I interned at an ad agency in Tallahassee this past spring semester and it amazed me that the bulk of their creative development meetings were based around what kind of apps could be created to advertise companies on Facebook. The company being advertised was spending over $25,000 in Facebook applications, advertisements and contests, and thats only the amount they spent as the grand prize for one of the contests.
Facebook users are averaged at spending around 7 hours a month on the site. 7 hours is more than enough time for advertisers to capture their target audiences attention and draw them into a product using Facebook apps and games so users will be convinced into playing the game and ultimately learning more about the company.
My marketing ventures on Facebook and Twitter aren't funded so I mainly rely on creative posts that will catch the attention of Facebook fans and Twitter followers. I also don't have the proper software for graphic design, nor do I have significant experience with it so it was a little difficult creating the background for the Twitter page and the default for the Facebook page. Check my pages out and let me know what you think!
Honeycat Cosmetics Facebook Fan Page
Honeycat Tweets Twitter Page
Here's an article about online interactive marketing that is worth taking a look at for a little more insight into how marketing has changed through the evolution of technology.
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Varadarajan, Rajan. "Marketing Strategy in an Internet-Enabled Environment: A Retrospective on the First Ten Years of JIM and a Prospective on the Next Ten Years."Journal of Interactive Marketing 23. (2009): 11-22. Web. 25 Jun 2010.
Well Tania, you did a pretty good job on those pages for not having the graphic design software.
ReplyDeleteIt is true that many companies are relying on social networking for their marketing activities. The reason for this is that social networking has increased significantly during the past years. For example, as of Feb 5, 2010, Facebook had over 400 millions of active users. Not just the young population is accessing them but now you can find the Baby Boomers posting pictures of their vacations on FB or chatting with their grandchildren.
Business organizations are also recommending it...Here is a link to a video from Relativity Business Technology Solutions about the "5 Reasons Why Social Marketing is a Must": http://alturl.com/szxr
The point is that marketing professionals also believe that the "worth of mouth" activity is very effective to sell their products. Facebook is good for this...I can't tell you how many invitations I have received from friends to be part of different comp. pages.
In general, Facebook, blogs, Twitter and customer reviews are considered the most effective tactics for mobilizing consumers to talk up products online. (Etailing survey of 117 companies, September 2009)
It's very true how much advertising is put on facebook these days. Like Betsy B. said, it's because social networking is so popular these days. Millions of companies and businesses have their facebook pages set up to spread their word out. The PR firm i'm interning for have their facebook and twitter accounts, and if there's an interesting link or any other info that's relevant, we all have access to the accounts to update it. It shows how much advertising has taken a turn into the digital world.
ReplyDeleteAnd btw, great job for no funding on those pages!
ReplyDeleteIt is very interesting how major the shift has been from traditional forms of advertising to social media marketing. I agree Betsy, word of mouth advertising has always been valued as one of the most effective forms and companies have hit a gold mine in terms of finding people that like their product enough to advertise for them for free just by "liking" their company page and commenting.
ReplyDeleteI know I for one, have always gone on the internet to read reviews about particular products before purchasing them. Social Media marketing has made consumer reviews even more easily accessible than before.
And thanks pin! My sole reward will be being able to have the projects on my resume, which should hopefully help out on the job hunt I am about to embark on.
Sweepstakes and contests on Facebook are definitely effective marketing and public relations tactics. My fiance recently won a sweepstakes on Newegg.com's Facebook page. He won about $1000 worth of XBOX equipment and games. Ever since then I've been signing up for every contest and sweepstakes I come across on Facebook. Also, I've found out that you accumulate Facebook Credits when you enter these sweepstakes and contests. People have talked about how Twitter is a good place for businesses because people aren't offended by the commercial presence, but I think Facebook is becoming a better conduit through which companies can conduct promotions.
ReplyDeleteRebecca Morse
http://morse-online.com/rlm/
Thats so awesome for your fiance! That definitely makes me want to sign up for more sweepstakes too. Doesn't your e-mail inbox overflow with spam mail when you do though?
ReplyDeleteBut I agree, Facebook is much more efficient as a marketing and promotions tool than twitter. Twitter seems more like a complement to add on to Facebook's effectiveness if anything.