Like Me!
I sat on my couch munching the contents of a bag of regular Tostitos. Nothing better than hanging with my kids, tortilla chips and some homemade guacamole. Chips and a movie, this time? Ghost Ship, a family favorite - there is a fantastic twist scene when all is revealed, check it out some time.
While snacking, I went to grab the bag of chips and noticed the Facebook button on the bag. Yep, Tostitos expects consumers to login, look up their fan page, and then “like” them. I think the fact that I am eating right of the bag proves I like them. But there you have it, Permission Marketing. Bring the consumer to you. Compel the consumer to follow a trail of bread crumbs and convert curiosity into brand loyalty. If you “like” the product, you have consented to contact, you have consented to receipt of future coupons or emails or ads up and down the right-hand side of your Facebook wall.
I have been talking about this exact thing for a few years now, actually advocating for it. But I must admit, it’s kind of scary to see it come to fruition. The potential was undeniable, it was exciting and different. It was new, it was contemporary and Corporate America seemed to shun the possibilities – for awhile. That is until a few took the plunge. I remember just two years ago seeing random companies adding Twitter and Facebook buttons to their advertising. Over three years ago, I consulted smaller companies and convinced them to create fan pages and start engaging. They were eager to learn more, especially when I told them their competition wasn’t doing it. Yet.
Currently, I like over 170 pages – translatable into a brand, product, service, person, or form of art. That’s down about fifty from last Fall, as I recently went through my Facebook likes and deleted those that I didn’t remember even liking, those I no longer liked, or those I saw no need to like and no longer wished to receive messages from. I will filter through my “likes” again soon – Spring Cleaning, as it were.
Facebook is now considered a strong and necessary marketing strategy. With its rate of growth, it will not be long before the number of FB profiles reaches One Billion, predicted to happen this summer or sooner. That is a lot of consumers – all in one place, all in one database. Most companies get the picture of what that represents. Chance. Opportunity. Growth. Branding. But it also means maintenance. It isn’t easy, it won’t be easy. Make it worth the endeavor, not a wasted effort. The payoff will be a direct result of what is put in. It will require consistent work . That means exertion, which means it isn’t free.
So the old selling point of: Social Media is FREE? Umm, no longer applies.
Do you think liking a brand, product, service, person, or art form that you don’t really like, that you don’t really use, that you don’t really care about helps that company / person? Facebook is about YOU. It is about you getting what you want. I personally love the ads on Facbook, I love the tech/algorithms that make that happen. It is incredible where we have come from and the future is intriguing and a bit scary, as well.
Rayanne Thorn, @ray_anne is the Marketing Director for the online recruiting software company, Broadbean Technology. She is also a proud mother of four residing in Laguna Beach, California, and a contributor for Blogging4Jobs. Connect with her on LinkedIn.
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