Week 13 Part A - Online Advertising - Analysis of the Marketplace

 

YouTube.com

Hello again readers, thanks for dropping in! Today I'm looking at online advertising - what I see in social media, how it compares to traditional advertising, and the granularity (how dialed-in) of the targeting of these advertisements.

When looking for examples of advertising and sponsored posts on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube, I encountered some interesting things. First, it’s important to know that my VPN was connected to the Netherlands, which country is under GDPR regulation. So before I could advance to the site, I had to address their PII disclosure page – which gives EU users the option to “reject all” cookies (image above.) Whereas here in the States, our options are “allow all” or “strictly necessary.” I guess our right to privacy only applies when a data broker’s money isn’t involved. 

While still on the EU server, and on my Facebook account, I got some pretty basic ads for software and tech products – the calls to action were minimal, and imagery was just like looking at a magazine ad. But mostly, I just saw my friend’s posts! I don’t even know what to do with a Facebook page that isn’t flashing ads at me all the time.

To shorten a short story, I had to switch to a US server in order to get the full array of online advertising creep. And I logged in through Chrome to maximize the invasiveness. On US Facebook, the ads are also boring – not visually attractive or repulsive, but the calls to action were stronger and there was a greater variety of advertisements. One ad, from NVIDIA, offers a book download on Conversational AI…just what I kind of wanted. On Instagram I didn’t see any ads at all. Is this a fluke? On YouTube I got a wide variety of ads at varying intervals.

I think the impact of traditional, paid advertising is lessening significantly, as our worlds get smaller and more driven by technology. From last week, our classmate Masashi pointed out that regarding Tik Tok, the image frame is set in such a way that it forces people to focus on the content, and also makes it hard to distinguish if the minute is from a company or a regular user or influencer. Social media advertising has a strong advantage. Who’s reading magazines or looking at billboards for information anymore? Everyone I know lowers the volume or leaves the room when an ad plays on TV or on the radio.

It might be because of my settings and online habits, but very few things are accurately targeted at me. I do get advertisements about technology and Pride events, but the spread of technology is unfocused, and Pride applies to the entire community, so it’s also unfocused. Even though the ad topics are general, they do fit the profile. So for me, online advertising is a lot more similar to traditional methods. It’s not too intrusive, but it’s also not wrong.

I’m not sure what advertising would look like for a web user who does not actively hide and erase their cookie trail. But if you want to prune your collectible data, this can easily be accomplished by selecting to clear history/cookies upon closing each window; and then closing each window (not just the tabs, the entire window) before going on to the next thing. Another way to stop data collection and target group clustering is by having your activities going in different browsers (cookies can’t jump between browsers such as Firefox, Safari or Chrome, for example, so no correlations can be accurate.) My fake business is working on a better solution, which will probably encapsulate the connection or tag-along a user’s VPN and use a friendly bot to obscure the data.

Readers, thank you again for joining me on this journey! I hope it was a good and mostly light read!

Week 12 Part B - Business Specific Tools

 

https://workspace.google.com/

Hey readers, welcome back! Today I pored over my groupmates' posts and learned some new things! 

Frank O' helped me learn more about the Google business suite. The most interesting thing to me was that he explains that it "...allows you to locate yourself on Google Maps, and create a landing page that would pop up whenever people search for a photographer in my area." I love that integration of technology for business.

From Masashi I learned a lot more about Tik Tok than I already had known. He pointed out that Tik Tok has over 500 million active users each month. He also pointed out that it can be extremely beneficial to use influencers, for the sheer reach and access they have to broader audiences. Very interesting. 

Siomara talked about using analytics. She taught me that "analytics point out team members' strengths." That's a valuable tool to have and to implement - I do it organically when I lead teams. It is the single most useful thing a person can do with their employees. Having it automated is amazing.

Marissa gave me more information about Google My Business. I didn't realize that it was really a better fit for storefront locations. She points out that many of their tools offered within Google My Business only apply when a customer is looking to find a physical location.

In conclusion, I've learned a lot from my classmates, even though their business types are different from mine. Reading about Tik Tok gave me mixed feelings about using it - it seems like such low-hanging fruit from a business standpoint. But I'm really concerned about the incendiary-grenade effects of algorithm it uses. I'm also very uncomfortable knowing that the data centers are in China (where there is no right to privacy or free speech.) Combine that with technology like snapchat has, and deep fakes away. Possibly deep fakes already.

Conversely, I was really happy to read Siomara's discussion on analytics. I'm very interested in cultivating team cultures and dynamics. Automated tools that help me understand the people I work with will also enable me to better motivate and encourage my team. That's so cool!

Thanks for joining me on this journey! Until next time.

Week 12 Part A - Using Business Specific Online Tools

Meetup's online events - https://www.meetup.com

Hello again, readers! Today I've researched business-specific online tools. Out of the list, my go-tos for Revolution are LinkedIn, Meetup, Google My Business and Yelp. 

For now, music and streaming sites don't seem to work. I would purposefully avoid Tik Tok because I *imagine* it uses algorithms that instigate, influence and impact emotional responses. As a human who's lived a while, I am aware that it's unethical. It's also a precarious and probably impossible balancing act to continually trigger people and hope they'll feel what you want them to feel. It probably takes AI...

LinkedIn is considered to be the most widely used professional networking social media in use in the U.S. Since I'm looking at it through my personal account, the Groups option lists three of my major interests. Since I and my imaginary business are one in ethos, Revolution gets recommended: Software & Tech Professionals..., Harvard Business Review..., and Digital Marketing. If my business were real, I would jump in all three to start trying to connect. I might do anyway.

Meetup! Why haven't I thought of that in forever? I used it all the time in Shanghai - whenever my VPN felt like connecting and breaching the Great Firewall. This is the best part of social interaction for me: being in groups creates so much stress that I go into survival mode, get focused, and kill it socially. So Meetup would be a fun opportunity to find professional connections. It would also give me access to extended networks and events related to tech. I see they now have a lot more online connection options as well.

Google My Business is low-hanging fruit as far as choices go. Businesses want potential customers to see them when their service or product is searched, and that's the biggest benefit to this online tool. But as I looked into it, I found some compelling reasons. It's got an option to create a free business profile. Businesses can manage that profile in Search and in Maps, and customize the information that displays. 

Getting in with Yelp and managing responses to customer reviews is a challenging but effective way to keep a business relevant. Responding to customer comments quickly is huge. One person's bad experience can make a big impact on the number of people who will give a business a chance. How a company responds matters too - it always has to be factual and respectful, even if the customer is not. Like Google My Business, Yelp offers a free listing and self-touts that 97% make a purchase after visiting Yelp. It seems extreme. It's not representative of my purchasing experience.

That was my investigatory journey into online tools for business. I hope you all enjoyed and learned a little something along the way!

Week 11 Part B - Marketing with other social media

publicdomainpictures.net

What I learned from:

Marissa Berian-Melicharek -  This was a very good read. As someone who's still at arm's length with social media, I previously only knew very vague things about influencers. It was great to learn that they are inexpensive and effective alternatives for businesses. And the attraction is obvious but vital - that they already have a group of followers. It's interesting to know that it's possible for a business to barter with the influencer for goods and services like analytics.*

Masashi Kosugi - Masashi talked about Tik Tok. This was also a great post. I'm not a current user of Tik Tok but I deleted my account early last semester because I couldn't justify the time I could let it consume. Masashi pointed out that it provides a platform with a broad reach. However, I think that businesses would have to be very careful with what they release on Tik Tok. And also, businesses would have to be very resilient, because Tik Tok's medium is entertainment and the "crowd is fickle."

Kaden Morris - Kaden mentioned Google for Business, and I'm glad he did because it's ubiquitous like a computer daemon - always doing "helpful" things behind the scenes. Then again, Google for Business is unparalleled in its reach and a business would be hard pressed to live without it.

Frank O’Connor - I was really happy to read Frank's blog on Twitter. It's a platform that I've no interest in whatsoever, but Frank has helped me to see its upsides. He explains that posts can ride on the wings of an "in vogue" topic, and go viral just from that association. An alert social media administrator would be able to take advantage of these situations. 

Siomara Ruiz Ramires - Siomara had an overview of each type of social media opportunity which was a succinct read. She and I both chose to do further research with LinkedIn.

*I couldn't get google to sign me in so i commented under my full name and blogger url. sorry for technical difficulties - it is fixed now.

Week 11 Part A - Marketing with Twitter, TikTok, Google for Business, LinkedIn, and more

https://brand.linkedin.com/downloads

Hi readers, welcome back! Today I’ll be exploring LinkedIn as a viable option for customer outreach. Before I returned to school, I worked in China. I didn’t see LinkedIn in use at all, although now, I see my friends from there on LinkedIn, so it must not be blocked (yet.) It gets very real when you can’t access Google, YouTube, and most other social media. And when your only English Interface search engine is bing. Like a world without color.

Rather, in China we – foreigners and locals alike – used Alipay and WeChat social media apps for everything. Even people who collected handouts did so through a lanyard QR code that passersby could scan and donate. These two apps are locally developed and combine social media platforms and p2p payment systems. I paid rent, bills, entertainment, groceries, friends, online shopping, hotels, trains, vacations and flights with them. I even put my WeChat QR code on my resume (and got tons of hits back.) They were swiss army knives as far as apps go. All that to say, I’m excited to see what LinkedIn can do!

It seems that here in the U.S., LinkedIn is a similar staple for business networking. I’m a budding LinkedIn user but I’ve been unabashedly asking to follow every tech industry teacher or speaker that I meet, so that I’ll have a big professional network when I finish my next degree. It’s also fantastic to see that my contacts from the U.K. are using LinkedIn, and we have shared connections, which broadens my reach. All over the world, it’s who we know, not what we know that gets us the interview and sometimes the job.

Another reason to join LinkedIn is that we get the advantage of checking out a company before applying. Super-secret spy style, alliteratively speaking. We can follow what the company posts to learn more about their company culture and if it’s what we might like. We can also try to sidle up to their employees, and hack them inquire about their company. Ethically, of course. As students we’re in a special position to let people know that we are interested in their project/work and that we would like to follow them on LinkedIn. It hasn’t failed me yet. It’s only weird if we make it weird by being disingenuous.

Another thing to consider is that LinkedIn is secure. As secure as major social media can offer. Equally importantly, they’re transparent about how and under what conditions our information is shared. And users have options as to how much they want to share – to an extent. Considering the flexibility and utility of LinkedIn, and that it’s privacy policies in the clear, it is a great choice for a social media.

As a business, we can also benefit by having a broader reach to talent. Businesses that show off a great company culture and advertise when hiring get an impressive ROI for that effort. The only problem we end up with is having too many applicants, which isn’t really a problem because it allows us to choose from the greatest aptitudes and fit. Interestingly, every business owner that I’ve talked to considers “fit” to be the deciding factor. LinkedIn also helps with this, because as we post for our business, we’re broadcasting our culture, and attracting those with similar mindsets.

Week 10 Part B - Developing an ENewsletter Blogs I posted on

This week I commented on the following group members' blogs:

Conrad Amburgey

Marissa Berian-Melicharek

Jordan Hagemann

Masashi Kosugi

Week 10 Part A - Researching Email Marketing

 

publicdomainpictures.net

Welcome back, reader! Today's topic is researching email marketing.

How often to send from my faux business? I think quarterly except for to advertise new products when the customer selects to receive those. Right now I only have two products in mind – Make ‘em Pay and and a wearable mesh that provides signal access for internet, directly to the person, creating Internet access as a service in a subscription to the person (who can then give internet to their devices, just like it always should’ve been.) What I would really want to accomplish with an email list is to establish reliability and trust in my company/brand. 

A funny but impactful personal story here is that I used to work for a small business, and the owner had a “buy or die policy” on customer outreach (kind of like Phi Theta Kappa – they make me wish I wasn’t a good student – kidding, I like good grades.) He told me to keep calling former customers until they buy or die. Ugh. I hated it. The call recipients did too. Now I get emails from Phi Theta Kappa every day, sometimes twice a day, and like you, Professor, I didn’t sign up for this – they bought my info*. When I didn’t respond, they sent physical mail and continued with the obsessive email probing. Everyone I’ve talked to has just unsubscribed. I’m personally waiting for them to helicopter drop scholars in tactical gear into my backyard, hold me at gunpoint, and make me join. 

The kind of information my business could use as content would of course include things from the Using Email Marketing video, such as: showing off new products, letting people know the business is here for them, and offering discounts and coupons. I think many of my customers would like how-to guides on relevant tech topics. If it seemed that my customers were interested in more informational type outreach, and I would find out by surveying them in exchange for a discount on my product(s), then I would create a mix of short summaries and links to quick videos. I would also use the survey to determine how often they would like to be contacted, since I’ve had such poignant experiences with marketing. I would of course include calls to action which would lead from learn-more buttons to external sites, as well as links to my social media pages. And at the bottom, I’d include the unsubscribe link in case Revolution ever got too much for someone.
 

*And what institution had access to my grades that was also connected to my personally identifying information? But then again, I probably agreed to a EULA that allowed me to use okta and simultaneously transmuted my soul to residual data, thereby affording the school rights to sell me piecemeal, in perpetuity.

Week 9 Part B - Using Categories

My recent Instagram posts duplicated to Facebook

Hey reader! Welcome back! Today I'll be discussing how I would use categories to keep focused with blog/vlog/podcast or webinars to reach out to my target audience in an organized manner.

The kinds of categories I would use relate to the products I want to sell; rather, these categories will create the foundation of knowledge that will illustrate the need for my business. Specifically, privacy awareness through how to guides, bringing to light relevant news articles and current situations. My recent post linked to a Reuters article that took summarized but global look at data privacy. It's important to let people know that this is a problem around the world, and that not just individuals, but countries are working on solutions.

By helping people create their own efficacy against data trolls, in whatever ways they can without becoming computer experts, I will start to establish trust in my company as a reliable source. Of course, a reliable source who's looking out for you is even better, and that's what Revolution does. Willingness to share knowledge is enough to gain a customer - there have been times where I've seen that a business published specs so I could build or fix something myself, but for some reason or another, I'd rather entrust them to it.

In my last post I talked about caring for my customers' emotions when addressing scary subjects. It's an important part of my business model to never leave my target audience with a fear that isn't solved by my products, or even by another reputable business' products. Of course the bottom line of any business is to make money, but that doesn't preclude a business from doing great good at the same time.