by Amy Lorinovich
A written letter, no way. A phone call, maybe. A text message, probably. Facebooking…bingo! Generation Y has changed communication. Social networks are the hub of socializing, communication and interaction. All from one site you can check status updates, send a quick message, check out new pictures or even chat with friends. There are many other social networks like Twitter that I have not explored yet, and Myspace that I only joined for about a year and lost interest, but I have yet to use one as much as I use Facebook. If I need to send an e-mail it is probably only going to my parents, as they do not have Facebook. If I am talking with a friend 90% of it is through Facebook. I may not even check my e-mail some days. Without fail I will open Facebook every morning and every night…sometimes a few peeks during the day just to stay connected.
As I dive into the business world I am seeing the extraordinary possibilities for businesses to use social networks as tools. The amount of information people are voluntarily putting onto these sites is a marketer’s dream. I recently did a search for “coffee” (another interest of mine since joining the working world) on Facebook. The first result that I saw was Starbucks. They have over 3.6 million fans on Facebook! That’s 3.6 million customers volunteering information! Their page consists of pictures, polls, new products, upcoming events, discussions, and a link to their Twitter page. They are giving their customers a reason to visit their page and utilizing it to the fullest to gather as much information as they can for FREE. I also came across the Starbucks Frappuccino page. A drink has its own page…..with over a million fans! Talk about targeting your market. Over a million customers are telling you that they love this product and you can view their information as well. Starbucks has an eye on their customers and has adapted to reach out to them.
Another page I came across was Dunkin’ Donuts. Their page was harder to find. There are a bunch of Facebook pages titled Dunkin’ Donuts so I had to weed through them to find the authentic company page. It consists mostly of fan comments with a few responses here and there from the company. There are not as many postings by the company, some outdated events and pictures and there is no real “call to action” or sense that the company is really paying attention on the page. Is it a coincidence that they have yet to reach a million fans?
With social networks being the home for Generation Y, companies need to be involved. Is it enough to simply monitor, or is there a need to be actively involved?
Amy is an account manager at Mercury.
