Equanimity

Despite all its heralded success and popularity, there have always been questions surrounding Twitter and its ability to generate profits since it burst onto the scene in 2009. Twitter has been criticized for its lack of a profitable business model, despite strong venture capitalist backings and funding of $160 million.

With all the hype surrounding Social Media in the past year, especially as a business/marketing tool, it’s an important question to consider – when/how does the hype and popularity translate into monetary value?

Earlier this year, Twitter launched its advertising platform known as “promoted tweets”. Basically, companies can send out a tweet from their company accounts, and pay Twitter for the tweet to be at the top of search results in which the tweet appears. Sometimes, promoted tweets/hashtags also appear in the trending topics list.

That’s how I came across the hashtag #GroundRules, a promoted tweet from @JetBlue. For some reason it caught my eye, and clicking the tweet lead to this video:

I found this advertisement quite interesting because, rather than pushing the product, it is emphasizing a purpose: customer empowerment. This made me think back to class 1, when we discussed Ryanair and its many cost-cutting tactics. For being in an industry in which rising fuel costs and regulations are forcing airlines to charge for meals, pillows, blankets, and maybe even to use the toilet, JetBlue has chosen an interesting point of differentiation.

Currently, the jury is still out on whether Twitter’s promoted tweets are proving profitable for Twitter and the promoted companies. However, if Twitter and companies continue to work in tandem to create innovative and interesting content like above, I think there will be a time in the future when we finally stop asking, “is Twitter profitable?”.

From what I can see, tomorrow’s class will be all about Social Media in business. I’m excited, because I’m a bit of a social media nut (more so than your normal teenager). One of the preparation questions is, “Is Social Media a fad?” I immediately thought of this video when I read the question (and wouldn’t be surprised if they show it tomorrow):

While some of the figures and facts may be a little sensational (96% of Millennials? Try 96% of Millennials who have access to a computer…), I believe in the core message of the video – social media is so ingrained in so many of our lives today, that it’s hard to imagine existing henceforth without it. Kinda like the internet itself – it’s an innovation that is not going away.

The second question is: “Is social media useful for companies?”

Answering this question is not as straightforward as the first. While someone like me would be quick to jump to “yes”, part of me also wonders if there are any companies that would not benefit from using social media. Some companies don’t even have a choice – social media drags them in first, such as when Air Canada broke a boy’s wheelchair and when Southwest Airlines removed a passenger for “being too fat”.

Almost no company, brand or product is off-limits in the blogosphere/Twitter-sphere, and when you have a group of angry consumers Tweeting or blogging negatively about your company, you’d better learn how to harness the power of social media then and there, or else risk watching your brand crash and burn in a firestorm of Twitter outrage. This Mashable article offers some tips on how to avoid such situations.