So in this new world, let’s say Facebook becomes the new Walmart. Product lines and in-stock merchandise litter Fan Pages and urge you to “friend” your favorite store/product.  Instead of joining a group then promptly forgetting about it, consumers actually make transactions and share the bargains they found with virtual shopping buddies. Augmented reality applications could further blur this line by turning your desktop into a mini-mall.

Well, Facebook is doing just that. Here’s what’s going on in their world:

• partnering with PayPal.
• allowing apps to test out their own e-commerce models.
• Ex: FarmVille (sort of) did it by introducing virtual goods, earning them over $100 million last year.
• taking measures to secure the spot as a social marketplace and forum; and potentially less of an avenue for socializing itself.

Setting itself up as a useful retail tool will allow Facebook to sustain its edge over other networks, in partnership with top brands, IF it can find a way to make some dollars in the process:

• The “use of Fan Pages increased store visits by 36 percent.”
• “Amount spent increased by 45 percent.”
• “Loyalty increased by 41 percent…”
• …BUT “only about 5 percent of the firm’s 13,000 customers became Facebook fans within three months.” (From AdRants.com).

Our social networks and online activities are the new “points” for marketers to think about in a point-of-purchase strategy.  Whether the consumer wants this intrusion or not, it’s where things are headed.

So, how will marketers track these intangible purchases if not at a cash register?

A new kind of bar code perhaps. Traceable ads (things like cookies) could make people fear we are entering a 1984-like state. But, if marketers are jacking your personal info anyway, every time you buy something online, why not be in control of what you see and how you pay for it?

With more efficient technology, consumers will be able to do everything in one stop, like the QuickTrip of the media world.

• Ex:  Brands like Coca Cola have begun creating digital billboards putting ambient media everywhere you want to be.
• Keep in mind, there is a fine line between helping the consumer and intruding into all aspects of currently unbranded life. Think of the advertising clutter shown in futuristic movies, down to branded hospitals: (Starbucks Medical Center anyone?)

Late adopters will be chatting about this trend next year, but risk takers and innovators are clinging onto it now. As E-commerce marries social, including mobile devices and networks, tagging a purchase even furthers the cause for geo-targeting. “Going local” means more than fresh farmer’s market produce, but connects you to similar shoppers in your area. Hopefully this will keep all human interaction from taking place via broadband.

• To marketers: Give consumers what they want and aid them in the process. Be transparent. Offer something unique and don’t spam. And please, don’t make digital the new bumper sticker.
• To consumers: Be smart when engaging in online purchase behavior. The old privacy rules still apply.

The power is all in the hands of the consumer.  We don’t have to rely on magazine subscriptions or TV commercials to hear about the latest “it” thing or Jennifer Aniston’s latest Brad Pitt freak out.  (She really should get over it).  We can seek out only the information we want to hear about via RSS Feeds or on our mobile devices.  This can even be applied to conversations with our friends.  Your good buddy Joe posted too many pictures of his latest deer hunting trip? Tuning out over-sharing is as easy as the click of a “hide this” button.

It’s no longer about who has the biggest…media budget.  Now, advertising is starting to look more like public relations, public relations is starting to look more like social networking and social networks are starting to be an extension of a consumer’s identity, down to what kind of Starbucks’ coffee they drink every morning. The power is in the hands of the consumer.

Take the release of the new iPad.  Leave it to Twitter users to tell it like it is. They will let you know that, in fact, it sounds like Apple has just created the first tech savvy feminine hygiene product.  It’s all about what the consumer wants and they will let you know what they don’t.  It’s up to the brand to address this and change accordingly.  Hulu has taken a leaf out of this book with their new Ad Selector, which allows the consumer to choose which ads to view before their video. It could potentially revolutionize the online video advertising model, which is a good position to be in since there are over 108 million online video users today. We, for the first time, are directing the flow of advertising, and with that, communication.

Groupon is another rapidly growing innovative social business, offering daily coupon deals.  The catch is, you only get them if enough people get on board.  The good thing is, I’ve never seen an offer not go through.  If you’ve put money down for $40 worth of burritos, you’re going to promote it to ensure your money doesn’t go down the drain. Groupon depends on the social narcissism of consumers.  And it’s working.  From this emerged an organic promotional stunt for Groupon, a contest to see if anyone can actually live off Groupon deals.  It will be interesting to see how it pans out but once again, everything is in the hands of Joe Contest Winner, who trusted Groupon enough to take its bet.

The important part to all of this is that consumers do want to communicate with your business.  If you offer them the good stuff to keep them coming back, they’ll put you on their virtual speed dial.  Sixty-two percent of users polled on Mediapost believe they can influence business decisions by voicing opinions via new media channels.  Even better, they are likely to  bypass just talking about your product and take some form of action be it a purchase or a conversion.  (See more data on Mediapost.com).

Are you on board or aren’t you?

Social media outlets like Twitter and blogs are increasingly used as ways to promote a brand. In the age of spammers, it’s unlikely you’ll answer unknown solicitations to hock someone else’s product, unless they’re a friend of yours. But at least this is closer to organic PR, just online.

Organic seeding and online PR–without the sponsored part–may be time consuming, but there is no question that the blogger or Tweeter said what they had to say about your brand because they wanted to–because you made a connection with them, not because a company paid them to.

Another unpaid way to get your message across the internet is to push it out every few hours. Repetition may be the old adage for advertising but online, repetition may just turn people off.

So now we enter into the faster but more questionable realm of Sponsored Tweets and Sponsored Blog posts.

Someone may agree to write about your product for a fee. But it could take away sincerity and belief when there is a disclaimer before a blog post.

What if there were sponsored lectures in classrooms? A nutrition class. The professor announces that this is a “sponsored lecture” BUT all opinions are 100% their own. “I think the Taco Bell diet is really beneficial and there will be a class project to test this theory.” “Sponsored by Taco Bell.” So yes, the professor said the opinions are hers, but, do you really believe this? I mean, she is getting a paycheck. And seriously, eating Taco Bell everyday for a month? There’s an obvious reason that Taco Bell could make a person lose weight and it isn’t their nutritious ingredients, if you know what I mean.

Mashable had an argument back in August that the company Izea “attempts to bring transparency, ethics, influence, and even celebrity to paid Twitter conversations.” But the other opinion is: would social media be better off without them?

TV and radio didn’t have advertising at first, but eventually everything needs a way to make a profit. Even bloggers, though their customer base is used to getting the milk for free.

If Kim Kardashian can (arguably) make money on Twitter, as long as she discloses if she’s being paid to talk about her new (branded) kicks, is that ok? Michael Jordan isn’t required to say “I’m being paid right now by Hanes” in front of the camera. It’s understood. Eventually Sponsored Tweets/Blogs may go from borderline unethical to understood that someone is paid to chat about a product. Beware, though, users will be on their way to a new medium as soon as they think they’re flooded with advertising.

Do Sponsored Blogs make you look less credible or is it the fault of consumers’ if they don’t understand your disclosure. Are Sponsored Tweets only acceptable for celebrities and “gurus” because it’s expected?

Let’s face it. Most people are online to connect with real people. But what if you are that real person who typically talks about your dog and your kids and what you eat for breakfast and occasionally tweets about Kellogg’s cereal because you’re getting paid to? You sought out a product so you could get paid to announce an opinion you already have.

Until this blurry line becomes bold, I guess we’ll wait and see.

It could all be blamed on the Taco Bell mascot, Gidget, who encouraged Americans everywhere to repeat the tagline “Yo Quiero Taco Bell?” That dated commercial was the talk of water coolers. Perhaps this is what first inspired Paris Hilton to purchase her Chihuahua, Tinkerbell. Maybe she had an affinity for low-quality tacos and wanted to show her support.

A better explanation points at mainstream media where Ms. Hilton was never spotted without her beloved Tinkerbell, placed inside ornately adorned designer handbags and toted around the red carpet like Kanye’s Hennessy bottle. Let the pet craze begin and let it be circulated across every celeb gossip TV channel. “Paris Hilton syndrome,” penned by California shelters, can tie an influx of Chihuahua demand directly to the California area.  And red carpet cameras are accomplices.

But wait, Paris is a national, ahem, icon, so why did Americans from coast to coast not jump on the Paris-wagon?  Because the obsession of being “in” is more escalated in the L.A. area than anywhere else in the country. It’s where wives of rich husbands can do nothing forever and still afford copious Botox treatments and kids from Laguna Beach are supported by MTV. This is what the rest of America watches to escape from a normal life.  But if you live in California, that is your normal life. Keeping up with the Jones’ persuaded everyone from children to cougars to purchase the latest “it-dog” to feed their Paris-fix. These puppies were treated as an extension of a wardrobe instead of man’s best friend. Beverly Hills socialites believe they can have anything they want. And can discard their wants as easily.

Inadvertently Hollywood trendsetters inspired California breeders to overproduce Chihuahuas to keep up with demand, just like Rolexes are aplenty at local street vendors. Back-yard breeders hopped at the chance to supply California with any Chihuahua they could ever want. But, like all trends, as Paris Hilton dropped out of fashion, so did the little dogs associated with her. Kids were no longer screaming that they had to have a tiny Tinkerbell to fit in their Louis Vuitton backpack.  They moved on to the next thing.

The Chihuahua crisis could be a metaphor for the decline in traditional media. Paris Hilton’s fame went out like the newspapers but the cause is being picked up in another venue. Now social media channels are encouraging adoption to combat this problem. As we saw with the Iranian protests, online is the quickest way to spread a topic, and because people feel guilty when they aren’t sharing a charitable effort, there is hope these Chihuahuas, and other shelter dogs, will find homes for the holidays.

Or maybe the only thing to blame is this.
Check your local Humane Society for ways to donate in your area.
SPCA
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