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 There has been a headlong rush
by companies to set up accounts on Facebook, Twitter, and other social websites
and services. The thumbnail to the left shows 100+ such entities managed
by the
AddThis website (for the Engineer website). I have
visited the Facebook pages of quite a few high-tech companies that offer circuit
components, equipment racks, software, design services, books, etc. All of these
companies also have very nice and useful traditional websites. From what I see,
Facebook in particular seems to be a colossal waste of time and effort since most
of what appears there is self-promotion, with almost no interaction by anyone else.
I won't cite specific companies' Facebook pages, but pick five or six for yourself
and see if my claim is valid. There are a handful of exceptions, as always, but
in general it is true. When there is any activity at all, it is usually when a contest
or a special pricing deal is being offered when a visitor clicks the "Like" button
for them. When you do click the "Like" button, that company's postings then begin
to show up on your Facebook page, so you either need to hide everything they post
or "Unlike" them. I set up a Facebook page for RF Cafe mainly to prevent anyone
else from usurping and exploiting the name. ...OK, also because I felt obligated
to participate in the fad. There is almost no activity on the page, but at least
I'm not alone.
Again, without mentioning names, I just now visited Facebook pages for a couple
very prominent companies in the RF and microwave realm. Without exception, I did
not see a single post by an outside participant over the last couple days. There
were a few "Likes," but really, how meaningful are they? How frequently does a "Like"
translate into a "Buy?" It would be interesting to hear from people at companies
reporting whether they have been able to positively attribute an improvement in
business due to participation in the social media. My guess, based on admittedly
anecdotal evidence, is that the resources put into maintaining a Facebook page would
be put to better use in improving their WWW websites.
Since the beginning of the year, I have been posting items on
LinkedIn every week
or two, but very few comments have been received. LinkedIn will also automatically
Tweet the first 140 characters.
I get practically nothing back from Twitter, either. Maybe it is just me after all!?!
- Kirt Blattenberger
Posted April 6, 2012
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