Chinatown Small Business – Lit Review – Stony Brook Media Showcase

Small Businesses’ Use of Social Media

Social media has been proven helpful to businesses, or firms, of any size. Customers’ social media participation on customer visit frequency and profitability suggest that there are correlations on social media participation that “positively influences customers’ intensity of relationship with the firm in terms of their frequency of visits” and “improves firm profitability” (Rishika et al., 2013, pp. 118-120). Social media provides businesses with the tools to engage customers, receiving direct feedback, engaging in social interaction, and enhancing customer experience, which can enhance customer identification and relationship with a business. (Rishika et al., 2013). Social media also provides small businesses with social networks to observe consumer trends, provide a cost-effective way to market products and services, and increase customers’ brand awareness (Jorgensen et al., 2022).

However, small businesses can face obstacles when adopting social media. The main limitation identified was lacking additional time to be consistent with communication technologies as small business owners have many other responsibilities (Jorgensen et al., 2022). In addition, there are limited resources including financial constraints and the lack of ability or knowledge to use these technologies to manage and disseminate engaging content. Jorgensen et al. (2022) used a combined model of Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) — which encompasses perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness when looking at how people adopt new technologies — and Diffusion of Innovation, which identifies how, why, and at what rate ideas and technologies are adopted, to assess the use and acceptance of technology by small, family-owned businesses. The results of the study found that small businesses in America that are newer, located in urban areas, and owned or managed by younger people were more likely to use communication technologies. Although 18% of the sample did not use social media for their business, 71.6% used Facebook, 49.7% used Instagram, and 40.3% used X, formerly known as Twitter.

Jorgensen et al. (2022) cited that because of social media’s perceived usefulness to a businesses’ sales, there is pressure to join. Tsimonis and Dimitriadis (2014) cited similar factors of social media popularity and competitors on social media as a reason to join, in hopes it will provide an advantage. Perceived usefulness was valued more than perceived ease of use because even if business owners found the technology easy to use, they did not necessarily find it useful. However, the more business owners found communication technologies useful, the higher their perceived level of business. Although simply using social media was not considered directly linked to the business’ success (Jorgensen et al., 2022). A possible reason for why perceived ease of use was not valued is due to how many small business owners express a lack of understanding in how to use social media metrics, thereby not finding value in those technologies. These hesitancies and obstacles can prevent small businesses from utilizing social media, especially in an effective manner.

RQ1: Why do small businesses use social media?

Small Businesses in Manhattan’s Chinatown

Manhattan’s Chinatown started to develop as a conglomeration of businesses on Mott, Pell, and Doyer street (“Chinatown and Little Italy,” 2020). Due to racism and fear of Chinese immigrants taking jobs from white workers, Chinese immigrants “concentrated in Chinatowns to find shelter and help each other, living under the same family name and bound by cultural obligations to those subgroups” (Xu, 2013). In the earliest years, the neighborhood was mostly made up of Taishanese-speaking Chinese immigrants. After the enactment of the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965, which overturned the immigration quota, a wave of immigrants from Hong Kong and Guangdong arrived, sizably expanding the neighborhood to an estimated 55-block area with Cantonese becoming the dominant language (“History of Chinatown,” 2014).

Chinatown is a unique neighborhood that operates differently compared to many other New York City neighborhoods given the different needs of the ethnic enclave. Chinatown businesses are unique for specializing in the needs of Asian clientele by providing Asian products and groceries to offering multilingual services. In the Avenues NYC Commercial District Needs Assessment (2022), “The mixed-use diversity of Chinatown’s built environment is exemplified by buildings that house family, regional, or business associations, along with retail, restaurants, services, communal meeting spaces, ancestral halls, and affordable housing all under one roof” (p. 2). Of the local businesses, 80% serve the Chinese community with some businesses being passed down generations within the family. Chinatown’s median household income of $35,805 is quite stark compared to Manhattan’s median household income of $86,553 and New York City’s median household income of $63,998 (“Commercial District Needs Assessment,” 2022).

Today, Chinatown is faced with several issues that threaten the livelihood of the local businesses and the shrinking of the neighborhood. In the post-COVID world of working from home, there are three key perspectives: reduced travel behavior, characteristics of those who have the option to work from home, and the societal implications that come from the shift to working from home, including how “benefits will largely be for those who are highly educated and well paid” (Kong et al., 2022, p. 1120). In the lens of Chinatown, working from home meant that less people commuted to work, reducing the foot traffic and business from office workers. Chinatown also faces struggles from gentrification and increasing rent as well as anti-Asian sentiment and hate crimes — especially after COVID-19. When identifying challenges the neighborhood faces for the Commercial District Needs Assessment (2022), topics of language and cultural barriers and limited technology skills were included. These also demonstrate obstacles Chinatown business owners would face in adopting social media, which could serve as a useful tool in raising awareness and attracting more New Yorkers and tourists to visit and support Chinatown businesses.

RQ2: What challenges do Chinatown small businesses face?

Chinatown Small Businesses’ Social Media Strategies

One of the largest importances of social media usage for businesses is the ability for individuals and businesses to engage in social interaction. In research conducted by Tsimonis and Dimitriadis (2014), the two most common and important social media activities cited by managers were creating competitions with prizes and communicating daily with users. The following significant activities were introducing new products or services and unintentionally providing customer service or complaint handling. These activities align with the businesses’ expected benefits from social media, including gaining brand awareness and creating positive word of mouth, which is effective through competitions, prizes, and encouraging the brand message to spread through social media functions like X’s re-Tweets and Facebook’s “Like” button.

Tsimonis and Dimitriadis further mention that most of the brands they interviewed preferred a combination of different social media platforms and “[utilized] each one according to the needs of their social media strategy” (Tsimonis & Dimitriadis, 2014, p. 337). A combination of social media and offline marketing activities can create a synergy that will increase a business’ web site or store visitors. Social media provides an online platform for word of mouth, which plays to the potential of virality of information and promotional material. However, another side of this virality or attention can also be the rapid spread of outrage, discontent, and ridicule. Likewise, positive messages can be amplified on social media and inaccuracies can be addressed immediately with social media, which could mitigate potential dangers of negative comments. (Tsimonis & Dimitriadis, 2014).

Positive word of mouth through social media provides a strong boost to local small businesses, much like the strategic benefit of online reviews that can build customer loyalty (Aral et al., 2013). For instance, the Instagram and TikTok account, Righteous Eats, creates mostly short form videos that highlight New York City’s local restaurants, often run by immigrants and minority people (“An Influencer With a Mission,” 2023). Righteous Eats spotlighted the restaurant La Dinastia, one of New York City’s last Chino-Latino restaurants. The video of the restaurant captured not only the special cuisine, but also incorporated the history of Chinese immigrants from Latin countries. Following the release of the video on social media, business at La Dinastia tripled (“How Righteous Eats Is Leveling the Food Influencer World,” 2023). Although Righteous Eats has one of the larger followings for a food influencer, many other food and activities-related influencers also showcase businesses in NYC. Their video’s impact is a testament to the sway social media can provide businesses. The popularity of Instagram and TikTok short form videos matched with narrative story telling of businesses’ origins lend itself to creating engaging content that people connect with. Likewise, Chinatown is a neighborhood with many immigrant-run businesses and social media content that highlights the stories of these businesses and their owners can help provide a lifeline to struggling businesses.

RQ3: What are the most effective marketing strategies on social media for businesses in Chinatown?