Social Media Bots: The Demise of Marketing & Media
As social media continues to grow, so does its influence over the marketing and media fields. People today get most of their information from their phones (more specifically, social media), so advertisers transitioned their efforts towards online marketing, initially gaining tremendous results.
One of the more effective tactics used in online marketing is the process of micro-targeting — direct marketing datamining techniques that involve predictive market segmentation. This intricate process allows marketers to find their target audience using AI technology (ie. bots), facilitating in the workload. However, like any great breakthrough, there’s risk of exploitation.
Social media applications, especially Facebook and Twitter, have become overwhelming lucrative, which has changed their philosophies over the years. Once considered revolutionary platforms for social connection, these applications have become nothing more than big businesses, looking to make as much money as they can.
Social media bots have become increasingly impactful within politics. Both Republicans and Democrats have been subject to criticism over spreading fake news through the use of micro-targeting in social media, effectively influencing elections. This has resulted in a considerable political divide in the United States. During this polarizing time, people have become much more paranoid about all information they are receiving.
Marketers are now faced with paranoid consumers, which has now effectively invalidated their advertising. Social media bots are becoming more common these days, as well as the aggression of their actions. Spamming has always been an incredible annoyance with people, so when they receive a ton of ads, deciphering whether ads are legitimate or not becomes irrelevant, because they immediately become spam, and are stored away in a folder no one returns to. Marketers may fall victim to the spam folder, which will kill their success.
I often reflect back to my mantra: Quality over quantity. As I enter the world of digital marketing, I have become a bit of a defeatist. Seeing the turmoil this country is currently in, I can’t help but focus on social media’s part in it. But even with my concerns, I will strive to produce quality for my clients, even in the flooded realm of social media.
