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How Social Media Affects The Forex Market
By: Hillel Fuld
The
Forex market, as you probably know by now, is the biggest market in the
world. Yet, somehow, the average citizen, who is quite familiar with
the Stock Market, has never heard of the Forex market. When you tell
them Forex means the same as foreign exchange, you generally get a
response similar to “Ohhh” followed by a “And what is that”?
With
the size of the Forex market, and its potential for profit, you would
expect it to be a much more popular and familiar market to the masses.
A possible explanation of this phenomenon can be the fact that it was
originally inaccessible to the average person, and only in the last
decade has the Forex retail market taken off.
Having said
that, the Forex market has managed to gain more exposure over the last
year or two, especially on the global Web. This can be attributed
mainly to social media and the presence of Forex brokers and traders on the various social networks.
It
is true that the amount of Forex content on the Web continues to grow,
but the way in which the primary Forex players make use of social media
leaves much room for improvement. The three main social networks used
in the Web community are of course Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.
While
LinkedIn and Twitter have an infrastructure in place enabling people to
connect with others in their field, Facebook is intended more for
people to connect with friends and relatives. The reason I say this is
because, Forex as an industry is more suitable for the LinkedIn and
Twitter environment then the Facebook one. It is true that there is the
occasional Facebook group or page
offering Forex content, but both the contributor and the recipient of
the content will benefit more from Twitter and LinkedIn and all the
features they offer.
Although Twitter and LinkedIn might be
better for Forex, all three social networks can be utilized to
distribute Forex content, whether in the form of Forex news, Forex analysis, articles,
or even signals. Social media, in general, is an unprecedented tool in
its efficiency and effectiveness when it comes to exposure and
communication.
Let’s examine how people and Forex companies are benefiting from the world of social media.
Facebook
Before we discuss how Forex and Facebook merge, let’s take a quick
look at the statistics of the largest social network on the Web. Facebook
now has over 250 million users worldwide. As for content, over 1
billion new content pieces are uploaded weekly. Wouldn’t you say such
numbers would yell to Forex traders all over the world to use this
platform and connect with other traders?
On the other hand,
Facebook was always intended not as a corporate platform but rather a
place to connect on a more personal basis, so it is not as ideal as
some of the other sites out there. Some of the Forex tools you might
come across on Facebook include Forex groups, Forex pages, Forex
traders, and Forex signals. I for one have not been exposed to any
Facebook spam on the Forex topic, something I wish I could say about
the Forex presence on Twitter.
As of today, Facebook is mainly
used by Forex players to spread content, accumulate fans of pages, and
share signals. With the advanced API and the ability to develop
Facebook applications, the Facebook potential for the Forex world is
much greater than what is being utilized today.
Twitter
If you have been paying attention, or even if you have not, you have most probably heard the word Twitter
in one context or another. It is the buzz word of the tech industry and
the global Web. Everyone is talking about how Twitter is the ultimate tool when it comes to exposure, networking, and communication, yet somehow, the Forex players cannot get it right.
It
is true that there are endless Twitter accounts that offer Forex
content. However, generally speaking, Forex has become a word with very
negative associations on Twitter, due to the tremendous number of Forex
spammers on Twitter.
I recently read an article about the main
Twitter spammers, and right on top of the list, above the pornography
industry and the multi level marketing schemes, sat a proud mention of
the Forex market. Not only are the major players missing out on a great
opportunity with Twitter, they are also destroying the market’s
reputation as a serious trading arena similar to equities and stocks.
In fact, when I first opened the DailyForex Twitter
account, I was stunned to discover how almost none of our followers
were interested in communicating. In fact, they were unable to
communicate since their tweets (updates) were being generated
automatically by what is known as bots, completely missing the point of
Twitter.
The content being shared by most Twitter accounts is
promotional. They are trying to sell Forex software or robots, and from
the short research I have done, are not seeing results. Twitter is
about communicating, two way dialog, not selling something and not
spamming other users.
The potential in Twitter and its use in
the Forex world is literally endless. Brokers can use it to offer
special bonuses to their followers, while listening and communicating
with their customers as part of their customer service efforts. Online
Forex portals can share their insights in the form of news, analysis,
articles, or reviews of Forex products with their followers, and pay
attention to their users and how they suggest improving the service.
Traders
can use Twitter to communicate with other traders, and make use of
others’ experience and expertise in one aspect of Forex trading or
another. The platform to connect to others like you is available;
people just need to learn how to use it.
Like I said, the
potential is endless, but as of now, the most important thing is for
the Forex players to stop thinking “Sell, sell, sell” and start
thinking “Share, communicate, and listen”.
LinkedIn
If Facebook is for personal use, LinkedIn
targets the corporate world. LinkedIn, with its 17 million visits per
day, is the perfect place to expand your Forex reach, and so far, out
of the three social networks, it is the only one that comes close, and
is on the right path.
All the major experts in the Forex world
run and maintain active profiles on LinkedIn, in which they share their
insights and tips for other traders to see. Many big names in the Forex
brokers’ arena have a serious presence on LinkedIn. Most of them have a
group, in which they share all the details of their offering, content,
as well as the latest developments in the market in general, and their
company specifically.
However, the most important contribution of LinkedIn to the Forex world are the tens of Forex groups,
which offer a perfect and spam-free (almost) environment for traders,
brokers, and Forex companies to connect and communicate with one
another.
As for Forex content, one of the best places to share
your Forex articles or reviews are LinkedIn groups mainly because the
members of the group are truly interested in Forex, and you are not
posting an update for all your friends to see or tweeting something to
thousands of people who do not even know what Forex is.
The
audience is focused and the platform is designated for people who want
to hear what you have to say. The bottom line is, while LinkedIn might
not be the most user friendly or easy to use of the social networks, it
is by far the most suitable for Forex updates.
In conclusion,
social media has become one of, if not the biggest trend on the Web
since its invention, and with the potential for profit in the Forex
market, there is no reason these two superpowers should not join
forces. The Forex world as a whole seems to have taken notice to the
world of social media; you can find a Forex presence on any one of the
social networks. However, as of now, the potential presented by social
media, the one everyone is talking about, is not being utilized by the
Forex world, not even close!
http://www.dailyforex.com
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| Category: Forex Psychology | Added by: forex-market (2009-09-24)
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| Views: 582
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