This came up as an ad on Google for a search on "SWB motorhome for sale". Well, you might say - that's what you asked for. Except that SWB stands for short wheel base [a commonly used phrase for anything to do with vans, campervans and motorhomes] and the featured van [to which the link took you] is perhaps one of the longest of long wheel base motorhomes.
So a waste of my time and a waste of the advertisers money.
This is a post on twitter by mediocreJoker85 in September 2025, but I think it reflects a lot of online textual content:
Real life: “I changed a lightbulb."
LinkedIn: “I single-handedly managed the successful upgrade and deployment of a new environmental illumination system with zero cost overruns and no safety incidents.”
At a social do over weekend I met guy who worked in procurement for a manufacturer that supplied components to the auto industry. His team bought the stuff – from manufacturing machinery to steel to nuts and bolts – to make those component. A few beers in, I asked if he used TikTok to find new suppliers.
He just glared at me for a while ... then burst out laughing and said ‘you nearly had me going there’. He then retired to the bar shaking his head muttering something like ‘feckin Tik-feckin-Tok’.
This isn't a bad 404 page - the problem is that when I clicked on the link on a promotional email I was taken to this page.
It's hard to avoid being political at the moment - and I'n not being so here. I'm simply asking the question about you wanting your brand advertised on this person's social media platform.
The coffee maker I've had - and been happy with - for around 20 years is beginning to show its age, so I thought I'd get a new one. Sadly, the page on its maker's website made no effort to retain a loyal customer.
Now, if a customer went into a shop and said to the assistant, 'I'm looking for a Cafe Mattino Coffee Machine', the assistant would take it that the customer either had one of the devices, or it had been recommended to them. Online, someone putting the exact name into Google [as I had] and arriving on the product's web page is, effectively, saying the same.
In the shop, however, the salesperson would not just say 'it's obsolete' and leave it at that. I'll go further and say that wouldn't use the term 'obsolete' [who does?] they would use a softer term, such as 'it's no longer made', or 'it's no longer available'.
But, and here's the point of this posting, the assistant would follow up - probably in the same sentence - with '... but we do have its replacement'.
Indeed, a good salesperson would be more likely to say something like, 'Oh they were great machines weren't they, very popular - but the technology they used was getting old, so Morphy Richards replaced it with an updated version which has all the old features plus some new ones, and it looks more modern too.'
So why doesn't the website say something similar, with a link to the new product?
I'm going to make the suggestion that it's because no one with a sales background was involved in the development of the website.
I came across a promotion from a firm that acts as an agent for advertising on TikTok using influencers.
The sell …
‘We have seen some phenomenal results on the platform by driving over 1M installs through TikTok Influencers and counting… ‘
Note: installs, not purchases [CPI stands for cost per install - I had to look it up :-) ].
The guide to ‘Become a TikTok Influencer CPI Master’
Tip number one:
The more entertaining the content = The more views.
Welllll … knock me down with a feather, I would never have thought of that. Best get in touch with every media that has ever existed and let them in to this secret.
Tip number two:
Include a call to action.
Again; a revelation! These influencer marketers are soooo innovative and leading edge.
Tip number three:
Select influencers carefully.
Damn. I thought you just used a random selector app [I’m sure there is an influencer who will recommend one to you].
Tip number three:
Track results. OK, I’ve given up with the sarcasm.
I checked the customers – sorry, ‘the wonderful brands we’ve had the opportunity of working with – of the ‘world’s largest network of TikTok Influencers’ listed on the website and I’d heard of only one of the eight. No real surprise there – I’m in the wrong target segment. However, all were apps with a link to online ‘entertainment’. So – for example – a youngster watches TikTok video of influencer doing ‘dance exercise’ and follows the influencer’s advice to download the free exercise app.
So, yes, the marketers have done their job … but if you’re selling anything other than apps to teenagers – and that’s going to be 99.99999999% of all products, try some proper marketing.
* Note that throughout their website ‘influencer’ is presented as a proper noun i.e. with a capital ‘I’. Why not try the same with your job to make you seem more important?
