Question

Topic: Student Questions

Title:social Media- Small Business Kiss Of Death?

Posted by Anonymous on 9/9/2011 at 6:39 AM ET 250 Points
Hi Everyone.

I have been reading some very interesting questions and answers on this site (specifically from Gary Bloomer), that have given me a lot of food for thought regarding my marketing thesis working title.

I am currently working for a new agency in the fashion industry in Thailand, which is based for the EU and Asian markets and has international and local presence. I therefore had planned on doing my thesis based on how viral marketing and social media is feasible for the small firm, and what impact it can have on business sales, leads and brand image.

However, the more i research social media and the more i get involved from a business point of view, it is becoming apparent that perhaps too much time is spent on social media for a small firm which actually does not lead to more sales etc just more time wasted "chatting" on social media sites and not enough time concentrated on actually running and developing a business.

My point: my initial thesis idea, as like many others on this site it seems, has a; been overly done and b; lead to the same conclusion i'm already getting. Seems a waste of time......

Therefore i would like to change my focus of the thesis to see whether actually social media is important to a small/new firm (not forgetting the international and fashion aspects of the firm i work for i want to base my thesis on) or actually hinders initial growth. I am struggling to find a good working title and direction though. Any thoughts???

Thanks for taking the time to read my conundrum!
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RESPONSES

  • Posted by Gary Bloomer on 9/9/2011 at 8:34 PM Accepted
    Dear Kaye66,

    First, thank you. I hope my opinions have been of some value. Second, consider forgetting all about social media.

    What? Has Bloomer's become a heretic? No. Wait. Read. Perhaps even learn. Forget the vehicles (which really, is what people are talking about when they talk about social media: Facebook, YouTube, Twitter_these things are NOT social media, they are the PORTALS, the gateways INTO vast gathering spots in which people act in the way that they act when they BELIEVE they are in the presence of like minds: they socialize in order to fit in and in order to be seen to be fitting in. Social media is thus about liking, being liked, and about being SEEN to like and be liked within one's circles and inside the circles into which one wants to become a member: one of the elect.

    All this stuff about viral marketing is utter bollocks (and God, how I loathe it when some idiot says "Let's make a viral video!" because setting out to do so pretty much ALWAYS results in something that in truth is little more than a damp fart).

    As a general rule, most marketing is about selling. This is a) wrong, and b) a mistake. In truth, marketing's job is to ... wait for it ... can you guess? If you said "increase revenue" CON-GRATU-BLOODY-LATIONS! You win a prize.

    By the same token, social media has BUGGER ALL to do with selling, OR, come to think of it, much to do with marketing. Social media's business role is to create, gasp, communities of like minded, similar thinking souls so that those souls can be seen to be liked (see above).

    Social media is today what chatting to your neighbour over the garden fence was 40 years ago. Except now, those neighbours can be EVERYWHERE. Social media's community role is thus to rebuild the notion of a tribe and it's in this regard that, when it comes to polishing a brand, social media CAN help.

    Strong brands need powerful advocates. Powerful advocates need to feel, think, and BELIEVE with every fiber of their being that the brand has not only met their needs, and but that it's also exceeded their expectations and read their mind with uncanny accuracy to meet needs that they, as brand users were as yet unaware that they had! How freaking cool is THAT?

    So, social media is less important than you might think (and less important than many people have been led to believe). What's of greater importance is the notion of creating and SUSTAINING a sense of commonality in order to create and fuel a community. There in lies the nub of what might well be a KICK ASS thesis that will stand out against the thesis of every one else by virtue of it zagging while everyone else (and his or her dog) is zigging.

    I hope this helps. And keep in touch if I can help off forum.

    Kind regards,

    Gary Bloomer
    Princeton, NJ, USA

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