Marketing on Social Networks - Research Paper Example

Marketing on Social Networks Introduction: In reality, social networks are public relations exercises. Time utilized in good public relations, is not wasted, but invested. It is also a great and fast communication tool for introducing new and augmenting the existing business. Marketers find it an ideal and cost-effective tool to promote their products. “Dell, a computer-maker, has made $3m in sales from Twitter since it started “tweeting” about its outlet that sells refurbished computers in 2007.”(Marketing….) Social networks provide platforms for the most powerful form of advertising at far below the cost involved in advertisement campaigns or public relations exercises through print and electronic media. All that you need is good products and an imaginative communication system. People who have the ability to create excellent copy that can sell refrigerators to the Eskimos! The method to approach the customers needs to be dignified. A feeling of desperation about marketing the products should not arise in the minds of the customers. A genuine want has to be created with the social network members. The contents of the communication should be brief, to the point and the reader should not feel that it is the source of ongoing harassment. It is strange but true how social networks actually don the garb of marketing networks. But if the networks have to survive on long term basis, the marketing strategy is necessary. Mere friendship and gossiping can not be a serious objective of any individual. Marketing and the introduction of new products provide continuity to the social network and establish their identity. Moreover, a satisfied individual of the social network is a salesman to promote its interests. One new concept takes one to the portal of another improved strategy of marketing. Facebook, for example, that claimed 200m users, launched a type of advertising that permits companies to target potential customers by allowing users to click on an advert to register as that company’s fan. But how fickle or strong are such relationships will depend upon the follow-up actions and incentives that the company is willing to provide to solidify the relationship. Facebook is the hottest new company in Silicon Valley in the area of online brand advertising. The two most important competitor companies are Google and Facebook. How the goodwill built through sound planning creates a solid foundation for further automatic fast growth- take Facebook as an example. Facebook, apart from being a fast-growing social network, is an enormous source of personal data. It has received genuine trust from its online users. The data provided by the users was accurate in every respect: names, connection with friends, authentic e-mail addresses, genuine opinions, tastes and shared accurate news. Business rivalry between the two giants of the network goes to the advantage of the networking community. Internet’s structure, design and utility are constantly improving and that is happening in rapid strides. It is not easy to offer tough competition to an established, company like Google that keeps pace with the technological advancement in the area of networking, and would always like to be the first among the equals. But Google is facing a tough time now with Facebook. The strategy is simple and straightforward. Develop a more personalized, humanized web. Tackle the networking community at the grassroots level. The primary sources of information are friends, peers, colleagues and family. Facebook hopes to ‘exploit’ this social graph, which according to the decision makers in Facebook, will be more result-yielding than the mechanized impersonal approach of Google search machine. Facebook have designed an entirely new approach to meet the aspirations of the online community. Agreed for a while, Google is the heavyweight champion of the world. Yes, for a while it seems thus. Facebook is catching up fast. It is now a legitimate contender on the basis of the figures of its achievements. More than 200 million people, one fifth of the Internet users, have Facebook accounts. Many Google employees have left to join Facebook. It is estimated that about 9 percent of the Facebook workforce were with Google. Facebook is constantly improving its personal facilities to the online community. The two seem to be on a collision course. As for search advertising, Google are next to none and are unbeatable at this time. Nearly 90% of Google’s revenue is from the little advertisements that appear along the side of the search results. Now another great vista of expensive branding campaigns is being attempted by both. They are going after it, as per their own strategies. The big question is who can cross the hurdle first and reach the destination? Facebook hopes to make it. But Google is not an easy contender and has the intrinsic strength to turn the tables against Facebook. Facebook is on the marathon run and it has no other aim but to succeed. Two hundred million members, contributions of 4 billion pieces of information, 850 million photos, and 8 million videos every month—this is the size of the empire of user’s most personal data lodged with Facebook’s servers. The essential difference between the business approaches of Google’s algorithms to navigate the Web vs. member turned friends with Facebook. Once Facebook search allows users to explore one another’s feeds, the amount of traffic generated will be mind-boggling. The pair of new initiatives will do the kill! They are Facebook Connect and Open Stream. Users need not go in to Facebook to communicate with their friends. They can access the network from any of 10,000 partner sites. More data will be forthcoming at the Facebook servers every time such a function is carried out. Target oriented advertisements on all sites is another novel approach of Facebook. It is a sort of joint venture with the partner sites, apart from its own site. Targeted messages are planned by sieving the information from the immense volume of personal data that it owns. One will not be bombarded with advertisements that have no value to the one who opens a particular site. Twitter: What you do is important; but how you do, what you do is more important—this seems to be the working philosophy of Twitter. The watchword of Founder Jack Dorsey is—simplicity. This seems to be the social networking site with the philosophical approach and human element. He was fascinated by the instant messaging facility and was inclined to incorporate that status for use at all the time, not only through the computer but via a mobile as well. “That’s what Twitter is, a tool that enables people to give their status, anytime, anywhere and from many devices. That’s one of the reasons that Twitter and mobility are so intertwined: mobile is the ubiquitous device.”(The Global….) The basic concept of Twitter, broadcasting their status, has found great and varied dimensions. Imagination is contagious—one leads to the other. The subsequent developments are too fast and too varied that on occasions, it surprises the original creator of the concept. “An African doctor has his patients give their status, for example. (In a sense, because Twitter insists on the mobile phone constraint [140 characters], it solves the “last mile” problem: SMS [text messages] are the primary means of mobile communication in many parts of the world.)” (The Global….) According to the twitter think tanks, simplicity and software are alternative beats of the same heart. Keeping things simple requires lots of skill and imagination Twitter’s promise is to do one specific thing—the status—and do it really well! “A big part of Twitter culture (the firm) is loving what you do and being inspired by it. Also, use what you create, be a part of it. Every person is a mirror. When you interact with someone, you take a small part of that person inside you and vice versa. Make happiness, not money. It’s inspiring when you enable a new mode of communication.” (The Global…) Social networking sites have taken a big leap. The leap is both vertical and horizontal. They have covered, are in the process covering every conceivable area of human interest and human necessity. The attitude of some of the networking sites is strictly businesslike; for some the attitude is philanthropic; to some ethical values in networking are more important. Many are willing to incorporate changes in their working styles as per the demands of the situation. “Human beings are, and always have been, diversely motivated beings. We act instrumentally, but also non-instrumentally. We act for material gain, but also for psychological well-being and gratification, and for social connectedness.”(Benkler, 2006, Introduction.) Here are some of the networking sites and their classifications in brief: *MarsPhoenix: Tweets to its followers from Mars. *Mark Brooks, Social Networking Watch: Mobile Social Networking and Business Social Networking Primer *Friendster: An open site *MySpace: It allows the people to create. But its interface was not encouraging. *Mashable, Techcrunch, Gizmodo: Importance of Mobile *Dopplr: Enables people to broadcast their travel schedules. *Stickk.com: A collaborative weight loss site. *MyRagan: A B2B PR community. *Ning: Enables people to create own social networks. * Cyworld: Cash lender in terms of revenue per user. *Mixi: This site from Japan has 1 million communities. Its focus is on groups. *Match.com: Mobile dating. The listing of the sites can go on and on. It is indeed endless. In USA social networks which have a business or commercial angle are not viewed favorably. In Japan it is the other way round. Conclusion: Industrial and internet revolution have contributed in a big way to make the concept of ‘world is one family,’ an attainable reality. Companies and people can and need to perform better by collaborating more. Information technology has shrunk the world. Social networks are the key players to keep the family going and kicking. An extraordinary nearness is created between the peoples through social networking, and most of the people would like to make the best use of it. Successful network involves three steps or strategies: Feasibility, Strategy and Implementation. Any networking system that succeeds in creating permanent bonds with good counts will last long and flourish. Social networks have taken the position, ‘a friend in need is a friend indeed.’ Remaining connected is a great experience. Recollection of the past and visualization of the future are also exciting concepts that inspire an individual in his day to day life. Social networking has generated and tendered some of the brilliant ideas, which otherwise would not have been discovered. As for marketing of the new products, for those companies which have ideas and good products but can not develop a world-wide selling strategy due to limited budget, social networking is a boon. You have your own sales personnel, goodwill ambassadors, without paying any remuneration. You can convert your creativity to profitability. Properly connected with a good social networking system you feel as if you are amidst the assembly of friends and well-wishers. One is not bound by the time-factor and enjoys the bliss of freedom of work. Interaction kindles new ideas and makes one a versatile personality, who is willing to accept the merit of new thought processes. References: Benkler, Yochai.2006; The Markets Wealth of Networks: How Social Production Transforms and Freedom; Yale University Press. Marketing on social networks: Friends for sale | The Economist17 Sep 2009... . Retrieved on October 11, 2009 The Global Human Capital Journal » San Francisco Social Networking …. Retrieved on October 11, 2009 Read More