Let me share with you something that irritated me this week:
‘Bristol Mum Exposes “Shocking” Celebrity Diet Secrets!
Learn how she lost 2 Stone in 4 weeks using these two diet cleanses that UK Celebrities use! See how’
The image above is from a fitness page on Facebook that I do not follow, like or even want to see if I’m honest.
The company is stating that Jennifer Love Hewitt has ‘lost 2 stone in 4 weeks’ on their amazing celeb diet cleansers promoted by the ‘before and after’ picture above. Now if you are as cynical as me, you will also be shouting at your screen things such as ‘this is physically impossible’ ‘what a bad Photoshop job’ ‘ do I look stupid’ ?!
The reason these images show up on your wall is purely and simply, Advertising! Facebook is a great way for businesses to effectively target potential customers through advertising, and this company has paid for effective advertising by targeting ‘women’ like me as we are notoriously concerned about our weight and body image (just out of interest did any men see it?! Huh? No I didn’t think so!) J
So why pay for advertising that is so clearly untrue and more like a game of spot the difference than a result of your products ability’s?
Well there are a number of reasons:
- SALES / PROFIT / TURNOVER – People will still buy into advertising, particularly is they believe that the particular product will solve their problems…in this case rapid weightloss – which we all know there is no safe quick fix other than healthy eating and exercise, yet we still shell out over $50bn Globally every year on weightloss products! http://www.prweb.com/releases/2011/5/prweb8393658.htm
- Brand awareness – this image got 1216 likes, 122 shares and over 1000 comments increasing not only the advertising reach but total organic reach.
Not bad stats for them when reviewing their social media response rate.
Well let’s take a look at the responses:
*Please skip if you are offended by bad language*… this has clearly enraged some folk ;D
Like the old saying goes, bad press is better than no press at all… but is it really?
Could this new age demand to get hits, likes, followers, shares and comments however which way possible, be ruining companies reputations? Or is social media increasingly being used to fulfil short term sales targets?
At the end of the month when they look at their stats are they proud that they have reached thousands because they paid too, gained 1,216 (and counting) likes, 122 shares, and 1,015 negative comments? But what about the level of sales? I would be interested to know whether or not they could quantify the actual number of sales this post generated…
But as you should all know by now, one of Talk Direct Marketing Values is ‘honesty is always the best policy’ and even with the potential to make a quick buck, the integrity of the company should always be at the forefront of marketing communications.
I’d be pleased to hear your thoughts on this #MMMM
Happy Monday :D
