I recently read a post regarding the dangers surrounding the use of Bebo and it made me think about the use of the site in connection to Pr and branding.
Recently many entertainment venues have jumped on the Bebo band waggon as a way of interacting with its customers however when browzing though I noticed that this may not be as effective as first thought and in fact could have an adverse effect.
When reading the comments posted it gives one a good idea of the clientel a place attracts which in some cases is not beneficial as these people are not always the most desirable which can damage the brand's reputation.
By constantly bombarding "bebo friends" with updates on upcoming events, brands run the risk of overloading consumers with advertisements resulting in poeple being fed up with a brand before ever trying it.
These are only a few points on the subjcet I would be interested in hearing other people's views on the damage social networking homepages can have on a brand without the organisation even realising it.
Deborah
see http://www.pkellypr.com/blog/2006/0305/why-bebo-is-in-for-a-whirl-of-negative-publicity/
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3 comments:
Hi Deborah!
Firstly, I would like to agree with you that bombardising people with advertisements usually has the opposite result, than the desirable.
But this is not characteristic of Bebo only. Many popular websites, are overloaded with advertisments, which irritate the visitors.
In spite of that fact, a brand that aims to have an appeal to young people should take into consideration the means which that audience uses in order to communicate.
And obviously, young people rely on Bebo to communicate with each other-despite that the co-operation with Skype facilitates even more that comunication-judging from the thousands of visitors that the site has on a daily basis.
What brands should also take into account though, is not to exaggerate in their attempt to reach their publics, rule that applies to all the forms of communication.
Social Networking Homepages play an important role in our "online reality" and I'm not sure that brands can just ignore them. On the contrary they have to take advantage of the opporunities provided, but of course with moderation.
Evi
Bebo may be good or bad, but I've heard that facebook is the future.
I'm a graduate and I'm trying to set up a drinks and networking evening for PR, PA and related industry students and junior practitioners.
Please find a link below:
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=2249904499
bebo is pretty good , ive compared it to myspace and its considerably alot better
http://Glenith07.bebo.com
thats my link ... have a browse around and see if you like bebo or not
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