Friends, countrymen, lend me your ears!!
Bear
with me as I make yet another attempt at providing you an interesting read.
This time, and for the next few posts, I will be writing about the latest IT
trends coming out in our very rapidly advancing world (at least
technologically). Seriously though, this will be as techy as I can ever get –
not very much.
For
my first assignment, I will be writing about the latest trend on e-commerce
using Facebook as the main medium for conducting one’s business. Since social
media has become a hit, a lot of business men have opted to transfer their main
business operations online. Why? Some reasons I can think of would be
because a.) it saves them the
expense of having to rent physical stores, b.) data mining and customer
relations is made easier with a more open and real-time communication line, and
c.) it can be managed easily even with just a handful of people, maybe even
alone. Naturally, Facebook, being the number one social media platform at
present, was also used for e-commerce for a lot of different businesses – shout
out to Alfons Joson and his shoe business Kick Starter on Facebook (pay me, this is advertisement).
Actually, I’m sure some of my readers are aware of Ateneo’s very own ‘Ateneo
Trade’ FB group which allows Ateneans to buy and sell their own things. There
are a lot more Ateneo affiliated groups which serve the purpose of conducting
e-commerce, but I will not delve into that anymore.
There
is one problem though with using Facebook as an e-commerce site. It updates too
much, and therefore aren’t Facebook-dependent businesses on constant risk of
change management issues every time such updates on the platform are
implemented? Yes they are. This is what Nicholas Carlson discussed in his
article in Business Insider (link:
http://www.businessinsider.com/this-kid-makes-his-whole-living-off-facebook-traffic-2014-1#ixzz2pERRmuEw). With the latest update of
Facebook, the newsfeed of each people are programmed so that the ‘hottest’
topic will bump up the top automatically. This is made so by cumulatively and
comparatively sorting which posts, images, and such are liked, viewed, and/or
commented on by a lot of your Facebook friends. The issue then is that online
businesses don’t generally make a buzz big enough to stay on each customer’s
newsfeed. Personally, we only follow Facebook business groups which sell items
we are interested in. Chances are that most of our friends are not into the
same interests. For example, I follow the Ateneo Book Market, but since only a
handful of my close friends actually read books, I never get to see any posts from
this group on my newsfeed. Get it, get it?? :3
So
what then, is this the death of Facebook e-commerce as we know it? Not
according to one Koby Conrad who successfully runs his business, Hippies Hope
Shop, on Facebook even with the latest newsfeed implementation I stated above.
I will only summarize his points because you can read the whole thing on the
link I put on the previous paragraph. Basically what he’s saying is that
business men should use the world’s vanity as their main capital to push their
e-commerce business. According to him, the most common mistake that most
Facebook businesses do is posting too much infomercial. The trend now is the
‘Self’ (hence, selfies). People use social networks to share a piece of their
self to the world – their thoughts, whereabouts, interests, selfies. With that
said, businesses should capitalize on this vanity by means of making their
customers feel that the number one for you is them. Post frequently, but not
just boring infomercials. Have your customers participate by asking questions,
replying to their answers, facilitating games. Do this regularly a few times a
day to give your customers something to get back to. As per inter-business
relations online, there’s also vanity involved here. Arrange with other businesses
a deal wherein one and all will benefit! This can be done through networking.
Use the “I will promote you on my page, if you promote me on yours” card.
In
conclusion, I would say that the quick advancement of technology, while it is
in itself the very symbol of progress, also poses a threat to businesses which
are heavily reliant on IT. Business processes can easily be shifted in
accordance to the regular IT updates.
Although one such as Mr. Conrad find a way to still make it work in this
scenario, is not easy to say that social networking sites give off too many
risks to be the main base of operations of any business? Would you consider
putting up your business on Facebook?
To
answer the question, type CHO ANSWER
Chochowariwariwap, and post as comment. My blog ended with a question. See, I’m
learning.
Interesting read. However since Facebook was not created for e-commerce I don't think that we should expect much. What I'd like to point out, however, is how interesting it is that we actually USE FB to buy and sell things. It's basically a platform that we have utilized for our needs. We use it beyond what it was originally intended for. That, I believe, gives FB more value than actually lessening its value to customers. :)
TumugonBurahinPersonally, I wouldn't consider using Facebook as my main platform for a business. Yes, I would create a Facebook page for the sake of people who frequent Facebook, but it wouldn't be my only platform. I guess this is because of personal issues against FB -- i find the timeline layout of Facebook to be confusing if ever I were going to advertise products on it. I would prefer posting photos of my products on Instagram, but I do agree that it would reach more people if I connected it to FB. :-)
TumugonBurahinOn another note, I think the focus on people's vanity to catapult your business to the top is very interesting and relevant. I believe that everyone just wants to be noticed by the world, which is why we crowd around social media like Twitter, Instagram and Youtube, which allows us to "share a piece of our self to the world" like you said. We also like keeping up with the trends we find on social media. There is one business strategy I find to be very effective today, and that is using social media to spread word about a certain product without it looking "advertised". An example would be Magnum, which became popular overnight because celebrities were tweeting and posting photos of it. I also believe that stores like Vanilla Cupcake Bakery, J.Co, and Sonja's Cupcakes got their popularity because people were posting photos of it on Instagram and Facebook, and also tweeting about it. I think that there is a reason why cupcakes from Vanilla Cupcake Bakery stores and even the store itself are decorated so nicely - it is to make it "Instagram-able". And once you see a lot of your friends posting photos of the place and the cupcake, you'll get curious and try it yourself. It's actually a brilliant strategy because you're getting the people to unconsciously advertise your product for you without spending a cent!
Instagram and Snapchat are successful platforms because they satisfy their consumers' desires to express themselves through pictures. According to a Forbes article, Silicon Valley funds products like these but not the likes of Elon Musk's hyperloop transport simply because people currently don't highly value the hyperloops as much as Instagrams. Which is the bigger issue in this scenario? Mass appeal or the scientific doubts surrounding the proposed transportation?
TumugonBurahinWell, if it's mass appeal, specifically vanity, that needs to be satisfied for a product to become valuable, then the hyperloop should be marketed to appeal to people's vanity. The bosses at Silicon Valley should consider the Instagram posts riders would give. A win for both the hyperloop and Instagram.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/timworstall/2013/11/15/the-answer-to-why-silicon-valley-funds-instagrams-not-hyperloops/
Very interesting take on Facebook. I'd just like to reiterate what Joan said, Facebook was not created for the purpose of e-commerce. I think these e-businesses who are worried about going out of business because of the ever-changing platform should have already considered the risks involved.
TumugonBurahinIt may (or will) be difficult for businesses to keep up with the updates in technology, but i think we should remember that IT is there to support the business and not the other way around. And anyway, I don't think we have to worry about businesses being threatened by the improvements in IT. This is because just as how people found ways to use Facebook for e-commerce, we will also find ways to do business with the new technology. :)
YEAH! Go Kick Starter!
TumugonBurahinBilang isang taong nagsimula na ng business sa Facebook, agree ako sa sinabi mo na "it saves them the expense of having to rent physical stores". Pero may negative side din naman to. Halimbawa, kami sa Kick Starter, madami kaming natatanggap na inquiries pero karamihan sa mga 'yun may doubts kung dapat ba silang magtiwala samin kasi wala kaming maipapakitang physical store sa kanila. May pagdududa sila kung legitimate na shoe store ba talaga kami. (Pero legit kami!). Sang-ayon din ako na "data mining and customer relations is made easier with a more open and real-time communication line" at "it can be managed easily even with just a handful of people, maybe even alone" dahil may Facebook na din tayo kahit sa phone! So kahit nasaan man ako, pwede akong magrespond sa mga tanong ng mga tao. Walang business opportunity na nasasayang.
Tama ka din naman nung sinabi mo na threat nga sa isang business na nagrerely sa Facebook ang frequent updates lalo na yung bago sa News Feed. Pero may mga paraan din naman para magtake advantage sa mga updates na yun. Halimbawa, post ka lang ng picture ng customer siguradong kakalat na yung post at maraming maglilike. Sobrang simple, pero effective. Pwede rin naman na magbayad ng kaunti para si Facebook na mismo ang maglalagay ng posts mo sa News Feed ng mga tao kahit na hindi pa nila naririnig yung business mo. Ganun ang ginagawa ng Sulit.ph at Lizada.
Personally, okay para sa akin ang Facebook para sa e-business. Pero sa mga start-up lang. Kumbaga, publicity stage lang dapat siya. Hindi siya pang long-term dahil nga naparami at madalas ang pagbabago ng Facebook. Kung gusto talaga ng isang tao na lumago ang business niya, kinakailangan gumamit na siya ng ibang platform aside from Facebook. Pwedeng sariling website, o kaya physical store. Tulad ko, hindi ko naman plano na Facebook na lang habang buhay. Sa katunayan, malapit na kami magkawebsite at physical store (sa Malolos)! Wohooo!!!
I find this very empowering because of obvious reasons. You being able to start a business without any expenditures on anything except shipping and the product. Imagine how much you save on rent!
TumugonBurahinI'm actually one who has a business via FB and I have to admit it is very daunting at first getting your clientele on the go. For one, you would have many competitors, and second you have a higher chance of getting lost in the web of the internet.
Asides the threat of scammers, hackers, and bogus customers (they say they'd buy, and never show up)... you have a lot to watch out for.
Just like most things, there is a curve. That one point that when you hit, you become the most famous in a specific field.
I guess e-commerce through FB is great... caveat emptor, it's very cut throat.
Personally, di ako magsh-shopping sa Facebook kasi may trust issues ako. And isa yun sa cons ng paggamit ng Facebook as a business platform. Pero since, sabi nga ni Alfons based on his experience, nagwowork siya, siyempre di naman natin maaalis yung pros.
TumugonBurahinSiguro what I find cool in this whole article is the fact na you pointed out how Facebook has become more than just a social networking site. Napapaisip tuloy ako kung ano pang ibang possibilities!!
PS. White on black is beri painful to da eyessss. Huhu.