As of late it does seem that online social media is the way for a company to survive. It seems like everyone has a Facebook page and this is absolutely true. Facebook has been a dramatic sweeping tool that has reached into the deepest depths of social interaction. My grandma for goodness sake has a Facebook page. Social media has opened doors of privacy that become questionable. Businesses have increasingly been using social media as a means to promote their products and services. Is this wrong? Absolutely not. I believe that businesses are seeing Facebook and other social media sites as a way of advertising to individuals that they were before unable to.
The best way for companies to interact on social media sites is to take a passive approach to advertising. No guerilla marketing here! Many individuals will agree that we do not want to be bombarded with advertisements and other popups. I find it extremely annoying when popups or other advertisements show up and I cant close them. I feel that the best way for companies to advertise on social media is to just say “hey we have a product…do you like….?....ok….click…..here.” Advertisements that allow us to have a option annoy the crap out of me.
I believe interaction of company-client relationships should be limited to hey here’s the product and here’s a deal you can have only purchasing my product. As far as updating Facebook status it should be there is 25% off if you come in before noon or something to that affect.
It would be wise for us to make a significant time commitment to the online advertising. This is the future of marketing and advertisements and if companies do not see this they are bound to fail. That’s why many online websites that were once rogue and unregulated became regulated. Take for instance Hulu.com that began as a website to view movies and tv shows that were not authorized. But companies soon realized that online tv and such was a increasing way in which to market. Now every 10 minutes there’s and advertisement for some product or another. The same can be said about YouTube where VEVO has taken over advertising before a official music video can be played. Companies are becoming increasingly aware of the doom they will face if they don’t advertise this way. I must admit the first thing I usually do in the morning is log onto Facebook via my IPhone. Am I hooked? Probably. I just don’t fall for dumb advertisements.
The concept of neuromarketing creates a understanding of subliminal reasoning for the customer to decide whether the product they are offered is actually appealing. Marketers are using the concept of neuromarketing to understand consumer’s cognitive response to products. The concept of neuromarketing allows for marketers to better target and understands consumer behavior.
This may create several problems for us the consumer because it appeals to our wants and stimuli rather than consumer reasoning. For example, do I want this product? Or Do I need It? Practitioners of neuromarketing would like to use our cognitive responses to blind side our “want” response and rather spin the product as a necessity. Have marketers found a way around our general defense mechanisms? Oftentimes consumers may react to a product extremely different when questioned in a survey. However, they may feel that the product may be inadequate and still respond with a general approval when questioned. The time of using surveys, blind studies, and customer purchase habits may be coming to an end if neuromarketing develops into a plausible means for advertising and marketing. Internet browsing activities as discussed in earlier blog post have already established a method for companies to target the right market for advertising on the internet. But the use of neuromarketing has taken this to an extremely different level.
In a recent study on neuromarketing, two major soft drink manufacturers Pepsi and Coca Cola were tested using the “Pepsi Challenge” The neuromarketing used on consumers was to us a EKG machine to monitoring the frontal lobe cortex response to be given Pepsi and then told it was coke. The participants were hooked up to the EKG machine and given Pepsi and the levels of brain activity raised with the appearance that participant enjoyed the product and indicated a reward for consumption. However, Coca Cola far outsells Pepsi because of their marketing and advertising campaigns.
I believe that this type of marketing while extremely effective may infringe upon consumer privacy. However, with today’s world changing so rapidly and new concepts being applied can anyone really stop it.
Reference
http://www.cognitiveliberty.org/neuro/neuromarketing_ajc.html
http://e-marketingforsensiblefolk.blogspot.com/
http://www.drdavidlewis.co.uk/assets/NeuroMarket1.pdf
Over the last 3 years the economy has fallen behind and many in Generation Y may not be able to afford the luxury of car ownership. Additionally, the use of commuter rails and car pooling may have a factor in the decreased auto sales. I am positive that the social media and the internet do not have a major impact with decreased car sales. It is true that online schools have increased enrollment. However, students of these schools frequently use automobiles for other uses. I am certain that users of the internet and those of us living in the digital age will still rely on air travel and hotel accommodations because our I Phone and Blackberries haven’t come up with a flying “app” as of yet. The invention of mobile internet and smart phones is a result of us constantly being on the move and mobile. In order to be mobile most of us use vehicle. However, those of us fortunate to live in a city that public transportation is reliable may choose to use this instead of purchasing a vehicle.
http://www.simpleliving.net/shop/item.aspx?itemid=954
http://www.simpleliving.net/pdf/ehtlcar.pdf
http://loot-ninja.com/2008/11/18/wow-super-guild-beats-wrath-of-the-lich-king-in-4-days/
Protecting ones privacy is paramount in the online world. Often times these companies do employ the means to collect data on certain internet users. Face book for example uses the demographic information to target users about company products. Using demographic information allows for the company doing the advertising the means to employ the right the advertisement to ensure the greatest return. The option that has been given to internet users for protecting their identity and their internet usage with this new icon will assist in providing information about how users can protect themselves. The problem however, is that many internet users will most likely not click the icon. Many users choose to close out advertisement and continue on browsing. I am positive that as time passes people will become more frustrated with the online advertisements. I often find myself extremely frustrated with pop up ads that will not allow me to close them out and I usually choose to find my information elsewhere. I do not believe that companies will sign up because this will affect their revenue stream because they rely heavily on online marketing. I would like to think that the advertising option icon will become the next internet seal of approval much like the VeriSign seal. However, the chance that companies will allow for it comes into question.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/04/business/media/04privacy.html
http://www.securityweek.com/new-initiative-give-consumers-enhanced-control-over-collection-web-data-used-behavioral-advertising
http://www.tamingthebeast.net/blog/web-marketing/advertising-option-icon.htm
