the new kids of social media.

You gotta admit, social media, is the in thing.

Everyone is ranting and raving about it.

People fresh off the bat want to get their fingers all wet and sticky with it.

Me?

I thought so too till I realised that social cannot just be something on its own. At least not in Singapore’s market. The big agency boys have got their claws into big names with the money to spare for these campaigns. The smaller ones are still reserved, cautious to take a bite out of their pie because the budget’s either already stretched too thin or the management holding on to the purse strings still believe fervently in traditional mediums of advertising.

Seriously, it’s true! Some of these companies believe that microsites and online marketing (think nasty invasive and interruptive web banners or pop-ups and the like) are about as newfangled as new media can get.

Sigh.

So what should social media be, really?

Personally and even professionally, I believe that it is a complementary element to an online marketing campaign. The sole purpose isn’t to sell (sad, disturbing, how the hell do I explain it to my client?! but true) but rather to inform, to create that bond between brand and consumer. To establish loyalty and familiarity. Give your consumers the right, or rather, the option to be part of the brand. In the way it is being marketed or advertised, in terms of product improvement and development. When you get them involved, you get them to keep you at the top of their mind. When they think of your competitors, they will measure these competitors up to you not just in terms of price, but in the benefits that these competitors can never offer but which you give to them freely.

What do you think? Should social media be a standalone strategy you’d pitch to clients or part of a dynamic online (and maybe even offline) marketing plan?

#ShootUrTweeple

June 27th.

A group of trigger happy Twitter photography enthusiasts come together to the second floor of a quaint Tapas bar called Zsofi and; camwhore with passion.

What’s a #sgtweetup without meeting new faces and greeting the old ones? Thousand and one thanks to @inrsoul and @wahliaodotcom for organizing it. Almost everyone was a shutterbug and the lights never quite stopped flashing. For some of us, especially me, we got to learn how to use those nice big flash units that they have in studios. Slide a trigger into the hotshoe, compose and press. Your eyes go blind for a while and this is by far the first time I’ve ever turned my aperture to the lowest.

I didn’t shoot that many because I was trying to meet as many new people as possible. And uhm, enjoying the food too. You can find the few decent shots I took here. Still an amateur but I’m learning.

We had awesomely photogenic models – @nikipaniki, @debbieseprahina, @mangomangomango, @belindaang, @allyrockstar. The guys were pretty sporting too. I snagged a shot of @markashworth, @lennel, @gnoserif, @fooie and @ctham. Hoping for another tweetup like this so I can really go triggerhappywild and be able to post more shots! Have to mention that the owner and his crew were really nice to us too. Wouldn’t have thought that there’d be such a place in the chaos of Little India (but it is).

When I can collate everyone’s shots proper, I’ll try getting them all linked up here. In the meantime, here’s a link to @inrsoul’s Flickr. He is teh man! I’ve never been photogenic my whole life but he’s made me look quite human. Thanks!

#sgtweetup, oh the drama (not!)

14 May. Thursday. Geek Terminal. Paying too much for a drink only to find myself having only a glass at the end. Meh. But anyway, it was great seeing familiar faces and of course, making more friends. Here’s a shoutout to a nice bunch of people I met during #sgtweetup:

@gnoserif, @BoltClock, @TheLonelyGnome, @FoOie, @metacole, @sweska, @stephietan (who owns and runs Fashion Nation).

It was pretty awesome and I found myself running around mingling and talking to people rather than actually paying attention to what was going on. I was a little perplexed by the models who were there and who dished out namecards with their Twitter IDs. Well, there’s the good and bad. More and more people are jumping on the platform, thereby increasing the number of Singaporeans on Twitter. The downside was that a great number of them hadn’t used the platform before, had not even tried to understand it and seemed quite bewildered by it. Guess you can’t really blame then when they only had their accounts made the night before.

There were some midly disgruntled people during the event. It was meant to be a tweetup (Twitter Meet-up) for the locals yet was hijacked by another body that decided it’d be a good idea to launch an upcoming reality TV show. I’m fine with launches and stuff, but not when it’s a hidden agenda or surprise of sorts. Would have been only fair to inform us beforehand, wasn’t as if the great majority would have been turned off by it. Rather, the whole sneakiness of the event put off and even offended some people.

Food got demolished real quickly and if it wasn’t for @mhisham, my stomach would have been gnawing on itself.

I’m going to be looking forward to the coming informal Tweetup. This time with no pretenses.

And I’ll be sure to bring my camera along. I’d rather be the one taking and catching people unaware rather than appear totally unglamorous in every shot with my name tagged in it.

how i won a pair of tickets to catch the Singapore grand prix

No I didn’t decide to go on a sudden hiatus. The motivation to blog left me, completely. Or that it could be that two rather lovely friends introduced Battlestar Galactica to me and I basically spent the holiday and weekend finishing up on season 1. This was in between trying to spring clean my room multiple times and getting a new vacuum cleaner with the mother. Of which, somewhere along the way, I find myself with a HTC Touch Cruise.

I’m still trying to figure out how to use it proper. So much for being a tech-geek. I is fail.

Ignore the bit where I wanted to talk about otherwise really boring stuff like weddings and my very boring and bland personal life. So instead I shall talk about how I won myself a pair of walk-about tickets to this year’s Formula 1 (happening in what, September?).

Thanks to @nanyate (Ivy), I got me invited to a Blogger event organized by Singtel. Basically, we all had a chance to test out the simulator cars. Three screens and a map that was pretty much a simulation of the route that the cars were gonna take for this year’s grand prix. Everyone had a trial go with the PC version. It seemed straightforward enough, the gears were initially awkward since the left tab meant to downshift your gear and the right to increase. I’ve grown too accustomed to the battered Honda’s manual gears and found myself crashing quite a fair bit as I tried to get used to it.

Next came the simulator round. No one told me that the time taken here would be the qualifying time for the finals. My first try, I basically crashed into the Sheares bridge and effectively ‘broke’ the simulator. I know, I’m such a vicious person and most things electronic tend to break down on me. The name of the car I had been driving in was… Tim. I think it was Tim. Very male. Didn’t like me. The steering was pretty tight and stiff too, which reminded me of power-steering. Afterwhich, I was ushered to sit in Nova and try again.

Oh yeah. True enough that Formula 1 drivers are pretty small and stocky. But how they really fit all snug and proper inside their car is something I can’t quite fathom. Perhaps I really am a lot smaller than they are but I basically had to sit up in the seat (which was really low) and had the pedals shifted almost to the max before I could even feel it. If you saw the pictures everyone took, you’d see that I was sitting like some kukunarded idiot in the car/pit.

Anyway. My first timing was about 3 minutes. Or slightly less. I was in third place with Diana (@molemole) in second, DK in first and MHisham in fourth place. Then the ‘nice’ people at Singtel decided to do this to us – 1st place vs 3rd place, 2nd place vs 4th place. This meant that I’ll be ‘challenging’ DK, who’s timing drained my face of blood. How sia? The guy was good and all the while as we were waiting for the finals to commence, he was training up on the PC simulator. And what was I doing?

Being a freeloader and eating food and drinking lemon tea. That and talking a lot of rubbish and dressing up in the Formula 1 suit and complaining how hot it was and thinking now that I should have just worn the darn helmet to see how the whole thing felt and looked.

Cut story short (since I’m getting tired and my BSG has loaded), the girls won. Diana came in second and I came in, surprisingly, first! I’d post up a picture of my timing but I didn’t manage to get a shot and I was starving, again, and craving for some zombie hunting so as everyone left for their next engagement, went to find the homeboys for dinner and l4d.

It’s a rather ooo-gleh shot but hey. I must pay respects to Project Gotham, Initial D, Burnout: Dominator and Ridge Racer for my virtual driving experience. If only my passes allowed me to take a picture with the Ferrari team then that would have sealed the deal.

But well, thanks Ivy and Singtel for the opportunity!

twitter for government agencies.

I believe his name was Kevin and he was working for a particular government agency. I recall asking a question along these lines of how should a government agency make use of Twitter and if it was recommended. It was something that was difficult to answer, I can understand. Singapore, for all is prettiness of being democratic and blabla is really pretty conservative and well, strict with what its people can talk about and share. Or then you’d might refute because of all the rubbish that’s on STOMP, but I digress.

So I was pretty thrilled when I came across this – Twitter in Government Agencies: Best Practices.

It’s a really good article that gives tips on how government agencies can best use Twitter and ways that they shouldn’t be abusing it or making a fool of themselves on it. Of course, this isn’t restricted to just government agencies. Methinks that companies/corporates would benefit greatly from this. All too often brands are signing up for Twitter and just making headlines with sales and discounts or product information instead of actually offering valuable information or engaging in a discussion with its customers/followers.

Now let’s see if our government may take the hint and do something that makes us really feel like citizens of a country and not mere workhorses.

#sgtweet and key learnings.

Just got back from SgTweet and unfortunately, I didn’t Twitter/Plurk during the presentation (thought I would but then I decided that I wanted to be lazy and leave the heavy Mac in the bacg and just pay attention to the screen for a change). Here’s a list of things though that caught my attention during the session. Might reflect on that a little later.

• Plurk versus Twitter. Cultural differences. Singaporeans = collectivist society. We’re more for forums and creating threads and engaging in discussion whereas our Western (and Australian) counterparts are more inclined to Twitter’s simplistic concept. Plurk is just too confusing and complicating.
• Return of Investment versus Cost of Inactivity. Need to think about this more. Would this also apply that if a company has a Twitter account but does nothing and yet expect to achieve their objectives? Or is this more along the lines of opportunity-cost; if you don’t engage your consumers on such a level would this cost your company valuable media value (forgot the exact term) that they would otherwise not be able to get anywhere else?
• Microblogging – Personally I feel that Twitter has expanded beyond its initial use as a platform for quick blogging a.k.a microblogging. It’s the fastest way to spread information and resources. Consider the case of me asking people about where to get hoodies. I get a reply from an apparel company about their hoodies and the selection of designs and am even helped with currency exchange rate and average international shipping cost (which reminds me I ought to get back to them and finalise my decision as to which hoodie I want).
• Guy on plane in Amsterdam crash – Twittered that he did a Google search and didn’t find information about the crash. Some people think it’s WTF. But he wants more information because he’s on the inside and is possibly in the dark as to what is happening outside.
• I need to read up on all those Twitter aggregating sites. Very interesting stats.
• Must also look at SplitTwit/Tweet.
• Very few Twitter purists, in the sense that they’re using third-party applications to access Twitter instead of going to the main page. I mostly log on to the main page. It’s more… fun that way? Just me.

Also, The Sail looks like an awesomely (expensive) pretty place to stay. The view is really whoa, but maybe not for me at that height. Come the Singapore Grand Prix, you’ve got a pretty cool view of the route and the cars whizzing about. I’d rather be in on the action, even after the first three rounds. Live broadcast, twittering, random interviews with other F1 fans and catching a glimpse of Raikkonen. Swoon.

5 elements for FaceBook group/page ownage.

You gotta love Google Reader. Before I begin, may I recommend the following article – 5 elements of a successful FaceBook Fan Page.

There were quite a number of questions raised during Social Media Breakfast 6 which touched on FaceBook, specifically brands creating Pages and Groups to be closer connected to their consumers. This article highlights the ways you can make your group rock and it doesn’t have to be a fan page. It also works for those who are creating their own Unofficial InsertBrandNameHere Page! Now, I’m basically gonna make use of the headers in the entry and add-on from there. Feel free to add in your input in the comments section yeah?

1. Networking with other platforms

The article mentions how websites are now putting up links to their FaceBook pages. Which makes sense. You have your own website with all the nitty gritty techy and sales-ish information to try and convince the consumers to purchase your product. But that doesn’t allow for a two-way communication between yourself and your potential or current consumer. Your FaceBook group will allow for greater interactivity, what with your discussion threads which not just engage people in conversation but in turn, generates content which will pull people back to your page often to check for updates or read the latest reply.  At the same time, you can also get people clued in to your Twitter account (if they’re that tech-savvy). Quick, easy communication and a more manageable way to post up brief updates on happenings with your brand without giving too much information away. Of course, be sure to link them back to your site for the full story.

2. Creating a resource

Okla. It’s cool to be happy and proud of your brand but people soon get bored and tiring of this never-ending glorification and eventually they’ll just tune out because it’s boring. The way to pull readers back and hankering for more is by providing more than what they want. They want a sandwich? Give them the offer to get a meal with cookies and a drink. Add links to resources which they might find valuable and useful and relates back to your product. Say I’m the owner/creator of a graphics software. I’ll add in tutorials on how to make things with the software and maybe even throw in additional stuff like brushes, plug-ins and the like. So the group page doesn’t just become a site where people go around and say “yeah this software/brand/product rocks”. They’ll be inclined to contribute more and even give feedback which will further aid your research in knowing what they want and possibly helping your research and development team to make your product work better.

3. Creating contests that include participation

In an Asian context, not quite sure how this can work out. But I have seen how some blogshop owners put up discounts and offers on their group pages as an added incentive for their patrons who have found and added them on FaceBook. I’ve always wondered what if you limited entry to the FaceBook group and made it a truly unique and exclusive group so that only thsoe who are continuous customers may join. As a reward, you provide discount codes and offer packages for their loyalty. Singaporeans love this thing about exclusivity. Makes us feel special. We like feeling special. Haha. On top of that, you can also release previews of your next collection or new product etc. There’s no harm in sending out in your electronic flyers, but perhaps you could give them first priority over purchase of a certain product and even at a discounted rate beore opening it to public. The group can also be an avenue for preview shots of products as well as feedback from your loyal customers. Because they’ve worked with you before and hence, trust you, they’d be more open and critical of things and help provide useful feedback for you to improve upon your product or service.

4. Empowering pre-existing pages

This might work with bigger brands. Unofficial pages are not bad things, unless they’re really talking shit about you. But even if that were the case, there are ways to turn it around or make use of the arsenal they’ve provided. Course, don’t instantly be intimidated or defensive when negative feedback reach your ears. Gotta take things with a pinch of salt and most importantly, realise that the only reason why they’re saying all those bad things is because they want to help you make your product/service better! Some people tell me that this is just denial but hey if you make the improvements and sales/awareness increases then it’s a win-win situation.

5. Targeting the proper demographic

Personally I feel, this is what most brands are doing wrong. When you talk about target demographic, you musn’t just think about which generatin is hip and cool and more willing to part with their case in exchange for your product. This was something I had to reiterate during SMB6. FaceBook is the in-thing now but it doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s for everyone. Sometimes the transition needs to be gradual before you’ll be able to see any changes in the perception and reaction towards your product.

social media dinner.

When I try to be early for things, somehow I end up being late. Like getting stuck in traffic on top of getting lost. Brilliant I tell you. But here’s a quick recap of Social Media Breakfast/Dinner 6 and what insight I managed to glean even when I arrived so unfashionably late. Sorry Daryl!

• What’s the main reason/purpose for a brand to create a FaceBook page?
• Gotta put in the effort and be dedicated in generating content
• Supporting unofficial groups help boost your brand’s credibility too
• Make sure to be genuine when engaging in a conversation with your consumers/target audience – Forgot to ask about general tone of voice. Sincere? Honest? Sometimes genuine can result in a lot of other things
• Don’t hard-sell your products when trying to get closer to your consumers
• What does one do when consumers are wary and skeptical of marketers who are trying to reach out to them?
• Groups and Pages are two different things – Wish could have expounded on this further. Like if you have a Page, should you have a Group and vice-versa. Also, the differences in having a Page and a Group
• (My own thoughts) Why can’t FaceBook allow for Group to be able to add applications? Make our lives a whole fuckload easier lor
• Gotta read the case study for SIA having a FaceBook group (or something) and then ceased generation content because members were doing it for them. Speaking of which, is there a case study for that? Don’t recall coming across it at all

Wish I could have arrived earlier and be able to take down more things. Also, need to remember to bring my notepad so I can scribble things and hopefully try to help solve some questions or engage in discussion with the people who were asking discussions.

T’was very nice to see a bunch of familiar faces and meet new ones. Must also remember to whip out camera and take photos. Ok. Damn super shackedtired. Wish there was a holiday or something coming soon. I could really use more sleep.

shiny shiny namecards.

Giggity go.

Guess who got her spankin’ new namecards?

If you want one, come down this Saturday, 28 March, 2009 to Tangs Orchard for the Social Media Breakfast (night really) 6!

The list of panelists are as follows: Krisandro, Daniel Tsou, Nicole Then, Don Tan and… me. Yes, it’s surprising really. I’m there.

Anyway, there’s gonna be loads of food and we’ll be celebrating Earth Hour together! I think I’ve mentioned this in my first virgin entry somewhere below. But head on down to the FaceBook group page and c-c-chekkit out!

Plus, can’t wait for this Friday’s True Blood Asian premiere!

Have you got your stakes ready?

In Case of Vampire...

yes. i am a spammer.

Today I came across a rather interesting article that had me sitting up (almost choking on my bowl of mee soto) and paying attention. I am not a marketer. I am not an online marketing executive.

I am a spammer.

I knew it before. I was just trying to ignore, be oblivious, pretend. But it’s the truth. I am a spammer. The way in which we try to market our products to our customers and potential customers is really in-your-face and I can wholly sympathise if they get irritated and annoyed by the amount of rubbish we feed their inbox on a regular basis. Who likes getting spammed in the first place anyway? I don’t read half of the things that end up in my inbox. Some of them are like daily reminders that such-and-such job fits my profile or the latest clothing line or the latest issue of a magazine is out. Though there are those that I actually look forward to each day.

What distinguishes the junk that’s truly unnecessary and that which makes people voluntarily and willingly click on the “Subscribe to Newsletter” button?

Greater Appeal: Tuna Sandwich or Plain Bread?
Unless you’re vegetarian, you’d go for the tuna sandwich. Pardon my crappy use of metaphors/analogies, still hungry. The tuna is the content. If you add in some mayonaise and maybe honey mustard, it becomes far more interesting and unique content. It’s this that will pull the interest and attention of your readers/customers. They’ll come back for more, hankering for another dose of honey mustard and perhaps this time you’ll throw in a cookie and it becomes a combo meal and then they’ll be really happy. What I’m trying to bring across here is that content matters.

How bout some cheese in my sandwich without me asking?
Intuitive content is always the best. You’re giving your customers what they want to know on top of what they need to know before it even dawns on them that they gotta ask it. The uniqueness of the information provided is what will set you apart from your competitors. It’s easy to hash out “duh” details like “don’t forget to fasten your seatbelt” or “always keep a condom ready”. How bout including additional information in bite-sized snippets like why they ought to keep their seatbelt on (specially the person in the middle) and maybe fun things as to how long a sperm can remain in the body and still fertilise an egg long after the deed is done? Educate as you make them aware. Knowledge is power!

This is more for those of us out there who are forced to do the dirtywork of crafting those eletronic Direct Mailers (eDM) and sending them out (thereby incurring the wrath of thousand others, no wonder my karma sucks). Sometimes bo pian we’re too lower level to decide how to get the message across or that our employers still believe that traditional INYOURFACE is the way to go.

On an unrelated note, I ran about 4 to 5km today under the burning sun (I have a jersey tan line now, so unglam) during lunch. Prolly ruined the effort with the mee soto but it’s these little steps for the Sundown 10km I’m gonna be doing in May. Go me!