T1.6 by Timothy Lawrence - Monday, 16 July 2012, 04:17 PM

Social monitoring seems like an effective way to market if you are using one of these monitoring systems. I'm not quite sure how they work with regards to security and I could not find much information. Can they only access public accounts or do they somehow bypass privacy settings to see posts? If that's the case I feel it is unethical to do.  That being said, the approach I feel is effective and ethical has already been implemented by a few companies and that is to advertise the online community associated with your product where you can talk to other costumers and hear from first hand accounts. I have seen TV commercials for Tepur-Pedic and Esurance doing just that. Hearing unbiased revues from non paid sources is the best marketing, especially if that source is someone you know. During a P90X infomercial, they said that the major selling point is the before and after pictures that are submitted by users. They could go on all day about how great the product is, but it is the real world results and accolades from satisfied costumers that are the greatest selling points. I honestly don't think I have ever clicked on an Internet Ad unless it is something i specifically searched for. But if I am interested in something, an online community is a great resource for finding out more about a product.