Is Facebook really Free?

 

 

As many of you have probably noticed, certain aspects of Facebook are beginning to cost money. How do you feel about it?

 

Since we all started using Facebook we have enjoyed the free social media interaction, the no cost way of communicating. We have had a brand new way of keeping in touch with old classmates, high school sweethearts, co-workers etc.  Being able to reach out to all ends of the world in a split second, and see how everyone that you care about is doing, without having to actually speak to them.  It has had its perks.

 

Over the last year or two businesses have been able to start using Facebook as a way to reach out to more people. What better a way to gain awareness than word of mouth, and there’s no better online word of mouth source than Facebook.  Still, always free.

 

Now Facebook is ingrained in our everyday lives, whether we like it or not. Companies are offering coupons if you “like” their pages, businesses share their products right on their profiles, you watch commercials with “like our Facebook page” at the end.  Hundreds of thousands of people are just a “click” away from being able to see your adds, promotions and whatever else you have chosen to show.

 

Everything was great, free advertising…..

 

Not for long.  Facebook saw that money could be made – or rather convinced the Stock Market they could make money.  The amount of people and businesses that promote themselves, could in some way benefit the pockets of Facebook.  So of course, it changes.   Now instead of being able to reach out to all of your followers, facebook highlights and directs you to to premium ways to pay to reach a certain percent of them beyond your standard reach.  The more you pay, the more people you can reach. You can pay for an add campaign that targets a certain group of people, and again, the more you pay, the more people you can reach.  Facebooks way of getting their piece of the pie – after all they are the #1 social media platform in terms of volume and eye balls.  The real question, how do businesses (those being the people who will pay to use Facebook) fit in, and how does Facebook find a way to make money without loosing its popularity?

Do we have a choice?  Of course we do, we can stop using Facebook.  Yea, right, we all know that’s not going to happen.  So businesses will spend the few dollars and reach as many people as possible, facebook will re-invent ways to make money – and the cool factor of years ago of Facebook will be replaced by the highest bidder on who’s cool message is going to be promoted more.

Be sure to visit our Turnkey Internet Facebook page for your chance to win “The New Ipad” – and read about our summer long social media event!

 

 

 

Follow Us :
Share :

Often in the web hosting industry the terms advertising and marketing are used interchangeably. While this might not seem like the end of the world, the truth is, the two things are not the same. In order to achieve optimal exposure for your business, it is important to have a solid understanding of both.

Advertising and marketing are like squares and rectangles. All squares are rectangles but not all rectangles are squares. In other words, all advertising is marketing but not all marketing is advertising. Confused yet? How about a few straight-forward definitions:

Advertising refers to ads. These ads may be online, in a newsletter, in a magazine, or really anywhere ads appear. Typically these ads cost money and they are designed to attract customers to your business. Ads are incredibly important and they are critical for the success of your business but ads alone aren’t enough. It’s the ad campaign that really creates a business identity. That’s where the marketing comes in.

Marketing is the overarching public image strategy for your business. It involves the designing of ads, from the single run to the multi-ad campaign. It also involves the crafting of a company image. Marketing is the process through which you craft your company message. What image do you want your company to project? What look and feel do you want your logo to communicate? What tagline best represents the products, services and goals of your company? Without a strong marketing mission, your ads won’t have a leg to stand on.

It may also be difficult to create momentum without a solid marketing strategy. While a single ad may work well, if you don’t have a strategy, how will you follow up? Marketing should be rooted in your business. It should recognize the core values inherent in your original vision, and the changes your business has gone through as it has evolved. Sometimes it is necessary to change your business’ image. Without a marketing strategy in place, changing an image suddenly can alienate customers and corrupt a recognizable brand. A solid marketing strategy will help you incorporate your old image into your new image. This provides continuity and enhances brand-awareness so you build on what you’ve got rather than poking holes in your foundation.

The best way to begin developing a marketing strategy is to sit down and think hard about your business. What do you offer? What type of customers do you have? How are you different from your competition? Often a solid mission statement will help you to articulate your business’ goals, and from there seeing how you stand out will be much easier. If you don’t have a mission statement, write one now. It will prove invaluable for all future brand efforts and will always provide a reference point for anyone you may hire.

So advertising and marketing go hand-in-hand, but advertising is the tip of the iceberg while marketing is the core. The key idea here is representation and consistency. If you are true to your company’s vision and consistent with your message, you will continue to grow and your business will continue to solidify. So invest in some top-notch marketing! Your business will thank you.

Follow Us :
Share :