Blog 5

After reading the groundswell article, I feel that one of the best strategies I’ve seen companies utilize are viral videos. From my experience, the intention of the majority of blogs, youtube videos, facebook groups, etc. are all to warn potential consumers on the pitfalls and deficiencies of a product. This negative news will go a lot further than a post dedicated to how great a product performs (with the sneaking suspicion that the individual who posted it is in someway benefiting from the post itself). I feel as if a blog, review, or video simply presenting features is not as effective as a viral video. A viral video creates buzz about a product. Sometimes it is obvious as to what the video is promoting, other times no logical person would make the connection. Personally, I stay away from advertisements online, whether it is promoted via facebook, twitter, blog sites, etc. due to the constant possibility of malware that could be installed on my personal machine without my knowledge. Rarely will anyone within my online social network circle make a post regarding a product unless if there is a discount/deal of some sort. This makes it inherently more difficult for businesses and marketing teams to successfully target consumers through online social networks without giving something in return.

While companies may use social networks with the genuine intention of enhancing consumer experiences, for everyone legitimate advertisement/website there are dozens of fake sites with the intention of defrauding the individual. Numerous social networks have users posting links to sites promising free products after testing or through a lottery – most of which are fake and attempting to extract private information from the end-user. This makes many individuals weary of any online form that may ask questions regarding a user’s experience – even if it is a genuine effort by a company trying to improve their product. Even though online surveys are easy and fast to fill out, it is difficult to ascertain the validity from both ends (whether or not the survey is legitimate, and whether the survey answers are truthful).

I believe the best social media tool that companies can use in order to gain insight or create consumer experiences is through blogs or twitter. These two social media tools allow companies to post what they are currently working on, advancements and breakthroughs, and show that they are listening to what their consumers are asking of them. It allows the company to receive feedback from consumers through comments and replies, and from this feedback the company can take them into consideration. However, just as the groundswell article states, consumers alike can create blogs or twitter accounts with the intention of spreading awareness of the unhappy consumer. Another interesting strategy that some companies utilize is “leaks”. Sometimes a company may intentionally leak details of a new up and coming product in order to create a frenzy. Interested buyers spread the word by reposting blog sites, retweeting posts, etc. essentially doing the company’s marketing job for them. While consumers may feel that this privileged information is a goldmine, it shouldn’t be completely dismissed that the company might have allowed the information to be disseminated into the public. A great example is the next generation iPhone that was found in a bar (http://gizmodo.com/5520164/this-is-apples-next-iphone). With each previous iteration of the Apple iPhone released like clockwork (every June/July) a lot of consumers are eagerly waiting for the debut of the next generation iPhone. Rather than publishing this information themselves, it can be argued that Apple intentionally leaked the product to the public, created viral marketing for the soon-to-be-finished product. Typically, whenever such tech sites gain similar inside information, they are served with cease and desist papers from Apple’s legal team. The news about the 4G iPhone has been public around 24 hours without any retraction. Allowing consumers to think that the information is not meant to be seen by their eyes, excitement and momentum builds behind the debut of the next product. Similar marketing ploys have been used by recording artists that leak their CDs onto the internet.