Is social media still an option for businesses?

Today I'n not writing an article as I'll let the video below do the job...

Do you think that Social Media is an option for Businesses today? Well think about the internet, do you think business have an option whether to have a presence there? The same can be said for social media...the number of users there is not small at all, so it might be worth a try.

Have a look at this video and then let me know what you think...



For those who cannot access Youtube, you can access the video from the following free proxy site:- www.myprxy.com

Facebook being used by Scammers

I read this article and although not directly related to marketing I thought it could be helpful to anyone for two reasons....you learn how to avoid a new kind of online scam and at the same time it highlights how scammers piggyback international brands.

Jayne Scherrman lost about £2,500 in a Facebook scam after her friend, Grace Parry, had her log-in details stolen. Jayne started receiving requests from her friend Grace stating that she and her husband had been robbed in London and needed money to get back home. Apparently apart from the numerous messages, Jayne received a call from a man with a British accent claiming to be an immigration official. He claimed that her friend Grace and Grace's husband were being detained and that they needed money to fly them home.

Jayne, given that the request came from her friend, sent three different wire transfers to London. Meanwhile the real Grace was trying to get hold of her account back but was very difficult as she was locked out.

In these cases the problem is that people have become too trusting of messages they receive via social networks. It doesn't mean that if you receive a message from you friend it is a genuine message as you friend's account might have been hacked into! Especially when it comes to money request, better try to contact your friend on his mobile and double check the story before actually sending out any money. Even after contacting your friend it would be advisable to contact the embassy in that country to report the incident (if your friend claims to be abroad).

Just a word of advise, it's better to be a bit sceptical in these cases...most probably your friend will understand you :)

Employees criticise customers on Facebook

Brands invest hefty sums of money in PR to try to improve their image in the eyes of the consumer and make them shop more however DSGi, the parent company of PC World and Currys, was surprised to learn what was going on, on Facebook.

A Facebook group named DSGi Employees appeared on Facebook and it had quite opend conversations between DSGi staff with contemptuous comments about the chain's customers. In this group the employees provide ample criticism towards customers, with discussions ranging from 'Chatting up customers....' to 'Arsehole customers!', 'Really Stupid Customers!' and 'Some customers are really really stupid.....'. The group itself points out that it isn't a group for those who love and adore DSGi, just one for people who work/have worked for the same company. The group ask visitors to bear in mind that this is an UNOFFICIAL Dixons Stores Group plc, Discussion forum/Community, any views/opinions expressed on this page by either the group creator or it's members are those of the individuals only and not of DSGi plc or any of its affiliates."

Similar staff mutterings on Facebook have resulted in employee discipline, including Virgin Atlantic, which launched an 'investigation' after staff were found badmouthing their customers last year. In July, Primark promised to probe its staff after several employees posted "malicious" Facebook comments about customers, calling them fat, pikeys, and twats.In January, Waitrose and Tesco also launched investigations following the revelation that some employees had posted abusive comments about customers on various Facebook groups.

I believe this event further proves the need for companies to monitor forums and social media as it must make sure that such occurrences are minimised and promptly tackled. How much do you believe such comments left by employees of these companies leave would have on you if you were a customer of these companies?

Facebook to introduce Payment Gateway

I was searching for news about Facebook as we as I had read that it had sold about 1.5% to a Russian Company (Digital Sky Technologies) for $200m so as to raise more finances. I came across an article that is very interesting. Facebook has begun tapping a new revenue stream as it seeks to introduce an internal payment system. This will enable it to reduce it's reliance on advertising and to start earning commissions on payments. This has been long awaited and it will enable Facebook users to be able to buy credits that can then be used to buy virtual goods from third party applications running on Facebook.

This revenue structure mimics that of Second Life where developers can start developing virtual items that can then be bought by users to customise their Facebook experience. Second Life was a success as hardcore users where buying property and furnishings to create a virtual life. An example of the potential of Facebook is Zynga, the largest applications developer on Facebook, with 42m users using their games. It is believed that they make nearing $100m in annual sales. Together, developers working on Facebook’s platform are expected to make more than $500m this year perhaps even more than Facebook itself.

Facebook hopes that by offering a site-wide currency it will encourage more commerce on the website. By serving as the payment provider, it will capture a percentage of every transaction. The payment portal will serve the same purpose as PayPal is for Ebay Inc. The percentage profit is small but over time, this will be very significant.

Social Networking sites and now even the mini blog site, Twitter, are suffering from a real problem...they have a huge following but they cannot find a proper revenue generation method. This will give them more possibility as a specialised payment gateway exists to help them monetise on their services.

Could this be the end of an all free service? Social Networking sites need to be really careful with this as they depend on a large userbase and if these sites become too focused on revenue generation they may alienate their user. The right balance needs to be struck.

Prince Charles Moves to Social Networking

Lately I have been reading more about the potential that social networking offers and the opportunity it provides both companies and brands alike to commuicate their message and interact with their target market. I recently came across an article which continues to highlight the importance that this Social Networking medium plays in today's world.

The news read that Prince Charles had decided to start using Social Networking online and became on of the first (if not the first) Royal to use a social network. This is an absolute breakthrough and a significant milestone for Social Networking as it has managed to attract even the traditionally conservative monarchy. Does this mean that Social Networking is something that has been accepted and a need now a days for those wanting to voice their opinion to a wider community? The answer in my opinion is Yes!

Prince Charles chose to use Myspace to campaign for a worthy cause and raise awareness of his Prince of Wales Rainforest Project. In his page (http://www.myspace.com/rainforestsos) he urges the social network's community to electronically sign a petition to fight climate change and unite together to fight the destruction of rain forests and save biodiversity and the world's lungs. The campaign is being endorsed by the Prince himself and many other influential people such as Harrison Ford, Daniel Craig, the Dalai Lama and other members of the Royal Family.

My only concern about this move is why was Myspace used...should the campaign have been launched on Facebook which is by far the market leader in Social Networking and use You Tube to Link all the Webcasts that are posted on the Facebook group? Maybe this will be the next phase :) at least we have seen the start...hopefully it will encourage other people to do the same and start voicing their opinions online. This is especially necessary when it involvesgood cause campaigns such as theone mentioned above!

Social Network put pressure on M&S and the retailer responds

Can Social Networking sites influence companies decisions? Some large organisations might say probably not as they surely know it more...however this was not the recent case of Marks & Spencer. Some time ago it had announced that it would have started charging more for larger bras and unlike most retailers, it was going to impose a surcharge of £2 for bras with a cup size above DD .

This did not go unnoticed and with today's spread of social networking Beckie Williams was very fast to set up a lobby group on Facebook called "Busts 4 Justice". This group was set up last summer as she was was fed up paying extra for her 30G bras and saw such policy simply "ridiculous". However the company did not give in immediately and said that it's surcharge was actually fair as it reflected the extra cost of producing a bra for larger bust sizes.

The Facebook group gained momentum as it counted more than 17,000 members and soon other media groups followed in this campaign. Media groups such as the Sun and the Daily Mirror were in the forefront to support the unhappy consumers. After some months and various complaints, last week M&S gave in to customer demands and decided to ditch its surcharge...

The company is also trying to use humor to excuse itself from this failure as it took out full-page adverts in the press to tell consumers that from last Saturday, all bras will cost the same. M&S admitted that "They boobed" as the adverts says: "We were wrong, so as of Saturday 9th May the storm in a D cup is over." The store is also offering a further 25% discount on bras for the coming two weeks to excuse itself and try to recover some of the bad publicity.

Social Media can thus be an effective lobbying medium as this was not the first time a Facebook campaign has played an important role in persuading a company to change its route. Some two years ago HSBC turned down plans start charging graduates for overdrafts after a group set up by the National Union of Students attracted more than 4,000 members. Hence we need to be more aware of the power of this medium and listen more to our customers...

Advertising - Much needed by companies but sometimes frustrating for Customers

I was reading the Financial Times and came across one of a series of articles that reports on the dire state of the print media advertising market in the US as it has been heavily hit by the economic crises. The article (http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/daa86abe-2e77-11de-b7d3-00144feabdc0.html)reports the further drop in New York's Times aadvertising revenue (it fell 27% leading to a first quarter loss of $74.5m). This drop is not as accentuated in the digital media industry as it is in the print media.

Facebook is one of the companies which is seeking to increase or at least limit the damage of the economic crisis. With the deployment of the last makeover of its social networking site it is aiming to make advertising more targeted so that companies can benefit from better return of investment. However this apparently is leaving its toll on Facebook and other social networking sites who have followed the same trend. A study done by Interactive Advertising Bureau shows that such a strategy is turning off users of these sites (31% of social networking users are fed up with constant requests by brands). This could be a blow to these sites as they are trying to take the opportunity to consolidate their revenue base with the potential to expand further (especially with future economic recovery).



However the same survey highlights the fact that users would be happy to join groups if offered exclusive content or something relevant. This could be the an Ace for another company - Twitter - and could also explain it huge growth. Users can choose to follow mini blogs which they have an interest in and hence pick up the information the want. However Twitter still has to find a business model that will allow it to produce some form of revenue stream that could ensure its long-term survival. Hence the battle still remains for such companies as they need to satisfy their users while at the same time ensure their long term survival.