A time to ‘LIKE’ the Truth in advertising. The age of Facebook & YouTube ‘Likes’, ‘Sharing’ and ‘Comments’ poses some challenging dilemmas for ‘Mad Men’, ad merchants and copywriters.
For the first time in history, selling points claimed in a media increasingly going ‘social’ gives the general public (buyers) not only the opportunity to disagree in public.
They can publicise their negative views to the world.
Here’s an example. The newspaper ads says ‘a short stroll to the shops’. Maybe that was a selling point dreamed up by the Agent; maybe it was a point the Home-Owner wanted included.
In reality, maybe its a very long walk, as buyers discover when they visit the home. Disgruntled buyers then log on to wherever they saw the ad or video (Facebook or YouTube) and state the facts. Do you: (a) Moderate the comment and hide it? (b) Allow the buyer’s opinion? (c) Don’t allow any comments?
They sad bad news travels around the world before good news gets out of bed. You can pretty much rest assured that if you have an unhappy camper at an Open Home, enticed to inspect it because of all the blue sky advertising, they’ll be telling their ‘Friends’ they got conned.
And what’s the mud going to stick to? The Agent. Or the Home-Owner? Social media has been embraced as the new darling of the real estate industry, however is moderating views expressed in comments the way to the truth?
There are three main types of comments: 1. Those in agreement, who are happy to put their names to Comments. 2. Those in disagreement, who are happy to put their names to Comments. 3. And the ‘trolls’, who hide behind hot mail handles. (You can put Trolls in the category of competitors).
At PlatinumHD, we allow comments – good and bad.
We delete comments that are insulting to our Clients or contain swearing – usually posted by the trolls.
Moving on. The great thing about Facebook is it presents itself as an International passport. Having a real identity allows you to cross borders. You’re responsible for your Comments. Your identity is supported by your ‘friends’, who vouch for your existence by accepting you into their circle.
The world is getting smaller; and ‘the truth finding a way’ is now on an information superhighway.
For a 100 years, the press (Government-controlled or not) were the arbitrators of ‘the truth’ as it was served to the public. And if you think the ‘truth’ can be sugar-coated, just look to the Middle East.
Dictators’ Armies can’t hold it back. The truth might hurt. Ignoring could be terminal. There are always three sides to a story. – Yours – Theirs – And somewhere in between, the truth.
Now. How to tie this whole discussion back into business of film-making, so we can push our own barrow? Stick to the facts and use video. What you see is what you get. With the exception of lingerie models tied to chairs. 😉