Article - 'SNS' a blessing or a curse?

Facebook, Youtube such social networking sites have become the hangout place for person of any age. It’s not too long when Facebook was introduced, and within 8 years of its inception it has captured a majority of market. Its rapid growth happened just because of teenagers cropping in from all around to find their friends to stay connected.

Well was this the only reason? Not really..! As it was the reason only till it's initial growth, but later it was due to marketers cropping in. From SNS they have turned out to be marketers tool. Features like space marketing, creating pages, community, group has enabled the marketers to promote, create awareness and much more. It even enables to interact with number of consumers which in turn helps in studying their attitude, opinion and views.

SNS has lot many advantages and can act as a brand builder for a marketer or can degrade a brand. Marketers today have been using this tool to large extent, but most company’s brands are degraded as companies don’t completely take care of this tool. It even shows it isn't being used efficiently.

Even a little negligence can cause damage to company’s image. Well known brands like Pepsi Dove are live examples. They do have their own page being maintained on Facebook, where number of applications, contests, and games are held. The response for such activities is infinite consumers (existing and potential). Through these of course they earn awareness and good image, but this is not true all time. A number of times it has happened so, games, contests are held, results too are announced but the winners don’t get their promised reward. This happened when Pepsi conducted a contest called “Pepsi Peace Tees” and when they are questioned there’s neither reply nor any response from them. Similar another case is Dove well known brand among girls specially. They held a contest ‘Dove Next Fresh Face Contest’, again there was huge response from many ladies and girls. But here in the list of participant’s gallery few couldn’t find their picture even after uploading twice or thrice and when Dove was questioned and to respond back they never reverted back. There were clear responses from many females saying that ‘they have fooled us’.

Is it that company’s act blind when all this happens? These incidents may seem tiny but they may grow into big issues. Consumers always support the company’s which respect them, such negligence shows that they don’t value their consumers. SNS are like contagious disease be it big or small, good or bad they spread all across rapidly and you will not even realise it. To some extent I felt these Company’s though being such big brands neglect their customers, somewhere the values for these brand has lowered in my mind.

All it can be said is ‘making SNS a blessing or curse’ is in your hands