Small businesses in Wales have always been the bread and butter for customers looking to shop local and support members of their community. Covid-19 changed the way these small businesses were able to keep going. Social media became the new local high street with new and old businesses springing up to sell their wares.

In that sense not all news surrounding Covid has been bad news, people are now able to live their dreams and create a bigger online community.

With all the negativity and heartache surrounding Covid this small beacon of light in the success of these small businesses is something positive to focus on and celebrate thanks to social media. Social media is a free and relatively easy tool that businesses can use for their marketing campaigns with features being added to Instagram and Facebook to purchase directly from the business via the app. A study into the effects of social media as a marketing tool is being conducted by a Cardiff Metropolitan University Student, Carys Jones.

Carys’ study is looking at how the use of social media marketing tools have affected small businesses during the pandemic, be it in a positive or a negative sense. The research findings will assist small businesses in understanding how having a social media presence can impact their business and their businesses growth online.

Carys, an MSc Digital Marketing Masters student, is looking for owners and manager of small businesses with a social media presence in the South Wales area to share their experiences of using these tools during the pandemic by contributing to an online survey.

To complete this survey please click here. For any questions around the topic or about the survey, please contact Carys.