EFFECT OF SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS ON SMEs CUSTOMER ENGAGEMENT IN NORTHWESTERN NIGERIA

The study examines the relationship between social media platforms and SMEs’ customer engagement in North Western Nigeria. Statistical analyses were based on the data collected, through survey questionnaire from 396 SMEs in North western Nigeria. Partial Least Square (PLS) method was used to investigate the relationship between the study variables. The study found that content strategy and customer behavior factor significantly influence customer engagement, whereas influencing factors do not exhibit a statistically significant relationship. The study concludes that there is significant relationship between content strategy and customer behavior factor and customer engagement. However, the influencing factors did not exhibit a statistically significant relationship with customer engagement. The study recommends that SMEs in North-western Nigeria should prioritize the development and refinement of content strategies tailored to the local context, encouraged to focus on understanding and analyzing customer behavior patterns unique to North-western Nigeria. Similarly considering the unique regional context, SMEs should explore and utilize social media platforms specific to Northwestern Nigeria and facilitate collaboration and knowledge sharing among SMEs operating within the region can foster an environment for sharing best practices and insights