IMPACT OF BOTS AND FAKE-ACCOUNTS ON MARKETING

Marketing has gone digital, the exchange between marketers and its consumers now happens on the internet. The 4 Ps (Product, Price, Promotion, and Place) have been abandoned and innovation and technology have made marketers evolve from when those concepts were developed. Though they were not totally abandoned, modern-day marketing built on this and even went as far as adding an additional P -people.

When social media was created, it was not created with the intention of using it as a tool for marketing, it was simply built as a tool for social connection, but as time went on, marketers made social media a marketing tool, and marketing has never remained the same ever since.

A brand's online profile and image are so important in today's marketing world, it not only helps to create a connection with its established customers but also with its potential customers. Data as to how customers perceive a brand's products or policies or personnel changes at different times can be derived from social media. However, like every great innovation, social media comes with its vices, and one of such vices is bots and fake social media accounts.

On Saturday, January 27, 2018, an article was released by the NY Times that explores and examines the issue of fake followers, their popularity, and their influence on social media.

In the article, it is estimated that one brand, Devumi, has an estimated stock of at least 3.5 million automated accounts, providing its customers with more than 200 million Twitter followers.

Not only are these accounts fake, but they have often stolen identities from actual Twitter users. According to research conducted by the University of Southern California and Indiana University, up to 15% of all of Twitter’s users are bots and not actual humans whilst more than 60 million automated accounts are estimated to be on Facebook.

What impact does this have on marketing and marketers?

Firstly, brands thrive on engagement and feedback from actual customers -If a vast amount of followings from social media for a particular brand is filled with bots and automated accounts, they will never get actual feedbacks that will make the business grow. Though fake accounts and bots are not really illegal as most brands actually make profits off it; It starves the brand of the necessary nutrient of growth needed which is customer review and feedback.

Secondly, data garnered and derived from bots and fake social media accounts will never be accurate. If a brand is not getting accurate data from actual customers how will such brand be able to create products that customers can connect to? Making business decisions and policies based on inaccurate data is an act of self-sabotage -it can lead to monetary loss, damage the reputation of the brand's online presence, and destroys analytics which in turn affects the business intelligence of a brand.

Brands need to actively ensure that their followership on social media platforms is purely organic and void of bots and automated accounts. That is the only way to have a solid business intelligence and analytics report supported by accurate data. This ensures that the brand understands the image and perception of its online presence at all times.