Stop Advertising on Facebook & other Social Media Tips
November 16, 2012 - David Hall
Category: Social Media Marketing
Why did social media become popular? Because people are interested in other people’s personal lives. We want to know what our peers were doing and evaluate ourselves based on what others are doing and thinking. I think this is called peer review. As people, we are social creatures and are inherently nosy, but we don’t like to seem full of ourselves by bragging or seem overly interested by asking too many questions. When Facebook came around, it was just for college students to learn about one another while maintaining their cool and not showing stalker tendencies. The whole point of social media is to share your experiences, thoughts, and information with your friends and family. The only reason businesses started utilizing social is they realized that so many people were spending so much time on it, they realized that they had to figure out a way in. It hasn’t been easy. People don’t want to see ads when they’re socializing with friends online. They don’t want to be sold stuff either. The point of Facebook was not to be an advertising medium and it’s not really a congruous platform for ads or promotions.
So how does a business utilize Facebook efficiently? By using the platform for what it was made for: being social. Treat your company like it’s a living, breathing person with feelings, life events, and a sense of humor. People may know your business face but what they really want to know is the real you. They may have seen the new sign you have above your store but have they seen your employees brainstorming the design or climbing the ladder to mount it? They love to see what goes on behind the scenes and sharing this information makes you seem much more human and likable. You may not be marketing your products or services but you can’t put a price on likability; presidents have won elections on less. People want to do business with those they can relate to and social media has the ability to bridge the gap between business and consumer if done properly.