Social media marketing adoption and usage within the Irish Dairy Sector.

Abstract

The agri-food sector in Ireland contributes €24 billion to the national economy, and export values for dairy ingredients and product has surpassed €3 billion. This figure represents a 15% growth on 2012 and indicates Ireland’s dairy sector had a strong performance in global markets. Irish butter and cheese manufacturing grew by 4.9% and 3.2% correspondingly in 2013, while whole milk powder and skimmed milk powder declined by 6.5% and 11.9%. (BordBia, 2014; DCMNR, 2013; Teagasc, 2014). Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) account for 99% of businesses in the enterprise economy in Ireland and almost 70% of people employed (DJEI, 2014). The revolution of the internet as a communication channel has changed the way people conduct business. For SMEs, social media marketing (SMM) has changed the shape and nature of their businesses (Dahnil, Marzuki, Langgat, & Fabeil, 2014; DJEI, 2014). SMEs avail of SMM because of the market opportunities it promises; although, adopting SMM is not without its challenges.