It seems like celebrities just can't catch a break. At least not on Facebook.
Sure, they may have lavish homes, fleets of luxury automobiles, high-paying endorsement deals, personal assistants, perks wherever they go, the ability to conjure money out of thin air due to their status, adoring fans, yachts, and one or two other minor comforts that most of us don't, but when it comes to things like social media, they just can't do a darn thing right!
The latest celebrity to be flagged for misuse of social media is tennis player Maria Sharapova. Her crime, "Giving (fans) the chance to directly buy products she endorses" on her Facebook page (Source: CNN). While this caution may seem laughable, it raises a serious question to be asked by small businesses and large corporations alike:
Is it ok to use social media as a sales tool?
Many believe that the answer is "absolutely not," including Ilana Fox of British news outlet New Media Source. She recently wrote, "Facebook shops are a flash-in-the-pan trend that won’t increase revenues for retailers. They’re a social commerce quick-win that’s as effective as any other pared-down, (poor) version of an etail site." And it seems she is not alone in her stance.
Sport Industry Group's Drew Barrand agreed in a recent interview with CNN, adding "It remains to be seen whether social media can be harnessed as a separate revenue source. It's in its infancy so no-one has really worked out how to use it from a sponsorship point of view. In terms of gathering support and exposure, it's clearly a very valuable tool. But how do you use that for commercial purposes?"
The truth is some companies have been utilizing their Facebook page to sell their products for months now, and I'm not just talking about pasting a link on the page wall.
Back in October of last year, Social Media Examiner reported that many companies were already making great use of the ability to showcase their online catalogs to Facebook "fans" using custom apps. They even pointed out two examples (1-800-Flowers and Delta) of online brands that were allowing for sales to be made inside of the Facebook browser (Delta's is especially impressive,) allowing fans to shop and purchase without ever leaving the page. Since that time, Facebook has adopted new, aggressive changes to make it easier for companies large and small to sell within their fan pages. This tells me that selling through social media is hardly "in its infancy" and is much more than a "flash-in-the-pan trend." It is here to stay
Sure, they may have lavish homes, fleets of luxury automobiles, high-paying endorsement deals, personal assistants, perks wherever they go, the ability to conjure money out of thin air due to their status, adoring fans, yachts, and one or two other minor comforts that most of us don't, but when it comes to things like social media, they just can't do a darn thing right!
The latest celebrity to be flagged for misuse of social media is tennis player Maria Sharapova. Her crime, "Giving (fans) the chance to directly buy products she endorses" on her Facebook page (Source: CNN). While this caution may seem laughable, it raises a serious question to be asked by small businesses and large corporations alike:
Is it ok to use social media as a sales tool?
Many believe that the answer is "absolutely not," including Ilana Fox of British news outlet New Media Source. She recently wrote, "Facebook shops are a flash-in-the-pan trend that won’t increase revenues for retailers. They’re a social commerce quick-win that’s as effective as any other pared-down, (poor) version of an etail site." And it seems she is not alone in her stance.
Sport Industry Group's Drew Barrand agreed in a recent interview with CNN, adding "It remains to be seen whether social media can be harnessed as a separate revenue source. It's in its infancy so no-one has really worked out how to use it from a sponsorship point of view. In terms of gathering support and exposure, it's clearly a very valuable tool. But how do you use that for commercial purposes?"
The truth is some companies have been utilizing their Facebook page to sell their products for months now, and I'm not just talking about pasting a link on the page wall.
Back in October of last year, Social Media Examiner reported that many companies were already making great use of the ability to showcase their online catalogs to Facebook "fans" using custom apps. They even pointed out two examples (1-800-Flowers and Delta) of online brands that were allowing for sales to be made inside of the Facebook browser (Delta's is especially impressive,) allowing fans to shop and purchase without ever leaving the page. Since that time, Facebook has adopted new, aggressive changes to make it easier for companies large and small to sell within their fan pages. This tells me that selling through social media is hardly "in its infancy" and is much more than a "flash-in-the-pan trend." It is here to stay
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