Estrategias de marketing digital por medio de redes sociales en el contexto de las PYMES del Ecuador

. With the advent of technology, the use of social networks has become the main way to make advertisements and reach the consumer or end customer, however in Ecuador few companies take advantage of these new advertising channels. OBJECTIVE. This article describes an exploratory documentary study on digital marketing through the use of social networks by small and medium enterprises (SMEs). METHOD. The study began with a bibliographic review of scientific databases on digital marketing strategies. Subsequently, websites were searched with observatories and commercial figures in the field of social networks. Finally, statistics on the use of social networks in SMEs were identified. RESULTS The results showed that 82% of SMEs in Ecuador access the Internet, but their use is limited to sending emails and administrative tasks. The study identified that large corporations, having more resources or teams responsible for communication, take advantage of social networks with real advertising campaigns. In this context until the end of 2017 the most used social networks were: Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS. The evident growth of users in these social networks in Ecuador, is perhaps a new challenge, which will require an internal reorientation and the approach of new ways of relating to their customers.