Facebook wants your babies

It’s the largest social network in the world but if Facebook wants to go to (or even invent) the next level of social media marketing then it needs to get babies on board.


The thought occurred to me following the birth of my first nephew and how with smart phones we can have photos up on Facebook in seconds. But when it comes to new born, hours old babies the thought of them being splashed across the internet before they’ve opened their eyes leaves a sour taste in my mouth.
I understand the benefit of being able to share photos through social media but do it in tight knit (Google) ‘circles’ of family and close friends rather than that bloke you speak to at the bus stop.


THE 'BABY PROFILE'
The extreme of this is the ‘Baby Profile’ where new or sometimes even expectant parents setup Facebook profiles for their baby. They are then updated with pictures (including scans) that the baby has no say over, status updates about what they’re probably not thinking and friend requests to people they’ve not even met.


BORN IDENTITY
By the time they are old enough to logon themselves their online identity will have been moulded for them, quite literally in their parents’ image; and this is where the marketing comes in....

Facebook targets ads based on our behaviour, things we ‘like’ and what our friends ‘like’, which takes time and interaction/engagement from the profiles owner. The more we use Facebook the more targeted the advertising can become and the better the ROI is for advertisers.

"The better the ROI the more popular Facebook becomes as an advertising platform."

But what if your profile had been made for you when you were born and as you’ve grown and developed so has your profile and the adverts served to it. This would provide advertisers a whole new dimension of targeting. Not only could they target your current likes but also tap in to nostalgic purchases by targeting items from your childhood, which your parents ‘liked’ for you.


E dot G dot - BRAND LOYALTY
The possibilities are endless; take brand loyalty for instance...
When you were 3 your parents fed you Rice Krispies, they were your favourite and consequently they ‘Like’ Rice Krispies on Facebook. Now in your twenties you are served the same advert as a result of how you responded to it in the past. Seeing the advert you remember making Rice Krispies cakes as a child and that nostalgia drives you to buy some again and rekindle your loyalty to the brand. To take it a step further you may introduce this to your own children and so create even more brand advocates?

Spotify Revisited

Whilst doing a bit of blog maintenance I came across a very early post on Spotify that champions it as a Radio DJ killer. This post however was hidden away amidst some mumblings about how it was the first blog post i'd written and so wasn't quite sure what to 'tell the world'.
However on closer inspection I think it's worth of it's own post now so before it gets hidden amongst more mumblings here it is.

Compared with many other websites Spotify is user friendly, easy navigation when searching for artists, tracks and albums due to the size of database and details of results listed allows us to find that perfect track with a relatively small amount of information. The programme records history of previous searches, which saves time when you next logon and users can also que songs which saves time downloading tracks. We are able to personalise playlists and gain instant access to different genres. The question however is why do we want to do that, after all radio DJs have been around for years and they know the industry, are they not better equipped to decide what we listen to on a professional basis? Are we in fact criticising their profession by believing that we can do better ourselves? Or is taste a good enough reason to substitute professional DJs with a program like Spotify?

The second area that we benefit from by using Spotify is the fact that there is a free option. In order to build an extensive catalogue like the one on Spotify would cost hundreds of thousands, if not millions of pounds were we still buying CDs or Vinyl. Now it is at hand whenever we want it. Some would argue that CDs are still bought and that many people still have stacks of CDs in their lounge however I believe I have the answer to this status that came from ownership of CDs and Vinyl. It is a fading trend that has occurred due to the way we access media from multiple channels.

In the past the radio DJs would play the songs and if you wanted to listen to them ‘On-Demand’ you would have to purchase the single or album on whatever medium (CD/Vinyl/Tape/Minidisc) was available. This meant that those with the larger collections would display them in prominent places in order to show their dedication to the music industry or particular artists and would be able to revel at having the latest tracks at hand.

However with the introduction of websites such as YouTube and Last.fm, interactive TV, dedicated music channels and and Spotify to name a few the need to own music has diminished. It is so easy to play your favourite tracks whenever you want without purchasing them that there is no status involved in owning a large music collection as we now have a global music collection where we can share playlists in an instant and be our own DJ, for ourselves or others. It makes you wonder what will happen to the music industry if we all stop buying music, it could be up to advertising to replace the revenue from sales.

Could Twitter's new 'Follow' button actually be a major step forward in social media marketing

Well could it? I don't see why not, it's functional, easily implemented and above all available to everyone from major organisations to the once every 6 months (ahem) blogger. I can see this being used a great deal especially within community sites where site owners want to provide their users with added functionality without them leaving the site. Forums with high profile members could promote their Twitter presence allowing others to benefit from their knowledge and expertise whilst on the move.


I'd love to hear your thoughts on this and luckily there's a comment box below, so please, go mental...