Archive for the ‘Social Media’ Category

Social Media Advertising: Is it For You?

By Amanda Bala

So, you may be thinking about purchasing advertising on a social media site. The three social media sites that are the most prevalent right now are Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. Each one has a very different advertising platform, so you must consider them separately before you decide where to put your advertising dollars.

Facebook is the social media king right now. They also have the most developed advertising platform currently available. Even the smallest businesses, working on a limited budget, can advertise on FB. At the present time, prices for clicks and impressions are still very low as far as online advertising goes. Using a wide variety of criteria, FB allows businesses to target their messages by utilizing users’ profile information. You can specify who and where you want your message be sent. FB also gives the “like” option for ads that help businesses grow their following and possibly their clients. However, FB is limited in its B2B advertising because it is of such a personal nature. It is more effective when used in a B2C capacity.

When people think social media, the second site that usually comes to mind is Twitter. However, Twitter has a very underdeveloped advertising platform for small businesses. At the present time, they only offer advertising to large companies and brands. These are in the form of “sponsored tweets” or “promoted trends”. Therefore, advertising on Twitter is not practical or even available for most small businesses.

The last social media site that you might consider is LinkedIn. This is the most highly effective advertising site for B2B industries. Due to the professional nature of LinkedIn, it actually promotes ads that are called “LinkedInAds”. It allows businesses to deliver their ads to people with certain qualifications or titles, thus making the cost of the advertising much more efficient. You can also look for relevant groups on LinkedIn that you may be able to target. There is also the fact that LinkedIn advertising is still reasonable in price and is gaining daily in popularity.

No matter where you choose to advertise, it is always important to do your homework before you invest your money. This is no different for social media sites. Find the one that best suits your business and run with it!

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Will Email Be Replaced By Social Media?

By Amanda Bala

In today’s fast-paced, technology driven world, there is no doubt that we rely on our email, texts and social media to keep in constant communication with our friends, family and business associates. However, there is a serious debate going on about whether email will eventually be replaced by the social media giants.

When we look at this debate, there are many reasons why people are looking more and more to social media rather than email. Generation Z is the first group that really seems to regard email as being too formal and time consuming. There is a general consensus that it is more effective getting on a social media site and seeing everyone’s current status than taking the time to log into an email account and send out individual emails inquiring what a friend is up to. Many individuals also feel that it is easier when sharing video, pictures, etc. to simply post them on their social media page where those that want to view the content can.

There are also reasons why larger companies are shifting towards social media in their daily operations. There is a definite advantage to real time communications when utilizing social media. A simple company status update can keep everyone apprised of meetings, corporate events, etc. Also, this can effectively stop the, “I never received the email” excuse that virtually everyone has used or been given at some point in their career. It is estimated that by 2014, over 20% of business users will be using social media over email due to increased number of people on social media sites, changes in business firewalls and changing demographics.

The flip side to the coin, however, are the numerous reasons why email will still be in use well into the future. First, email is universal, while social media sites are not. Virtually every person that uses the internet has an email address. However, not everyone partakes in the social media phenomenon. There are many individuals that for personal, security or reputation reasons refuse to utilize social media networking. For these persons, email will always be a preferred method of communication.

There is also the issue that many companies do not allow their staff to even access social media sites while on the clock. They view the usage of these sites as a violation of company time and resources for personal applications. Large companies often run into issues when trying to convert to social media sites. They often do not know which sites to be on or they fail to master the particular features of the sites they are using.

Lastly, even social media sites recognize the importance of email. Most of the sites require an email address to even sign up. Many of the sites offers and notifications take place via personal email. Furthermore, though the social media giants offer messaging thru their sites, it is deemed more professional to email thru ones personal email account.

As we move forward in the age of technology, there is no doubt that many things will change and that social media will put an end to some of the things we have used in the past. In this writer’s opinion, email will not be one of them.

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“The Social Network” – Fan or Flop?

By Amanda Bala

The Delicious Marketing staff recently took a fieldtrip to see The Social Network, a film by screenwriter, Aaron Sorkin. This utterly engrossing movie details the birth of the social media giant we all know today as Facebook. You have to be living under a rock to not know what Facebook is. We know that it has changed the world. From interpersonal relationships to marketing, buying and selling, Facebook has a toehold in it all. But how did this come to be?

The Social Network takes us through Harvard student, Mark Zuckerberg’s (played by Jesse Eisenberg) idea to take the social experience of Harvard and turn it into a website. The story is told via flashbacks of two separate law suits filed over the rights to Facebook. One lawsuit is filed by Zuckerberg’s best friend Eduardo Saverin (Andrew Garfield) who supplies the startup capital, only later to be manipulated in a way that he loses most of his stock in the company. The second suit is filed by Cameron Winklevoss, Tyler Winklevoss and Divya Narendra three seniors at Harvard. The Winklevii twins and Narendra seek out Zuckerberg’s programming expertise to assist them in building a website called the Harvard Connection. They accuse Zuckerberg of intentionally misleading them into believing he would help them build their site while all along stealing their ideas to build a competing website.

The movie takes the viewer through a range of emotions. You feel for all those involved and many times over change your mind about who is right and who is wrong. The one thing that you certainly take away is that although Zuckerberg became a billionaire from the creation of Facebook, he truly ends up alone because of his creation. The loss of personal relationships is heartbreaking as you watch the story unfold. The irony that Facebook is a site built on friendship and personal relationships, but that these seem to have no place in Zuckerberg’s own life, is certainly not lost.

The outstanding acting performances are what truly make this a great film. Jesse Eisenberg, who portrays Mark Zuckerberg, does a phenomenal job of taking a character that is dark and narcissistic and making you feel empathy for him. He turns what could be a very unlikeable character into someone that you can understand, although his awkwardness and complete lack of social skills will make you cringe at times. You can see what drives and motivates him even if you do not agree with the decisions he makes. Andrew Garfield plays Zuckerberg’s best friend, Eduardo Saverin. He is a business major who is the complete opposite of Zuckerberg. Outgoing and likeable, he is the one you find yourself rooting for. It is heartbreaking this somewhat naïve kid’s trusting nature is ultimately his downfall. Justin Timberlake does an admirable job of portraying Sean Parker, the inventor of Napster, who works his way into Facebook and ultimately changes both the company and Zuckerberg and Saverin’s friendship and lives. Finally, Armie Hammer does a fantastic job of playing both Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, delivering one of the best lines in the film. When arguing that they should go and beat up Zuckerberg for stealing their idea, Tyler states, “I am 6 foot 5, 220 pounds and there are two of me”! Hammer does an admirable job of making you like this privileged twosome who do somewhat get taken by Zuckerberg in the movie.

Overall, this was a great film with many complex lessons and underlying messages. It will keep you thinking long after it ends about the social media complexities that are such an integral part of our lives today. It is a must see for everyone of this generation.

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