Duped by a Teacup Pig!

The other day I was browsing Facebook, as I usually do when I am procrastinating homework, when I came across the cutest picture on the face of this earth. It was a teacup pig in miniature rain boots! I couldn’t help myself…..so I clicked on it. And what happens? I was quickly transported to a website that, surprise, had nothing to do with adorable tiny pigs.

After some investigation, I found that this site entitled “Koofers” offers academic help by posting past exams, grade data, professor ratings, flash cards and more. To research any further, however, I was asked to sign up for an account. By signing up, I would allow Koofers to e-mail me directly, post on my Facebook wall, and access my personal information at any given time.

The most interesting aspect of this site is its interconnectedness with the Facebook community. Koofers has taken social media marketing to a new level. They advertise directly on Facebook and once they have you, they continue to use your account to advertise and keep you informed.

By fostering this two-way relationship with Facebook, Koofers benefits in many ways. Koofers is able to:

• Build awareness within the exceedingly large Facebook community
• Increase their reliability to new users by having Facebook friends post
about the site
• Market directly to target audiences through Facebook’s advertising system
• Stay connected with Koofers users even when they are not directly on
Koofers.com

Although Koofers may have been a bit deceptive with their advertising, their tactics obviously work. They are taking advantage of all social media can offer potential marketers, and in my book, that’s pretty smart.