand equity and loyalty
7 Suartina et al (2022) Brand loyalty strengthened via distribution and promotion Customer advocacy and e-WOM via Instagram/Facebook/WhatsApp − − −
8 Simbolon et al. (2022) Instagram SMM significantly influences brand awareness − − Marketing personnel competence/creativity in content creation Brand awareness mediates effect on purchase decision
9 Jasin (2022) Positive effect on brand image Personal communication with consumers; responding to needs Recording consumer needs − Positive effect on purchase intention
10 Khan (2021) − Customer engagement level moderates SMMA-brand experience relationship − − SMMA influenced purchase intention through brand experience/attitude
11 Thomas et al. (2020) Product, promotion, brand introduction, promotional campaigns Customer relationship management − − −
12 Ali et al. (2023) Positive relationship between SMM and brand image perception; promoting new products and discounts Engaging with consumers; gathering real-time feedback Online surveys gathering consumer opinions to inform product diversification − Brand image drivers purchase intentions; discount promotions
13 Negara (2024) − Interaction is the SMM dimension with greatest impact − Customization and trendiness of content shaping decisions Customization, interaction, and trendiness drive purchase decisions
14 Lopez (2024) Effective content marketing makes the firm recognizable (brand recognition) High customer engagement significantly related to firm performance − Content production and content marketing organization drive firm performance −

3.4. Comparison of Popular Social Media Platforms for Businesses

Table 3. Comparison of popular social media platforms by domains.
Table 3. Comparison of popular social media platforms by domains.
Social Media Brand Awareness & Promotion Customer Engagement & Interaction Market Research & Insights Content Creation & Distribution Sales and Lead Generation
Facebook Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
TikTok Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes1
LinkedIn Yes Yes Yes Yes Partial1
Twitter/X Yes Yes Yes Yes Partial2
Instagram Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
YouTube Yes Partial2 Yes Yes Partial1
WhatsApp Partial3 Yes Partial4 Partial4 Yes6
Messenger Partial3 Yes Partial5 No Partial1
Pinterest Yes Partial2 Yes7 Yes Partial1
Notes:1Ads/shopping features present; no native storefront or review system. 2Limited to comments; no native DM at scale. 3No independent ad-targeting surface; routes through Meta Ads Manager. 4Limited to Business API messaging/catalog features, not broader tools. 5Basic metrics only, via Meta Business Suite. 6Direct catalog-based sales and conversational commercial via Business API. 7Pinterest trend tools explicitly supports audience and trend analysis. Sources: Meta Business Help Center (Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, WhatsApp features); TikTok for Busines Help Center; LinkedIn Marketing Solutions and LinkedIn Help; X (Twitter) for Business Help Center, WhatsApp Business Platform documentation (Meta for Developers); YouTube/Google Ads Help Center; Pinterest Business Help Center. All accessed 2026.

3.5. Social Media Potential Contribution in Business Industry based on Table 2

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Figure 3. Social media potential contribution in business industry.
Figure 3. Social media potential contribution in business industry.
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3.6. Keyword Co-Occurrence Analysis

To complement the domain-based synthesis, a keyword co-occurrence map was generated using VOSviewer based on the titles and abstract of the 14 included studies (binary counting, minimum term occurrence = 2). Of 410 candidate terms, 63 met the threshold, and the 38 most relevant terms were retained for mapping [Figure 4]. Four clustered emerged: a blue cluster centered on relationship, brand experience, activity, marketer, implication, gratifications theory, and brand loyalty; a yellow cluster centered on SMM, theory, customer engagement, criterium, and partial); a red cluster centered on social media, context, Instagram, advantage, and purposive sampling method; and a green cluster centered on business, promotion, platform, individual, regression analysis, and effort. The terms relationship and business occupied the most central positions, each linking across multiple clusters

4. Discussion and Detailed Analysis

Domain 1: Brand Awareness and Promotion
Brand awareness and promotion is addressed in 11 of the 14 studies, the second-most represented domain, and the findings converge on a consistent theme: awareness is driven by the quality and character of social media activity rather than its sheer volume. Zollo et al. [66] found that cognitive, personal-integrative, and social-integrative benefits derived from participating in brand communities significantly improved brand loyalty, awareness, and perceived quality, while hedonic did not, meaning not all forms of engagement translate into brand equity equally. Febrian et al. [12] reinforces this: content quality, interaction quality, and contact availability are the mechanisms that moderate the relationship between social media activity and brand outcomes among MSME online shoppers, not promotional frequency. Simbolon et al. [50] and Ali et al. [2] both confirm direct, measurable path from social media activity to brand perception — Instagram-based SMM significantly influencing brand awareness in the former, and a significant positive relationship between SMM effort and brand image perception in the latter, while Lopez [35] extends this to a firm-recognition outcome, finding that effective content marketing makes a business more recognizable to its market and provides competitive differentiation. Thomas and Rajendran [54] and Suartina et al. [51] support a more tactical reading, tying awareness to concrete promotional activity (Instagram-based product promotion and brand introduction; distribution-driven brand loyalty, respectively). Zeqiri et al. [64] is notable for testing this relationship across multiple emerging-economy context and finding a consistently positive SMM-to-brand-awareness effect, with country functioning only a moderator of the downstream brand-engagement-to-purchase-intention link, not of awareness itself, suggesting the awareness-building mechanism may generalize across markets more reliably than the domains further down the funnel.
Domain 2: Customer Engagement and Interaction
Customer engagement is now the most consistently represented domain in this study, appearing in 13 of the 14 studies, and unlike in the prior draft, several of these studies treat engagement as a genuine, measured construct rather than a background label. Khan [26] is the clearest example: customer engagement (high vs. low) is tested directly as a moderator of the relationship between social media marketing activities and brand experience, with the study finding that engagement level meaningful changes the strength of that relationship. Negara [39] similarly isolates interaction as one of four distinct SMM dimensions (alongside entertainment, customization, and trendiness) and finds it has the single greatest effect on purchase decisions of any dimension tested, a notable finding, since it suggests engagement is not just correlated with outcomes but may be the strongest lever among several. Lopez [35] supports this at the firm level, finding a significant relationship between customer engagement in social media and overall firm performance among SMEs. Several studies treat engagement more as a supporting mechanism than a central variable. Zollo et al. [66] and Febrian et al. [12] frame it as community participation and two-way communication that enables brand-equity outcomes; Jasin [25] and Ali et al. [2] describe it operationally as responding to customer needs and gathering real-time feedback; Sajane et al. [45], Infante et al. [23], and Thomas and Rajendran [54] treat it as a relationship-building and customer communication in support of business development. Only Simbolon et al. [50] does not clearly address engagement; its application discussion centers on internal marketing-personnel training rather than consumer-facing interaction. Taken together, this domain has shifted from “broad but shallow”, as it was in the previous version of this review, to “broad and, in several cases, genuinely well-operationalized”, a meaningfully stronger evidentiary picture than before.
Domain 3: Market Research and Insights
Market research and insights remains the least-represented domain, addressed only in 4 of the 14 studies, through the quality of evidence within those four stronger and more explicitly than in the prior review draft. Zeqiri et al. [64] offers the clearest case, finding that social media marketing provides consumer insights that help companies design more effective SMM strategies, a direct market-intelligence function tested across multiple emerging economies. Ali et al. [2] similarly reports that businesses use online surveys distributed via social media to gather consumer opinions specifically to inform product diversification decisions, a concrete and verifiable market-research application. Sajane et al. [45] and Jasin [25] round out the domain with narrower but still relevant findings, social media used for gathering market information and learning customer preferences [45], and recording consumer needs as operational business function [25]. Despite this being a stronger a set of findings than the previous review’s Domain 3 sample, the fundamental pattern holds: no study in this sample makes market research or competitive intelligence its central research question. In every case, market insight appears as a secondary or supporting function nested within a study primarily testing brand, engagement, or purchase-intention outcomes. This confirms, rather merely repeats, the conclusion from earlier drafts of this review: the empirical literature meaningfully under-investigates social media’s role as a firm-side listening and intelligence-gathering tool relative to its persuasion-facing functions. This gap is not a matter of platform capability. Table 3 shows that most major platforms already offer native analytics or audience-insights tools with clear market-research potential but a matter of research attention: the capability exists and is documented at the platform level, yet only a minority or empirical business studies have tested its actual value to firms.
Domain 4: Content Creation and Distribution
Content creation and distribution is addressed in 6 of the 14 studies, and as with Domain 3, the quality of the evidence has improved even though the count remains modest. Lopez [35] and Negara [39] now anchor this domain with genuine content-strategy findings rather than incidental mentions: Lopez finds that content production practices and content marketing organization have a significant influence on firm performance, while Negara finds that content customization and trendiness are among the SMM dimensions that significantly shape purchase decisions. Zollo et al. [66] and Febrian et al. [12] continue to support the domain by identifying content quality and informativeness, rather than promotional volume, as the operative mechanism behind their respective brand-equity findings, and Simbolon et al. [50] notes that marketing personnel’s competence and creativity in content creation is a business-facing recommendation, though this sits closer to an operational capability than a tested content-strategy finding. None of the six studies examines SEO or hashtag strategy specifically, and only Lopez and Negara treat content as a variable with a measured relationship to a business outcome, the remainder describe content quality descriptively as a contributing factor within a broader brand of engagement finding. Content strategy therefore remains comparatively under-tested relative to Domains 1, 2, and 5.
Domain 5: Sales and Lead Generation
Sales and lead generation is addressed in 9 of the 14 studies, and a striking pattern emerges across this domain: purchase intention and purchase decision function as a convergent dependent variable across nearly half the entire sample. Zeqiri et al. [64], Setiawan et al. [49], Jasin [25], Khan [26], Ali et al. [2], and Negara [39], six of the 14 studies, all test some variant of purchase intention or purchase decision as an outcome, typically as the final step in a mediated chain running from SMM activity through brand awareness, brand image, or engagement. This is methodologically significant: it suggests the reviewed literature has converged on purchase intention as the field’s preferred proxy for :sales effectiveness”, rather than measuring realized transactions or revenue directly, a limitation worth stating plainly, since intention and actual purchase behavior are not equivalent. Simbolon et al. [50] most directly bridges this gap, finding that brand awareness mediates the effect of social media marketing specifically on purchase decision (not merely intention) for a real e-commerce transaction context (Bulog products on Shopee). Sajane et al. [45] and Infante et al. [23] report more general sales-promotion and market-expansion effects without a specific purchase-stage measurement. Notably, three studies in this sample, Suartina et al. [51], Thomas and Rajendran [54], and Lopez [35], do not report a sales-or-purchase-related finding at all, instead concluding at the level of brand loyalty, customer relationships, or firm performance respectively, suggesting these three studies treat sales as an implied rather than directly tested outcome.
Social Media Potential Contribution in Business Industry
Figure 3 presents the proportional distribution of the five domains derived from Table 2. Customer engagement and interaction accounts for the largest share of social media’s demonstrated contribution (13 of 14 studies, 30% of total domain mentions across the sample), followed by Brand Awareness and Promotion (11 of 14, 26%), Sales and Lead Generation (9 of 14, 21%), Content Creation and Distribution (6 of 14, 14%), Content Creation and Distribution (6 of 14, 14%), and Market Research and Insights, the smallest share (4 of 14, 9%). This distribution is consistent with findings reported in the broader social media marketing literature. The prominence of engagement and brand-related outcomes is supported by Kulikovskaja et al. [28], who identified social media-based customer engagement as a significant driver of marketing outcomes like customer loyalty and positive word-of-mouth, and by Wang et al. [59], who demonstrate that active interaction within online brand communities fosters psychological involvement, directly increasing brand loyalty and purchase intention. This engagement enhances brand identity and trust, driven by factors such as interactivity, social belonging, and a mix of entertaining and informative content. These findings is tailored in the present results, in which customer engagement is addressed as a central construct in the majority of the 14 included studies.
On the other hand, the comparatively limited contribution of Market Research and Insights is similarly consistent with prior studies. Hassani & Mosconi [20] reported that by utilizing social media analytics as an intelligence-gathering and learning tool, manufacturing SMEs can process user-generated content across four key phases—planning, collection, analysis, and dissemination of information to drastically improve their dynamic capabilities and adapt to volatile markets, while Kumar et al. [29] examined social media role acting as an engine for MSME growth by providing data analytics, market research, and direct consumer insights that drive agile business and marketing decisions. Both studies indicate that the market-research function of social media is empirically supported but represents one input among several in firm decision-making, rather than a dominant function. This is content with present study findings that only 4 of the 14 (9%) included studies address this domain directly. Overall, social media’s most consistently demonstrated contribution to business outcomes lies in brand awareness and customer engagement, with its contribution to market research and insights remaining comparatively limited in the empirical literature.
Keyword Co-occurrence Analysis
The keyword co-occurrence map reinforces the domain-level findings reported above, while also surfacing a methodological pattern that was not directly evident from the manual coding process alone. Four clusters emerged, each corresponding to a distinct facet of how reviewed literature frames and studies social media marketing.
The blue cluster (relationship, brand experience, activity, market, brand loyalty, grounded in Uses and Gratification Theory) corresponds most closely to Domain 1 reflecting studies such as Zollo et al. [66] and Zeqiri et al. [64] that frame consumers as active gratification-seekers whose sustained brand engagement produces loyalty overtime. The yellow cluster (SMM, theory, customer engagement, criterium, partial, the latter two truncated fragments of “criteria” and partial least squares”) aligns with Domain 2, confirming that customer engagement is consistently modeled as a formal latent construct via PLS-SEM rather than discussed descriptively. The red cluster (social media, Instagram, advantage, purposive sampling method) spans Domain 1 and 5, reflecting Instagram-focused studies (e.g., Simbolon et al. [50]) that test platform-driven business advantage using non-probability sampling. The green cluster (business, promotion, platform, regression analysis) is the most practitioner-facing grouping, bridging Domains 1 and 5, with business and relationship acting as central nodes linking across all four clusters.
This clustering also reveals that the reviewed studies converge heavily on a shared analytical toolkit, PLS-SEM with purposive sampling, suggesting findings across the literature may partly reflect a common methodological approach rather than fully independent replication.
Most notably, no cluster surfaced terminology for Domain 3 (market research) or Domain 4 (content creation), even after relaxing the threshold to admit 38 of 63 qualifying terms. This absence held across every threshold test, ruling out an overly strict filter as the cause and instead indicating a genuine underrepresentation of this language in the literature. This independently confirms the manual domain-coding results that Domains 3 and 4 were the least represented (4 and 6 of 14 studies), and the convergence of two independent confirms the manual domain-coding and automated text-mining, strengthens confidence in the reviews conclusion” social media’s market-intelligence and content strategy functions remain comparatively under-examined relative to its brand-and engagement-facing functions.
Cross-Study Patterns and Heterogeneity
Two structural patterns are worth naming explicitly. First, the sample is geographically concentrated: seven of the 14 studies are set in Indonesia [12,23,25,39,49,50], three in India [2,45,54], one in Saudi Arabia [26], one explicitly in the Philippines [35], one spanning multiple emerging economies [64], and one in Western luxury-fashion context [66]. Khan’s Saudi Arabian setting adds a Middle Eastern data point this sample previously lacked entirely, which is worth noting explicitly since it means the review’s evidence base is not confined to South and Southeast, though the seven-study Indonesian cluster still dominates the sample and should be read as the primary driver of generalizability limits. Conclusions from review remain most confidently applicable to Southeast and South Asian MSME/SME context, with the Saudi Arabian and multi-country emerging-economy studies [26,64] offering a modest basis for cautious extension to other emerging market, but not to Western, East Asian, or African contexts, none of which appear in this sample. Second, the sample is methodologically homogeneous: nearly all 14 studies now appear to be primary quantitative surveys studies using SEM, PLS-SEM, or comparable path-modeling techniques, rather than the mix of conceptual essays and literature reviews present in the earlier sample. This is a genuine improvement for comparability across studies, through it introduces a different limitation worth naming — with almost every study relying on self-reported survey data and non-probability or purposive sampling (explicitly acknowledged as a limitation in Khan [26]; Jasin [25]; and Simbolon et al. [50]), the review’s evidence base is now more internally consistent in method but also uniformly exposed to common-method bias and limited external validity from convenience-based samples.

5. Conclusions

This systematic review examined 14 empirical studies to determine how social media contributes to business marketing across five domains: brand awareness and promotion, customer engagement and interaction, market research and insights, content creation and distribution, and sales and lead generation. The findings confirm that social media has become an integral tool for businesses of all sizes, offering direct channels for communication, brand building, and consumer insight were previously unavailable or considerably more costly through traditional marketing. Customer engagement and interaction emerged as the most consistently represented domain, appearing in 13 of the 14 studies, followed closely by brand awareness and promotion in 11 studies. Sales and lead generation, frequently operationalized through purchased intention rather than realized transaction, was addressed in 9 studies, while content creation and distribution appeared in 6. Market research and insights was the least represented domain, present in only 4 studies, despite most major platforms offering native analytics and audience-insight tools. This finding was independently corroborated by a supplementary keyword co-occurrence analysis, which found no cluster of terms corresponding to market research or content creation even after relaxing the term-selection threshold, reinforcing that this gap reflects genuine pattern in the literature rather than an artifact of the domain-coding process. This suggests that empirical literature has concentrated disproportionately on persuasion-facing functions of social media, such as building awareness and driving engagement, while its potential as a firm-side intelligence-gathering tool remains comparatively under-examined.

5.1. Theoretical and Practical Implications

Theoretically, this review contributes a five-domain framework that consolidates a fragmented body of literature into a structure that can guide future empirical work, and it identifies market research and insights as a domain warranting greater scholarly attention relative to its documented platform-level capability. Practically, the findings offer several implications for business. First, firms should prioritize consistent, high-quality, and interactive content over sheer posting volume, since content and engagement quality, rather than promotional frequency, were repeatedly identified as the mechanisms driving brand outcomes. Second, platform selection should be guided by target audience and business objectives, as platforms such as Instagram and TikTok favor visually oriented products while LinkedIn and Twitter/X better support B2B relationship-building and real-time customer service. Third, small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in particular stand to benefit from treating social media analytics as a market-research tool, not only a promotional channel, to better understand customer needs and inform product decisions. Finally, because organizational readiness and management support were found to influence adoption and performance outcomes, businesses should invest in building internal social media capability alongside their external-facing strategies.
These conclusions should be interpreted in light of the review’s limitations. The included studies are geographically concentrated, with seven of the 14 set in Indonesia, limiting generalizability primarily to Southeast and South Asian SME contexts. Nearly all studies also relied on self-reported survey data and non-probability sampling, exposing the evidence base to common-method bias. Future research should test five-domain framework in Western. East Asian, and African contexts, and should give particular attention to the market research and insights domain, where platform capability appears to outpace empirical investigation of its business value.

Author Contributions

Conceptualization, N.A.A.; methodology, N.A.A.; software, N.A.A.; validation, N.A.A.; formal analysis, N.A.A.; investigation, N.A.A.; resources, N.A.A.; data curation, N.A.A.; writing—original draft preparation, N.A.A.; writing—review and editing, N.A.A.; visualization, N.A.A.; supervision, N.A.A.; project administration, N.A.A. The author has read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

Funding

This research received no external funding.

Institutional Review Board Statement

Not applicable.

Data Availability Statement

The data supporting the findings of this review are derived from the 14 published studies cited in Table 1, all of which are publicly available through their respective publishers. No new data were created.

Acknowledgments

During the preparation of this manuscript, the author use Grammarly for the purposes of grammar and language editing. The author has reviewed and edited the output and takes full responsibility for the content of this publication.

Conflicts of Interest

The author declare no conflict of interest.

Abbreviations

The following abbreviations are used in this manuscript:
SMM Social Media Marketing
SMMA Social Media Marketing Activities
e-WOM (Electronic) Word-of-Mouth
SME Small and Medium Enterprises
MSME Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises
SEO Search Engine Optimization
SEM Search Engine Marketing
PLS-SEM Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling
UGC User-Generated Content
ROI Return of Investment
PRISMA Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses
API Application Programming Interface
KOL Key Opinion Leader
B2B Business-to-Business
VOSviewer (software name – not an acronym, but worth on a footnote identifying it as bibliometric mapping software, version 1.6.21)

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Figure 1. PRISMA flowchart of study selection and inclusion process.
Figure 1. PRISMA flowchart of study selection and inclusion process.
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Figure 2. The 5 domains where social media impacted Business Industry.
Figure 2. The 5 domains where social media impacted Business Industry.
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Figure 4. Keyword Co-occurrence map.
Figure 4. Keyword Co-occurrence map.
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