Social Media - Facebook

If I had to define my social technographic profile, I would belong in the Spectator category. There are 48% of the U.S adult population besides me who fall in this category, while only 18% are actual Creators in groundswell. So, what are my usual habits as a Spectator? I always read reviews for a product online before buying it but never return to add my own feedback about the product after buying it. Going to Wikipedia to learn about a subject is like a second nature to me. However, I have never contributed a single word of literary knowledge to that data base. The closest I have come to creating material via social media is from a medium which I think has the strongest influence in my day to day life – Facebook.

I love to go on Facebook and read updates on my friends' profile. There are so many friends I wish I could stay connected with, but just can't due to time constraint and the physical distance between us. Just like everyone else who uses Facebook, I have numerous acquaintances I have connected with over the years to stay updated on any major changes in their life. What pleasure do I get going on Facebook at least once a day? Having the knowledge about my friends' whereabouts helps me feel connected to them. Also, their status updates keeps me well informed of what they think about a new movie or a new gadget that might have come out. For example, when the movie Avatar came out, I saw numerous updates on people's profile commenting on the 3D-technology used in the movie. From those comments I realized that the best movie watching experience will come from going to a 3D IMAX theatre. I also gauged the comments about the movie experience based on what I knew of the person commenting; having the entire profile of that person in front of me just aided my judgment. I also realized that the technology could cause me a major eye strain due to the imperfect 3D quality of the movie. However, the numerous updates about Avatar added to the already built hype and I vowed to watch the movie in IMAX 3D even if it required a long wait of 1.5 weeks to acquire the tickets. Just like expected, I did leave the theatre with extremely strained eyes and a headache. Despite the uncomfortable viewing experience, I had to agree that the technology used to make the movie was superb and I as well gave it good feedback in my own status update.

Movie makers have a great potential of promoting their film via Facebook. A fan or the PR for the movie itself can create a fan club for the movie on Facebook. As more and more people join the fan club, the awareness of the movie increases even before the movie comes out. Of course, the increase in the number of fans after the movie is released causes even the uninterested customers to get excited about the movie. For example, I never planned on watching the Sex and the City II since I have low expectations of that movie. However, seeing the advertisement about the movie on Facebook and now being aware that the movie will be released in May, I am excited. If I chose, I could have "Like" the fact that the movie is being released. This would have created a chain effect as my friends would have seen my action in Live Feed section of Facebook. I am sure there are SATC fans out there who will ensure every other SATC fan knows that the movie is coming out soon…all via Facebook. The bonding experience a fan club can create only intensifies the connection that is built between the fans and the movie itself. Suppose the name of the fan club is "I can't wait to watch SATC II," then the PR of this movie can benefit greatly by watching the comments closely and enhancing the fans' expectations further by analyzing the ethnographic profile of the fan club. Of course, having Facebook profile of the main characters of the movie makes the connection to the fans more real. All four main characters of SATC have Facebook profiles. If the movie maker chooses, these character profiles can have updated comments made by the characters themselves on the new fashion trends, or events that may happen in their virtual life, aiding the start of the hype associated with this movie. The movie maker can even gauge the initial success of the movie amongst the Facebook users based on the positive or negative feedback. They can add a poll asking what the Facebook members think of the upcoming movie. Does it have a positive expectation or is the movie expected to be a flop? Maybe the feedback from the first movie caused the director to think about making a sequence to that movie. Facebook is just another way of gaining customer insight from the target customers. The potential emerging from creating a profile, fan club, games, or gifts is immense. If exploited correctly, Facebook can help movie industry tremendously.