Predictors of Social Media Utilization as a Tool for Communication in Hospitality Industry: A Case Study of Accra Metropolis

Abstract

The study focused on examining the extent of social media usage in the hospitality industry; determine the factors influencing the utilization of the social media (SM) as a marketing tool; identify the most frequently used social media network; and, finally, examined the examine the benefits of utilizing the social media as a communication tool in the hospitality industry, in the Accra Metropolis, Ghana. A purposive sampling technique was used to select a total of 500 participants. Data collected was analyzed using appropriate descriptive and inferential statistics. Results revealed that that majority of the employees use the social media as a communication tool to a large extent. Also, the study also established that the factors influencing the utilization of the social media as a marketing tool in the hospitality industry in the Accra Metropolis, were “Perceived usefulness”, “Perceived ease of use”, “Social influence”, “Availability of internet facility”, “ICT knowledge of staff”, “Low charges from internet service providers”, “Management support”, and “Entrepreneurial orientation”. Furthermore, findings indicate that employees in the study area generally agreed that the most frequently use social media network for marketing in the hospitality industry are more related first to Facebook, secondly to WhatsApp, followed by Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube, with Flickr been the least use social media for marketing in the hospitality industry. Finally, “SM helps hotels to advertise to customers”, “SM utilization reduce costs and increase productivity”, “SM provide platform for obtaining feedback”, “SM utilization increase brand awareness and loyalty”, “SM provides platform for engagement with customers”, “SM helps in disseminating information faster”, “SM increase the visibility of hotels”, and “SM utilization improve customer experience” were the benefits of utilizing the social media as a communication tool. It was however recommended that, management of hotels should endeavour to provide communication devices that will enable employees to exchange information about hotel services, provide critiques of ambiance, and share service experiences.

Keywords: Predictors, Social-Media, Communication, Tool, Hospitality