Social Media Not So Social For Businesses

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Social media giant Facebook is once again changing its algorithms. The change is making it more difficult for brands to reach affinity groups through organic postings. The goal is to raise revenue through promoted postings. Facebook claims that users are complaining they are tired of seeing posts that push them to buy a product or app. Research firm Forrester believes the change will have such a significant impact that they are advising companies to decrease their reliance on Facebook. As a relancement, they suggest companies turn to email marketing campaigns. Email campaigns were the norm to reach customers online prior to the emergence of social media. 

Facebook is enjoying a huge increase in ad revenue in the past quarter. It is up 64 percent to $2.96 billion. They also enjoy 25 times more advertisers than Twitter. Today, Adweek learned Facebook will offer deep-pocketed brands exclusive information about users.

Should Facebook be doing this?

Social media is so good for companies because it is a low cost way to reach consumers. Facebook should not be limiting who can effectively reach their customers. Once it loses it's uniqueness, Facebook will not be the place to be for advertisers. This move may set them up for failure long term.

Special Typeface for Dyslexic People

Many people have dyslexia. In fact, dyslexia is estimated to affect 10% of the world's population according to UK charity Dyslexia Action. Dutch designer Christian Boer has created a special typeface for people with dyslexia. Below is a chart showing how dyslexic people see letters, and how the new typeface makes them easier to read. With 10% of the world's population affected by dyslexia, 10% of the the population may be misreading advertisements.  Link

Introducing Snapcash

I was on Snapchat today and saw something interesting. I had a snap from Snapchat about a new service they are offering called Snapcash. I decided to look into it further. The popular app struck a deal with Square Cash allowing people to add a debit card and type a dollar amount to instantly send money to a friend.

The future plan for the service may include ecommerce payments to merchants. Someone can see a video from a company and if they like the product, they can buy it instantly. From a marketing standpoint, Snapchat could cross-reference debit card info through Snapchash accounts for ad targeting. This would increase the amount Snapchat charges companies to run advertisements.

There is a video in the link below showing an advertisement for Snapcash.

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It's a Hoax!

The now famous "Alex from Target" was a marketing ploy from the start. Business Insider reports the was staged to help small-content creators spread their work. What was not expected were the results. #AlexfromTarget received worldwide exposure making Alex an overnight celebrity. 

The campaign is yet another indication of the power of social media and its ability to spread a message. I can only expect similar campaigns in the future stealth marketing campaigns to generate word of mouth in social media. 

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Product Backfire?

We have seen product placement in all types of programming and the NFL is no different. Microsoft is reportedly paying the NFL about $400 million over the next five years as part of a wide-ranging partnership. The partnership promotes their Surface tablet and brings NFL content to the Xbox One.

The problem Microsoft faces is that announcers are calling the Surface tablets iPads on national television. The miss-identification has lead Microsoft to coach various announcers on how to refer to the tablets.

As someone who watches football, I have been taking note of the partnership between Microsoft and the NFL during games. I have noticed that as the weeks go by, the Tablets have been receiving less and less air time. Announcers and camera operators are not focusing on them at all.

The intended communications goals are likely not being reached. The only buzz around the partnership I have been hearing is laughter over announcers not being able to tell the difference between an iPad and Surface tablet.


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