HKTDC’s Hong Kong Trader asked me for my social media predictions in their article The Power of Social Media recently. Check out the full article which also has some wise words from Tom Tobin at Visa Hong Kong and Macau and Jonathan Liu from Moonlight Marketing.
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Here are my two cents…
Visual Presence
Taura Edgar, founder of Hong Kong-based digital marketing company Digital Devotee, has worked on social media campaigns for major companies, including Asia Miles. “We worked with Asia Miles to create a customer service focus on their newly launched social-media platforms last year. Digital Devotee was the key digital consultant working with Asia Miles’ loyalty agency, ICLP, formulating its social media customer-service capabilities: from hiring and training the staff, to setting guidelines and implementing systems.”
Ms Edgar says that some of the best social media content she sees is on Instagram, which encourages original photography. This is an initiative that could work particularly well for the gift sector, which could use the site to showcase its products. “We are visual animals, and if you have a brand that lends itself to visual marketing, this is a space for you to express your style and personality while engaging new audiences.” For those that remain unconvinced that Instagram is the right tool for them, Ms Edgar recommends checking out such unexpected Instagram participants as General Electric.
Ms Edgar also sees steady growth in customer-service functions across social media in Asia, though she adds that it is still lagging behind such markets as the United States and Europe. “Providing service is one of the best customer retention tools you have and well worth the investment, so go where they are, and make yourself available. Air Asia, for example, gives many options via its “ask” function,” she notes.
Before devising a social media programme, Ms Edgar urges companies to invest heavily in content creation and make themselves available for two-way conversations with customers. She also advises embracing the live chat element, which she sees as an emerging trend. “As we all become bigger users of things like WeChat and WhatsApp, they will further develop their commercial functionality, making it easier for service providers to use.”
She also believes that cross-platform marketing will also be on the rise. She offers the example of brands taking advantage of such tools as Pinterest and its new ability to show users when their pinned product’s price drops, based on a change at the brand’s website.
