HubShout | Online Marketing Solutions

One of my favorite topics. I read an article entitled "Did We Really Think Social Media Would Be Free Forever" about Facebook charging now for some advertising reach or visibility.

Should social media be free for businesses? It is another advertising avenue, after all. And social media platforms are businesses themselves and we all know it isn't cheap to maintain a reliable infrastructure for services.

I posted the topic to our LinkedIn Online Marketing group and thought it would be worthwhile to discuss it on the forum too.

Free = Crazy... This is America people!

The beauty of social media (at least in the beginning) was that you could get that same reach and visibility just through cleverly using/manipulating it. Posting quality content, sponsoring contests or games, sharing kittens before kittens became the gold standard. That was what was revolutionary about it - it rather leveled the playing field. Would've loved to see what Barnum could have done with Facebook.

Like I mentioned on the LinkedIn group discussion, it should remain free for users if they want to make money through advertising. Social media shouldn't be free for businesses though. If you have the opportunity to push your product in front of a highly segmented audience based on data collected from each user, then why should that be free? That's like saying Google should give away ad space for free. If a business wants a prime spot in front of millions of potential buyer's eyeballs, then they should pay for it.

The internet was built to be free. Charging people for facebook would start riots

I like this, with investment comes quality content...

The fine line between online media and advertising is blurring..

EVERYTHING is blurring together now! Marketing, PR, Advertising....with the internet came the slow evolution of oneness. Now successful businesses have to understand and have their hands in all buckets!

• This article say it all " Pay To Play". I understand that some business owners might not feel that they should have to pay for enhanced coverage, but Social Media is a form of marketing for business owners these days. Marketing costs money because it makes money if done properly! No one is forcing business owners to pay to be on social media its an option. But lets be serious if you want to keep your actual or E -Doors open you need to be where the competition is & that is on social platforms.

You are showing your age my man! LOL

The Internet was actually built to be Nuclear-proof with massively redundant lines of communication (i.e., a WEB) between nodes...

But I like how the younger generation has picked-up the ball and runs with it!!! LOL :-) :-) :-)