Brian Ngo, Teja Tetala, Gabe Marques

Professor Barbara Presnell

UWRT 1104

February 14th, 2017

Social Media and Thriving Businesses

Naslund, Amber and Baer, Jay. “Capitalize on "the Opportunity Economy.” Communication

World, vol. 29, no. 1, International Association of Business Communicators, Jan. 2012.

Jay Baer, a social media strategy consultant, and Amber Naslund, the vice president of
strategy at Radian6, were both authors on the same article, “Capitalize on the Opportunity
economy.” This article went in depth about how social media enables people to deliver their just
in time marketing to their audience but at the same time making sure that the message is relevant
and authentic to the creator. The article discussed about how social media is not just about
planned campaigns and editorial calendars, but instead more about personalizing a relevant offer
to the mind of a customer. Opportunity economy is all about contextually appropriate, just in
time marketing. By doing so, you’ll find a chance to engage with a potential customer and make
the most of it. One of the key points that this article discussed was about how every location has
an opportunity for growth. Musician Dave Carroll has been praised for his YouTube video,
“United Breaks Guitars” not because it has been viewed approximately 10 million times, but
because of the impact his video has had on the way businesses react and respond to issues
brought up by consumers. Only four days after Carroll had posted his YouTube video was when
the brand that had been played by Carroll, Taylor Guitars, decided to respond back to Carroll via
YouTube video. The video featured Bob Taylor, the company’s cofounder, in the company’s
factory service center addressing “the issues of interest to guitar players,” said Chalisse Zolezzi,
Taylor Guitars public relations manager. This just goes to show how Taylor Guitars took
advantage of an opportunity that they saw they could help resolve and by doing just that they
were able to capitalize on the opportunity economy. At the same time, they were able to
effectively market themselves when that wasn’t eve their intended purpose to do so.
Personally, I enjoyed reading this article very much. Jay Baer and Amber Naslund did an
amazing job creating this article together because they just seemed to have so much personal
knowledge regarding the opportunity economy and the steps that they provided in which the
average person whether it be a new upcoming entrepreneur or college student like myself could
follow in order to succeed is something that I now have the knowledge of and it’s something that
I will keep in the back of my mind and use for the rest of my life thanks to them. This article
opened a new perspective for me on just how useful a tool social media really can be and how
with just a little bit of practice and patience, social media can open doors for opportunities for
people that are just not available anywhere else. I would definitely recommend reading this
article to anyone else who is curious about how social media can be related to the economy or for
anyone who just wants to be informed about how they can take advantage of social media for
their own personal knowledge and gain.

Lorenz, Taylor. “Making a Living Before Making It Big on YouTube.” The Atlantic, Atlantic

Media Company, 28 Aug. 2018, www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2018/08/how-

would-be-social-media-stars-earn-money-until-they-hit-youtube-fame/568789/.

The article “Making a Living Before Making It Big on YouTube”, by Taylor Lorenz
starts off by introducing the world's largest and most successful video social media platform,
Youtube, of which, there are many individuals who are pursuing the life and career of a
YouTube Star. This is from many people born into Generation Z, idolizing online Yotube
celebrities compared to a traditional celebrity. The younger entrepreneurs are aiming to be some
of the biggest influencers such as PewDiePie, Jake Paul, Logan Paul, and Lele Pons. However,
many people on this path are not starting on YouTube, but, by partnering with smaller video
apps. The statistics provided for one wannabe social media celebrity Gabriel Stevens are 86,000
followers on Live.ly, 42,000 on Instagram, and 3,500 on YouTube. Many young entrepreneurs
like Stevens will partner with smaller startup apps in hopes to make revenue and blow up in
popularity. The smaller apps market to mid-level creators such as Stevens in hopes of touching
new audiences and receive higher quality content, in hopes to become, YouTube. The sacrifices
with trusting these apps are the high shutdown rates that can happen at any moment. On top of
that issues are the time investment people are putting into these apps, these individuals are
missing out on opportunities, parties, and homework. While others who need to stay afloat are
required to get a job. Some describe the opportunity of app endorsement as better than the
support of friends and family. Lastly, the upside to the entire process is creating an entire
economy of “self-sustaining strivers”.
Personally, I found this article to be very informed regarding people pursuing a YouTube
career. Initially, I thought that the only way for individuals to become famous was to gain a
following through other large social media platforms such as Instagram, Twitter, or Snapchat and
guide your followers into your channel. For people who did not have large followings, the only
way was to start on YouTube and constantly post in hopes to rack up a following. It shocks me to
hear about smaller video apps that I did not know exist utilized as tools to get people to the top. I
wish the article went more in-depth about the correlation between the smaller apps and
YouTube. For example, Gabriel had a very large following on Live.ly, but, only a small
following on YouTube. Did he promote his channel at all or was just hoping to that the app
would flourish? How much money was he able to make in comparison to other YouTubers?
Lastly, I would like a comparison between strategies to become famous. Specifically, the data
regarding how current YouTube’s became famous, and the different strategies are are currently
being taken.
Wallace, David. “How Small Business Can Benefit from Social Media/Networking Sites.” Agency

Sales, vol. 42, no. 8, Manufacturers’ Agents National Association, Aug. 2012, pp. 16–20,

http://search.proquest.com/docview/1151389378/.

The article “How Small Business can Benefit from Social Media/Networking Sites”,
written by David Wallace, co-founder and CEO of SearchRank, explains how many rising
businesses obtain several benefits from using social media as a platform. Specifically, this article
discusses 8 topics. The first benefit of social media sites is Branding Opportunities. The
simplicity and catchiness of the names allows customers to be drawn to the brand and easily
access the company site without a hassle. The second benefit is Build Link Popularity. The
websites need good content, good SEO, and good links. The third benefit is Attracting Traffic.
Using social media to display your content to those who may find the content useful is how a
business build. The fourth benefit is Interaction with the Public. It’s not just about having a
customer service where the customers can call if they need to inquire something, but instead it’s
providing a more welcoming and persuasive stock. The fifth benefit is Networking
Opportunities. Networking is a large benefit for any career. Online business can make use of
networking to perhaps get shout outs or get one to advertise their product on their large follower
base. The sixth benefit is using social media (Twitter specifically) as a tool. According to the
article, the blogging platform has over six million users, and is a perfect opportunity for anyone
to connect with others. The seventh benefit is that it Puts a Human Face on the Company. When
the company to become more personable, customers to feel more connected and less intimidated.
The eight benefit is Community Outreach. Time is money and with Twitter you can reach out to
the community with a 140-character simple tweet, and you can do so whenever it’s necessary.
Personally, I found this article to be quite interesting. Firstly, I noticed that the author is a
CEO, which establish credibility for his points. David Wallace has been involved with
developing search engine and social media campaigns (Wallace). It provides value to each
benefit he provided and distinguishes this essay from an ordinary observer of social media. The
article was concise; however, I feel like the article could use more in-depth explanations or
include more examples to elaborate on the given benefits. It was more of a short, brief list than
an analysis of studies done. Regardless, the article contained valuable information for our inquiry
question. I learned that the biggest benefits social media provides are time efficiency, cost, and
attraction for small businesses, and the article provided 11 solid benefits presented using social
media, which I further examined on my own. I found that many others have similar observations
as the findings presented in this article. Personally, I would recommend this article for those who
want a brief understanding of the benefits social media brings about, without having the hassle of
reading an extensive study and research results.