Katsiaryna Yeutukhova
Tod Gilmore
BUSA 405
Chapter 9 Case
March 18, 2020
Shelby’s Stables
9-39.
According to our textbook, “general social networking sites are broadly based and are
designed to appeal to all demographics, regardless of gender, age, race, income, or education.”
General sites provide venues for interpersonal communication, which makes it a place for
individuals to stay in touch, share events, and meet new people. “Facebook is the most well–
known general social networking” (p. 254). Now, a niche social networking site focuses on more
specific groups of people, that are united by the same interest or a hobby. Shelby’s stables offer
services like rented space for horses with grooming, clean-up, feeding, and walking; horse rides
to demographic groups; hosts celebration events with photos; horse-riding lessons to all groups
(most popular among teenage girls); and local charities with disabilities, illness, injuries. Since
Shelby’s business is relatively small and local and she has a limited amount of capital that she set
aside for marketing purposes, I think that it would make more sense for her to focus on niche
social networking. One, it will increase her chance of getting directly to those who are interested
in horses. Two, it will save her money from being spent on the wrong audience that might not be
interested in her services. Three, she will have a greater chance of receiving word-of-mouth
marketing since people usually hang around people with similar interests.
9-40.
Even though Facebook is general social networking, it has groups and pages that could be
specific to the interest, hobby, or a geographical location. For example, I follow my town’s
Facebook page for updates and news. In Shelby’s case, since a horse stable can’t be moved
around and it is tied to a specific location, she should target people in that area. To do so, she can
use Facebook pages of the towns close to her stables and place advertisements there. She could
also use the websites of schools in the area since kids and teens are the ones who are the most
interested in horses. It was mentioned that Shelby works with local charities for people with
disabilities; she can place her ads on their websites, so that the people who are interested in local
charities will also see the ad. Other possible websites are gyms and YMCA’s. For the most part,
people who go to the gym live an active lifestyle so they will probably be interested in outdoor
activities such as horse-riding.
