Online Strategy Archives - Page 2 of 2

Is it time to quit Facebook? Both users and brands are wondering.

April 4, 2018

by Regina Liu Advertising Community Awareness Marketing Online Strategy Social Media

Privacy has always been a concern for users on social media and across the internet, but these issues have come into the spotlight amidst recent reports of the Cambridge Analytica data scandal. And both users and brands are wondering is it finally time to dump Facebook. Across Twitter, #DeleteFacebook began trending. Celebrities made announcements that they were leaving Facebook. Several big name brands including Mozilla and Sonos temporarily suspended their Facebook advertising.

But what does this really mean for marketers? Should you pull back on your Facebook ad spending right now? Here are four reasons why companies should not be afraid to continue business as usual on Facebook.

1. Only a small number of people are leaving Facebook.

There are still over two billion users on the world’s largest social media platform, whose daily lives are entwined with Facebook. Although people are concerned, most are taking steps to be more cautious about data being shared rather than outright deleting their accounts.

Few companies are making changes to their ad spending as a result of the news, at least for now. According to Pathmatics, digital intelligence platform, of the top 1,000 ad spends on Facebook, only seven pulled ad spending following the Cambridge Analytica reports.

2. Facebook has been through issues before – and survived.

Facebook has already begun to make changes, including removing 3^rd party data providers from its ad targeting, pausing all messenger bots and developing a new certification tool for marketers to guarantee email addresses used for ad targeting. Right now, Facebook’s priority will be to actively pursue solutions to earn back the trust of consumers.

Last year when Google-owned YouTube came under fire for showing brand ads next to hate speech and offensive content, brands boycotted YouTube but returned after a few months because of their quick response to remedy the situation. YouTube did not suffer any losses in earnings or growth.

3. Facebook advertising works.

The effectiveness of Facebook advertising has always been due to its hyper-targeting abilities. As the demand for transparency increases and access to data is limited, marketers may have to get more creative with targeting and begin to rethink their digital strategies, but as long as Facebook ads continue to deliver results, brands will continue to use it.

4. It could have happened to anyone.

This is the time we live in and privacy has been the tradeoff for the benefits of technology. And while the target is on Facebook right now, this is an overall consumer privacy issue across all digital media that needs to be addressed.

At the end of the day, leaving Facebook is a personal decision. As an ad agency, our job is to stay educated on the matter, monitor the situation closely for further fallout and help our clients determine the best strategy moving forward. And for brands, unless enough users leave or if the targeting regulations hurt performance, there is no reason to panic.

Regarding your personal account, learn ways to protect your data here.

It’s Time to Stop Calling Them Passive Job Seekers

January 16, 2018

by Regina Liu Human Resources Mobile Advertising Online Strategy Recruitment Advertising Social Media Uncategorized

In the world of recruitment, we use the terms “Active and Passive Job Seeker,” to differentiate between people who are actively searching for jobs, whether out of work or ready for a change, and those who are currently employed, but may be convinced to consider another opportunity.

Before the Internet and social media, candidates had to work hard to find and apply to jobs. But with technology leading to greater access coupled with people changing jobs more frequently, I propose that a new term needs to be implemented. Call it the “Always Looking” Job Seeker, the “Semi-Active” Job Seeker, the “Opportunistic” Job Seeker.

The word passive is outdated. As long as you have a smartphone, you always have the ability to look for job opportunities. A recent Indeed study (Talent Attraction Study: What Matters to the Modern Candidate) demonstrates how job seekers have changed:

71% of workers admit to active job searching or at least openness to a new opportunity. This statistic shows that passive job seekers are no longer the majority.
50% of adults who earn between $100,000 and $110,000 start reviewing new job opportunities within just 28 days of the start of their current role
Among all employed adults, 65% look at new opportunities within 3 months of starting their new job.
58% of workers look at other jobs at least every month. 18% review job openings daily.
44% of adults subscribe to job alerts, which deliver notifications right to your inbox

Switching jobs has become more common, especially among millennials and younger generations. Currently employed millennials typically plan to stay in their current role for only a year or two. They may not be actively job seeking, but would be willing to switch for a better opportunity, whether that means better perks, better advancement potential, a greater feeling of purpose or something else.

Targeted email job alerts with matching and learning technology, such as ZipRecruiter, allow individuals to keep an eye on possible job opportunities without lifting a finger. Social media sites and niche online communities like Stack Overflow for developers, allow potential job seekers to learn about company culture, values and opportunities, where they are already spending their time online.

As the passive and active job candidate line becomes more blurred, companies need to utilize a mix of tools including social media, job alerts, specialty niche communities and referrals to reach these “in-between” candidates.