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Sometime back there was an ad in Facebook saying “FACEBOOK…… what’s happening? Are you still Social Networking or looks more like cookery channel, news channel, Online shopping Complex, Travel Agency…… People I think WE have converted FACEBOOK into a Television”.
This makes us think,Is Facebook really still a channel where people just connected with long lost friends, school buddies, faraway cousins or distant relatives or it is moved into the more commercial space?Today every new venture that comes into existence instantly tunes in to Facebook for free propagation and promotion of their business. You see thousands of posts and ads from various corners of the world trying to promote anything and everything from bikinis to Sarees and from Diapers to Weight Loss Tea, everything is available on this platform. It has become more of a virtual Flee Market where everyone is trying to sell and everyone who has come for a stroll explores the opportunity to buy. You may buy likes on Facebook at the click of a button.
But, the question is, who is checking which post is authentic and which seller is genuine?
There are so many new businesses that are launched every day and so many promotions are made, its practically impossible for Facebook to go checking on each one’s authenticity. So how does the end consumer know whom to trust on? This jeopardy in the consumer’s mind ruins the upcoming business of even genuine sellers who are out there for serious business. So is it really worth making such an investment of time and effort when you buy likes on Facebook?
Social media is about word-of-mouth
One negative comment on your webpage or Facebook Post can ruin your business completely. People won’t remember the 1000 likes that your business would have received, but they will surely judge you on that one negative comment from a dissatisfied customer. In fact, a lot of customers, these days, resort to Social media as a threat to damage the entity of one’s business, and trust me, however large the business is, they still get scrambled with such kind of a threat. No business wants negative publicity of its products and hence tries to avoid such situations.
Since Social media marketing involves no cost, the buyers also have become less accustomed to buying from social media platforms as it’s a common belief that businesses that don’t have a website of their own are not into serious business. It is a very common belief that amateurs, who have just completed their Grad school, launch most new ventures and want to explore in a new field. Hence, a Social Media promotion could hold no water without an official website for the business. The design, content and the creativity done on your website will attract new business and open more avenues.
Besides, with Social Media, you have a limited reach. No matter how hard you try, how impressive ads you create, the audience will still be restricted to your friends and family and their acquaintances. How would you reach out to the world with Social media is always a question that will be hovering your mind?
Conclusion: Facebook has been a very good promoter for a lot of new businesses till about some years back, but now with the growing number of people resorting to Facebook for marketing; it has ended confusing the end consumer with such a mixed bag of options to choose from.
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This content is sponsored by Andrej Kovacevic.
Photo by William Iven on Unsplash
