Social Networks like Facebook...

[Wolf]

I have a bit of an off topic question:
Do you use social networks like facebook or twitter, etc?
Every marketing guru, and every marketing wanna be insists that social networks are where it's at, and if you don't have your business there, you are missing the boat.
Well, I do have my business there, BUT, it's by no means our main marketing tool... am I missing the boat?

 

[Farmer John]

am I missing the boat?

no, the "marketing guru's" are.

If your customer base is of an older age group it's not the end all.

 

[RM_guy]

I don't facebook, twit, myspace, text or any of that crap. How exposing yourself to millions of total strangers is good for society is way beyond me. Since when does everyone have to be in constant contact with everyone else. I still refuse to even have a cell phone and I even don't always answer my phone when it rings because I like my privacy.

Don't get me wrong I use a lot of technology at work and at home but IMO it's gotten way out of hand. FJ is right.

 

[Papakeith]

I've become addicted to facebook. I like catching up with all the people that, for one reason or another, slipped away from my life. That said, I largely ignore the marketing that goes on there.

 

[dirt bike dave]

I'm late 40's and have used facebook and a few other more business oriented sites (like Linked In). It has not been a useful tool for building business, IMO, but to be fair, I have not put much effort into it. It's somewhat useful for keeping in touch, but I much prefer personal email/phone calls for that.

My observation is people under 35 years of age are much more likely to use Facebook et al.

Never checked out Twitter, but from what I can tell it is all the things I don't like about Facebook all rolled into one site and caters to an even younger crowd.

I'm a little amused/amazed that so many people think that their followers care what they think/are doing at any given moment.

My guess is at any given moment, 1,000,000 people are posting/twitting "I'm thinking about going to lunch." Seems to me that's a sign of a world where waaaaaay too many people are totally self absorbed.

 

[Papakeith]

but of that 1,000,000 people lets say you get .1% to purchase or at least look at your product. It's not a bad day.

 

[Rich Rohrich]

but of that 1,000,000 people lets say you get .001% to purchase or at least look at your product. It's not a bad day.

... assuming e-tards are your target audience. :whoa:

 

[Papakeith]

you say that like e-tards aren't the major portion of the audience that is out there.

 

[RM_guy]

At 50 (next month...money only please) I guess I have become that old guy that won't let go of the past but damn it, the past was pretty nice. Just imagine sitting down to a nice dinner out and not having to listen to someone answering their cell so the whole place could hear about their sister's recent bout with anal itching. That's how it was and yes it was nice.

Like DBD says, do these people real think the world gives a rats ass about their every move? yes, way too self absorbed and way out of touch with reality. Or maybe that's the new reality but I'm not buying into it. I guess to some extent it's convenient to get reacquainted with old prison buddies (like Keith seems to have been doing :nener: ) and I can see where there is some marketing potential but if someone is that self absorbed and easily led into thinking that everyone really does want to follow their every move then probably only scam artists could win with marketing there. I'll admit I'm no marketing genius but for my age group I think I'm on the mark.

OK, Rant off.

 

[motodr9]

Too much info

I don't Facebook, Twitter, or Myspace at all. I don't care to relay tons, and I mean tons, of completely useless information.
I don't care what your cat is doing. How many people like you. What girl/boy you are dating. I prefer to call or email my friends and family.
I am with dirt bike dave. Everyone on these sites seems so busy telling the world how relevant and cool they are.

Maybe they are?

 

[dirt bike dave]

but damn it, the past was pretty nice.

I think I'm going to be saying that an awful lot over the next 10 years or so. :yikes:


On the facebook thing, a few more observations:

Of the 'heavy users' I know, many are women under age 40.

Anyone broadcasting 10+ updates a day to people they have not seen or talked to in 5 or more years wierds me out.

Basically, I can't decide if it's a sign of the times, a cry for help or a symptom of prevalent self absorption in the modern world.

Either way, it's probably not good, IMO.

 

[Mully]

TWEET!~!!!!!!!!
Mully is:
"Reading about facebook on DRN"

:p

 

[Wolf]

re-tweet
Wolf is:
"Reading about Mully reading about facebook on DRN"

 

[Rich Rohrich]

TWITS :|

 

[2strok4fun]

Myself, I dont facebook, besides the girls I dated or wanted to date in High School probably still dont want to have anything to do with me today, that seems to be what it is used for...

 

[Patman]

I have Facebook & LinkedIn accounts. The best thing I can say about fb is that I found some old friends and we bounce some messages around from time to time. Some are A LOT more active than me and I guess it's because I just don't see the point of a virtual life when my real life is so busy.

Linked in is maybe a bit more useful in the current job market, again I hooked up with some past folks I worked with and we try to help each other out with finding leads. As you know Wolf I don't think it is the most successful way to find something though.

Twitter seems to be a huge time leach as fb can be. My son was really in to fb for a while and we had to throttle it back because there are more important things to do.

If I am looking to buy something I check around the forums I trust, do my research and then decide where I will purchase. Sometimes it's on-line and sometimes it's locally.

 

[Mully]

TWITS :|

heh......

Shenanigans, high jinx, and monkey business.

If it wasn't for this stuff breaking up the monotony of my day I would most likely snap. :whoa:

Sanity check on aisle 4 please.

 

[BadgerMan]

I've become addicted to facebook. I like catching up with all the people that, for one reason or another, slipped away from my life. That said, I largely ignore the marketing that goes on there.

I agree. I have enjoyed reconnecting with some old friends and distant family members. I have a 30 year HS reunion coming up this weekend and it probably would not have happened without FB. Just make sure you keep the security settings tight. :nod:

I have never looked at Twitter or Myspace. Who has the time?

 

[MXSparx]

TWITS :|

:nod:

 

[Farmer John]

Shenanigans, high jinx, and monkey business.

Hey Farva, whats the name of that place you like???

 

[_JOE_]

A lot of good points.

I am in the under 30 crew and ALOT of people I grew up with have a Facebook account. It's not like everyone in the world can access you, you don't really have to give any personal information. I use it as a "social networking" tool, not to try to buy/sell things. I would think it a good idea to have an account for your business simply to allow another path of communication for your customers and a way for you to keep them informed of promotions and such. The real benefit is the cost of advertising. You can't beat free.

I would imagine your business caters more to the over 30 crowd though, right Wolf? I mean, most of the people I know that are my age don't have an RV. I think this might prevent you from seeing a considerable increase in your sales at this point in time. I would think that it will increase in effectiveness as the social networking sites expand to include some more of the older folks and more of the current "Facebookers" might get into RVs.

Alll in all I would think it's a good idea to have and watch an account for your business and not get disgusted if it doesn't get much action right away. Good luck to you!

 

[TwinSpar]

Target audience is key to utilizing FB for marketing purposes. I'm helping to market a local burger joint for selfish reasons.... I don't want it to go away. Dallas/Ft. Worth is the freaking land of franchise establishments and sadly... too many of the non-franchise places die. I am trying to leverage the FB exposure for a business that can cater to this segment. I would never try to market the company I work for on there. The audience just isn't there for property management software for hotels.

FB can bring value if you have the right audience for the marketing message.

 

[RYDMOTO]

I bought my SHAMWOW off of facebook come to think of it.

 

[FruDaddy]

I think that I shall create a twitter account so I can post every time I take a crap.

 

[julien_d]

My wife got me on facebook. She uses it to share pics of the kids with her folks and friends. Joe is right, nobody can see anything about other than what you've made "public", unless you acknowledge that you know that person and want to share info with them. It's ok for what it is. Less self absorbed than myspace anyway. I'm hardly ever on there, but have re-connected with some people I haven't seen in 10-15 years, so that's pretty cool.

Never really thought of it as a business tool, but I suppose if you had an online following, you could post deals, specials, etc. Might be a way to boost some business, sure.