The Power of the Gropon

I just came across an awesone application for my smartphone, have you all ever hurd of the groupon ? Well let me tell you a bit about it. Groupon "group coupon" is a deal-of-the-day website that is localized to major geographic markets worldwide. Launched in November 2008, the first market for Groupon was Chicago, followed soon thereafter by Boston, New York City, and Toronto. As of October 2010 the Groupon serves more than 150 markets in North America and 100 markets in Europe, Asia and South America and has amassed 35 million registered users.

The idea for Groupon was created by now-CEO and Pittsburgh native Andrew Mason. The idea subsequently gained the attention of his former employer, Eric Lefkofsky, who provided $1 million in "seed money" to develop the idea. In April 2010, the company was valued at $1.35 billion. According to a report conducted by Groupon's marketing association and reported in Forbes Magazine, which was reported by the Wall Street Journal, Groupon is "projecting that the company is on pace to make $1 billion in sales faster than any other business, ever". I just think it’s crazy to see what the new invocation with technology and a the power of social media.

Put a Little Color in Your Life

Have you heard of the new app for the I phone?  The app is called color. Let me explain what its all about. The Color iPhone app that has just been launched on the Apple iTunes App Store and has been deigned to create a complete new and innovative way to use your mobile for social networking using your camera and photographs. The new Color application allows you to see other users photographs that have been taken using Color from people within 100ft your location. Providing you with a complete stream of photos to record everything going on at an event. The Color application chooses which pictures you see from the continuous stream based on your location and how often you have been sharing photos with someone else. Every photo and video taken with the Color app is public, not only to the people you consider your friends, but also to any one within your proximity, even strangers. Color is already available to download for free from iTunes and will soon also be available to download on Android as well. I just thinks this app takes stalking to a new level. LEt me know what you think.

"Almost" Famous- The Rebecca Black Story

It amazes me how quickly people can become instant celebrities via social media networks. Rebecca Black is the most recent to join the ranks for the moment of other more successful celebrities. In fact, there has been recent controversy over whether or not Miley Cyrus was a Rebecca Black fan. She said she was misquoted and was a Black fan. Wait a minute! Did you just read what I said? Miley Cyrus had to explain she was misquoted over a nobody who gained fame in this moment.

There are conflicting stories of how Black exploded onto the social media scene. One venue is that just recently Comedy Central's Tosh.O's blog posted her video under the headline "Songwriting Isn't For Everyone." It seems that just one mention and that was all it took. By the weekend's end, "Friday" had been Tumblr'd, Facebooked, Blogged, and Tweeted by countless baffled viewers--and dozens of covers and parodies had popped up on YouTube as well, including an amusingly Dylanesque one.

Money opens doors for anyone. Rebecca's family was wealthy enough to buy her recording time in a studio to record a song for her birthday. On the other hand, money does not buy talent no matter how much time you take to "fix" a voice. After watching the offical YouTube video I believed that she had a terrible voice and her lyrics were redundant. I know she went onto the Today Show or some morning show to prove to America that she could actually sing. I think the important lesson to take from Black is how usefully social media really is. It allows anyone to reach the masses whether it is for fame or for marketing. Social media marketing has an extreme relevance to everyday life. I thought I would post a link to the video just in case you haven't seen it. Feel free to say what you think.

https://sn2prd0302.outlook.com/owa/redir.aspx?C=31f782b6a8ef4987b3a59ed277c7fdb7&URL=http%3a%2f%2fwww.youtube.com%2fwatch%3fv%3dCD2LRROpph0

Social Media Puts a Microscope on Social Characteristics: Reputation

Social media not only has an effect on business at a macro level but at a micro level as well. In the specific case of reputation social media has revolutionized what reputation has become to be known and how it is presented to the general public. Reputation is no longer just about personal appearance and relationships with other peers. Social media puts a mirror close-up image of who you are to anyone with access to a computer. Employers can check up on potential employees by looking up their credit scores online. Even colleges use Facebook to look up potential students to see what kind of a reputation that person has socially. Without social media outlets, employers would use paperwork and interviews to gage a person’s reputation. The amount of time it would take for background checks, etc. would limit how much information an employer could gain about a potential employee. Social media has become a tool for employers to use to find out even more personal and social details about possible potential employees. In a way, social media has become a “Big Brother.” There are positives and negatives of the influence of social media on reputation. Reputation is no longer black and white by definition. Instead, there are many layers to a person’s reputation that is present by multiple social media outlets. It is a strength on behalf of the person behind the social media when they can present themselves in a way that gives off a prestigious reputation. The only negative to this is that employers and anyone in society in general has more access to information about you. It is up to you what information you allow to be available. All in all, the lesson that can be taken from this social situation is that face still matters when dealing with social media even when it is not you personally but pictures and words that shape your reputation for others.

A social accepable way of stocking

This week I while I was in a local business I noticed advertisement in the form of a sign about Facebook Places. I found this especially interesting since just recently in class we were discussing new trends in social media. The whole concept behind Facebook Places is really genius. While looking up more information about Facebook Places I also came across information about Four Square. Many bigger cities use this form of social media more frequently. Once Bowling Green reaches the capacity closer to that of a larger city instead of a “mini” city, I believe that services like Four Square will take off. I think this will be great for local businesses to get the word out about their products and services available to the public. For example, I could see how a place like Nat’s could really benefit form this new type of marketing. Not only would they be able to keep their current loyal customers but they could also reach new demographics by publishing their products and services for all people to have access to. As I understand it when you “check in” to a place the business will know that you are there and then they might have some kind of coupon or discount sent to your smart phone.  Now you are given a reason to check out the business because you have money saving opportunities available to use and you might be enticed to purchase a product or a service from that business. For more personal uses, the smart phone feature will enable you to see which of your friends are in that same area or business. Overall, this will be a great asset to Bowling Green for consumers and business to use that will allow both parties to understand each other better.

Strategic Uses of Social Media to Make the "Bad Guy" Profitable

Social media and Mr. Charlie Sheen, all I can say is that as his bad boy image has turned into self-destruction he seems to be liked even more in the social media world. Not only is he using multiple forms of social media but he is exploiting them to keep himself in the limelight. Also, he has been using social media to defend his case and put a positive spin on his side of the story. Using Twitter and other forms of social media allow him to socially construct how he wants the public to view the events as they are occurring. He has been able to exaggerate everything that has been happening to keep media outlets focused on him. He has about 2,888,633 followers on his Twitter account the last time I looked. When Charlie first opened his account he set a record by reaching a million users faster than lady Gaga or any other celebrity. Charlie’s story is far from over but I am sure that he will still be in the news tomorrow because of his extensive use of social media.

Blogging about Blogs

I decided to highlight blogs written by “professionals” about Social Media Marketing. One of the first I ran across was that of Scott Monty. He works for Ford Motor Company and is their head of social media. He blogs about a range of topics, a lot of them overlap with the topics we have been reading about for this class. Ranging from advertising to the convergence of marketing, his blogs provide his personal views on those topics that can be applied by the individual or even marketers.

I would suggest reading his blog from January 16 entitled, “Facebook-at the Center of Your Messaging Life.” Generation Y high school students feel that emailing is too long of a process and that iming is a more efficient form of communication. The issue that is discussed is that he finds it troubling that a multi-billion dollar company would base decisions on a young generation’s opinion. Especially when most of them do not have computer literacy when it comes to the ability to write a cohesive, well written anything. This statement alone has many future implications that will be applicable to Social Media Marketing.  

You can read his blog here: http://www.scottmonty.com/

Blogging the new era

The Age of the Internet has really changed how and where we get our information about products. Before computers and social media websites were invented, most people would ask friends or family members for advice before they would buy a product. He or she might take weeks or even months looking in different stores or calling around to see whether or not they should make their purchase. Nowadays you can sit at your computer and have what use to take weeks and even months available to you at the click of a button. Blogging has become the “phone a friend” technique for the 21^st Century.

When consumers are shopping on the internet they are able to view multiple reviews written by consumers that have purchased that specific product. The reviews sometimes clearly and simply illustrate how the blogger feels about the product by showing thumbs up or thumb down and can range to a full list of the product’s pros and cons. Of course this is all dependent on the person who is writing the blog and that they are not simply blogging to complain about a product. There are pros and cons to relying only on blogs for opinions about products. As mentioned earlier those who are blogging might be the extreme opinions involving those who loved the product and those that hated it. The fact that they have extreme opinions could overshadow the everyday opinion about the true usefulness of the product. I believe that as long as you look at multiple blogs and other resources then you can weight out any potential bias. Personally I enjoy blog reviews because I believe consumers are more reliable then the reviews on the product’s website. As part of marketing, I am sure a lot of the reviews on the product websites are very positive and illustrate the product in a positive light. Consumers, however, are more likely to give their honest opinions about pros and cons. I know I would trust a consumer that recently purchased a product and wrote an honest review of how the product worked. A lot of rookie consumers seem to fall in this trap and trust that what the company is saying about the product is the truth. But think about it? They want to sell it to you because it’s their product.  The positive in all of this is that now reviews are easily available to any customer that takes the time to turn on their laptop. Not only can they save money in the process but they also save time having to make a return of a product that they ended up not being pleased with anyway.

social media campaign

Campaigning in social media marketing can be effective. The biggest company I can think of that has done this effectively has been McDonald’s. For example, one of their more recent successful campaigns has been that they extended their $1 Sweet Tea deal to any drink could be purchased for a dollar. This one is still a big deal because everyone loves the idea of getting the most for their dollar. Also; if they buy the drink in the store, then they are able to get as many refills as they want and they only had to spend $1 to get the cup.

Overall, one of McDonald’s bigger campaigns over the years has been all about the Big Mac. Recently, campaign energy has been focused on bringing the classic Big Mac back into the spot light. They have also put an emphasis on the new Big Mac Wrap that allows the customer to enjoy the Big Mac taste but in a tortilla shell instead of the classic sesame seed bun. The appeal is to bring in a younger generation and remind those faithful to the Big Mac why they fell in love with it in the first place. From catchy songs to buy one get one free coupons on Facebook and through text messages, McDonalds is trying to reach customers in every way possible. I have seen over the years so much social media marketing about the McDonald’s Big Mac. This is a prime example of a McDonald’s classic that is still popular with the public of today. The reason this campaign has been so successful over the years is because they brought it to the consumer in a simplistic way by letting the product just shine on its own. Also, they have played around with the value of the Big Mac. At one time they were selling the Big Mac for only 95¢. This campaign was a huge success because of the value. The overall simplistically and value of the Big Mac has allowed it to stay around and become a favorite instead of a fad.

The Big Mac over the years, check it out!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wj95JqTAors&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sz656YOEixI

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9UWq26V01po&feature=related

Social Media: How Can it Help/Hurt Your Professional Life?

The world is a dog eat dog world. Anything negative that is available for everyone to see can and will be used against you. Summiting a post on Facebook about the “awesome party” Friday night along with pictures form that night’s activities, might not be so cool Monday morning when your boss decides to leave you a comment on your page about the expense reports due later that day. Not only will they be able to view the festivities that you took a part in, i.e. multiple pictures of little red cups and dazed and confused you, but they know you lied about having to miss the prior evening’s late night group meeting because your Aunt died. Either you choose to morn by getting drunk and taking photos of your drunkenness or you are a bad liar, at this point it is no longer up to you to decide but your boss. You just earned some much unwanted attention that is now being brought against your character and work ethic. Management might just decide that they are no longer in need of the skills that you possess. Bad news! What the example above illustrates is that when social media is not used correctly it can affect your professional life in a negative way. It is important to be responsible with the items you put out into “web space”. Not only do they not disappear but they are a direct reflection about yourself.

            On the other hand, social media can be beneficial. It can be used as your own personal inexpensive advertisement about you. Using Facebook and MySpace allows a person to put up information about themselves and broadcast it to millions of people without having to spend the time he or she would have needed to send out emails and make phone calls. For example, your resume can be passed around on all the different types of media. This will literality let the businesses you are trying to become a part of have all the necessary tools to see if you would be a fit into their growing team. Social media also connects the employer to the employee. It can be used as a tool by businesses to advertise jobs and receive feedback from many more candidates then simply placing a want ad in the paper. In general, social media is connecting everyone globally. Even though you might be competing with someone in China for a job, social media allows you to see other jobs internationally that might be available that you can also compete for. Just picking up a newspaper and looking through the classifieds would not give you the same end result.

            Only being a junior in college and not so far removed from high school I remember many instances of friends’ job hunting during the summertime. Looking back specifically at my senior year of high school, I remember some friends who would always post crazy pictures of events that would take place of Friday nights. They all thought it was cool to have these outrageous and inappropriate pictures on their page. There never seemed to be a dilemma until one of my close friend’s tried applying for a local job. He received the interview opportunity by networking through a connection from Church. On the day of his interview he received a call from the prospective employer informing him that he was no longer needed for the position. Puzzled, my friend asked why the position was no longer available and the prospective employer stated that he was no longer interested in him for the position because there was conflicting information about his character after he had gathered information from sources on Facebook. Based off of those experiences, I have learned that the most important rule when it comes to social media is to censor what you choice to place on social media sites because you don’t know who is watching.

            To have social media on your side is the most important aspect of being successful with social media sites. By keeping yourself professional in your social lives, will allow you to be fully accepted into the professional world.

Is social media marketing a fad or here to stay?

Social media marketing is here to stay and can be considered a force to be reckoned with. Most of the information we receive is found via a social network.  As a society, we don’t watch TV for information and instead we choose to simply pull out a cellphone or computer because these sources are a faster way for receiving the same information. In the YouTube video about social media marketing a surprising statistic about reaching viewers was provided. Looking specifically at the statistic of reaching 50 million users, it took Radio 38 years, TV 13 years, the Internet 4 years, and the IPod 3 years while it only took less than a year Facebook to reach 200 million users. Crazy right? By finding a fast way for people to link up, communicate, express and inform; social media was bound to be a huge success.

With the recent exponential growth in social media marketing for large corporate businesses, many small businesses are following their example to invest in this new type of marketing. It allows small businesses to have a more equal footing with the larger businesses. Advertisements in newspapers and magazines cost money. Larger businesses have funds to buy into advertisement and had a monopoly over smaller businesses to reach customers. Now small businesses can take advantage of free advertisement through the use of social media marketing. For example, think of a little surf shop that just opened in Myrtle Beach, NC.  The business owner decides to make a Facebook page of his shop to connect with locals and advertise the fact that he has the lowest prices in town. Before he knows it he has a large line out the door full of people from all around because of the FREE advertisement he posted on Facebook.

For both large and small businesses, social media marketing allows businesses to reach customers who they would not normally be able to. Everyday communication revolves around social media and it only makes sense to reach the consumer through the resources that they use daily. The one fact that amazed me most about technological advances came from the assigned videos from last week. It is almost unbelievable that within my lifetime, 25 years down the road, cellphones will be as small as a blood cell. When this technology was first created it took a whole building to contain all of its’ parts. Technology will continue to evolve at a fast rate and the only option to try and keep up is to adapt. One of the areas that this is possible for the marketing world is to use social media to reach those who would not normally be reached by what can be considered as old fashion ways to market. Taking all of the above into consideration it makes you step back and see that technology is hitting all of us at 100 mph.