uSocial: How would you like fries with that friend?

"How dare you to think you can own me? You can have my body, but never my soul!" may be a typical line from a Latin soap opera, but probably not the case with uSocial, an Australian online-marketing company that recommends potential friends to companies, after having trawled Facebook for users by criteria like age, location and interests. This is because, once you fall into the vicious network of uSocial (in other words, agree to be its friend), you are sold, both your cyber body and soul, to those companies who are willing to pay about 15 cents for you. So, if you are wondering, that is pretty much how much you are worth online. uSocial also sells Twitter followers to companies looking for the ever so desperately sought positive buzz.

The article I came across the Economist, September 19th issue, discusses whether the idea of selling friends makes for good marketing. Does purchasing friends or fans establish brand loyalty? How likely are you to bribe a friend to make them come to your party? Does that mean they will enjoy that party? Or is it more like you are demeaning your own idea of entertainment by making yourself seem so desperate? I think the bigger harm might be that websites like Twitter and Facebook may lose popularity if users feel that they are being 'used' for advertising, instead of being care-freely stalked and gossiped about. uSocial would not want to upend the big guys' revenue sources. Oh no.

Even though it is up to you to decide what you want to do with that body and soul, keep in mind the virtues of uSocial's business plan.

Effective Use of Web 2.0 Tools

As we go through hard times in the economy, some Web 2.0 tools can come handier than expected for creating growth in companies. Through the use of tools like Twitter and Facebook, some companies have been creating an online buzz and implementing online marketing campaigns. Zappos.com is one of these companies. The online shoe and clothing company tweets about what happens to them at the airport, what they ate "between phone calls and state of the economy", stressing on the fact that their product is less important: It's more about the business. 

However, not all companies can benefit from Twitter and Facebook as much as other companies. The usage really depends on the products and services they offer. Twitter and Facebook greatly differ among themselves too: Even though Twitter may have less users than Facebook, their users seem to be hyper connected and are very different from mainstream Facebook users.

An article I came across talks about some key steps to take before enjoying a Twitter presence:

1)Listen and learn about Twitter

2)Establish your objectives and metrics for success

3)Set up your company's Twitter profile

4)Mind your Twitter etiquette

What it could be seen is that using Twitter as a marketing tool requires steps that should be taken when implementing any kind of an online marketing plan and greatly ties in with the Forrester objectives that should be taken as guidelines. You need to listen to your customers, and talk to them in the proper way. Furthermore, your success on Twitter depends on how much you are able to energize your customers.