don’t “like” that! the threats of social media advertising...amanda o’shaughnessy g/t...
TRANSCRIPT
Don’t “Like” That! The Threats of Social Media Advertising
Amanda O’Shaughnessy
G/T Independent Research
Reservoir High School Dr. Francis Fleming-Milici
University of Connecticut Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity
Overview
• Advertising terms and tactics
• Primary research project
• Advertising’s link to obesity
• Possible solutions
3
Advertising
“The act or practice of calling public attention to one's product, service, need, etc., especially by paid announcements.”
Social Media
As of 2012:
• 95% of teens are online
• 94% on Facebook
• 26% on Twitter
• 11% on Instagram
• 1% have no accounts
5
Company AccountsSome have millions of followers
Post follower submitted content, sales, and contests
Follow to:
•See what is “cool”
•Keep up with products
•Learn about sales
Social Media Tactics
• Post seemingly random and pointless images/slogans/ideas on social media
• Respond to followers
• Collect data
General Posts
• Caption not specific to their brand
• Connection is still made
• Use of a popular hashtag
• Potentially humorous
Product Promotion
• Showcase product
• Teen/young adult in image
• Bright colors
• Promoting free food
• Everything is mobile
– Easier decision to make
– Impulse actions
Reposts
• Focus on product by a fellow consumer
• Seems more personal • Do you want to take
a picture and tag a company?
• Would this company repost your photo?
Contests
• Monetary prizes or recognition
• Engaging for consumers
• Use of hashtags to spread beyond followers
• Need to go to restaurant to participate
Responding
• Responding to your comments encourages more commenting
• Companies see what is liked or disliked about products
• Positive experience
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Social Media Advertising Part 2 “…We’ve developed mechanisms where we can quite accurately predict things like your
• political preference, • your personality score, • gender, • sexual orientation,
along with things like how much you trust the people you know and how strong those relationships are. We can do all of this really well.”
• religion, • age, • intelligence,
Data Collection
• Liking, following, retweeting, reblogging, commenting…
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Data Collection
• Companies keep this data
• Learn about you and what you like
• Friends/followers actions can describe you
Targeted Marketing•Different techniques used for different venues
•They know who wants what, and where they are
•Specific ads for demographics
Pros and Cons
• Helps user find products
• Facilitates search process
• Introduce you to something you may like
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• Can be annoying • Some think it is
a violation of privacy
Data Profiling
• Find out your demographics
• Predict products you might want
• Very personal
• Store information for future use
• Is legal
Primary Research
• How do teenagers perceive social media advertising?
• I conducted a 2 part interview
– Part 1: open ended questions
– Part 2: looking at social media examples
• 11 high school students
Advertising• Definitions from interviewees:
➢ “a tactic that companies use to get people to buy their products”
➢ “putting information about a service or product out in order to generate interest in the public”
Every Post is an Ad?
• In my interviews, participants thought 14% of posts were not ads
• Positive brand association
• Sharing
Avoidance• Teens avoid traditional
advertisements
• Not the case with social media
• Annoyance leads
to avoidance
• Were definitely
annoyed by posts only
16% of the time
Absolutely Not
Probably Not
Maybe
Definitely
What do you think?
• Most participants were fine with data collection for targeted marketing
• Some participants were unaware, surprised, or disturbed by depth of data collection
• 10 of 11 thought data profiling was wrong, creepy, or even illegal
Data Collection as Advertising
• Collection is advertising
• No participant included it in definition
Effects of this AdvertisingTeens are unaware
of effects
Unhealthy habits are
formed now
Ads change nutritional perceptions
Obesity Statistics
• 21% of teens in US are obese
• Many causes—one is advertising
CFBAI
• Children’s Food and Beverage Advertising Initiative
• Restricts ads for children under 12
• Does not cover social media
COPPA
• Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act
• Minimizes privacy violations of children under 13
Protections for Teens?
• Teens are “fair game” for all types of marketing
• Social media ads are hit teens the hardest
• Do teens need to be protected?
Your Data
• Who is in control of your data?
• Who should be in control?
Possible Solutions
• Media literacy programs in schools
• Consumers get control back
• A teen-covering CFBAI or COPPA
Works Cited• http://searchenginewatch.com/sew/opinion/2346645/why-small-business-should-care-about-native-advertising • http://www.ted.com/talks/
jennifer_golbeck_the_curly_fry_conundrum_why_social_media_likes_say_more_than_you_might_think/transcript?language=en • http://www.centerfordigitaldemocracy.org/path-purchase-and-how-digital-marketers-use-it-unfairly-target-you • http://latestnewslink.com/2014/07/childrens-tv-unhealthy-food-worry/ • http://www.bariatric-surgery-source.com/child-obesity-statistics.html • http://www.huffingtonpost.com/larry-magid/unintended-consequences-o_1_b_1741703.html • http://janrain.com/blog/control-data/ • http://articles3.com/en/articles/good-news-now-you-can-learn-how-to-interview-right/ • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reservoir_High_School • http://johnfwagner.net/2571/targeted-social-media-advertising/ • http://minimediaguy.org/2007/09/11/j-schools-should-teach-media-literacy-plus/ • http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/advertising • http://www.corporate-eye.com/main/targeted-marketing • http://www.pewinternet.org/2015/04/09/teens-social-media-technology-2015/
https://socwork.wisc.edu/using-social-media-social-work-student • http://galleryhip.com/advertising-png.html