Boycott Facebook. A defence of social media

Social media is getting a really bad reputation at the moment. Hence, I keep receiving WhatsApp messages from aunties in Nigeria about boycotting Facebook and the obvious question as to why I started a social media company for small businesses (Plug).

I have had countless debates with colleagues and friends on if social media does more harm than good. I love to play Devil’s advocate and despite working in the social media field, I have my concerns on the impact of social media on mental health and increased level of isolation in society.

With brands such as Sonos pulling ads from Facebook and other social media platforms in the last couple weeks following allegations around misuse of data by Russia and tech firm Cambridge Analytica, I think it’s appropriate to write a defence for social media.

It's not espionage

'If you are not paying for it, you become the product'

A complete dichotomy. Funnily enough this 'rallying call' has been ringing all over social channels. A movement against social media is being pushed on social media! 2018 ladies and gentlemen.

It states that since we do not pay for social media channels we are the product that these channels are selling. Cambridge Analytica have been accused to use our information to target us with adverts to push us to vote a certain way. Firstly, Cambridge Analytica never stole anything from Facebook as reported by many media outlets. Facebook throughout all of this mess has always been secure. Users of the biggest social media network consented to sharing their data with third party apps.

Why would we consent to that? Because of ease of use.

When working for Conversocial (one of the best social media customer service software companies in the world), we coined this phrase 'effortless engagement.' We preached how social media with emphasis on customer service was the new battleground for businesses to fight for customer loyalty.

For example, imagine I am Susan from Manchester and I need to catch a flight but I am having trouble checking in so I decide to send a direct message on Twitter to the airline that I am flying from. If the airline can resolve my problem quickly and compassionately. I am more likely to reuse that airline again and recommended that airline to a friend. If not, (Susan can be quite fiery) She might even blast you on her social media channels.

Targeted Ads

This is where this article comes close to home. As well as photography and videography for events and branding at IAMedia we help small businesses who typically lack the expertise and time to invest in paid advertising on social media. We help these brands to advertise to their target audience. Generating them more leads and increasing their top line growth. Contact us now for more information.

As a business fanatic who loves photography, Afrobeats/hiphop and Arsenal. Facebook knows to show me adverts for free webinars on how to build wealth, or new afrobeat events. My personal engagement with this type of advertising is much higher than any other form of advertising. I can't recall consciously buying anything from a tv or radio advert. In fact, whenever I do watch tv (which is barely ever now), I would rather change the channel when adverts come on and risk missing part of the latest Fresh Prince of Bel Air rerun than have to sit and watch completely irrelevant adverts about topics and organisations I could not care less about.

I have also found a rise in mistrust from business owners over the platform. One of my clients before they signed mentioned how he tried running ads himself but saw little to no ROI. Results can be hard to track. At IAMedia we provide bespoke reporting on the reach of your adverts, demographics and statistics on your best performing adverts. Funnily enough I believe that client is very much satisfied with our service so far. In just a week we have got their page likes from 2 to over 1,000 through strategic advertising and their CPL (Cost Per Like) to under 5p. Get in touch personally at Imisiade@gmail.com to find out how.

Facebook has never hid anything about how our information is leveraged. Some may argue that they need to make this information more accessible and easier to understand but as users we have a responsibility to ourselves to seek such information.

To me, the Leave Campaign in collaboration with Cambridge Analytica as well as Trump’s campaign leveraged this information in a clever manner.

Manipulation is nothing new, we are constantly being subtly influenced. Even this article you are reading is actually a tool for me to pitch to you my new business www.iamedia.co.uk

We must not throw out the baby with the bath water. Social Media has come a long way at personalising our social interactions. There is still room for improvement. We can all make it serve us better. If you want greater control over how your data is held and how it is being used, follow these steps:

1) Always read terms and conditions.

2) Turn off 3rd party applications.

3) Enjoy typing your information every time you resign up to Tinder or any other new applications.

Peace and love..

Imisi Adefala.

IAMedia