Blog 3: Snapchat Ads Getting Creepy

We've all fallen victim to some creepy targeted advertising while browsing the Internet. I'm constantly noticing that my Facebook page is littered with ads for a pair of shoes that I had just been eyeing on another website. Snapchat is going to be joining Facebook, Twitter, and Google in ad targeting since it has hired Oracle Data Cloud, an offline data provider.

What does this mean?
Basically, Snapchat will now stalk your offline activity to deliver targeted ads in your app. Oracle has a database of over 110 million households, $2 trillion in consumer spending, and over 1,500 brands. So, it is pretty likely that you are somewhere in their database. However, there is some good news - you can opt out of these targeted ads. To disable them, tap the ghost icon at the top of the screen in camera mode, enter Settings by tapping the gear icon in the top right corner, select "Manage Preferences", then "Advert Preferences", and finally there you can turn off the "Snap Audience Match".

Unfortunately, this won't exempt you from all Snapchat ads. Snapchat will still present ads based on your online, in-app activity. So, Snapchat will still be able to lightly stalk you, but not nearly as intense as with the Oracle data.

The reason for Snapchat's elevated stalk-level is likely due to their future IPO. Apparently investors just really love to see high ad sales. Who would've guessed?

Blog 2: Trump as the Social Media President

FDR was known as the "radio" president, JFK the "television" president, Obama the "internet" president, and now we may deem Trump the "social media" president. Trump may be America's first Commander-In-Tweet.

It's no secret the President Trump is very active on Twitter. Throughout his campaign, Trump consistently took to Twitter to comment on any and every topic that came up. Below are some of my favorites:



He definitely keeps the world entertained with his outrageous and unexpected tweets. Although most people believe his tweets are inappropriate, they could have contributed largely to his victory. He is more connected to the people than any president before. People are attracted to the way he says what he wants without concern for the consequences of doing so. Trump had about 4 million more followers than Clinton leading up to the election. This was a huge obstacle for Clinton, who took a far more traditional approach.

In even bigger news, Trump is now on Snapchat. His first snaps were taken at the Inauguration and are shown below.
 
There is a lot of uncertainty and speculation about the role that social media will play during the Trump presidency. We have already seen how he uses Twitter as a place to vent his impulsive thoughts. I wonder if he will be advised against doing this during his presidency and if his Twitter will remain under his personal control.

Blog 1: Customer Service on Social Media

Nearly all of us have had a negative experience with a product that led us to contact their customer service department. Traditionally, this contact could be through returning the product or calling a customer service department. However, now consumers post about their experience via social media, which can lead to either a positive or negative snowball effect for the company. Consumers post about the good, the bad, and the ugly on social media, so it is essential that a company has a solid social media strategy to respond to these posts.

Whole Foods, with 4.8 million followers, uses Twitter as a means to positively respond to customers as seen below:
 
On the other hand, not all companies handle social media properly. After appearing on Gordon Ramsey's TV show "Kitchen Nightmares", Amy's Baking Company Bakery Boutique & Bistro responded with:
 

Although this Facebook post is quite funny, BuzzFeed called it "The Most Epic Brand Meltdown on Facebook Ever". These Facebook posts went viral and memes were even created about the meltdown:


Let's be real, you know it's bad when you've been turned into a meme. Amy's Baking Company should have turned their experience on "Kitchen Nightmares" into a positive. The show would have opened Amy's to a huge new customer base, which Amy's should have used to their advantage. Instead, Amy's rant turned into a "Facebook Nightmare" and this business publicly suffered as a result.

No matter what a business is selling, it is critical that businesses take social media customer service seriously because it will make a huge difference to their customer satisfaction and retention rates.