#GenerationLike

In my Social Media Theory class this week, we watched the PBS Frontline documentary Generation Like. (Watch the full documentary HERE) Generation Like explores the impact of social media on our daily lives, focusing in on the younger generation. The new age of marketing revolves largely around social media, consumers liking and sharing your content and becoming your ultimate marketer.

The consumer is your ultimate marketer- isn't that a scary thought? Such a large part of a brand's reputation is in the hands of any tweeting consumer. Those consumers can raise your brand to the next level just as easy as they can destroy it. But the consumer/social media user gets something out of the relationship as well: self-worth.

One point of the document was that the young "Generation Likers" had no concept of what the idea of "selling out" meant. But that is exactly what they are doing- selling themselves out to promote a brand or something they "like" without even completely understanding the ramifications. Some of these consumer promoters are getting paid for their support and some just want to associate themselves with the brand for their own personal "like" gain. An example shown in the documentary was a young girl obsessed with The Hunger Games franchise. While The Hunger Games didn’t endorse her at all, associating herself with the blockbuster hit elevated her own personal social media accounts to the next level. Every time she mentioned the franchise, she had more followers on her accounts, which led to an increase in her own perceived self-worth. And she also became a huge consumer marketer for The Hunger Games without even being asked, with perhaps more clout than official traditional advertisements.