Desperate times calls for interesting methods
The tough economic times have forced many companies to apply social media methods more effectively to grow their brand and their businesses. Exactly for that reason, Red Ribbon Communications has decided to share our thoughts and experiences via a blog.
The online success of a wine farm like Stormhoek shows that this is really within everyone’s reach. Although they’re not in the technology industry, they have managed to build an online community using the blogosphere. They use it to promote their local farm activities as well as the general wine industry in the Western Cape. Tools such as Twitter, Technorati and Afrigator were implemented to ensure search engine optimisation. And with more than 700 Facebook friends, getting news, events and specials out to consumers is not only effective, but also free.
So even though budgets for traditional methods of advertising are decreasing, it doesn’t mean we can no longer promote ourselves. It only compels us to look at more interesting ways to get our message across. The list of available social media tools is endless and growing by the day. Although it is impossible to keep up with everything, the best advice is to choose one of two tools that work for you and use it to its full advantage.
Red Ribbon is by no means specialists in social media techniques, but while we are testing the waters we are enjoying the journey.
Astroturfing - the new turf for unethical marketeers
I love to use the Internet to search for weekend getaways and international destinations. One of the most useful sites to track down decent accommodation is TripAdvisor. The reason I go back every time is because they have honest recommendations by people that recently visited the destinations. That way you get the ‘real’ picture and not the pretty pictures hotels dish up on their websites.
I was shocked to learn, however, that not all comments on the Internet are written by honest people. Companies pay individuals to recommend their products or services to naive Internet surfers like me, yet they have never used it. One of my clients pointed me to the term used for these unethical marketing activities - “astroturfing”.
I’m truly horrified.
The benefit of greater access to more knowledge is now being used against us. Tapping into the experiences of other people across the globe to make better decisions now needs to be used with caution. I guess it goes to show that although the Internet lives in cyberspace it is exactly like the real world.
I came to realise the following:
- Trust, but verify. One needs to be aware of the integrity of websites.
- The Internet will come to our rescue after all. Read this interesting snippet on Wikipedia:
In August 2006, a science journalist for the Wall Street Journal revealed that a YouTube video, “Al Gore’s Penguin Army”, which was claimed to be an amateur work, in fact came from the computers of DCI Group, a Washington, D.C.-based PR firm whose client list includes ExxonMobil and General Motors. This hoax was discovered when journalist Antonio Ragalado noticed that the YouTube video was the first sponsored listing when he performed a Google search for Al Gore. The fact that someone was paid to have the alleged film promoted was in itself suspicious.
I still believe in the honesty of people and I am convinced that these so-called astroturfers will be caught and thrown out of discussion forums and the like. The Internet stays one of the most powerful information sources, but like anything else in life it needs to be validated.
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by Bonita Da Serra
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