DIGITAL MARKETING AND PERFORMANCE OF SMALL AND MEDIUM SCALE ENTERPRISES IN ONDO STATE.

In today’s rapidly evolving business landscape, digital marketing has become a pivotal tool for small and medium-scale enterprises (SMEs) to enhance their visibility, attract customers, and drive growth. For SMEs in Ondo State, Nigeria, leveraging digital marketing strategies such as social media, search engine optimization, and email campaigns presents a significant opportunity to improve business performance. This study investigates the impact of digital marketing on the performance of SMEs in Ondo State with specific attention on the effect of social media marketing, email marketing and search engine marketing on the performance of SMEs in Ondo State The study employed survey research design on a population 3000 SMES in Ondo State taking 398 registered SMEs in Ondo state as the sample size which was derived using Taro Yamane formula. Primary were collected with the use of a structured questionnaire and were analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics. The findings revealed that Social media marketing was found to have a positive and significant impact on SME performasce, with a coefficient of 0.46, indicating that a 1-unit increase in social media marketing results in a 46% increase in SME performance. Email marketing also showed a positive and significant relationship with SME performance, with a coefficient of 0.35, meaning a 35% increase in performance for every unit increase in email marketing efforts and Search engine marketing (SEM) had a positive impact with a coefficient of 0.42, indicating that a 1-unit increase in SEM leads to a 42% improvement in SME performance. The study concluded that that adoption of digital marketing has a direct and significant impact on the performance of SMEs in Ondo State. The study recommended that to improve digital marketing adoption, SMEs in Ondo State should invest in training programs to enhance digital literacy. Government and institutions should offer financial incentives and provide affordable internet access. SMEs should focus on strategic investments in SEM, leveraging SEO and PPC for better online visibility. Additionally, consistent social media campaigns and personalized email marketing should be prioritized to strengthen customer relationships and drive sales.