Social media has created an advertising monster. It’s understandable that many companies are profiting from this strategy, and profit is the bottom line. However, most people get really annoyed at being flooded with ad’s and offers for free stuff; only to find out; they have to jump through hoops first, to get anything.
Who knew that haphazardly clicking on a cute little thumbs-up icon could turn you into an automatic spam and phishing magnet? Since Facebook and Twitter came along, advertising has leaped into a whole new realm. Many businesses have discovered that social media is now THE marketing platform; and they must use it, or die.
Some will advertise responsibly, while others are massively swamping pages with clutter. It didn’t take long for companies to realize the mass exposure they could gain, by getting a few people to click “like” on Facebook. Now it seems as though every company out there has something to offer you; IF, you will click that you “like” them.
Companies aren’t just using the social media platforms for advertising; they are also collecting data for marketing strategies. Instead of the once used market analysts, now they use social media experts, optimized keywords and affiliate marketing techniques. The internet opened the door to new advertising possibilities, but social media reached out, took their hand and pulled them through that door; into a brand new world.
Even the newest of new marketing approaches has caught on quick; QR Codes. Still relatively an unknown here in the United States, QR Codes are those small, square boxes that look something like a bar code. Anyone with a Smart phone can download an App that will enable them to “scan” these codes and read them.
They (QR Codes) are being built up as the next great thing in advertising and marketing. Wouldn’t you know it though; even businesses that are using these QR Codes to advertise, still want you to “like” them. This just shows how strong the hold of social media advertising has become.
