Why the slow take off of Social Media Marketing in Singapore?/ What can I do with social media?

Why the slow take off in Social Media Marketing in Singapore?

Not enough success stories

Marketers like to adopt the wait and see attitude. When budget is of the issue, Marketers try not to commit wholeheartely onto social media until they are very sure that the ROI is substantial. The lack of success stories makes it more difficult for social media marketing to take off in a big manner.

No reputable social media agencies

There are alot of established advertising, PR and online agencies. However, in the realm of social media, there issn't any reputable social media agencies that are championing social media marketing. We saw alot of  reputable agencies & gurus in US paving way for this discipline. However, this is not so much the case in Singapore. Even the number of social media gurus in Singapore is limited to no more than 10, in my opinion.

Fear of change

As mentioned, there is an ongoing debate about traditional media vs new media and how marketers have gotten used to using traditional modes of communications. In the larger scheme of things, most corporations and key managements executives are comfortable with status quo and the fear of change is always embeded into their strategic intent. Hence, they are not convinced to use such platforms for a fear of change and uncertainty.

Not enough research done on social media

There are not many empirical studies done on social media and the effects of advertising on such platforms. I believe the use of social media will only get better when there are many more primary research done on social media.

What can I do with social media?

There are essentially alot of ways to use social media. Below are just some reasons -

Brand building

Brand building is a long term effort and commitment. It taps on all communications platforms and touchpoints we have with consumers. With the increased in internet usage and social media, it is essential that we make use of social media like facebook and twitter to build the equity of our brand.

Promote a new product or service

Needless to say, alot of marketers are using social media to promote and sell a new product. With the cost of traditional media going up, social media becomes a relatively cheaper platform to reach out to our customers.

Event marketing

When social media becomes a way of life,  we are being 'tagged' whereever we go and what else could be a better way to highlight our events than posting pictures of event that happened and/or inviting people to an upcoming event.

Conversational marketing and business relationship marketing

Brands need to personalify themselves to engage customers. By talking to our customers regularly, brands become a part of consumers life, akin to our good friends whom we communicate on the social media.

Customer service relations

Brands like Starhub used twitter as part of their customer service tool.   When consumers know that giving feedback is instantaneous and received almost immediately, they are assured that the comments are registered and taken into consideration. Frustrations are reduced as they know that the communication process is shortened.

Public relations

Social media PR is a new area that most publicist and PR folks are contesting. The various stakeholders are also using social media and hence it is imperative to operate our PR efforts on such channels as well. To me, this is an exciting field to challenge.

Gather feedback for product development & research

Social media could be a channel to gather direct feedback on new products and design.