Social Media: How to destroy your brand on a budget

I get it, not everyone has social media figured out yet. But really breast feeding Tele Tubbies? There is no excuse for taking fabulous brands and make them look like they belong in the discount bin at the dollar store. Rule 1, if you are running a company do not leave your social media strategy to your teenage nephew, unless of course he happens to be Mark Zuckerberg.

Let’s take a look at some factors that make a solid social media campaign and compare them against a recently spotted Facebook page debacle. We learn from both our mistakes and the mistakes of others, and the Cotai Jet's Facebook page is a real learning opportunity. Cotai Jet is the flagship ferry service for Macau tourism, the Venetian and the Four Season's.

1. Content - “is king!”. Just like you would have a party and not forget to bring music, food and drink you should not create a social media destination like a Facebook page and not have a content strategy in place to ensure a fresh stream of interesting and engaging content to your fans. Communication strategies are foundational.

1. Really is this the best you can do? Macau is the playground of Asia and the Cotai Jet is the chauffeur for such luxury properties as the Venetian and the Four Seasons. A place that brings you Lady Gaga and the Gran Prix can’t come up with some pictures? Everybody has something interesting to share, except Macau apparently. . .

2. Engagement/ moderation - If you think you are special enough to attract fans then you should be prepared to sign autographs! Talk to your fans! You are a superstar because of them, don’t forget to mingle and have your moderator be appropriate.
1. Who would you pick as you moderator? Well it appears that Macau likes Tinky Winky and Tinky Winky like to breast feed. It appears that Tinky Winky has almost no friends and only likes to engage in lactating behaviour. Who am I to judge, but really???

3. Authenticity - All aspects of a social media campaign need to ring true. It is very easy to detect Bullsh*t and fans do it faster than anyone.
   
1. 154,542 friends for Tinky Winky the breast feeding TeleTubby (copyright infringement?) is a bit of a stretch. Considering there is no content or real conversation on the page this looks more than a bit suspicious. There is a reason that Indonesia has the 3rd most registered number of Facebook users. They are called friend farms. Yes, just like hookers you can also buy Facebook friends. And also like with hookers you probably don’t want your real friends, fans and customers to see you with them. Facebook pages are for real fans, keep your “paid dates” private.

4. Brand appropriateness - any social media campaign needs to align with the Brand. A significant contribution of any professional social media agency is to help their client find their “voice” online and to responsibly extend the brand into social media spaces.
1. We have discussed a number of issues with this page that call into question the appropriateness of the branding. It is difficult to imagine that the management of any of the Macau brands have reviewed or actively participated in this campaign. Like with any media campaingn, management buy in and support is critical to a successful social media campaign.

5. Just doesn’t suck - social media offers so many opportunities to do real cool stuff. Your page may not be the best, but there is no reason for it to suck.
1. Social media is quickly becoming the most important medium for brands to project themselves to their customers. However, it still seems it is not taken seriously. I feel there will be many more lessons to learn from before many brands get it right.
   

PRDA has been helping brands find their voice online for years. Our mistakes are behind us to ensure yours are not in front of you.


Much success,

Doug

Social media: The fans win

There has long been speculation and gut instinct that social media produced ROI. However despite many promises of being able to track online behavious accurately, there has been few statistics come forward. This has been primarily because of the weak link between online content and point of sale. However, this gap is quickly closing as brands pour more and more budget into digital and expect to see results. A recent study by Syncapse and reported by Haysam Fahmy in the blog Asia Digital Map shows, what all of us had thought true for a long time, people who invest energy in becoming fans of a brand in social media tend to spend more, be more brand loyal and are more likely to be brand amabassadors. Social media does payoff and in a big way.

Fans spend more!

On average a Facebook fan will spend almost US$80 a year more on a product than non-fans

Fans share more!

The most intreguing aspect of social media is converting customers to brand ambassadors. Fans of brand are 40% more likely to share brand information. This is powerful marketing.

The long and the short of this is that brands now have definite proof and measurement tools to show the clear value of social media. What is done with this is yet to be seen. Social media is still largely unknown and only few companies like Prosperity Research have the expertise to navigate social media effectively.

Social Media December 2007 to June 2010

I originally wrote this post in December 2007. In social media years that was a lifetime ago. However, the words are more true now then back then. Social media's progress got a set back, or kick start, due to the economic crisis. You can decide your opinion on that. What I know is I believed then and I still believe now.



Well, the 2007 year is wrapping up and the final numbers are coming in. These are the all important numbers which demonstrate online behaviour in general and more specifically the consumer spending habits during the peak holiday period.

Online Holiday Sales Ho-Ho-Hold Up - eMarketer via kwout

It is unanimous that Social Network Marketing continues to dominate the press and the pocketbook of consumers. With word of mouth becoming the new cred over traditional corporate spokespersons the individual reigns supreme. Prosperity Research continues to advance natural techniques to understand the behavioural mechanisms that guide Social Network models. There is little need for big media buy or fancy gimicks in the new democratic space on the internet. The old addage of "talk is cheap" has an all new meaning.

eMarketer's Predictions for 2008 - eMarketer via kwout

Social Media? 12 reasons plus 2 more

Social media is becoming an undeniable option for business. Some are still uncertain why or how they should use social media, but the tidal wave of users make the need to move into social media fell like a "must do". Fortunately there are good reasons and this article released by Social Media Today provides a compelling argument. Social media budgets are exploding and according to the author there are 12 reasons to jump in. That alone should be enough, but I can think of at least 2 more to add to this list that make the value proposition impossible to resist.

• Listening -- the single greatest differentiator between social media and traditional is the opportunity for engagement. To be able to receive customer comments and product information in real time is extremely valuable. Traditional media can not provide this. Brands that recognize the value of receiving customer engagement and leverage this will outpace their competitors.
  
• Community building -- social media is about community building and engaging customers. Many brands are still stuck in the "broadcast" mode of communicating and missing the great opportunity for becoming "friends" of their customers. When the shear volume of information that is pushed out into social media each day, the idea that someone "chose" to listen, opt in, comment on or subscribe to your message is remarkable. Once you have their attention, it is best not to lose it. Treat them well.

Social media is all about being "Social". The most successful brands recognize this. Brands that let their ego go for a bit and truly focus on their customers will enjoy success.

Much success,

Doug

Prosperity Research helps brands find their voice online. PRDA has significant experience and can help businesses find the value in all the
commotion.

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Social Media: Mind blowing stats counter

We are all very much aware on the fast pace of social media. We usually think of it in terms of people around the planet. I came across this in Social Media Today. It is a social media stats counter created by Gary Hayes at Personalize Media. Whether you are a numbers geek or just trying to better understand social media and social networks, this widget is a great motivator.






Much success,

Doug

Back in the Social Media Saddle

I have taken a hiatus that was much longer than ever expected from writing my blog. I noticed that my last "official" blog dates back to October of 2009. I am not sure how I lost my way, but I do know that the effect of not writing a regular blog makes me a bit grumpy and thick in the head. Or at least that is my excuse for the moment.

I find blogs to be, personally, difficult to write. Creating nice linear patterns of thought and sentence construction does not come easy to me. This is especially true with all the time I spend on Social Media with its fractured, fragmented and unrelenting content that to me often feels more like being in a blizzard than a soothing stream. Luckily my mind seems well suited to chaos and seems to adjust to filtering out these bytes of information and somehow making sense of it all.

The good thing about writing blogs is that it forces one to think through a thought from beginning to end. Check for its veracity and determine if in fact it has value. One of the benefits of social media is also it bane. The ease of sharing information seems to have removed some of the sense of responsibility in understanding before reporting it. I believe that too often content is shared based only on a clever title and maybe not much more. Whereas, I value the free exchange of information, I value more knowing that when I receive something from a source that I have confidence it is worth my time.

It is my opinion that everyone could benefit from writing a regular blog. Whether it is like me only for the critical analysis to see if I can prove, at least to myself, that I am being clever or whether I am, more often than not, full of sh**. Or if it is just to provide a good outlet to let your mind take some of the power out of the hurricane of thoughts that maybe going on inside. And then of course there is the possibility that what does make it to print is something others will be glad you took the time to do.

I am looking forward to writing on a range of subjects now that the fast has been broken.

• Broadcast vs. Engagement
• Use of multi-channels for effective marketing strategies
• Social graph and search
• If you have to buy your friends are they really your friends
• PR and Digital Agencies -- why all the fuss
• Social Quotient -- the Holy Grail of new marketing

Any many more. . .

Much success,

Doug

Hong Kong My "Real" Home

Today's blog was supposed to be about something quite different. But yesterday something very significant happened to me. This and some dramatic events of the last week, made me feel compelled to write about the effect these have had. The two events are my application for permanent residency and the other is the controversy set off by a series of videos my company marketed for a local hotel chain.


Recently I passed my 7 year mark in Hong Kong. For those that don't know, this is the time a person can apply for their permanent residency which provides a life time visa and more importantly a sense of belonging. I had looked forward to this day from the moment I had first stepped foot in Hong Kong more than 7 years past and with it came a flood of memories.

By many accounts Hong Kong is an unlikely city for me to live. I grew up in the Pacific Northwest with cold winters and dry summers. Hong Kong humidity makes me sweat so much and I wonder if I will ever adjust. Try as I may, I have never managed more than a few words of Cantonese, and over crowded places tend to make me uncomfortable; preferring the quiet of my small Sheung wan flat to the bustling streets. So what is it that made me want to stay?

It is all those things and more. It is the uniqueness of Hong Kong that makes me want to stay. And, arguably, it is what makes others want to come as well and quickly fall in love with this city; opposites attract? I don't know, but I do know that if I wanted sameness I may never have had left the US. Whereas shopping malls, high end restaurants and luxury shops maybe the mark of a good city, and Hong Kong has clearly won this race, those things can be found in most places. So what compels a person to choose one destination over another to visit? Partly it is the familiar but mostly it is for that something different, something special. What makes a person choose one place over another as their home? That is connection.

I remember the big lunch I was taken too when I arrived in Hong Kong. It is the long running tradition and joke, repeated over and over that the new Westerner gets taken to Dim Sum. Inevitably the chicken feet arrive. The Hong Kong hosts chide and smile while the guest shows shock. For my initiation the shock was on my Host's faces when I stuffed one in my mouth easy as you please. Not my favourite Hong Kong cuisine, but can't get that back home for sure.

Language is seldom a barrier in Hong Kong, less so than in some other English speaking countries. My most flabbergasting experience was during a trip to the U.K. While trying to buy tickets to the theatre, the language barrier of a common language was so frustrating for us both that the sales person ended up presenting a printed list of times and prices to short cut the embarrassing exchange. In Hong Kong I still often face issues with language, but in a different way. For those of us that do not speak Cantonese and those that do not speak English a second language has emerged. Simple sentences, gestures, smiles, patience and on rare occasion a reach for the mobile to call a helpful interpreter. Hong Kong has held strong to its unique and ever evolving Cantonese language, even when English was dominant in the governing class. Hong Kong has adapted to accommodate those that find Cantonese undecipherable and that some say you need to be born to in order to speak. So even when I listen to Cantonese and understand all most nothing at all, I realise I maybe separated by a language but not a language barrier.


I highlighted these two experiences because they were the focus of the two videos mentioned earlier. There are four videos in total, but only two were released. The videos received warm to neutral reviews for three weeks. Over 50,000 views and no negative comments. But when it was suggested that the videos portrayed Hong Kong and its people in a bad light some strong, but isolated, negativity started to emerge. The possibility of negative interpretation is not lost on me, but I see if very different. The real situations shown were ones I have lived through and can be seen repeated every day. Real people, real culture, rich and alive, intriguing and inviting. Tourists stream up and down the side streets every day looking at things they would never see at home. Some jump in and others maintain a distance, but they take pictures and, I would imagine, smile when they tell their friends. These videos showed a reality that is seldom seen in Hong Kong promotion. When you pull back the faux facade of the picture postcard-esque promotional campaigns usually associated with Hong Kong what lies below is the real essence of Hong Kong; the people and its culture. Hong Kong has strongly protected it culture and selected the best of the West to build a modern city steeped in long standing traditions. These make the real stories that are remembered and told over and over long after the memory of the generic luxury shop indistinguishable hotel room has faded.

So what is the point of this winding blog post? It is that I came to, and fell in love with Hong Kong, like I believe so many others do, not because of the picture perfect promotional campaigns but because Hong Kong is a real and vibrant city full of contrasts and culture at every turn. So after 7 years I wrote and signed to the Immigration department that

"I have, do and will consider Hong Kong to be my only place of residence".

Signed:

Douglas White

Social Media Example: Global Real Estate Investment

IP Global's Managing Director is very charismatic and knowledgeable when it comes to international real estate investing. It was a logical fit that he should utilise video to fully capture his compelling delivery of current real estate investment insights.

IP Global has a long standing in Asia as a premier real estate investment group by creating wealth through sound real estate investments for their clients. With ever increasingly geographically diverse investment opportunities and an increasingly mobile investor group, moving their messages online seemed the right choice. Starting with a redesigned website that provided deeper information was a first start. But to relay timely information to clients a podcast was recognised as a highly effective tool.

IP Global is looking to produce regular updates of their investor podcasts to keep their savvy investor base up to date with economic and invest information in a manner that is quick, concise and portable.

Below is the first podcast released to the public. It was posted across a large number of strategically targeted Social Media sites to ensure that what sites their investors are most comfortable viewing their information they will be readily available to them.

Marketing Minute: Business needs Social Media

The business opportunity with Social Media is enormous. There are more than a billion people online and 60% of those are in Asia and using social networks. Social media sites are out pacing all other Internet areas by a margin of 2:1. Prosperity Research has been pioneering social media for a significant amount of time in Hong Kong. This V-blog quickly defines why "Business needs Social Media". However, that said it is a tricky place to do business and the inexperienced may not fare well. It is best to understand well before entering because the backlash for mistakes can be unmerciful.

Marketing Minute: What is Social Media

Funny that we can find ways to keep talking about the same thing in so many different ways. I revisited some writings I made 3 years ago and pulled out a very familiar message. I then reviewed a blog entry I wrote 2 years ago and found it to be virtually the same. I am now creating v blog entry saying much the same, but this time I am moving. Well I hope you like my good effort. And I hope after 3 years of reading and hearing me talk about it, there is still something fresh and exciting to be found.

Twestival Hong Kong 2009

More than 180 cities had the first ever global twitter party to raise money for the charity Water. Brought together in less than 4 weeks, this immensely successful global event demonstrated the power of Social Media. Digirati heavy weights, twitter fans and the just plain curious converged on Yumla in Hong Kong to twit the night away.

SO-U.TV's Top Athletes

Prosperity Research’s publishing arm www.SO-U.TV’s, is taking Asia by storm. Over the last year SO-U.TV has become the number one source for online viewing of local Hong Kong sporting events. With this has come an expansion of our talent dedicated to bringing you the best in Sports coverage. We have on our team 3 of Hong Kong’s best athletes; Lisa Cheng, Alex Chung and Charles Chan. We produce about 100 local sporting events designed for internet viewing with a targeted and loyal audience. Meet our stars:


Lisa Cheng, 3 time champion of Hong Kong Body Beautiful and avid Rock climber. You can see her whole story on her episode on Hong Kong Heroes. Look for her upcoming lifestyle episode Fit and Fab in August.






Alex Chung, three time swim record holder in Hong Kong. He is now a regular blogger and MC for SO-U.TV and continues to be one of the leading swim coaches in Hong Kong and dedicated supporter of many charities.




Charles Chan, Track and Field, Gold medal Hong Kong Diving Champ, Member of the Hong Kong National Gymnastics team, Sichuan Earthquake humanitarian and Beijing Olympic 2008 reporter. He is an amazing man that has done much and gives even more.

Sharing and Understanding

Understanding
I make it a point to pay close attention to my surroundings everyday. Most of the times it pays off and I get to learn or see something new and interesting. Today was no exception. Living in Hong Kong and deal with multiple languages as a matter of course. Being only English speaking I understand only a fraction of what is around me. Like most of my English speaking counterparts I get occasionally amusement from the odd translations that occur in the most unlikely places. Today while out for a burger and a movie with a friend I ran into two extreme cases -- they weren't amusing as they were surprising. Large corporations with capability and control to avoid silly mistakes like translation errors. One of the Fancl, a large beauty care company, translated a statement that was suppose to reassure and give confidence for a drink supplement as something like "a considerable patent for ease of drinking". Well I don't feel too at ease for that. But what I choose to point out it not that other language to English is often brutalised, but the other way around. My company Prosperity Research has a publishing arm www.SO-U.TV. This is a multi language portal and I, being English only speaking, never get to see the translations into Chinese. It is a constant worry to me that 1.2 billion Chinese persons are getting a giggle from my site because some beautiful English phrase came out all wonky when translated. Arrogance is a luxury none of us can afford when working in the global economy. In Asia there is said to be 16 key countries with 17 languages. There is bound to be a slip up occasionally -- be kind.


Sharing


Running a Social Network Marketing and video production company has taught me many things. Mostly to share and make the mos of the generosity of others when available. The margins are slim and the days are long -- take a break when you can. I have formed a number of alliances with others in the field and we routinely share content and footage with each other. After all why send two crews to shoot the same shots??? If you have more than one camera GET A DIFFERENT SHOT AND SHARE!! The personality of most shots come out in post production so why waste the budget lining up with so many other cameras taking the same pictures? Today I saw the perfect example of this silliness. At a very very small coffee shop 5 identical HD cameras were lined up to take the same shot of the same event. 10 people, 5 cameras, 1 shot -- you do the math. I got more than a chuckle out of this, the true pleasure was that it dripped with irony. You see the reason the cameras were there was because a semi famous performer was to draw a crowd and attract customers. But by the time 10 people and 5 cameras spread out there was no room or view for any guests -- truly outrageous. I believe in the digital world everything is public and that the only thing we really can call our own is the creativity we contribute. So step down and let the people see the show.

Our Magnificent Year

We lost 1.7 million in 4 months and we are very happy. 1.7 million Alexa points that is. Setting a record growth pattern and spending nothing on advertising, pay per click or links. Our Social Network Marketing model is 3 years ahead of the industry. And this reflects only between 1/10 and 1/20th of the total views of our content! Contact us at +852 28920804 or dwhite@prosperity-research.com to shed those points now.

200,000 attend Mini Cooper Launch party – BMW invited a couple of hundred people but we invited 200,000 fans to take part in the launch excitement. This is easily the greatest ROI for any marketing campaign by BMW; Prosperity Research broadcast the event across the internet giving passionate party loving Mini fans a chance to embrace the brand!!! Social Network Marketing at its best! Contact us at info@prosperity-research to let us help at your next party.

In a city were champagne is as common as tap water, Prosperity Research took you places the high heeled dare not tread. We viewed protests at Queen’s pier, vegetable tosses and trash fashion shows at the wet market, high altitude marathon runs and deep water swims, pet shows and spectacular outdoor art extravaganzas. We showed you the breadth of Hong Kong – who we really are, proud, active and adventurous. So leave the party frock in the wardrobe and get a little sweaty with http://www.SO-U.TV/. Contact us at info@prosperity-research.com if you have an exceptional event.

Big move and lots of dust for us in 2007. We doubled out size and remodelled twice to accommodate our rapid growth. From our humble beginnings in Wan Chai to our spacious venue in Sheung Wan we continue to expand out size and expertise to continuously offer our clients leading edge solutions to maximise ROI and WOW their customers.

Friends around the world came aplenty this last year. From New York to Riyadh we formed alliances with production companies and creative agencies to ensure our customers receive the most professional service delivery possible.