I got my bachelors in Advertising & Public Relations (minor in Marketing). I've learned the benefits of marketing, the financial gain in brand recognition and the beauty and the ugliness in the truth that can exist with Public Relations. Social Media has proven to be the gap between generations, particularly in business. While many grandparents are starting to understand the joys of getting new pictures via email, older professionals can't seem to get a grip on how the internet is generating money. Younger professionals in their 30s & 40s get the concept but as someone in her early twenties, I can't help but find myself annoyed that none of these professionals see how they might be RUINING their images by overwhelming users with their advertisements. I often read Harvard Business Review (I signed up willingly) for newsletters, but I also read articles on sites like Gizmodo & Mashable. While Harvard has good, solid ideas on business & strategies and is undeniably better written, Gizmodo & Mashable show trends & developments that move as fast as the digital world creates it. Even here, the gap is obvious.
For example, I'm an avid lover of HULU and I'm fine with the short commercials in between my favorite shows. Many of those ads are basic videos, some being the same they air on TV. Now they allow these ads to linger and they say things like "if you liked this ad, watch these." Meanwhile I can't help but think "Well that's rich..." I may have liked the ad but it seems rather pompous to assume that I'm going to want to spend all my free time watching more of them. They can't just appreciate the fact that I laughed at it. Because creating a good feeling however people experience your product (ads or interaction both real-life or digital) is creating an opportunity for positive brand recognition and potential customer loyalty.
More and more, advertisers are completely missing the point of social media. Social media allows users to pick and choose what they want, to communicate in a way they prefer and to learn about things they are interested in. Briefly I worked for a Media Buying & Planning Company. Media outlets, primarily TV companies & some digital media companies would come out and say "we reach x number of people a day!" and try to convince us that our client should advertise with them. They would speak of their "success rates," "average generated revenue," etc. They tried to talk about their digital components throwing in "perks" by saying "AAANNDDD! You'd be featured on our website!" Well whoopy ding. Who the hell DOESN'T have a website by now? I specifically remember one company coming in and giving us out-of-the-water numbers. I thought "yes, I go to your website everyday and all of your ads are so obnoxious I don't even trust any of the advertisers because they all seem like scams."
My point is that business people get caught up in numbers and forget about the purpose. The beauty of social media is the discovery process, the feeling of "finding" something yourself and sharing with friends, co-workers and family. Shoving it in your face is irritating and while, yes, you are "exposing" your company to potential customers, you may be annoying them and actually lowering the quality of your brand recognition. I hate pop-ups and ads that scroll down the page with you so you can't read anything. Honestly, when that happens I'm so annoyed that I'm not even looking at it because I'm trying to figure out how to get rid of it. Social media marketing requires those creating it to be clever. If you have a service, show how what you do can be useful. Youtube has proven to us that people will watch something if they want to and they will share it as well. The days of the pushy salesman are over. People want to be encouraged and informed not badgered and coerced.
This article in the Wall Street Journal talks about the fact that Facebook is now allowing advertisers to enter into a person's newsfeed. This, my friends, is a sign of its demise. When facebook started it was a way for college students to stay in touch. In fact, you HAD to have a university email to even join. Now it's a multi-billion-dollar company that lets anyone with an email address create a profile. Bands, businesses, non-profits and inside jokes can all have their own "pages" that can be linked to twitter feeds, blog posts an every imaginable possibility. But if you ask me, an admitted addict, Facebook is out-growing itself. The greed of businesses to "reach" potential customers is overwhelming and sooner or later users are going to be fed up with the intrusion and move on. And while many people think that's impossible, I'd like to point out that no one outside the music industry has a myspace anymore.
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