Brands getting lost in the "digital waste"

Campaign Asia ran an interesting article about a study by TNS that continues to show brands may be jumping into social media, without truly knowing what their consumers wish to know, want or prefer to be engaged.  With the research tapping into 72,000 consumers, it provides good insight into the region's "digital life".  The take-away is the brands must plan and manage their online engagement much more carefully then they are doing now.  Serious thought and serious investment must be given to the social media space.  It can no longer be an afterthought, or "throw a bit of the remaining marketing budget that way".

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Racheal Lee wrote this for Campaign Asia:

The latest Digital Life Study by TNS suggests that brands have failed to listen to what their consumers want, noting that nearly half of the Asia-Pacific consumers surveyed did not want to engage with them via social media.

This finding the company has termed as “digital waste”.Some 43 per cent of Singapore consumers do not want to engage with brands. While in Hong Kong, the figure was slightly lower at 42 per cent, and rising to 52 per cent in China.

Brands must plan and manage online engagement carefully to avoid alienating consumers and doing more harm than good, the study advised.

The research studied more than 72,000 consumers in 60 countries, asking about online behaviour.

Arnaud Frade, regional director digital strategy at TNS Asia-Pacific, said "digital waste" is the accumulation of thousands of brands rushing online without thinking who they want to talk to and why. 

“Whilst many brand owners understand the value and relevance of the vast online world, many fail to understand the audience they are connecting with.”

The fast growth markets have shown a huge appetite for increased internet access and mobile services. Marketers there are more open to brands on social networks, with 73 per cent of Vietnamese and 69 per cent of Indonesians saying that social networks are a good place to learn about brands, compared to only 50 per cent in a developed market like Korea, and 62 per cent in Singapore.

The study added that as online communities mature, brands that can cut through the digital noise have fantastic potential to drive rapid growth from this nascent consumer base.

Marc de Lange, director of technology and services sectors at TNS in Hong Kong, noted that while the online world presents massive opportunities for brands, it is only through deploying precisely tailored marketing strategies that they would be able to realise this potential.

“Choosing the wrong channel, or simply adding to the cacophony of online noise, risks alienating potential customers and impacting business growth.”

Ryan Lim, business director at Blugrapes Singapore, said while it is vital for the study to define “social media”, the whole social network would include blogs, Twitter and forums, besides the commonly-known Facebook and Youtube.

“The majority of people don't like and don't want to be bothered by inclusive ads and banners. If you include all types of online advertising, 43 per cent (for the case of Singapore) is actually quite low,” he told Campaign.

He added that Facebook and Twitter have taken different approaches, whereby they display ads at one side of the page and only users who find the ads relevant will respond.

“Whether users engage to the ads would depend on their interests, but brands still need to appear in front of them. We did a study earlier and found out that only 0.03 per cent of the users click on the Facebook ads. It is all about relevancy,” he noted.

Social Media can be a waste of time! (via inc.com)

 

If you are like most small businesses, you and your team are stretched thin. If you even have a team. All day long you are servicing customers, delivering products, managing finances and doing whatever it takes to keep your business up and running. The last thing you need is to waste time. But for many small businesses, that’s exactly what they are doing when it comes to marketing with social media.

The typical small business Facebook page is a ghost town. It might have some pictures of the business, a few posts about an event six months ago, and a handful of followers who joined when the page launched. On Twitter, there might be a couple posts a month and none of them are related to any customer question. The same is true for Foursquare. Groupon is like going to the casino: there’s a good chance you’ll come home with empty pockets.

It’s hard to resist the promise of marketing in social media. It’s personal, efficient, and it is growing at a remarkable rate. Your customers spend most of their media time on these sites and they are discussing product experiences and researching purchase decisions. But that doesn’t mean that every business should drop everything and start a Facebook page or a Twitter account. This isn’t like buying an ad in the newspaper or the Yellow Pages; You don’t just set it up and walk away.

To make the most of your social media marketing, you need to have a plan. Social media is about having an ongoing conversation with your customers, not droning on about your business while they ignore you. You have to put in the time to cultivate your existing customers and attract new ones. Yes, this will take a little more time and thought, but that’s why it works. If you “set it and forget it,” you are wasting your time. Guaranteed.

Here are six steps to make sure you don’t waste time in social media:

1. Pick the right channels.

You know that location is everything in business, so make sure you are in the right place. What social media sites do your customers use? How do they use them? Where do they turn to research your product? You need to be where they are and where they are talking to each other. For example, if you run a restaurant, you should pay attention to Yelp. If you have a jogging-goods store, you may want to engage with folks on RunKeeper. If you offer laser hair removal you should know all about Groupon (if you don’t already).

2. Write posts for your customers, not you.

You can’t have a meaningful dialogue with customers if you don’t know what they want to talk about. Think about the questions you hear every day from customers. Look at what people are talking about on discussion boards, in blog comments, on competitor sites, and on review sites. Engage with active customers individually by answering their questions and asking for feedback. Their responses will give you ideas for new blog posts and places to engage folks, and may even lead to new promotions or offerings. Remember, social media marketing is about your customers; it’s not about you.  

3. Give to Get: What offers can you make to drive loyalty?

Everyone loves a deal, and they love to share it when they find one. Access to offers is one of the biggest reasons people follow brands in social media. Give them something exclusive. Make them feel special and encourage them to share it with their friends on Facebook and Twitter. It’s a great way to get people buzzing about you. It will build your following fast, and it’s a heck of a lot less expensive than what you pay sites like Living Social or Groupon to distribute your offer.

4. Mix it up. Dull content is like Spam.

You’ve heard it before, but it’s worth repeating. Social media is a conversation. Conversations can be insanely boring if you say the same thing over and over again. Add variety to your posts. Ask for feedback and questions. Run a contest or a sweepstakes. Try humor, and candor. Invite people to submit photos of their family and friends using your products. Share the stories of your best customers. This is your community online, make it fun.

5. Budget enough time to engage, or else hire someone.

You are making a commitment to your customers and you have to follow through. Make it a daily routine. Schedule reminders in your Google calendar. Cover your desk with yellow stickies. Do whatever it takes. This is an important task that is part of your job. If you don’t have the time for it, find someone who does. Make sure that person understands your business completely, has the authority to solve customer problems, and can communicate with the public in a professional way.

6. Use the right tools.

Like any project, the right tools can make the job a lot easier. The Internet has many free tools you can use to monitor discussion and measure the impact of your efforts. Some of my favorites are Tweetdeck to manage Twitter, Topsy for trending discussion volume over time, and Socialmention for evaluating the sentiment of conversations surrounding your industry. To make your update posting easier, check out Posterous for distributing updates to all your networks and communities, and Cinch.fm for recording voice messages on the phone that can be shared with your social network followers.  

 

JWT creates YouTube takeover for Schick Hydro launch

JWT Sydney has created a new digital campaign for the Schick Hydro 5.  Utilising rich banner ads, microsites and social media, this is a good example of a more engaging experience to learn about the product. 

http://www.youtube.com/schickhydro

 

Making a Facebook Page work! By Juan Sanchez in Campaign Asia

 

Juan Sanchez, community manager at Waggener Edstrom has put together a very interesting article together on making a Facebook Page "work".  As we spend more time creating social media pages for our clients, let's make them work!

 

  

 

In Campaign Asia he wrote:

 

Social media is not about just about presence but also about conversations and showing mutual value. Facebook pages, as with every marketing tactic, need a model and strategy definition.

 

Sometimes we create pages as a simple or secondary branch of our marketing strategy and forget that Facebook should be a strategic channel because conversations and customer reactions will take place there.

 

Facebook is probably the most interactive marketing channel available and a great marketing intelligence database full of insights and personal information. Here is a model I was using in Europe to define and create successful Facebook pages called the C+C+A model. 

 

1. Composition 

While Facebook pages are less customisable than a microsite, they are getting more flexible with every revision. Following the last time Facebook changed its format, the social network allow us to include six visible tabs, including wall and info by default. More tabs can be added but you have to scroll the see them.

 

Prioritise what content you want to place here are they are your visitor’s first impression. I recommend including some customised tabs such us a welcome or landing tab (don’t forget to tell users why they should be a fan of your page), YouTube or Twitter channels, reviews or a game application.

 



Take advantage of the profile picture and use this space to make your brand look more human and social. Don’t just put your logo. Try to include a positive message or convert this space into fan recognition e.g. Healthy Choice. Following further revision, Facebook now has five features photos across the top of pages. Use this space to gain design coherence and include all logos in a brand's portfolio e.g. Microsoft.

 

2. Content
Create a content calendar including categories like the type of content, goal, example, source, relevancy, frequency, timeline, type of posting (automated or manual), percentage of the total content and some notes. 


 

Diversify the subjects you are going to talk about (in order to reach larger audiences), aim to be a conversationalist brand and define a moderation policy and a response protocol. 



 

3. Activation
Only a very few branded Facebook pages go viral with concerted marketing efforts. There is no magic formula, just hard work and the right strategy.

 

In order to get fans, increase the engagement rate and ultimately achieve maximum organic reach, community managers should follow an activation plan. Here are a few guidelines.

 

·         Interact with your fans not only on your page, but also outside in other communities. Facebook allows you to interact as a 'page' rather than an 'individual'. Comment, share and like other pages and profiles in order to start building relationships.

 

·         Add pages with similar interests as favourites.

 

·         Identify administrators of groups with a similar audience and propose a collaboration.

 

·         Tag interesting content from another user or page using @. You will appear on their wall automatically. Photos also work but don't abuse it.  

 

·         Define a welcome message to welcome every new fan and invite them to participate on your page.

 

·         Invest some budget on Facebook ads. It can help promote the page at the beginning. Define a USP and include an incentive for your ad.

 

·         Propose monthly polls to your fans. People usually welcome this practice.

 

·         Launch a contest based on the number of likes or reactions offering valuable incentives relevant to your audience. 

 

·         Develop a creative and 'easy to forward' app that gets fans and their friends involved. The app for HPB Singapore 'Let’s healthy together' is a good example. Users can customise their profile picture by including a healthy habit.

 

Succeeding in social media is usually about the smaller details which together can make a difference.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

9 New Year's resolutions for digital marketers

Some great resoultions to consider for 2011. Facebook now is valued at 50 Billion$, hope you are spending a larger part of your budget to engage Facebook users!  There's a reason it is worth 50 billion dollars!

http://www.clickz.asia/2282/9-new-years-resolutions-for-digital-marketers

Blogging and Social Media - anybody interacting?

Blogging and spending time developing social media content can take many precious hours of your time.  When no one interacts via comments or emails to you directly, you have to wonder if anybody is listening.

David Smith put a good list together of blogs and posts that did recieve the most comments and interaction.  A good guide and a list applicable to your "clients" you may be running their social media for.

1. Giveaways/Competition/Freebies

2. Promote yourself post

3. Lists and Useful resources post

4. Rants/Opinionated posts

5. Readers generated posts

6. Series of Posts

7. How-to Guide posts

8. Group Writing Projects/Blog Carnivals

9. Personal Stories/Motivational posts

10. Humorous/Funny posts 11. In depth/detailed posts

12. Creative posts

13. Ask a question post

14. Interview post

15. Real-time posts

16. Reveal a secret post

17. Debate posts/controversial posts

18. Relatable posts

http://www.blogherald.com/2010/09/21/18-types-of-posts-that-get-more-comments/

Got Fans? Treating them well?

This is a very good piece by Pushkar Sane, who is the Chief Digital Officer, at Starcom MediaVest Group.  With brands flocking to the social media space, it certainly isn't good enough to simply collect FANS like you collect marbles.  Are you treating your FANS with respect?  Engaging them?  Participating with them?  Even listening to them?  Check out what Pushkar has to say:

http://www.clickz.asia/2010-11-10/treat-your-fans-with-respect/

Going Beyond Social Media Reach by Amber Naslund

I really liked this article by Amber.  A good reminder for us that what matters in social media is: focus, efficiency, and impact!!!  Clients just dont want reach anymore, but RELEVANT reach!

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We’re a little too focused on collecting humans like marbles.

Our fans. Followers. Subscribers. Impressions.

Once upon a time, numbers like gross circulation mattered a bit more, because the available channels and paths for information were somewhat limited. So by putting yourself visibly in one of them, chances were pretty good that you’d actually be seen, and command a fair bit of someone’s attention, at least for a few moments.


Now? Not nearly. Clicking “follow” or “like” is a fleeting, non-commital moment. And just as easily, that attention is off and elsewhere. (How many pages have you liked – whether sincere or just out of support for a friend – and never revisited?). It’s the equivalent of someone picking up the flyer and tossing it in the next trash can. Veneered attention is so easy to give out, because it doesn’t take our time, our effort, or even our brainpower. We simply need to click. And move on.


Is that really the only way you want to define success?



What That Number Does Tell You

What the larger network size represents – has always represented – is potential.


The number of your fans, followers, blog subscribers – they only ever represent the possible scope of your network. And it’s likely an inflated one at that.



Not all of those people are paying attention at any given time, certainly not in today’s firehose of information. An even smaller portion of those paying attention in that moment are actually in the right frame of mind to hear what you’re talking about, posting, or offering. And then again, a smaller percentage of those attentive and interested will actually act.



The balance for you is that of course, you want the greatest possible potential. So sure, building a broad network with large reach can be a good thing. But in order for that potential to pay off somehow, you want to expend the effort growing both the size of your audience as well as the density of its overall relevance to your work.



This is really what we’re saying when we refer to quality over quantity. Having 500 engaged and interested community member versus 50,000 ambivalent ones. Size only matters if there’s substance beneath.



Patience, Padawan

Building that powerful network, though – the one with both reach and relevance – takes relentless work and patience. It requires:



•Targeting: which means understanding your audience incredibly well so that you know where to seek them out, and can identify them when you find them.

•Filtered acquisition: focusing your work, outreach, and content on that customer profile (as well as being willing to let go of those that don’t fit the bill).

•Nurturing: providing value to your existing customers in a consistent fashion, through content, products and services, community experiences, or otherwise.

•Propagation: Making everything shareable and spreadable as much as possible so your current “good fit” customers and community can help you identify others.

None of these are instant. They require time and effort. Sometimes you have to adjust them based on what you learn, or how your business changes. But over time, they together return a more sustainable network fabric.



The second one is the hardest for most businesses; we’ve always done the “cast the net wide and hope to catch a few good fish” approach. It’s just far less efficient today than it once was. Why? Simple laws of supply and demand. The supply of information, opportunity, and people and businesses vying for our attention FAR, FAR outweighs the demand for it. And the minute we give our attention, we’re distracted by a zillion other things.



But there’s still a demand market based on personalized experiences, experiences with companies that feel like they’re well-tailored to our needs as customers, and backed up without outstanding service and delivery. So getting attention is harder, and keeping it is harder still. The only answer for the latter is delivering great business, relentlessly, and in response to - and in anticipation of – what your customers tell you they need. (Remember, though, that the quality of that experiences is determined by the customers, not how awesome you think you are.)



Making the Case For Relevant Reach

Fishing with a net seems like the easier approach. And it can be tempting to just gather, gather, gather. Counting our marbles, celebrating how many we have, amassing some numbers that look impressive on a spreadsheet. And stopping there.



But when you want to show your results, is it more impressive to see:



50,000 Facebook Fans and 3% of them took a qualified action (opted into a newsletter, purchased something, wrote a positive review…something more than just clicking a link)



or



7,500 Twitter Followers and 20% of them took a qualified action




If I’m the boss, the second set of numbers is much more telling to me. The net result is the same on the surface – 1,500 people did something – but the second is a greater activated proportion of our audience. That ratio represents focus, efficiency, and impact. Those things matter.



So what we want isn’t just reach, but relevant reach.



If your total number of fans, followers, or subscribers is the potential, when the ratio goes up, the larger network yields even better results. Not only are they more likely to do, say, or create something that’s valuable to you, it gives you a richer base upon which to build communications and invest in those people in return. The reach may be part of the means, but it is not remotely the end.



It’s a different way of thinking. But then again, we’re in the midst of a different way of doing a lot of things.



I think we focus much too heavily on collecting superficial demonstrations of attention, and not nearly enough on the composition of the communities we build.



What do you think?