Facebook knows what you like

When I first became a member of Facebook, I was not aware  how much advertising and marketing would be on display to me.   I soon discovered that Facebook has more advertisements than any television channel or magazine.

I asked myself if I had ever purchased anything from an advertisement on Facebook. Considering how much time I spend on Facebook, surely some form of advertising has persuaded or influenced me at one point or another. "Our choices are not entirely our own" (Patel, 2007, p2). I realised that many purchases I have made, both online and in stores, have been influenced by advertising on Facebook. I have joined many Facebook pages which advertise online clothing stores, music pages, cooking pages and even sports pages -  all of these pages are full of ads targeted to that specific 'community'.

With over 1 Billion users, it doesn't take a genius to figure out why Facebook is not only just a social network, but also a marketing network where you can buy, swap and sell 'virtual stuff' and 'real stuff'. Social Media Today, suggest that a company or business may not be taken seriously if it does not have a presence on Facebook. There are many different 'communities' formed on the site, which makes it ideal for companies to market products to their specific audience or targets.

It is suggested that the 3rd industrial revolution is underway (The third industrial revolution, 2012), and that many future jobs will no longer be in factories and warehouses, but rather in offices full of marketers, logistics experts, engineers, and other professionals. I believe marketing on Facebook will play a big role in 3rd industrial revolution, as it is an easy and ideal way to connect with millions of people on a global scale. Facebook is the perfect setting for convincing the masses that consuming is good (Wilkinson, 2013).


Reference List:

Patel, R (2007). Stuffed and Starved: Markets, power and the hidden battle for the world food system. p2. Melbourne, Australia: Swartz Publishing Pty Ltd.

Romeri, M. (2013) Social Media Today. Harness the power of facebook marketing. Retrieved from http://socialmediatoday.com/monica-romeri/1145911/harness-power-facebook-marketing

The Economist (2012). The third industrial revolution. Retrieved from http://www.economist.com/node/21553017

Wilkinson, R (2013) BA1002: Our space: Networks, narratives and the making of place. Lecture 8, retrieved from http://learnjcu.edu.au

Image Credit:

http://www.mobilemarketingwatch.com/will-consumers-trust-facebook-for-ecommerce-35301/