What Social Media Sites Don’t Tell You

Have you ever been on Facebook and wondered why there were so many ads listed on the right-hand side that seemed liked they were almost made for you?   Today, marketers are collecting information from social media sites about user’s behaviors, their usage patterns and their location.  The data is then often used to segment consumers based upon patterns.  And what’s even more surprising is that users are giving marketer’s permission to access this information, however many didn’t realize they gave permission.

The underlying problem is that consumers don’t fully understand what social media sites are collecting and any disclaimers that might be associated with using them and social media platforms aren’t very transparent about sharing this information.

For instance, did you know that if you pin a photo on Pinterest that it’s the user’s responsibility to receive permission to pin that photo from the particular site?  The only way to pin a picture without violating the site’s terms of service and the picture owner’s copyright is to only pin pictures that you’ve taken yourself.  And did you know that if you ‘like’ a Facebook page about a health condition or treatment, an insurer might use this information against you?

While social media continues to grow in popularity, there is need for more transparency.  Marketers should be more forthright with consumers about how their interaction with social media is really being used.  While guidelines are currently being explored among agencies to monitor these sites, it should be the marketer’s responsibility to incorporate ethical measures upfront to ensure that consumers are well informed and well educated.  This will enable marketers to drive the change before agencies get too involved.  As a result, the media revolution will be one that all parties can feel good about.

http://mashable.com/2012/03/21/pinterest-copyright-legal-issues/

http://www.nbcnews.com/technology/consumer-reports-facebook-privacy-problems-are-rise-749990

Just because you can post it on Twitter, doesn’t mean it’s right

Did you know that Adrian Peterson is the #1 most discussed NFL Fantasy Football Player for 2013?  And did you know that more than 61% of all public fantasy football conversation captured in a recent BrandWatch analysis took place on Twitter; while 18% of discussion took place on Facebook?  As someone who loves fantasy football, this doesn’t surprise me.  The inventor of fantasy football was innovative, and the marketers who’ve taken it to the next level are brilliant.  However, as more consumers play and more consumers talk about playing, the usage of social media platforms to facilitate these conversations have become more popular than ever.  Twitter has become the platform of choice for these conversations, likely because of the constant change taking place during the games.  Twitter offers immediacy and allows consumers to post about games and/or their fantasy football players at any time.  This is also true for marketers who are sharing news on the sport such as scores and stats.

Frequency of Player Mentions in Relation to Fantasy Football

While I’m a big fan of fantasy football and Twitter, I’m not a fan of the combination of the two together.  Over the past couple of years, Twitter feeds around fantasy football have brought out many negative aspects around using this social media platform to engage with consumers.  For example, Ray Rice the running back of the Baltimore Ravens was hurt during a game in early September 2013 and received multiple Tweets from fantasy football players about how he ruined their fantasy football game due to his low fantasy football score from leaving the game early.  In this situation, Ray Rice is a brand, a brand that didn’t even initiate a conversation, although receives both positive and negative feedback, due to a circumstance he had no control over.

With Twitter, there’s limited control over the conversation.  It’s no wonder the usage of Twitter is moving more towards sharing news rather than engaging consumers in conversation. If Twitter moved towards a model of solely sharing news rather than engagement, brands, athletes and people wouldn’t need to worry about not being able to control a discussion when receiving negative feedback.

Social media platforms are great for engaging in conversation with consumers.  However, when the lead to petty conversations like negative commentary about an athlete’s performance, I question whether Twitter is the right platform for engagement.  As we take on the media revolution, we must adapt our usage of social media platforms to leverage the strengths these platforms offer.  Or maybe we just need to start mandating social media etiquette classes in schools and in the workplace?

http://www.brandwatch.com/2013/09/social-media-predicts-top-fantasy-football-picks-for-2013/