My look's bringing exclusivity back to social networks

After receiving an email invitation to join 'My look', the latest twist on the social media craze from New Look I was surprised to find that I had to fill out a few answers telling them my preferences to music and fashion and will now have to wait to see if THEY accept ME. Shouldn't they be begging me to join?

Is this the beginning of social media bringing back its exclusiveness and trying to comprise a close community of like-minded people or is it an attempt by naive companies to try and take back control of their image and accessibility to the 'right kind of people' on the web?

As a marketer I appreciate the tactic as a good way to stir up interest, word of mouth and an anxiety to be let in to the group and be part of something exclusive. Is this a clever way of bringing back 'cool' to social networks. It does appear a way round the trouble facebook has when it decided to make itself an open network. Youths' perception of the network's coolness went down hill when they started to get friend invitations from their mum and their boss.

However I do feel a little put out when a message came up telling me they'd let me know via email in 2days whether I was allowed in or not. I haven't faced this problem since I was 17 and trying to blag my way into clubs.

If they don't approve my membership and others' won't this alienate customers? I know I felt a bit put out. Or will it make people more determined to follow the crowd in music and fashion to be accepted?

It is clever though. I wasn't even fussed about joining their social network until I faced the prospect of being rejected. The old marketing trick applied to the online market place: limit supply to create demand.

I applaud you New Look, though if you don't accept me I may have to hate you!

Should brands get involved in the banter?

Is facebook yet another technicalogical advance that took yet another step away from face to face communication? It seems strange that over the decades we’ve gone from talking face to face to writing letters to phone calls, email, texting and now hit and run ‘pokes’ and wall posts.
This is quite a pessimistic view of how communication has developed. One I’d expect my dad to tale. I however believe like most open minded people that it’s a good thing.

Its eliminated the restrictions of time and space for sure but more than that, its encouraged more interaction; with immediate friends, classmates you may have otherwise lost touch with, collegues (good for team bonding and integration) and possibly brands?? Well maybe not so much with the latter. They need to try a bit harder to get some sort of rapport going.

In my opinion, for the younger aimed brands, they should try and enter into a tye of banter with their target audience they would relate to. As marketing and advertising is becoming ever more entertainment orientated and content focused, surely entering into some humourous banter with their ‘fans’ would earn them some brownie points with our young minded generation.Though I accept this may prove a little controversial especially as most banter ends up being a tad offensive but if done in good spirit it may be a very forward thinking way of communicating on a level young people can relate to and enjoy.

nichebook.com

As with any saturated market, the next step for social networking is to go niche. There is an interesting article on this on the guardian: http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2008/jun/26/socialnetworking.finerday

Social networks being used as a push medium by marketers

There has been a lot of hype surrounding social networking sites and their value to marketers. They were thought to revolutionise how brands interacted with their customers and increase engagement.

However, this theory relies firstly on brands being able to provide engaging content and a reason to not only take an initial interest in their brand but to interact with them on a regular basis to build some form of relationship. As I assume this was the initial thought to how marketers could use these networks; as a way of opening up two way dialogue with their customers and prospects.

But in order for this to happen brands surely need to encourage such communication and act on comments received by consumers or 'fans' of the brand as they are referred to as on facebook. At the minute users' comments either in independently formed groups or branded profiles go unacknowledged missing valuable opportunities to build rapport with them, reward them or at least make them feel valued.

Simply pushing out promotional information to them does not seem like a way of using the added benefits of these sites as an interactive media as opposed to an extension of their traditional campaign.

They should surely be using these sites to do something different, more risky, more personable and more on their audiences' level. Communicating as a 'friend'.

Though this inevitably brings up another set of issues; whether consumers are willing to accept brands as their friends or whether this is crossing the boundaries of the consumer/company relationship.

How much do consumers actually want to interact with brands anyway? Do they feel they have much to say or any motivation to say it. It is my view that they would be more willing to if the action had an incentive, either in terms of a monetary reward in the form of a discount or freebie or a more social form in keeping with the medium e.g. feeling valued by the brand or being able to use it as a type of social currency aka the cool factor of having a dialogue with a cool brand. this though would depend on the type of brand to a large extent.