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Posts Tagged ‘Facebook’

Jun
10
Creative, Social Media
Is Facebook Actually HURTING Some Brands?
by Rick Gardinier, Senior Vice President, Chief Digital Officer

I’m as big a fan as anyone when it comes to brands having a strong Facebook presence to engage their customers.  We’ve made it work for many of our clients, and we even put heavy emphasis on Facebook for our own brand.  But something has been gnawing at me for a while and I couldn’t put my finger on it until now.

I believe that the proliferation of Facebook, and the continued integration of other ubiquitous social tools like Flickr, and common promotional platforms like Wildfire are making many brands look, and act, exactly the same!

Wall posts are even starting to SOUND the same.  Because marketers all use social media these days, everyone is following everyone else and then DOING the same things.  What’s the real difference between the J.Crew page and the Gap page?

J. Crew Facebook WallGap Facebook Wall

Honestly not a whole lot.  Brands need to continue to engage consumers in social media.  That much we know, and this will be true from now until the end of time.  We won’t ever be able to go back to a time without it.

But brands also need to remember to find their own voice.  They need to remember what makes them different and why consumers liked them in the first place.  They need to take a step back and focus on creativity and ideas.  They need to think about DIFFERENTIATING themselves more than they are currently doing.

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Feb
25
Social Media
The sky is not falling and neither is Facebook.
by George Potts, Manager, Social Media Strategy

sky-fallingRecently, articles have appeared in the New York Times and the USA Today announcing that people are leaving Facebook. NPR broadcasted a related story a few weeks ago as well. The coverage typically consists of interviews with a handful people that experienced Facebook burnout. These individuals were swallowed up in a Facebook frenzy they say, constantly updating their status and attempting to comment on all of their friends’ updates as well. It’s all too much for them. They must get out and leave Facebook behind. A few brand marketers have cited these articles as evidence that Facebook is in the midst of jumping the shark. Well, Facebook isn’t Fonzie in the Happy Days Hollywood episode.

First, the journalistic integrity of these stories is dubious. A dozen or so interviews do not make a trend. None of the stories cite any statistics supporting the claim that people are leaving Facebook in droves. In fact, the USA Today story actually admits the contrary:

Even tens of thousands of dropouts represent a fallen leaf in the forest of social networkers happily updating their status/thoughts/whereabouts at this very moment.

Second, all activities, even ones overtly labeled as healthy such as exercise, when pursued obsessively will have a negative impact on the quality of one’s life. So if you feel compelled to update your status every hour on Facebook, yeah, you’re going to burnout. You need downtime. In real life, are we always with our friends and our family? No, we take individual time. Social media is no different. It is merely tool for interaction. We control the level of interaction. We control the amount of time. We are always are in control. This extends to what you wish to share and what you won’t, pictures, videos, etc.

From a few personal friendships, I know that alcoholics feel great joy and freedom when they no longer imbibe. Yet, tens of millions of others regularly consume alcohol with no ill effect on their lives whatsoever. The growth of alcohol sales has not dwindled with the rise of AA nor do I see the demise of social networks like Facebook with the minority who choose to disconnect. The sky is not falling and neither is Facebook.

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