The Dark Side of digital revolution… Harmful for societies ?

"DARK SIDE" of social media include cyberbullying, addictive use, trolling, online witch hunts, fake news, and privacy abuse.

Nowadays our generation is hyperconnected and need to exist in multiples realities. The great thing about social media is you can become anyone you want to be. Users are seeking opportunities to create daily content, be seen and followed at a wide audience. People want to show what they have and even overstate a personality trait to bring more interest for their profile. 

‘We’re almost convinced that our Instagram feeds are a truer representation of ourselves than who we are in real life.’

Social media has an impact on our daily life. Most of our day is devoted to our social media platforms. We communicate through it, make reviews, collect information and so on. 

Nevertheless, the lost of control of our personal data has a negative impact.

Facebook disclosed to investors that it had at least twice as many fake user as it previously estimates.

These fake accounts known as ‘bots’ can sway advertising audiences and reshape political debates. They can defraud businesses and ruin reputation. 

As a reminder, internet’s goal is to be accessible by everyone to serve humanity and not only a particular business interest. However, it is easy to miscommunicate or share wrong content as it is not revised or written by experts. Even some profile are using social media to create or make viral wrong content to manipulate user's mind.  

Bots are algorithms combine with social media profile to attract and create engagement from other users and bots within the profile. It is difficult to catch bots as it is automatic software programs that perform to behave like a human. Those algorithms are targeting specific audience and become increasingly sophisticated, making it difficult to distinguish a bot-generated internet persona from a live human. It appears that 30% of social media users were found to have been fooled by bots.  

While up to 20% of mid-level influencers’ followers are likely fraudulent, according to a Points North Group Study.  

Twenty-eight years ago, internet appeared and few years later the digital revolution  #digital revolution made people more informed. Letting them access to information to make better decisions. 
However, how about if content released on internet  becomes false? This is the negative aspect of digital revolution where misinformation can get viral and may manipulate opinion #fakenewsmedia.

=> letting a wide audience make wrong decisions,  damage the reputation of someone, involving  industry’s monetary losses or even brand image crisis.

Digital security experts are working to find an efficient way to get rid of bots. In your opinion, spreading misinformation may badly harm a country ? 

Salt Bae's strategic reasons that made him insanely popular

Nowadays, people are more connected to their devices and it appears that traditional media are less effective when communicating to a target audience.

I’ve noticed that viral marketing is about generating Buzz to create interest toward the brand, let people judge and make up their mind.  

Going viral means that your content is spread quickly and widely over the internet through word of mouth, e-mail or various social media in order to impact a lot of people who will share your content over and over again.

Therefore I assume the best strategy is to engage your target via an integrated message. It is important to drive traffic to your ultimate target whether your target is a website (for purchases, reservations, email newsletter subscriptions, blog RSS subscriptions, etc.) or a social network like Facebook or Twitter (for engagement).

Moreover using constant keywords and phrases throughout your integrated marketing campaigns to vehicle the same idea and don’t confuse your audience.

I have a simple question for you… Do you think a butcher can become famous all over the world via a simple video? 

Nurset Gocke, also known as‘Salt Bae’, THE Turkish BUTCHER reputed for its famous videos showing how his preparing a meat dine.

Nurset Gocke went famous after making a viral video of himself preparing theatrically a piece  of steak and sprinkling unconventionally salt into it as his signature move. ’Salt Bae’ garnered over 16.5 million views and captured the attention of Leonardo DiCaprio. The video itself gave rise to the hashtag #SaltBae.

What was the reasons for going viral?

• He selected the right social media — Instagram— that was suited to its target audience.
• Created an entertaining video with precise and theatrically motions that captured the attention to the internet users.
• As an accomplished businessman in Turkey, Nurset Gocke had already a huge community before making the video. It helped him to spread the message faster. 
• The video went viral because he didn’t copied the moved of anyone else and users was impressed by its charisma.
• As performer he demonstrates there’s no boring profession and that you can make show from anything if you are passionate about your work. 

Therefore after this video its success fostered him to spread its name all around the world and open new steakhouses in the United States. 

Its videos went so viral that people have to make a booking months in advance.

   

Now it makes sense why the new Nusret steak houses rely heavily on performance. The show of the chef cutting your steak and salting it in front of you is the main attraction of the restaurants.

How its success last over the time? 

His regular short story videos posts follow a same pattern to entertain his target and make them identify his brand easily. That habit developed a sense of predictability in his followers and kept his social media accounts versatile and engaging.

Salt Bae is also using brand ambassadors as an effective way to acquire customers from all around the globe and increase his popularity.  

Lionel Messi Visited Salt Bae in Nusret Steakhouse DUBAI! #leomessi #paulpogba #saltbae

In your opinion is there a way to make your business desirable and popular?

Search Engine Optimisation An ART or A SCIENCE ?

SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization. It is a practice that will increase traffic toward a particular website. Overall it will increase the exposure of a brand, through non-paid search engine results. Companies look for SEO to help gain more awareness and to make their company higher in the rank of a search engine.

It exists a various form of online platforms that bring traffic to websites such as social media or paid advertising. However, every business uses digital media and need an online presence to increase awareness and be known. Moreover, the Search engine is an industry that is continually changing because algorithms and features keep evolving.

Digital marketing is everywhere nowadays and our modern world uses the internet for everything. Therefore users will always choose to click on the first few links on the Google page, as they think it is the most relevant selection that Google has listed for the request.

HOWEVER, the first page might not be the most relevant research for your particular inquiry. 

SO, the question is How SEO is working? How to create an effective SEO?

WHY might SEO be seen more likely in a SCIENTIFIC form? 

“SEO is a science because it operates according to mathematical laws that are statistically reliable and predictive of human behavior.” 

Search engines are machines that search, evaluate, observe and analyze online content, data, factors (known as crawling and indexing) to determine the best way (through a ranking process) to answer user’s query. 

“Popularity of search engine is determined by the relevance of results.” 

Indeed, to determine relevance, search engines use algorithms, a process or formula by which stored information is retrieved and ordered in meaningful ways.

AS A SCIENCE, SEO test hypotheses through observations and experiments. 

Most SEOs do EXPERIMENTS, and all SEOs make OBSERVATIONS, TO ANALYSE the most popular keywords to create traffic and value for the company. 

SEO is a knowledge that you will able to acquire through time and learnings.  

It is crucial for a company as it fosters them to be visible by consumers throughout a good ranking. To valorise a firm ranking and so bring traffic to your website it is essential to be on the top Google's research page where the most relevant information to a query is. Therefore, it is vital to find the right algorithm and keys words for Google to rank your website on the top of its page. 

Indeed, if Google can't find your link then neither your consumers will.

NEVERTHELESS, SEO also has many facets that are difficult to test. Therefore specialists need knowledge and skills, and that is where it becomes an “ART".

Specialists have to use specific keywords shaped throughout a particular type of communication for a specific target. That requires creativity and implement a strategy to create feeling and engage consumer to choose your link rather than another one. 

It actually requires creativity and a strategy to engage people to invite them to click on your link. 

IN CONCLUSION 

“To possess a website that is loved by robots and people, you need to approach, plan and execute your SEO as if it were a science and art” (Eric Sharp, 2015). 

Overall I  feel that  SEO falls somewhere in between. It requires specialists to be creative when devising a strategy to best suit the target, as well as it needs to use an analytic methodology to suit the online criteria.

In your opinion will you say that in the future SEO will be more scientific as everything is more digitalised ? 

The existing relation between Big data and Internet of Things and their evolution.

Our modern society is constantly evolving, improving or innovating new products that will facilitate your life.  As consumers we have constant needs created and amplified   by marketers that showed us how our lives, comfort can be enhanced thanks to new technologies using Internet of Thing combined with Big data. 

As an example, Alexa, a device implemented by Amazon, aims to help consumers on their daily basis tasks. People  are always seeking for objects that will make their life easier. Interconnected items that will improve their comfort. #Alexa can search every information for you by asking a simple question “hey Alexa followed by the question”. the product controls every devices in your home as well as you can schedule your activities and Alexa will reminds you all your daily activity.

Therefore, what is the limit of this tool? because Alexa collects all your personal information without your permission. 

Therefore, what impact Big data and Internet of thing (IoT) may occur on consumers and marketers’ life? 

Drawback :

In my opinion the main issue is that IoT and Big data collect information that are mainly unknown from the consumer, in order for marketers to use customer’s insights to understand customers' consumption habits and fit their future needs.

—#security&privacy—

In our modern society you can’t avoid using IoT or companies to collect data on your behalf. Therefore, the other key concerns is about IoT's intrusion in customer daily life.

Advantage :

In another hand, technological advances in IoT foster sectors to improve their impact over the society or environment. To illustrate that, scientists improve people’s live — the pacemaker. Or even in another field where Big data and IoT work simultaneously to analyse and show customers insights to improve transportation's sector.  “One such example is represented by shipping organizations. They have been utilizing big data analytics and sensor data to improve efficiency, save money and lower their environmental impact.”

In the future are IoT and Big data will control  our lives (as it already influence it); 

How far IoT and Big data are going to impact our day to day lives?

Psychological Tricks and Social media that will make People Buy Anything….

Do you remember this restaurant? The one that your friend recommended to you by providing value.. on Instagram he has posted #bestrestaurantintown#friendshipgoal#I’llnevercookagain#WORDOFMOUTH!!

WORD OF MOUTH is the most powerful tool in marketing. Consumers might be affected by positive or negative thoughts or reviews that are spread just as fast. 

However, world of mouth may create advantages or damages to the brand, as people trust more easily their friends, family or even reviews online rather than influencers or advertisement in general. 

People aren’t naive and understand that influencers are paid by brands to promote their products... especially when at the end of the video a discount code is released. Same with advertising, marketers won’t be truly honest when reviewing or creating a spot. Marketers will always enhance the image of the product in order to create an impulse buy toward its consumers.  

World of mouth implies various characteristics, while the most useful one are based on stories, emotions, social currency and/or by providing value.  

If I had to choose, I’m more likely able to remember a brand based on its story or the emotion created. 

Word of Mouth’s aim is to express its feeling, emotions to others in order to give the incentive to try the product. 

Why people share on social media content that makes them look cool, interesting, fun?  

The purpose is to be followed by users that envy their lives ... right? 

This social currency characteristic is the most common technique over the web. Instagram plays this role when influencers share their daily life and share  "achievable dreams" with their followers. For example, nowadays people want to look fit and strong. Therefore, users will follow Influencers that are fit and strong, promoting protein powders that will foster them to look like the influencer by buying the product at lower cost.

Overall, consumers feel more confident in the information they're sharing when they're contributing something that's worth talking about. To illustrate this, "research has shown that Facebook users are more likely to share content that educates their network, and/or makes them look good and reinforces a certain image of themselves.” (Megan Mosley, SocialMediaToday, 2017)

How likely you remember a brand or product based on those characteristics? 

Is World of mouth influence your choice better than any other marketing technique?

LET’S THE MUSIC GRoOVE…. SHALL WE?

Hey guys !!
Today’s post will be about one of the most interesting subject… MUSIC!

Music has always been a point of connectivity between human beings. People want to know what other people are listening to — especially when you are part of a group. 

Do you remember that party at your friend’s house when someone took the computer to put his favourite song? Yes, the song that you liked and asked for the reference…This is what I’m talking about. 

Now, If I ask you the best platform to listen music, keep and share songs among people.. what will you answer?? — as an active member of the community #Spotifycommunity— Let me guess.. Spotify right?

                       

Music streaming has become a very dominant trend worldwide mostly due to device and communication shift trends. Nowadays, smartphone is the most convenient way to listen music, watch videos, read online articles everywhere, anytime and especially when you get bored - in public transports for example. The purpose of a mobile phone isn’t to pass phone calls anymore.

As a strategy Spotify used a Freemium model in which they offer 2 services — the basic service of online streaming ; where they earns on advertisement to deliver a free service.  And — the premium account where more features are available ; the customer pay for the usage and don’t have to listen to advertisements.









As per say Spotify target 2 segmentations :

• #Us — The young community — that are seeking free or affordable prices platforms to sign in and settle all our favourite songs. We love to listen music everywhere, be aware of new trend artists and share our best musical discoveries with some friends.
• The advisers — that segment foster Spotify to deliver a freemium model that allows subscribers to enjoy unlimited free music. 

How Spotify creates interest among the Spotify community and encourage them to subscribe to the premium service?

  

The challenge with the Freemium model is to know how much you can give out for free.  If you  give out too much features for free, without any inconveniences, no one will be willing to pay for a premium version. While, If the price is considered too expensive, by the target audience, they won’t subscribe at all. In 2015, the issue with Spotify was that only 25% were premium users, that’s why the company settled lower prices for students in order to give them an incentive to subscribe to the premium version. While in 2018, a fiscal report from Q1 2018, announced that Spotify finished the quarter with 75 million Premium Subscribers and 170 million monthly active users. A user base of 75 million paid subscribers that represents a 45% increase within the last year.      

Why users are more willing to choose Spotify among other stream music platforms ?

Spotify starts with a free service to engage its target to sign up and familiarise them with the application and the offer. Then, as a frequent user, you start building a consequent playlist with all your favourite songs. Here come Spotify’s drawbacks… sometime, you feel listening a certain type of music and you don’t want to be bothered by the adds. However, that is not possible with the free service. So you’re thinking about subscribing to the premium offer and here comes the customer value proposition of Spotify premium. The added value of the premium service possesses unique features as you can follow friends, brands and influencers, share on social media, and discover new music regularly. Users can also save their songs under their account to listen to them on offline mode. 

                                          

Spotify offers its newness, accessibility and convenience for the end user to stream online music for a short set of time.Therefore, Spotify created a new market for customers by offering access to a whole database of songs at a low price instead of offering songs or albums at a higher price like iTunes that didn’t impact the market. 

           

(Jeff DUNN, Business Insider Australia, 2016)

                         

                          

Do you reckon Spotify will last ? Especially when students won’t have discount anymore ? 

Will they stay on the platform, quit definitely or go back to the free service delivered by Spotify ? 

When social media impacts our life ...

Social Media are in constant evolution, growing fast and gather more users throughout the years.  Businesses use those platforms to pass messages through active posts and several other digital tools in order to engage people to follow their brand and stick to their mind. While a consumer comments, rates and reviews in order to find the right product or service that will fulfil their needs or wants. 

If social media appears like a fast solution to communicate to users and creates opportunities for businesses, it might also highlight some threats. Hearsay, for example can get viral easily. This can benefit or harm companies. Such as the Coca Cola and Mentos video that created good buzz around the famous soda firm. This is the reason why companies must build a strategy in order to understand their target audience, shaping their behaviour, preferences in terms of content, knowing when they will chill and be on their social accounts seeking for more information. This will foster the marketer to post the right message at the right moment in order to engage its target audience, rather than just hoping that their content gets viral in a good way. 

Therefore, in my opinion businesses have to take in consideration many key characteristics before communicating on social media. As said previously, it’s easy to generate bad buzz and it can result in a way for the company of loosing money. If a strategy is not built properly and doesn’t respond to the right target audience (geographic zone, sex, age or any other target characteristics) the risk is to create a content that won’t be posted on the right social media platform or won’t fit the target audience as the result of not being attractive to them. For example, if a company tries to target Generation Y on the Chinese market for a male product, it might be preferable to post a video content on WeChat; as that might be more relevant than posting an add on Facebook (which isn’t relevant to the target market). 

Moreover, in order to build an efficient strategy, few elements might help to lead marketers to take the right action. It has to be considered that social media has grown rapidly towards generation Y (18-29years old) but also throughout Generation X (30-49 years old). It appears that users according to their ages and sexes are using different sites. The most popular social networking remain Facebook with 91% social media users, followed by Youtube that is mostly followed by male than females aged comprised between 18-29 years old users. Other platforms more popular among males are twitter and LinkedIn; while platforms that have minority appeal like Instagram, Snapchat and Pinterest are more popular with females. (Yellow Social Media Report - consumers , 2018). 

Time is also a major pattern to take in consideration. Users are more willing to spend time on their favourite social media sites early in the morning when using public transport, at lunch time or in the evening when travelling back from work or chilling at home. However, in my opinion, the most important time for a marketer to post their messages are during the weekends and at night when people are checking their sites just before bed.

The main issue is that the marketers can’t be 24 hours posting content. That’s why it is important to find an alternative to stay active and accessible for all at any time. Hopefully applications exist to plan posts and contents throughout non business hours.

Do you think it exists a better way to stay active towards your target audience and at  the same time engage users to your cause?