Did Facebook Blow It Or Did We?
How you market on Facebook is about to change. You're about to discover why and what you need to do. It even surprised us.
The friendly face changes, contorts, twists into something we hardly recognize. Now we stare into the cold, cruel eyes filled with greed. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde - jump back, this is the face of Facebook. What? We love Facebook! It's like a favorite aunt, your best friend or and old running buddy you shared many a road trip with down through the years. How could FB screw us over by selling our personal data and private information?
The Dr. Jekyll Side
Just like Jekyll and Hyde I'm of two minds about the entire furor over Facebook in particular and Internet privacy as a whole. From a marketing perspective consumers and customers have to be confident that key information will be secure so the entire web commerce thing works. I want to know that Amazon won't scatter my credit card information and Bank of America will protect my online banking.
The Mr. Hyde Side
But as an individual I can't help but shake my head at the "delete your account" or "boycott Facebook" movements and question their grip on reality. Look at it this way. Your individual data is what you put onto the Internet. We think it's private and it's not and never ever was.
Standby for Paranoia
Everything you've every said, sent, viewed, spoken or entered on the Internet is still out there. You might remove it but it's not gone. Even old websites never disappear. The Internet Archive has 150 billion web pages archived from 1996. Forget diamonds, the Internet is forever. As a wise man once said, "Trying to take something off the Internet is like trying to take pee out of a pool."
The Writing On The Wall - Your Facebook Wall
The idea is to create a network to help friends, family and people with similar interest connect with each other. Thanks to Facebook high school classmates I've avoided for over 40 years can find me. None of this could have happened if my name and my personal information were locked away and totally secure.
With very few exceptions no one has hacked into the social media sites and stolen data. Our friends and we have simply given it away. Over a third of us have posted something online that has come back to haunt us. According to a survey by Retrevo nearly 1/3 of the people who posted before they thought said it ruined their marriage, relationships or caused problems at home or work. I know it's obvious but if you'd be embarrassed, compromised or penalized by something on a social media site … don't put it there. FB may feel like your BFF but that's not their goal.
It's All About What You Like
Facebook is five years old and valued at approximately $15 billion. But it never made a profit until 2010 when Mark Zuckerberg announced it was "free cash flow positive." How does a company lose money for five years and is worth $15 billion?
According to ComScore online marketers showed a record 1.1 trillion display ads to U.S. Internet users in the first quarter of 2010 … a 15% increase from last year. At the head of the line is Facebook with 176 billion display impressions and a 16.2% market share. And we thought Facebook was about family vacations and embarrassing pictures from that party when I got really drunk. Social media sites are building humongous databases on every member, friend and visitor. All this insight is sold to advertisers and marketers who target the display ads to our specific interests.
Has Marketing Killed Facebook?
"People like you have ruined Facebook forever!" That's what one of my neighbors spat at me at the pool last weekend. She is deleting her account in protest and feels marketing is to blame. She and many FB members are concerned that their personal data being sold to third parties. What they are missing is it has to be done. Social media isn't a right and users don't own the experience. Just because it's free doesn't mean that the tooth fairy pops up once a month to pay the bills. The intent has always been to make a profit. To increase revenue social media sites have two obvious alternatives - charge subscription fees, increase advertising options - or both.
Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Linkedin are like social crack. They are addictive. Let's say that 10,000 FB members cancel out of 400 million active users … net results is what? What is the alternative for their addiction? They'll come back because they "need" the sharing and the personal forum. The average Facebook user visits the site at least once a day and spends an astounding 55 minutes engaging friends and family. What will they do without it? Social media companies know this and make this addiction their business models.
So Do You Follow Dr. Jekyll Or Mr. Hyde?
Facebook needs the warm, friendly Jekyll image to attract the 1-billion users worldwide that CEO Mark Kuckerberg has targeted. And they need the action-driven, pragmatic Mr. Hyde to generate the revenue they need. What we are seeing is the social media sites facing the reality that they are in the business of selling advertising and our preferences and personal data is the marketing bait. They aren't in the relationship business.
Facebook hasn't been any more successful at social marketing than the rest of us and is struggling to make it deliver a ROI. They have to provide an effective way to capitalize on all those relationships. Display ads are clean, acceptable and measurable. That's where social marketing is going and Facebook will be offering more options at different price points.
The Big Take Away - Remember This
Marketing through a company or business page simply doesn't work and they know it. The investment in time, resources and money doesn't pay off for businesses. Content targeting will make the tool of choice display ads driven by a constantly updated database of user preferences. Every push of the "Like" button sharpens the focus on specific individuals who have the greatest interest in your product, service or company. Plus users recognize the marketing and accept it. Managing relationships is harder and more expensive than taking advantage of them. It's time to rethink those marketing plans one more time.
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde are going to be very, very busy.
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Andy Johnston is an multi-faceted communication professional with deep experience from strategic planning, to messaging, to marketing, to media, to events, to training, to creative direction … and there are several other ”to’s.” Andy is known for his energy, creativity and his unique ability to discover the key results that must be generated – and then to develop ingenious ways to engage and motivate audiences.
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