b'SMART OPERATIONSOffering a Fresh Perspective on FacebookMy advice today more than ever is not to use Facebook more cautiously, but to abandon the platform in its entirety, with thatPetersame advice applying to most other so-called social media as well. PellandIts been nearly a year since I first wroteprior to 2009. However, it did not takefuel on the fire while demonizing thoseis not a bargain. In the early days, busi-on the topic of Facebook in a columnlong for Facebook to evolve into a money- withopposingviewpoints.Whereasnesses would pay to advertise on the plat-where I advised readers that Its Okay tomakingmachinethatwouldbebuiltmedia outlets such as Fox News and CNNform in order to get users to like their BeAntisocial.Iamfarfromeitherauponever-increasingexploitationsofplaytotheirspecificaudiencedemo- page and then see their posts. Soon after-prophet or a clairvoyant, but the warningspersonal privacy.graphics, and as such will never reachward, advertisers needed to pay Facebook that I sounded have proven to be true,On a personal level, I stopped usingmore than half of a divided population,sothatevenpeoplewhohadalready and those who may have dismissed myFacebook in its entirety in early Septem- Facebook profits by selectively appealingliked their page could actually see their advice may seem mighty foolish in hind- ber of 2020. I actually experienced what Ito the entire demographic spectrum andposts. Think about it. If you continue to sight. My advice today more than ever is,would describe as a seven-to-10-day pe- taking money from literally anybody whoplay along, you are paying Facebook an not to use Facebook more cautiously, butriod of withdrawal, missing the ability towants to influence them. It is the essenceever-increasing sum of money so you can to abandon the platform in its entirety,stay in daily touch with countless friendsof the companys algorithms, as has beenreach not new customers but your existing with that same advice applying to mostboth old and new, but my sense of newlyonly partially exposed in recent whistle- customers. Why would anybody pay to do other so-called social media as well.discovered freedom afterward was ab- blower releases of internal documents.that when there are countless alternate Yes, it was not that long ago that I wassolutely refreshing. Over the course of theBy being fed a one-sided diet that ismeans of reaching your customer base at presenting seminars and writing how so- 10 years or so when I remained active onoften based upon disinformation, sub- a far lesser cost? Why would anybody do cial media advertisingFacebook, in par- the platform, I would often joke aboutscribers opinions and beliefs are rein- this at a time when most campgrounds ticularwasthegreatestnewhowFacebookwouldcoincidentallyforcedinamannerthatcontinuallyhave experienced unprecedented occu-development since the Internet itself. Fiveshow me advertising that was related toenhances the polarization. Varying opin- pancy levels and can barely keep up with years ago, I was offering suggestions onone of my recent posts or comments.ions regarding the coronavirus pandemic,the demand for campsites? how to beat Facebook at its own game,When I, along with millions of other peo- vaccines,andmaskmandateshaveIn the campground industry, some of using guerilla marketing techniques onple, started using ad blockers, Facebookearned Facebook a fortune in profits. Inthesamepeoplewhowillinglypour the platform. Sure, we all recognized thatstarted showing paid posts in lieu of paidfact, in a statement released the day priormoney into Facebook advertising ques-the intrusions into our personal privacyadvertising. These paid posts representto this writing, Facebook announced thattion the rationale for offering Good Sam were a bit creepy, but the ability to reachadvertisingcontentthatisbeingdis- its revenues increased by 35% to $29 bil- and similar discounts that they feel cut targeted marketing prospects seemed toguised as editorial content, even whenlion in July through September 2021, whileinto thin profit margins. Depending upon be worth the compromise.that advertising originates with foreignprofits rose 17% to $9.2 billion as com- your available inventory, I would suggest In the beginning, Facebook (originallygovernments or domestic terrorists andpared to the same time period in the pre- engaging in dynamic pricing or offering called Facemash) seemed to represent lit- clearly represents content that Facebookviousyear.Itshouldnotrequireancustomer incentives rather than feeding tle more than an awkward attempt byknows to be untrue.insurrectionist attack upon the U.S. Capi- Facebookscoffers.Afterall,yourcus-nerdy Harvard undergrads with a lack ofFacebooks business model is designedtol for reasonable people to understandtomers who use Facebook can still pro-actual social skills to meet young womentoamasshugeprofitsbyintentionallythat these escalating profits represent amoteyourcampground,andeven at neighboring colleges. When you thinksowingdiscordamongitssubscribers.rapidly accelerating downward spiral forFacebook will admit that direct end-user about it, even that original concept ex- Simply put, the greater the controversy,the platforms users.engagement is far more effective than ploited the personal privacy of its users.the greater the profits. Regardless of wherepaid advertising. For years, most people were baffled by thea person falls within an increasingly polar- Where do you see your business Yes, Facebook and other social media companyscontinualgrowthwhileitizedpoliticalspectrum,Facebookwillfitting into this scenario?providers may be capable of sending you failed to show even a penny in profitsshow that person paid content that poursLets be clear that Facebook advertisingcustomers, but it is simply not worth the price. Should you decide to continue to pay to play, what is the percentage of yourprofitmarginandwhatisthe threshold for return on investment where you will finally decide that it is time to kick the habit? The costs to participate will only continue to escalate, as Face-book rolls out its next generation of social interaction,theso-calledmetaverse that is based upon 3-D virtual reality and the use of its Oculus VR headsets. There are people who will argue that you will have to be there as well, but I will posit thattheyarewrong,andthatDr. Frankensteins monster is out of control. The Federal Trade Commission has wisely proposed the breakup of Facebook, aprocessthatislongoverdue.Inthe meantime, it is your decision as a small business owner to decide whether or not to continue financing a business model that you may agree is inherently exploitive and basically wrong.PeterPellandistheCEOof Pelland Advertising, a company that he founded in 1980 that has been serving the family camping industry for nearly 40 years. His company spe-cializes in building fully responsive websites, along with producing a full rangeoffour-colorprocessprint advertising, for clients from coast to coast.LearnmoreaboutPelland Advertising at https://pelland.com/ or see their ad in this issue. WCM10 December 2021Woodalls Campground Magazine'