Social Media Marketing Strategy and Cooperative Member Participation:

A Systematic Review

Abstract

The advent of social media has transformed marketing practices globally, offering new avenues for businesses to interact with consumers, influence their buying behaviors, and build brand loyalty. This research studies social media marketing and cooperative member participation in Enugu State, Nigeria. A systematic review based on the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) protocols analyzed 235 articles published between 2010 and 2026; identifying 35 empirical research that matched the inclusion criteria. The results showed that being a member of a cooperative involves being aware of services and activities, taking part in governance (such AGMs and voting), communicating with other members, and helping the cooperative stay strong. Elements of social media marketing, like interaction and electronic word-of-mouth (EWOM), promote engagement by harnessing the democratic ethos of cooperatives to modify how members act and stay loyal. Contests and other entertainment aspects encourage individuals to get active, which is in line with Igbo community values. SMM in Enugu State is affected by platform fragmentation and a lack of resources, but it performs a wonderful job of reaching out to specific demographics, with 20–30% more engagement on preferred channels. SMM's speed makes up for the slow pace of democracy, and it helps cooperatives stay relevant with member-focused digital tactics. In summary, social media marketing holds a lot of promise for getting Nigerian consumer cooperatives' members more active, but there isn't much real-world information yet about the quality of the content, how often it is seen, and how the platforms are used, especially in Enugu State.