The Role of Social Media for Business Sustainability: A Study on Profit Performance Among Micro and Small Enterprises in Parit Raja, Johor

The rapid growth of social media platforms has transformed the way micro and small enterprises (MSEs) engage with customers and market their products. Despite the increasing reliance on digital marketing, many MSEs struggle to effectively integrate social media advertising, customer insights, and relationship management into their business strategies. Understanding how these elements influence profit performance is crucial for ensuring sustainable business growth. However, limited research exists on the direct effects of social media usage on MSE profitability, particularly in Parit Raja, Johor. This study explores the relationship between social media advertising, MSE awareness of customer views on social media, and social media as customer relationship management (CRM) in driving profit performance. Using an exploratory descriptive quantitative approach, data were collected from 100 MSE respondents through a structured survey. The study aims to identify patterns in digital marketing adoption, customer engagement, and business profitability among local entrepreneurs. Findings reveal a strong positive correlation between social media engagement and profit performance, with social media as CRM showing the highest impact (r = 0.772), followed by MSE awareness of customer views (r = 0.750) and social media advertising (r = 0.612). The results suggest that businesses that actively engage customers, analyze consumer insights, and utilize targeted advertising experience higher profitability and business growth. Additionally, the study identifies interconnections among these variables, emphasizing that a thorough digital strategy improves business outcomes. The research highlights emerging digital entrepreneurship trends, such as TikTok (30%) being the preferred platform for business promotion and the dominance of young female entrepreneurs (76%) in digital business adoption. The study recommends expanding future research to diverse business sectors and regions, incorporating multilingual survey options to enhance inclusivity. The findings contribute to the growing literature on social media-driven business performance and provide practical insights for MSEs seeking to optimize digital engagement for long-term profitability.