Facebook Masterminds Unite and Take Over Our Brains

Facebook has stopped from being a simple, clean and clear social network over the last years. The social giant has constantly added features meant to make users become addicted by the diverse range of content it promotes.

Facebook has changed the world of marketing, advertising and online journalism, turning marketers into little robots that constantly assimilate, translate and react to new algorithmic changes that could make them boost the sales of whichever product they are promoting. Journalists are deeply interested in hashtags, shifting their focus from authenticity and truth. Content is now repurposed, recycled and re-used, based on the feedback it gathers from interested users. Large chunks of information are being manipulated and delivered to us, ignoring the truth of facts or the rhetorical quality behind the writing.

People speak through emoji rather than words, share photos with their favorite foods rather than going out, the music industry is reimagined and basically almost everything that needs a little slice of popularity to survive, is linked to Facebook.

Mark Zuckerberg recently announced that “One day, I believe we’ll be able to send full, rich thoughts to each other directly using technology”. This is not an easy thing to do but it tremendously terrifying, in a world where spoken language and human interaction are slowly degrading, leaving room for an alternative, virtual life to take shape in a universe governed by fantasy and illusion. Facebook is the image that speaks a thousand words, but the thousand words are deprived of meaning. All that’s shiny and happy matters more than things that could rather be defined as meaningful.

Facebook is adding bricks to the brave new world it’s building, by working on laser technology meant to deliver high speed internet through drone satellites in remote areas. The social network intends to appeal to larger masses of public who will be drawn into the shiny, happy, colorful universe.

Facebook has been trying to extend its users database, namely its database overstuffed with private information regarding its users with WhatsApp as well, which is counted among over the top players who provide calling and messaging services.

The company entered the enterprise system by launching Facebook at Work, a stripped back version intended for internal staff use, for the Facebook officials to have an insight on the inner workings of organizational structures, find out and manage the entire range of user behaviors.

High level publishers are directed to change their entire editorial strategy and move it on Facebook platforms alone, to have a better perspective over the public reach levels.

In the future “You will just be able to think of something and your friends will be able to experience it too”, Mark Zuckerberg states. Where did privacy, individuality and common sense go, we wonder? Facebook is taking over our brains and we don’t have anything to say about it. Keep calm and keep on posting, chatting and taking pictures folks, Big Brother is watching us!

Image Source: designpieces.com

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Facebook Masterminds Unite and Take Over Our Brains

4 ways to take advantage of the new age of marketing

Maximise your company’s potential with these strategies

TV, print and billboard ads were once the gold standard for marketing. Basically, companies pushed their name in front of the masses in an attempt to build brand awareness.

But now customers want personalised, one-on-one interactions with brands, and marketers are beginning to see how a targetted approach can stretch their marketing dollars further and generate leads faster. This changes everything.

Print, radio and Super Bowl commercials — there’s only one reason companies spend money on these marketing methods: bragging rights. They have little to do with actual branding and lead generation.

Also Read: 5 ways to know if someone is your perfect co-founder

But you probably knew that. What you may not realise is that many startups still use techniques that seem hyper-personal and new, but actually don’t move the needle for their companies. Here are some conventional methods that are missing the mark

• Cold calls: Although the B2C world has long rejected this method, B2B companies are discovering the faults in this strategy too. Buyers want to establish their own solutions and work out their issues online. Marketers need to offer as much information as possible online, or potential clients will find a competitor that does.


• Blast emails: Many people still swear by email marketing. But a mass-delivered message just doesn’t work for most companies — even if it’s delivered by email. One message can never resonate with a general audience.

Join the new marketing era
Every successful marketing trend these days stems from knowing your customers, where they congregate, and how they form trust. Marketers no longer “think” of campaigns; they build them around buyer needs. Personalisation has become the key to generating RoI for your marketing efforts.

Knowing your buyer is the most effective marketing tool you can have. Start with customer profiles and dig deep into who your customers are to figure out how to reach them.

Once you understand your customers, consider these marketing tips to make your strategy work harder.

Also Read: 6 questions to ask during a startup job interview

Start with content marketing: Customer-driven content marketing can help your company address potential concerns and convert customers with more precision. Too often, companies blindly produce content, throw it out into the world, and hope it brings in leads. The content often centers on what the marketer thinks is important rather than what’s useful or relevant to customers. With few metrics to accurately measure content’s success, many marketers have difficulty gauging its effectiveness. Still, when done well, content marketing costs 62 per cent less than traditional marketing and generates three times as many leads.

Use marketing automation to help you scale: Marketing automation software helps companies market across multiple platforms. These services do everything from organise leads to create hubs that launch digital campaigns across many networks. This trend is still new though, and few companies have adopted it. But jumping on early will give your company a competitive edge in the next wave of marketing.

Use social media to extend the conversation: If content marketing starts the conversation and marketing automation scales it, then social media perpetuates it. Find out where your potential customers hang out, then speak their language. Don’t offer ebooks on Twitter, for example. Join the conversation on their terms.

Don’t forget the old ways: Personalisation doesn’t mean you should completely reject older methods. Instead, personalisation can transform those old techniques into efficient marketing tools.

Also Read: How to make high-quality SEO work for you

Direct mail is one example: Mailboxes were constantly stuffed with junk a few years ago, so no one noticed a good campaign. But many companies have stopped sending mail, and buyers are becoming much more receptive to good mail campaigns. This presents the perfect opportunity to create a targeted direct-mail message that potential customers will find refreshing.

Traditional marketing campaigns bring a single company message to a large pool of potential buyers, but that just isn’t cutting it anymore. Consumer trends are shifting toward personalisation and marketers need to take note. Buyers want results. When you tell a compelling story that directly relates to them, they’ll believe your company can deliver.

Content marketing, marketing automation, social media and even personalised traditional outlets can all reach potential customers effectively. But make sure your campaigns hone in on buyer personas and address their specific needs. Then you’ll have customers for life.

Justin Gray is the CEO and chief marketing evangelist of LeadMD. He founded the company in 2009 with the vision of transforming traditional grassroots marketing efforts through the use of cloud-based marketing solutions.

The Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC) is an invite-only organisation comprising the world’s most promising young entrepreneurs. In partnership with Citi, YEC recently launched StartupCollective, a free virtual mentorship programme that helps millions of entrepreneurs start and grow businesses.

Echelon Asia Summit is now open for the Top 100 applications! Submit your startup now.

4 ways to take advantage of the new age of marketing

Mays Business School professors, professionals take to new frontiers of marketing at brainstorming ...

It may have taken more than a year to coordinate a gathering of the top educators and practitioners in mobile marketing from around the world at Texas A&M University, but the impact it will have on students in the Mays School of Business will be immediate and far-reaching.

Eight marketing directors from brands such as JCPenny, GameStop, Macy’s and several professors from Texas A&M and around the world held a private three-day brainstorming session Wednesday through Friday on how to navigate the uncharted territory of mobile marketing at the third Thought Leadership Conference. The private seminar served as a launching pad for academic research in areas of mobile advertising, supply chain, mobile shopper marketing, mobile promotions and gaming that will culminate in a special issue of the Journal of Interactive Marketing next year to be the premier resource on how to reach customers through mobile devices.

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Mays Business School professors, professionals take to new frontiers of marketing at brainstorming ...