From Pokes to Tweets: How Companies are Using Facebook, Twitter, and Other Social Media

It's hard not to go to a website these days without seeing the Facebook or Twitter icon located somewhere on the page. Beware if you decide to follow any of these companies or organizations by clicking on the icon unless you want the company to have complete access of your profile. For instance, let's say you tweet about wanting a new Samsung LCD High-Definition TV. If you're following a company such as Amazon.com on Twitter the company will mercilessly start sending you tweets and email messages about the latest deals on Samsung TVs. Believe me, other companies have done the same thing to me and while it's interesting and informative at first it quickly becomes annoying.

Facebook essentially does the same thing. If you're listed as "Single" in your profile, ads for dating sites will frequently appear next to your profile page. If you have a certain band listed under your "Favorite Music" section in your profile, you will see ads featuring concert information or an upcoming album from that particular band.

Of course, this is only one of the ways companies are utilizing social media sites. People are using Twitter to directly communicate to their customers or potential customers. They can obtain valuable information about their products and suggestions for how to improve on them through polls or direct messages. They can also offer feedback if their customers have any questions or concerns about their products. Basically, Twitter is an easy way to have a focus group without spending money or alot of time to conduct one. All of these ideas and more can be found at 50 Ideas for Using Twitter for Business.

However, an even better source for learning how to use Twitter for businesses is Twitter 101. It's a great site for companies to go to if they desire to learn how to use Twitter within its marketing techniques. Companies can use Twitter to find out what the public is saying about them by enabling Twitter to report to them if the company name is mentioned within a person's tweet. Companies that take advantage of all of Twitter's capabilities will discover it is a tool like no other that allows companies to instantly connect with people at any time of the day especially if the person has Twitter connected to their cell phones.

Not only are companies using Twitter to probe into your everyday activities and feelings about their company or products in general, but the other big social media tool that everyone, including your grandmother, that companies are using to communicate with you is through Facebook. Remember in 2004 when Facebook was exclusively for college students and all you had was a profile pic, some personal information, the ability to create and join groups, and a wall for people to write on? Those were the days...

Today, if you're not being asked to take a quiz, add an application, play a game etc. you're either being bombarded by people's status updates or being forced to look at an advertisement that is specifically geared toward your personal profile. Then it should come as no surprise that if companies can see your interests on your Facebook page, even if you apply all the correct privacy settings, there are still ways around these settings in which Human Resource people can view your profile to see if your personal information reflects the type of person they are looking to hire for a job. The same practice applies to Twitter, Myspace, or Xanga too.

It's also interesting to note that while companies are using Twitter and Facebook to advertise to people, a recent study found that 54% of companies have banned the use of social networking sites by their employees while they are at work. So while your company may be using Facebook to advertise itself, it may ban you from using Facebook to advertise yourself at certain times of the day. This is just a little food for thought for a different discussion.

As far as marketing is concerned, the first thing most companies do is create a special page for their company or organization. These pages will usually include a link to the company's official website, their mission or purpose, and maybe a few videos about their company. Companies can also create groups and applications for unique advertising purposes.

Not only are businesses using Facebook as a means of communicating with their customers or clients, but they are also using it as a means to communicate with other businesses. By doing this they are networking with possible business partners by sharing research and information (but not to the point where the information shared is considered illegal) to help their businesses prosper.

Like Twitter, Facebook can also be linked to your cell phone so that companies instantly advertise new products, ask you to take a survey, or find out your if you're making any comments about the company. This can all be very beneficial to the company, but might become another headache.

So is marketing on social media good or bad for the average person? If you enjoy receiving information on the latest gadgets or talking with faceless companies on Facebook ( I know, that was bad) then you might embrace the social media marketing machine. But, if you'd prefer not to have your cell phone or computer flooded with advertisements and could care less about the business world, well my friend, I am sorry but you're out of luck. Social media marketing is here to stay and it's only going to get worse with every new piece of technology that is invented.

Red Bar Radio Podcast Review

Since the Red Bar Radio podcast is considered the most popular podcast on podcastalley.com I decided to give it a shot. After listening to the first twenty minutes of the show I could see why the show was so popular.

The 3 commentators on the show are crude, but not Howard Stern crude, and insightful at the same time. Specifically, the show that came out on October 9th primarily discussed why President Barack Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize. Like most people I talked with the day it was announced, I was puzzled and a little annoyed that he won. But after listening to Red Bar Radio's host, Mike D's, opinion on the subject I backed off on my own views. Mike D made an interesting point that the key word that most people are forgetting about in this issue is "prize." Getting a prize has nothing to do with deserving it. As one of the commentators remarked, "Do you really think anyone on the "The Price Is Right" deserves to win any of the crap they give away?" Indeed, Obama should not be criticized for receiving the Nobel Peace Prize, however, I still believe that the people who decided to give it to him need their brains examined.

So the show's commentary is insightful and hilariously crude at the same time. I found myself laughing and nodding my head at all their observations about the stupid things that people do on Facebook.

Technically, the show is well made too. The theme song to introduce the show was professionally done and the sound effects they used certainly added to the humor of the commentary rather than distracting people from what they were saying like some podcasts tend to do.

If you aren't a fan of shock jocks or bad language then I wouldn't reccommend this podcast to you. Otherwise, it's an entertaining show with great commentary about current topics or trends.