The highest used website in Bangladesh is, take a guess. It's Facebook. It's nothing hard to believe since well, since we are living in this "Facebook Generation". Don't worry I just made that word up!
What amazed me was NOT the way the demand for Facebook ads are going up. Rather it is the way certain restricted Facebook groups and pages are becoming increasingly reliable in terms of Social word of mouth.
In general marketing you come across this term very often, Word of Mouth. A simple yet viciously powerful tool. However now a days we are not just relying on word of mouth of friends, family or the shop keeper of the shop next door. It's amazing how much within the last year there has been an addition into this strictly private reliable influences in our world.
Behold. The power of Facebook and it's word of mouth. Below I will elaborate on a few groups that most of us residing in the major parts of the country must have come across. What makes these groups and community within these groups are the restrictions. It's not open for entry for all, rather these are closed and tightly or moderately controlled. Let's not jump to controversies but focus on the marketing bit.
Group 1:
Desperately Seeking Dhaka ( DSD) : Inspired by many other groups that exist for different part of the world this group came into the spotlight for some time now. the growing number of members and the response to queries ( mostly related to Dhaka) has made this group in Aladdin's Lamp for many of us. People does get their problems resolved through this group, whether it's asking for a recommendation doctor or a travel agent to getting rid of stock. These are also huge portals to leave good as well as recommendation.
Group 2:
FoodBank: There are 2 businesses that are budding faster than mushrooms in a rainy day. One, restaurants or cafes and two, boutique houses. This group is the key group that can make your restaurant end up selling out in a day with positive comments while doing exactly the opposite and getting you Bankrupt. While a lot of owners does try to promote themselves by giving positives recommendation but the best effect takes place when there are multiple reviews of a particular place. Places like Tabaq and Fish and CO. owes a lot to this group for their sales figure. Used wisely this group can actually be a arsenal to lower marketing cost of your new start-up.
Group 3:
STaY ALiVE..(Only for Girls): Well I bet you boys never heard of this or if you have had heard of it then you probably did from well a female of your knowing. Anyway. this group is very restricted. Although almost everything related to girls and their lives are discussed and shared the power of reviews and recommendations are amazing. Negative recommendations can acctually lead to a wild fire reaction leading to boycotting and what not. If you are looking forward to marketing a product close to a female's heart this is THE place. Specially when a review comes from one or both of the admins the aftermaths are pretty much expected.
I admit. These groups are small and probably doesn't make much sense if you are a mass producing something and selling all over the country. But do understand that the growing youth of the country is pretty much hooked onto social medias and the numbers are rising as we speak ( or write ). If information is power, These just might have enough potential to be power hubs in the coming days.
