How We Reveal Ourselves Inadvertently In Facebook - What Are Your Business Opportunities?
Saturday, April 9th, 2011Thanks to the powers of Facebook, namely its like buttons and status wall, we have entered a new era in interpersonal socialisation: the Age of Reveal. Driven by our nature as social beings, over half a billion of us have signed up to some kind of social media.
Why don’t we behave in similar ways in real life like we do on Facebook? Several factors include 1. Social norms - we can’t allow ourselves to mouth off to our heart’s content in the presence of just anybody. Sitting behind the relative safety of the computer gives us greater protection from plenty of possible non-pleasantries. 2. Coverage - there is just so little people that can hear us even when we yell at the top of our lungs. 3. Time - words are transient - nobody will wait around to hear what you really wanted to say, and your words won’t float around for other people to pick up later. 4. Convenience - in the real world, how often do you get a chance to tell everyone about everything you liked about this world?
You might adore Mopar pictures or be looking for Falcon spares, and only find out if I post a link to my Facebook page. If I ‘like’ them, that’s an endorsement; if I’ve experienced poor customer service I can post this on my wall. organisations should be aware of just how many people can now be exposed to negative publicity like this.
A website that allows you to literally read all the status updates from every active Facebook user is Openbook. By using Openbook, anyone can get a good insight into what a typical Facebook user feel like exposing to the world. These range from the uninspiring (”homework sucks”) to the intriguing (”Had my Red Bull laced with cocaine”). So the fair assumption is to say that much of what people publish on their Facebook walls, are not what they would typically disclose in their day-to-day conversation.
On the other hand Facebook also allows us to reveal a more sophisticated image of who we are. By visiting a friends’ Profile page, we get a glimpse into the list of products, ideas, people or phrases he or she had gone out the way to click the Like button on. Your friend wants us to know what he or she likes about the world, and whether intentionally or not, wants us to see them in a particular light according to the subjects they pushed the Like button on. In general, these details of selective affection are genuine given that there are virtually no monetary incentives for you or your friends to click any of these Like buttons. Essentially, the Like buttons are the mainstream method to depict ourselves in the 21st century.
To what purpose? Given the lack of financial rewards, having Facebook to publish our list of “Likes” serves as a manifestation of our desire for others to know more about ourselves, to a degree of openness not usually encountered in reality.
Businesses should be aware of Facebook’s influence on their brand’s standing in the market. It has given millions of people the power to make your business for you, therefore implementing a strategy to ensure your business takes advantage of the marketing power of Facebook is imperative.
To see an example of a Facebook page that is successfully interacting with its users, check out NZ Performance Car or Drift Legends.
