Social Media MUST Become “Sincere” Media

For a long time, I’ve been pondering over how bloggers are being gradually involved in more publicity works than ever. This new blend is different from that of what we have seen in marketing or PR for many years. But, are we really tuning ourselves to the same frequencies of bloggers? Or the customers at large, online and offline?

Sure, customer service officers are put in place specifically for this reason. Most of them would have learn by now, an angry customer is more than one business loss. The ripel effect can reasonably cause a chain reaction beyond the scope of customer service. Ahem… stepping in are the folks from PR. Occasionally, you see marketers having a go at appeasing angry customers as well. Only, to no avail.

Occasionally, I am amused by engagement whereby even outsiders could tell if there was a genuine relationship being established. What transpired at the end of the day is nothing more than cheap advertising space in our blogs. If you’re thinking only of today, perhaps you hit the right spot. If you’re considering social media as one of your long term strategies, I wonder who will outlast the other in years to come.

And eventually, the golden question is popped. What’s next?

How can we better engage bloggers? It’s a simple answer - SINCERITY. Over my course of blogging, I have gotten to know quite a handful of bloggers. Even though some of them knew how much a social media junkie I made myself out to be, or how passionate I am with marketing, these were never barriers from forming fruitful relationships with them. That’s despite the fact that I frequently discuss about work. The responses at times, can be overwhelming. For one thing though, I truly enjoyed their responses.

It’s about time marketers or PR consultants learn to embrace bloggers, not just as bloggers. Just think, how respected and valued you will feel when you are being treated like a person more than a tool? Bloggers are not your tools, the internet is. Bloggers are your evangelists, bloggers are your customers, bloggers are your feedback-ers, bloggers are your R&D partners, bloggers are your new press, and so much more.

With such a wide array, need bloggers observe brand loyalty? Obviously not. As the saying goes, the grass is always greener on the other side. When you fail to develop this friendship with bloggers, there is always someone out there who is ready to step in. As the saying goes, the grass is always greener on the other side. Your missed opportunity may well be your future biggest critic.

What bloggers ask for, is basically a very simple thing. Very often, we hear of how little time we can spend on bloggers. C’mon!!! If each blogger is earning your company revenue of USD$10,000, I supposed you’ll be singing a different tune? We have the technologies now, so the next clear step to take is leveraging on these and focus on long term collaboration. Today and tomorrow is over.

If this relationship can be measured, it will be priceless. For now, how far will you go?

By Ed | October 6, 2008

Filed Under Social Media

Finding The Missing Jigsaw Piece

Paddy has always been a great person to be conversing with, for one who never fails to light up any discussion and share his opinions/ideas. We met over Sunday and while on the way home, we began a short topic regarding the low sustainability of new media in Singapore. It wasn’t comprehensive but if time permits, I am sure we are able to spot a lot more deficits in our small industry.

We constantly saying how slow Singapore-based companies are adopting new media but we never quite got around to the root of the problem. Apart from being traditional largely, the lacks are mostly found in service providers than adopters. Indirectly, it also led us to question how sustainable it is for any company working into this particular arena. Sure, we see new companies springing up all the time but how many will eventually remain standing at the end of the day?

Identity. Many companies have yet to establish a true identity for themselves. Are you an advertising agency? Are you a PR agency? Are you a marketing firm? Truth be told, many are still lost out at sea despite how much they are trying to define themselves. We are looking at Web 2.0 companies proclaiming to do PR. We are looking at banner-ad companies proclaiming to do marketing. They come in all shapes, sizes and formats. But, what truly are you?

Is providing non-interactive banner-ads good enough to be known as a marketing solution provider? Is providing a platform for bloggers to congregate sufficient to sell yourself as a PR agency? Well, little guessing why potential adopters are being confused. The service providers are confusing themselves equally.

Diversity. There is no way a company can survive solely on banner-ad or blog advertising. Diversity becomes the key to sustainability, not taking into account the providence of services that complement the core business. Yet, to diversify simply meant you need to bring on additional manpower with expertise beyond the usual hyped-up technology. For a simple fact, having the technology alone isn’t enough. You got to know how to maintain the technology. You got to know how to sell your technology. You got to know how to expand your technology. You got to know how to service your customers using your technology. The list goes on and on.

Expertise. Your best capability is your best survival. Far too many new media entries are managed solely by technologists and not unless they are trained in (or at least exposed regularly to) marketing/PR, many of them are absolutely horrendous. Doing something that you’re not trained to do is definitely shooting yourselves in your own feet. That is something you cannot blame clients for.

Climate. Know your environment well and don’t expect local market to adopt new media as quickly as other countries. You know your stuffs, but more than half the stuffs you know do not apply here. New media is still largely irregular, and in a way, that also fails to provide a definite direction on where it’s heading. It’s even more mocking when Web 2.0 companies hand out proposals citing to understand the local consumer trends when they have not done marketing/PR for all their lives. To arm yourself with only technological knowledge and proceeding in such manner, it’s liken to be wearing a XXXL shirt when you’re only 1.55m tall.

There could be more lacking factors, feel free to share with us. Tentatively, the above are some common deficits that most companies are - apparently - not too willing to explore and define. With a wide array of services replicated from other sources, we are fast becoming another China that thrives on replicas.

Singapore is definitely not big enough to substain so many companies too. The demand is low, while every other company is said to be attacking the same market. How sound is the prospect? It’s hard to tell for now. However, what I am pretty sure is most companies which we are looking at will eventually die of natural causes. The few companies which will survive will be those who are able to cater to the ever-growing needs of clients.

Having said so, we are still waiting to see a rare breed of individuals who are able to think big and deliver more than any current players we have. That is where they are still ailing in, anyway.

By Ed | September 23, 2008

Filed Under New Media

2 Comments

Choosing The Right Social Media Partnership

Previously, I wrote about a very important aspect of social media which is transparency. We know many businesses are still apprehensive about revealing themselves to the public. Their reasons are not unheard of, and not unreasonable too. Especially in an environment that things can quickly turn against businesses, all the more they should be careful with where they’re treading and working with.

I am going to expand a little more on transparency, harnessing on the trust aspect of social media. Chris Brogan once used the term “Snake Oil in Social Media”. As some companies would have experienced by now, getting led by a blind is not exactly a pleasant experience. Therefore, as much as parties like bloggers choose the brands they would like to be associated with, marketers should also scrutinize the parties they are intending to partner up for any social media initiatives.

While most people referred social media as publicity or relationship building, I am looking at social media more closely related to experiential marketing than anything else. Some time back, I was just sharing how social media can be applied across various corporate functions and also shared three examples of how they’re being used. Now, what are readers factually digesting from bloggers who talk about the various brands? Their experiences! What else can it be, other than to gather the fundamental impression of a certain product or service. So before anything else, businesses should ask themselves if they’re embarking on another social media stunt or truly getting involved with the community.

If your answer is the latter, then these will be some points you may want to explore when determining if a certain partnership is worth the investment.

1. Is the blogger/group harnessing on your brand to raise his/her own profile, without realistic contribution to the community you are hoping to build? (It’s all about getting the target audience, not whack-all-and-wait.)

2. Is the blogger/group transparent with their agenda, as much as you’re being expected to do so? (You don’t want to be short-changed on transparency.)

3. Have you followed the blogger/group long enough to establish the true values behind the party? (You want to distant yourself from those who advocates social media but not practising it for real, surely.)

4. Have you tracked the blogger’s participation in other blogs? (The kind of comments they leave in other blogs give you a clear hint if someone’s talking social media, or doing social media.)

5. Metrics are just figures, without clear understanding. Is the blogger/group boasting about their numerical advantage too much? (Quantitative readership isn’t everything, qualitative is.)

6. Given the extremely small scene we have in Singapore, it is easily manipulated by just a small group of bloggers. Are you mentally prepared to allow your brand to be “controlled” by just a small group, sacrificing the bigger consumer community at large? (Be mindful of what’s a community, and what’s a mob. It will happen.)

What frustrate many of us, is being fully aware of such facades being promoted by individuals and driven by bloggers. With a reality check, there is absolutely nothing we can do to stop them in their tracks before more businesses are “tricked” into their methodology.

As a blogger and social media junkie, it’s a sad truth to stomach. We see various products being published in blogs, lasting nothing more than one single post looking like a cheap advertising space. Which is why, I refused to do sponsored posts unless I have “tested” the products myself. Ask Daryl of BLOG2u or Paddy of BAK2u (sister companies), this point was communicated clearly to them. To up their social media efforts by two notches, they do not invite me to events unless it is relevant to me. Something, that I appreciate many times more than the invitation itself.

What’s worse, than having a bunch of bloggers or companies coming together to form the “Circle of Elites”. That certainly killed all the “social” in social media. What social media truly thrive on is a real voice, and not one that is laiden with hidden benefits & motives while still talking about transparency. Think of that as the voices of real customers and product enthusiasts, blog-traffic leechers not. (We just cannot forget the Microsoft-Edelman scandal, can we?) And the time comes when businesses have to convince a blogger/group why they should grant “entry” to them, alarm bells should start ringing. Remember, it works two-ways. If they’re sitting in their chairs waiting for you to come to them instead of them reaching out to you, the social media methodology is questionable and how much can they help you improve your strategies?

The other much untouched arena is how some of these bloggers begin to throw their focus on the personal benefits they can rip. When bloggers start to align themselves with some A-lister, it makes the job all the more easier. That’s for businesses to ring their second alarm bell when they are being taken for a ride in the name of social media. Trust me, even reputable PR agencies are working underground and getting caught red-handed like Walmart-Edelman in a much neglected Singapore is close to unthinkable.

Think - pause - think - stop - think - assess, they’re only interested in the freebies, NOT your brand. Again, it’s a two-way traffic so scrutinize and pick your cherries carefully.

Like what I shared with countless people in my private chats, don’t talk social media, do social media. At least for the handful of “gurus” we know of in Singapore, we still have not seen a concrete success in their forms of social media other than creating a mob.

For one thing that I’m sure, social media isn’t about mobbing.

By Ed | August 27, 2008

Filed Under Blogging, Social Media