Should we be worried about our privacy on Facebook?
There’s a lot of us on Facebook. Our lives are played out on social media. But how much have we to fear when it comes to our privacy? Are we exposing ourselves in a way we may later regret? Mark Saxby asks Martin Broadhurst in today’s Status Update…
Read MoreIs it worth being on Foursquare?
Has Foursquare got genuine value for consumers and businesses or is it just a kids’ game being played by grown-ups? And where does Facebook Places fit into the world of check-ins? Mark Saxby asks Martin Broadhurst whether we should be paying any attention to Foursquare in The Status Update…
Read MoreThe Status Update: Is Facebook going to be ruined by ads?
Facebook is trying to make as much money as it can… but is it able to do so without being intrusive? The network has announced a raft of changes to its advertisements, making it easier than ever before to talk to your potential customers. But will the new ads alter our enjoyment of Facebook? Mark Saxby gets the answers from Martin Broadhurst…
Read MoreWhy wives always know best
Is it just me or do husbands never get it right? If I make the bed, my wife will tell me I’ve not done it properly (pillows not the right shape, quilt too lumpy); when I hang out the washing my wife feels she has to go out after me to finish off the job properly (clothes not hanging at the right angle, underpants are crinkled); if I stack the dishwasher my wife feels the need to restack it (there’s a toast crumb on a plate, she’s spotted half a millimetre of unused space).
Then, when I don’t do the jobs because I am obviously not good enough at them, I get told off for not doing the housework!
My feeling is there are some jobs where it is best to do it yourself. So when I got asked to do the social media marketing for a small wine business, I said no. Not because I don’t love wine (give me a glass of red and I’m anybody’s); it’s just that I am no expert. As I explained to the wine company: if Status Social Media Marketing is managing your wine accounts on Twitter and Facebook and a potential customer tweets you from Sainsburys asking which meat goes best with his Can Rafols dels Caus, me or my team wouldn’t know the answer. We could find out by asking our client but by the time we get the answer, it may be too late. So in my opinion, we are not the best option to manage such an account. It would be better if we trained the wine business how to do it themselves. They can speak with real passion.
I never heard from that wine business again. For all I know they may have got another social media marketing business to tweet on their behalf. Do I regret my decision? No, because I want the best thing for the customer rather than looking out for our bank balance first. Sometimes it is right to manage a business’s social media accounts – but only when you can do it better than they could do it themselves.
There is a lot of mystery surrounding social media marketing but it is not unfathomable. If someone tells you it can’t be taught, they are talking rubbish. Anyone can be shown how to run their own social media accounts and time-saving devices are available to avoid Twitter and Facebook taking over your life.
So the next time someone offers to run your social media marketing, ask yourself if you really need someone to do so. Or do you need to quote my wife and reply: “I’ll do it myself because I want it done properly.”
The Status Update: What do the new Facebook changes mean to me?
Facebook likes evolution and it’s going through the changes again. Facebook has just announced a major revamp to its brand pages – the pages businesses use to promote themselves. But how do the changes affect us and what do we need to do to ensure the new pages work for us? Mark Saxby asks Martin Broadhurst in today’s Status Update…
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