Social media: all talk, no action?
Social media is certainly all the rage at the moment, but while most in marcomms land seems to be talking about it, not too many Kiwi businesses appear to be following up on all that chatter, if the results from the CAANZ Digital Leadership Group (DLG) survey from December 2009 are anything to go by.
The online survey of 166 New Zealand businesses and marketing professionals by the DLG and Nielsen showed their attitudes towards and involvement in social media marketing. And the results confirmed the need for a greater focus on social media. See the results for yourself and download the DLG Social Media Survey Report.
In response to the demand for more knowledge in this realm, the DLG have organised a forum featuring local and international speakers who will share their insights on harnessing the commercial power of social media. The first event on Thursday is sold out, and while no other events have been scheduled yet, the DLG hopes to arrange another speaker event later this year with Dell’s Andy Lark, who was unable to attend the event on Thursday.
If you work in a business in New Zealand and would like to take part in the next social media survey in this series please email dean@caanz.co.nz We will hold your email address and use it to send you a link to that survey.
the young blood
March 9, 2010
This is why the marketing world needs to put more faith in youth. I haven't met a senior creative, nor a senior marketing manager, who was at ease working in a social media environment. But to those who grew up with it, it's second nature. Sadly, the majority of brands remain firmly guarded by wrinkly old pairs of hands.
As a young creative, with a quarter of the salary needs of a senior creative, in a world emerging from a recession, it feels like there's never been a better time for a bunch of us kids to break away from the boredom and clutter and start our own social media agency. But would the clients come?
Absolutely not. Which is why the social media landscape in this country is so barren.
Jono
March 9, 2010
It was sold out because Andy Lark was coming… now its just a let down
Dave
March 9, 2010
There are a couple very vocal 'gurus' and 'experts' that claim to be at the forefront of social media marketing in New Zealand. But have we actually seen any real case studies that can prove really this?
the young blood
March 9, 2010
There are plenty of clever people marketing themselves through social networking every day. Embarrassingly, most of them are bands, artists and small, media savvy start-ups.
Mainstream marketing is proving a little slow on the catch up.
But, you could check out the Smirnoff Nikolai campaign as an example of the kind of brand loyalty you can generate with social media. Shame WRC doesn't exist anymore.
Mike
March 10, 2010
Everyone's an expert because everyone uses it, perfect for hundreds of those Gen Y twits to set up shop and claim expertise because they have 200 twitter followers and 500 facebook friends.
Wrinkly hands tend to hold more control, simply because they earned it and have experience.
Most of them probably wore wayfarers and neon the first time around.
Have patience, gain some experience and eventually you'll see why they don't jump on every trend.
Nikolai was the work of experienced wrinkly hands.
Jenny Wilmshurst - Tweet Twins Social Media, Auckland
March 17, 2010
The Young Blood – never seen an older person right at home with Social Media?
Cripes, meet us then! We're youthful 40 & 50 something's. Marketing background? Yes I do. AV – yes he (the other Twin) does. Pretty cool stuff too!
Boy oh boy do we have passion! And we have results from the trenches years before the hype.
It helped some agency executives Love to help more.
BTW Gen Y – socially using Social Media differs from Social Media for business. Boomers/Gen X marketing wisdom and Gen Y agility are a fine team – use them. A next stage in the journey for some…
Kevin Andreassend
March 17, 2010
I find this article and comments of interest and would like to add some real life street experience from a small business perspective. We are based in NZ and use social media exclusively to punch far above our weight into niche markets in Brazil, Malta, Portugal, UAE, Russia, UK, Sweden, Argentina, Australia to name a few in the technology sphere.
My company and various brands bring to the international market a range of patented technologies and solutions. This revolves around the display technologies, think daytime projection, holographic imaging, 3d monitors, glassless 3d monitors, flexible led curtain screens and F1 simulation and more recently interactive touch such as the multi touch concept. In the last 12 months our inquiries are probably (NZ) 1:20 (offshore) if not higher. We have for 2010 cancelled all traditional media advertising in NZ and now exclusively use social media to demonstrate our products, to verify all international queries, identify all potential resellers with forensic social media tactics, locate influencers, identify industry authorities. We use forums, articles, youtube, twitter and many others etc extensively to ensure remote customers will find us. I occupy numerous front positions on google for daytime projection, a search on Kevin Andreassend will show I am on many sites and growing, to ensure that my unseen market views our company and myself as an authority and an expert no matter where they are located. Today I have companies around the world who will send me $1000's of dollars for products prior to them yet being manufactured. These range from small one person companies to some of the world's leading companies. I do not run the traditional marketing campaign etc but go in for strategic street level sniper rifle tactics. I have seen this result in numerous companies – all overseas seek to represent my company in their respective markets and countries. The pendulum has also swung the other direction where very significant technology companies in my sphere with their respective patents now seek me out so that I will take their products thru our reseller chain.
A few weeks ago i gave a brief presentation at a technology startup meetup here in Auckland and was asked "why have we not heard about you before" as I described our science fiction type technology, much to their captive interest, …my polite reply was because we have concentrated on the offshore market and its those who we want will know about what we do and have not been to active ensuring mainstream media knows about us, though certainly the various industries we are active in NZ know who we are.
I use social media tool to determine what i will tell you, how genuine you are, to understand who you are, who you are connected and known to, and the likely hood of a sale. I will use it to determine the
I use social media to get our technology and solutions into control rooms in Brazil, street front stores in Russia, to TV studios in USA, telcos in Singapore, to surgical operating theatres in NZ and all places in between.
If you visit http://www.simdeck.com or http://www.iqrite.com and check out the Cluster visitor map …many of those little red dots represent a client or a customer we have sent a quotation to.
My use of Social Media and an understanding of its potential has led me to establishing a SM consultancy partnership with Jenny Wilmshurst under the brand of TweetTwins. Now days I find many biz owners who express a strong interest to learn some of the techniques I use and so they can adopt them into their own bottom line. If you like I walk the talk, does that make me an expert or a "guru" – doubt it…I have no ego that needs a title, but i know how to leverage bitly, youtube and box net to gauge what you are thinking from the other side of the world 60 minutes after I send you an email reply.
I do see many people out there set themselves up as a consultant based on their knowledge of the various SM platforms or their early adoption. For me though its about pulling in a $1000 order based on a 5 minute video on youtube, or watching a video or photo you post, knowing that i can add value to what you might be doing.
I will use SM to to determine what your building looks like, how long you have worked in your present company, your interests, what you look like and to discover what you are not telling me.
For me its not about how many followers I have but how many foreign companies will ring or email for my advice or products and a shipment of real hardware, and in many cases I never even see the hardware as it drop ships to somewhere around the world form one of my manufacturing locations somewhere else in the world.
Any way thats my tweetsworth, and hope it adds to the conversation. @simdeck @ tweettwins @iqrite
MickG
March 18, 2010
It's interesting. So many of my clients want to embrace social media – but in order to do so they need to make a fundamental organisational change by finding someone who can communicate proactively and regularly. So often in business the focus is all about marketing – I reckon moving forward it's all about communication.