As I flip through my Facebook, I realize, almost every post is marketing.
They aren't adverts. But almost every post is marketing in another form encouraging consumption, over and over again...
Don't believe me?
Go to your Facebook.
What do you usually see?
Usually they are posts of friends doing stuff.
I see friends bringing their kids to swim classes, bringing their infants to photoshoots.
I see friends who go out to places to eat. Some good food, some expensive wines, they take pictures of the food, the wines, the place, etc etc...
People take pictures of KFC, McDonald's...
Everyone is always doing something. Everyone is always buying something.
All these are marketing.
It's not necessarily advertisements by companies. But it's marketing...
It's like watching a movie and seeing Thor drink a can of Coke. It's not straight out advertising by the company. But by putting a can of Coke at the right place, it allows people to see a Coke and maybe influence someone to think... "Oh ya. A Coke at this moment would be nice."
And this form of marketing is everywhere. It's never ending.
Pictures on Instagram, Facebook, whatever other forms of social media...
All these forms of media allow people to see things they never saw before. To desire things they never knew they wanted. And it's quite insane... The neverending-ness of it.
Go through your Facebook. Everyone is sharing their experiences. It makes others want to do the same.
See your friend eat a bowl of ramen? Hey that reminds me, I haven't had ramen in sometime, maybe I'll go and grab one this weekend.
See your friend share his Sakura picture?
Oh yea, I haven't seen Sakura before, maybe I'll plan a trip next year.
Maybe another friend posts her OOTD. And this might make someone inspired to buy some additional clothes for their own wardrobe...
Another friend posts that their husband bought her a nice bag and dinner for their wedding anniversary... Oooooh this sets a higher expectations for all the couples who are within that group of friends...
Oh did u see on FB... So and so bought a new Audi. Woah... Maybe I should also get a new car as well...
Of course, none of us are really doing this for the companies. We are all just sharing our experiences right? To show everyone we are cool and doing stuff.
And yet that's what is it... Marketing...
All of us ARE online influencers. Just that we are all small time influencers.
We have an effect on the people around us.
New age media influencers just have a larger influence. But that doesn't mean we aren't doing the same role in our own way.
When we see a post, we all have thoughts, feelings that may not have been there if the post never existed.
And our friends also have such feelings.
Some people may think... McDonald's also want to post. So boliao...
But other people seeing the same post may think... Oh yeah, I'd like to order a McDonald's breakfast now.
Same as if we see a friend who's husband buys her an expensive gift and posh dinner on their anniversary.
Some ppl may think, woah what a waste of money. I hope my husband doesn't do such a thing...
And yet others would say... "Hey husband look at so and so... you better give me the same treatment when our time comes.
The thing is... We all are influencing each other. And with social media, it's a lot more. We are constantly getting updates from ALL our friends and the things they do.
Before social media, we get some updates from the folks around us, some close friends, people we meet often... Now, we are getting updates from loads of people. Distant friends or family that we hardly meet, online media personalities that we follow, pages that we follow, people we've never met, etc etc.
There's no end to this... It's an indirect marketing. It's not even done by the companies themselves but by individuals who just want to "share" (show off) what they have been doing. And yet... The secondary effect of this, is that it encourages consumption and makes people want things that they never knew they ever wanted.
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