With the Academy awards just around the corner, I figured I would talk about the inspiration behind one of the nominees for Best Picture,cThe Social Network. In less than ten years the social networking site known as Facebook has become one of the most popular websites for all ages all over the world. After seeing the film the other day it is easy to see why facebook has avheived the worlwide success that they have in such a short period of time. The marketing strategies used to promote facebook, even in its earliest stages were second to none. CEO and founder of facebook, Mark Zuckerberg knew exactly what his product was, who it would attract, and how to attract them to it.
Facebook is now a site that is available for use by any and everyone who wants to be a part of it, however this was not always the case. The core competency of Facebook was orginally exlusivity.The original marketing strategy was to offer the site to the select group of college students who attended Harvard University (like founder Mark Zuckerberg), and outsiders were only welcomed if they were invited by a Harvard student. This idea of exclusivity was what originally drove Facebooks marketing plan, because as we know, we all want what we cant have.
However, the sites pupularity grew so fast that the founders of facebook quickly started to expand to other Ivy League schools and soon to all colleges around the country until facebook was the IT thing to have for any college student because it offered them constant updates and info as to what was going on in their social lives. In the film The Social Network they site excellent marketing strategies that the founders of the site used. For example, in one scene they discuss how they wanted to get their site onto a certain campus in Texas, however they already had their own social networking site. So, their plan was to promote facebook to every scool within 100 miles of their target school. This, in turn, would create word of mouth between the outside schools and the target school that would make the students need facebook. This is a brilliant marketing strategy that pushes the intial idea of exclusivity even if the site is no longer exclusive. Whether or not this account is factual is an entirley different story.
Facebook, through excellent marketing techniques was able to expand from one school and one age group, to a site that is used by over 500,000,000 people of all ages across over 100 countries, and has virtually revolutionized the way we interact and keep in touch with people. Now facebook also offers one of the most revolutionary techniques for other firms to advertise their products on the site. Facebook has developed algorthms that match peoples preferences, likes, and dislikes that are cited on their facebook page with products that are being advertised on the site. Now firms are able to much more easily and effectivley reach their target markets. However, there has been some controversy about this strategy, claiming that it is an invasion of privacy and should not be allowed by facebook. What do you think, invasion of privacy or simply good business?
