Companies who believe that having millions of “Likes” on Facebook is important to their bottom line have it absolutely wrong.
“Liking” Coke or “Liking” The Avengers on Facebook isn’t going to make a person drink more Coke or see The Avengers more times – it just means they’re going to get nothing but product blasts for the rest of their lives.
I would argue it might actually make you drink less Coke because you’re so fucking annoyed with the relentless marketing from the Coca-Cola Company.
Social media would be incredibly valuable if companies would just leave it alone, make products people really like (not “Like”) and stay out of our faces.
People talking with each other (real people) and texting and emailing and chatting, etc. is the greatest marketing tool ever invented (and it wasn’t actually invented by anyone – save God). And companies are figuring out new and clever ways to fuck that up.
If you mention in your status that you are running out to Starbucks – there is really good chance your Picture and Status Update will appear in one of your friends News Feed as ads.
So, you are now, unwittingly, a Corporate Shill for Starbucks. Most people don’t like to be Corporate Shills. The term “Corporate Shill” is not a term of endearment. It makes your real friends hate you just a little bit more than they did before you pushed a product on them.
I did a little experiment over the past month. I decided to accept everyone who requested to be my friend on Facebook – http://www.facebook.com/jill.kennedy.5095
I had my own little circle of work colleagues and college friends (around 30) – but decided to accept all comers in the hope that I could expand the number of “Likes” on my newly-created Company page – http://www.facebook.com/MankaBros
So I accepted and sort of went begging for “Likes” as so many people do. “If you ‘Like’ my page I’ll like your ebook or Erotic Blacklight Art Page in return…'” etc. etc. etc.
This was an eye-opening and humiliating experience – I now have 768 Friends (and counting) and not many “Likes.”
But, surprise, suddenly there was pornography in my News Feed.
There was every kind of racist Poke imaginable. Scary sexually advances. (And, to be fair, a few genuinely nice people.)
But, in general, a stunning display of what’s really out there.
Not pretty.
Are these the people Coke wants to “Like” them?
The marketing world’s latest buzz phrase is “Big Data” – gathering everybody’s information. Seriously, there are people out there whose information should never be shared except with some type of law enforcement.
Personally, I can only speak for big media companies (and myself), but I can imagine it applies to every company (and person) out there – be careful what you wish for when you start your social media campaigns because once people “Like” you, they never leave you alone.
Jill Kennedy – OnMedea
P.S. – “LIKE” ME ON FACEBOOK!” – http://www.facebook.com/onmedea
They are paying what they are paying and they are getting what they are getting. These aren’t frail senior citizens being scammed by a pigeon drop – these are multi-billion dollar businesses making business deals under the watchful eyes of attorneys, accountants, and in many cases, data scientists.
Mark Cuban and Nick Bilton can vote with their checkbooks and their time and their mice. If Facebook doesn’t do the job for them, they can simply stop using it. It wasn’t doing anything for me, so *I* stopped using it. Simple, effective.
Is this some kind of joke? It’s f-ing brilliant if so. When do we get to the part where Jill Kennedy reveals what she actually looks like?
Seriously, is there any intended irony? If not, I don’t like you and I don’t want to be friends anymore.
RZ
PS – What is meant by “World’s Largest Media Company?” I’ve worked for Time Warner, CBS, and Disney. Where do you guys rank in that context?
Doesn’t everything these days have a little bit of irony in them? Here is what is meant by “World’s Largest Media Company” – this chart says it all.
http://www.mankabros.com/worlds_largest_chart.htm
Pretty awesome. Feel like a dick for sniffing the bait, but y’all really know your stuff. Reality is often so painfully close to this I could hardly bear to look. Great work.
Love the snow seals and the ice foxes.
Best of luck,
RVZ
Brilliant,
Love it!
Agreed.
Despite that fact. I am and remain honest..
Creative individual.
Love it. But it’s whose, not who’s… you are a writer on fire, blazingly funny, so you may attract grammarians!
awesome article