I'm Just Sayin'
#Happy Birthday in the world of @Social Media
Rachael Carswell - Thursday, April 28, 2011
I must credit the inspiration behind this blogpost to our very own Leanne who is celebrating her birthday today: Happy Birthday Leanne!
The impact of the internet of celebrations, rituals and ceremonies is not all that new. It feels like birthday e-cards have been around for at least 15 years and since then not much has improved. That is until social media helped take something as simple as "Happy Birthday" to the next level. Whether you're on a student budget or have money to spend, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube now offer more ways to wish happiness on the day of your friend's birth than ever before.
Sure you have your stereotypical wall post, tweet, video, fan page or private message, and those are all great. But what happens when social media decides to *really take it to the next level? We now live in a world where you don't have to spend money to buy real gifts or cards for your special someone. You now have the option to spend money on a non-existing virtual gift! Yay! Why buy something when you can buy nothing?
Facebook has their own Gift Buying network, where for a few dollars you can send a rose, a puppy or a bunch of balloons in an attempt to extend your warmest wishes. Since then we have seen a rise in third party applications which allow you to buy and send mini virtual dancing clowns, rabbits or whatever you please. But virtual gifts are nothing compare to virtual parties! For a fair price this application will allow you and a few friends to celebrate that special day by chatting, playing games and killing time together in community right on Facebook regardless of your physical location. But what birthday "gift" tops all of these? Well, how about taking out an ad wishing your friend a Happy Birthday? Using Facebook ads you can create an ad of warm wishes and target it towards all your friends and that special birthday celebrator.
Regardless of how you chose to express your birthday wishes there seems to be a divide between the free (I would argue sane*) method of a wall post or tweet and the excessive sending or creating of a virtual 'nothing'. I beg to ask why, but I feel that spending the money is what justifies the gift; it's what reflects your extra effort in wanting to be different and go the extra mile.
Words of wisdom- instead of spending money on a virtual gift why not head over to World Vision and buy the gift of food or medicine to those who desperately need it in the name of your birthday friend. There's an idea that will topple every virtual teddy bear Facebook has to offer*
The impact of the internet of celebrations, rituals and ceremonies is not all that new. It feels like birthday e-cards have been around for at least 15 years and since then not much has improved. That is until social media helped take something as simple as "Happy Birthday" to the next level. Whether you're on a student budget or have money to spend, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube now offer more ways to wish happiness on the day of your friend's birth than ever before.
Sure you have your stereotypical wall post, tweet, video, fan page or private message, and those are all great. But what happens when social media decides to *really take it to the next level? We now live in a world where you don't have to spend money to buy real gifts or cards for your special someone. You now have the option to spend money on a non-existing virtual gift! Yay! Why buy something when you can buy nothing?
Facebook has their own Gift Buying network, where for a few dollars you can send a rose, a puppy or a bunch of balloons in an attempt to extend your warmest wishes. Since then we have seen a rise in third party applications which allow you to buy and send mini virtual dancing clowns, rabbits or whatever you please. But virtual gifts are nothing compare to virtual parties! For a fair price this application will allow you and a few friends to celebrate that special day by chatting, playing games and killing time together in community right on Facebook regardless of your physical location. But what birthday "gift" tops all of these? Well, how about taking out an ad wishing your friend a Happy Birthday? Using Facebook ads you can create an ad of warm wishes and target it towards all your friends and that special birthday celebrator.
Regardless of how you chose to express your birthday wishes there seems to be a divide between the free (I would argue sane*) method of a wall post or tweet and the excessive sending or creating of a virtual 'nothing'. I beg to ask why, but I feel that spending the money is what justifies the gift; it's what reflects your extra effort in wanting to be different and go the extra mile.
Words of wisdom- instead of spending money on a virtual gift why not head over to World Vision and buy the gift of food or medicine to those who desperately need it in the name of your birthday friend. There's an idea that will topple every virtual teddy bear Facebook has to offer*
Facebook Ads and Hitting that Target Market
Rachael Carswell - Friday, January 21, 2011
This week was a busy week for Facebook campaigning. Online strategies for multiple clients resulted in requiring some Facebooks Ads to hit a wider audience.
Facebook has done a very good job of allowing users to tailor their advertisements in order to hit the exact people they want. It begins with location - country, province/state and age, then follows on to demographics - age and sex, and then goes on to what is, in my opinion, one of the most important features - likes and interests. Here is the section where you can really get specific. Facebook allows you to define the users you want to reach by outlining other pages, groups and even job titles that they have included on their profiles. For example, if a Facebook ad was for cupcakes, the business could have their ad appear on the sidebar of user profiles that have liked 'baking', 'Food Network', 'dining' etc. This way we KNOW that they like eating and food! What a great way to reach a specific audience.
Facebook is a different social medium in the sense that outreach, for pages, is difficult. Pages cannot contact people and say "JOIN OUR PAGE!". They can rely on their friends joining and then suggesting to their friends, but the initial outreach phase depends on people finding you. Their are multiple ways you can make sure that people know you have a Facebook page, but a great way to actively reach out is through Facebook Ads. Budgeting is also simple. It charges by 'pay per click', so businesses can set a reasonable budget so that the ad stops running when this number is maxed out. My suggestion here is give it a go! It doesn't take a long term commitment or a large check, and the results will surprise you.
Dear Facebook, If it’s not broken, don’t fix it.
Connie Burke - Wednesday, January 05, 2011
Every morning, as I browse through the latest trending topics (mashable is my favorite place to find them) I stumble across a new way to layout your Facebook profile. I hadn’t had a chance to willingly accept the new Facebook profile change from November before they forced it over. I felt like I was just getting used to the profile I was using and to be honest, I thought it worked perfectly fine!
Rumors are now swirling on Mashable.com that there are even more changes coming to Facebook profiles. From what I can tell on my news feed, people agree with me and there are multiple groups titled “bring back the old Facebook.” I understand that in order for a company to grow, sometimes change is necessary, but to me this all just seems a bit much. Also, most of these profile changes result in privacy issues. That topic deserves another post.
Can’t a 500 billion dollar company just relax for a bit and let the users get used to a layout for more than a month?
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