According to current data, there are around three million Facebook users and around 100.000 Twitter users in BiH. Taking into consideration the fact that a large number of those people use social networks for the so-called phenomenon of “online stalking”, what can you tell us about BiH population from the social aspect? Why is it so important to see and LIKE something that somebody ate or wore, and much less important to keep ti private?
No matter how much people think social networks are separated from the real world, they are not. That is unfortunate for individuals but fortunate for corporations and us, people who professionally deal with campaigns and communication on social networks. I must say that social networks and devices we use nowadays to access social networks tell much more about people than the people themselves. That is why it is not surprising that three million Facebook users in BiH can be a real indicator of the situation in our country and when you add the two-way communication in real time to that then you get a perfect marketing tool, much faster and more efficient than any kind of traditional marketing. Social networks also create a social user who cares more about what the people on social networks will say about their new pair of sunglasses than their optician, parents or even closest friends. That is why a LIKE matters, whether it is commercial campaign or even political campaign in which, at least in the upcoming elections in BiH, the social networks and fast, professional two-way communication of candidates who run for the power will be decisive.
What virtual mechanisms force people to share their private lives to such extent?
Being a 36-year-old, I already belong to the old generation when it comes to social networks and active creating of contents on social networks. Young people want something new, something faster and more exclusive. Traditional media have taught us, now already members of the old generation, to patiently wait for the favorite cartoon in front of a TV and then go to sleep. Young people do not do that nowadays. They practically sleep with tablets under their pillows and everything is available to them, right here and right now – all they have to do is click. With the development of social networks that even professionals cannot adequately follow, you are never sure what is ‘in’ and what will be ‘in’ in an hour or two. Young people now reveal their private lives on social networks that we almost never talk about, on new platforms where their aunts or fathers do not follow them. They want to be autonomous and exclusive, and fast in communicating with their peers. That is not surprising when we take into consideration the fact that those young people were practically born with displays in front of them, thus they do not fear cameras or filming. That is why they easily share details of their personal lives on social networks, but they also appreciate their money, knowledge and voice much more than we did, we who trusted the extensive statuses, long interviews, and who are still delighted with people who are not on social networks, who do not perform two-way communication and only occasionally give guidelines for our small lives. Young people know that this is not the way it works and that only a naked king can be a true king and social networks are just a tool to start getting naked with.
We live in the era of accelerated development of digital marketing. As an expert in the field, can you explain what that means for a private, physical entity and for a business entity such as an entrepreneur, a company, or a political party?
First, we must define one tiny thing. There is no digital and analogue anymore, everything is digital now. All our interactions with companies, individuals, political parties and political leaders take place in a digital world. That is why the phrase ‘digital marketing’ does not work anymore. We live in a post-digital era and in the era of pos-digital marketing because, you must admit, everything is digital. Consumption takes place in digital space, interactions occur in digital space, and eventually, media are digital and so are the consumers. That is why we must admit to ourselves that there is no more digital marketing; there is just new marketing which is essentially the marketing of the 21st century without which modern business can hardly be understood. In order to approach the world that way, we need the basic knowledge of how to use mobile phones as the primary platform for communication. Smart phones became remote controllers of our lives and both private and business entities must realize that and accept it as soon as possible. At least here, business entities are still being led by analogue businessmen and analogue political leaders who lead out key political parties and make important decisions in our name. What is the most important and what we must understand is that in a digital space we all leave signals and traces when using that space. Without understanding the digital space, there is no marketing and when we finally understand that, we will make marketing significant and beneficial for users. We must not be trapped and think that digital marketing is a toy for children who have a Facebook account and who play on our behalf or of our company, because if we see things that way we are making a huge mistake that is difficult to correct afterwards.
How are actually BiH business entities informed about the lawfulness of digital marketing and do they know enough about rules, disadvantages and advantages of such marketing?
Business entities in BiH know perfectly well that number of users of social networks increases on a daily basis. This is evidenced by the fact that every day we testify to the emergence of new commercial pages on Facebook, through which business entities communicate with consumers. What happens in the field is that this job is often performed by people who used to deal with traditional marketing, so their digital work is irregular and unprofessional. As the owner of the digital agency www.prpa.biz, I often explain to my clients how the services are more important, more effective and cheaper than the methods of traditional marketing. You should only wonder how many people see and understand your message on a billboard and how many people understands, sees and actively participates in the sharing of your message on social networks. When we talk numbers, there are dozens of people on one side and thousands on the other. Eventually, the choice is yours. A mistake often made by business entities in BiH is that they create channels of communication on social networks, design a strategy in the beginning of operations, and then forget about it. That creates space for negative PR, a space where unsatisfied consumers leave comments which Google records, memorizes, and presents during every search. The same happens with political candidates and political parties which intensely communicate with voters on social networks in the month prior to elections and around ten days after elections, and then they disappear. Young generations and an increasingly large number of digitally literate citizens will certainly not vote o such candidates, but those candidates are apparently not aware of that. Luckily, the times change.
How do you comment on the phenomenon of ‘the social status’ acquired by users of social networks through publishing activities and details from their lives on the Internet?
Social networks are a media for themselves, if we know how to use them properly. Environment, i.e. primarily our digital friends, will recognize the level of engagement and start the process of identification with ideas and attitudes. Social networks are a media which cannot be controlled, we are aware that it failed in the fierce fight for absolute control in Turkey and that it failed in some much poorer executions of the same process here. Social networks cannot be bought, and with little money the message of an individual can be shared to unimaginable extents. There lies the danger of social networks, especially in political and strictly controlled campaigns led in BIH from party offices, using children as a driving force, children who repeat created comments on social networks and forums all day and all night for a sandwich and a juice. That is why individuals who have their attitude and a certain social status are important. Those and such individuals can make a change in a certain moment just by posting a status or tweet. On the other side, such individuals are valuable asset for political parties as well, so the sale and purchase is also frequent but not for a long run, because every deviation of one’s own attitude is easily recognizable and obvious and reputation has no price and is not worth destroying for one campaign or benefit from a certain political party.
How ‘real’ and how ‘fake’ that status is, if we take into consideration the fact that lives are usually presented on social networks in a much more beautiful, positive and dynamic light? How much and in which ways is the illusion which feeds that virtual status actually dangerous?
As in real world, we all want to present ourselves in a better and nicer way on social networks, too. However, that is a matter of mentality in BiH. We all know people who buy a suit just because of the suit or a car just because of the social prestige, and they eat rice and macaroni every day and live in one-bedroom apartment. That is simply who we are and we must accept that as a part of the reality in which we live. On the other side, social networks can help in unveiling that process transmitted from the real world. Social networks often reveal education level of an individual, their literacy level, ability of judging various social and political situations, and often reveal the hidden political attitudes which are being kept far away from the eyes of the public. That is why we must use social networks cleverly and wisely in order to uncover fake attitudes, presentations and imaginations which people throw at us daily and systematically. It is not hard, believe me, it only takes some analysis, archiving, and courage to say – this can be different!
Interview by Zejna SY