Yesterday I was interviewed by Yvonne Nicholson, Business Communications Consultant with ROCommunications Jamaica and Jamaica Observer columnist on Why businesses fear social media. Her column was published today in the Jamaica Observer and I was quoted a couple of times. You can read the article here “Why businesses fear social media”.
It reminded me also that I had written a similar blog post on this same issue November last year “The Number 1 reason Jamaican companies are scared of Social Media”. So I decided to update it, add a case study I usally talk about in my workshops and repost it below:
Social Media and all its multiple touch points (Blogs, Twitter, Facebook, social networks,share buttons and Forums) scares some Jamaican companies and a few Caribbean ones too. They are afraid to put their company, its products and services up to public scrutiny. “What do we do when we get negative comments ?” This is the most popular response I’ve heard over the last year from some company executives as they’ve assumed that is all they will happen when they “put themselves out there”. The two other typical responses have been “Why do we have to be so directly connected to people online ? ” , and “Ok ok so if we are really going to place ourselves out there who is going to manage it ?”
Popularity: 46% [?]
Digicel launched a new online game – the Digicel BlackBerry Bonanza – for the over 184,000 fans on the Digicel Facebook fan page two weeks ago and to date it has had over 50,000 plays. The goal of the Flash based game that was developed by PanMedia- is to try to place ten BlackBerry smartphones in a holster in fifty seconds or less to qualify to move on to the next round. In round two, fans are faced with a maze of BlackBerry, Digicel, math and word-related multiple-choice questions. Players in the Digicel BlackBerry Bonanza have a chance to win daily and weekly prizes of Digicel call credits and BlackBerry® Bold™ 9700 smartphones. To date Digicel’s Facebook fan Page has over 180,000 Fans, the largest so far of any Caribbean Brand.
Popularity: 34% [?]
Do you still need a reason to come up with a social media strategy? New data shows an important shift in web traffic patterns.
Remember last year’s big news about the power of social connection: that friends could make you fatter, happier, and even sexier? Whether you’re a believer or not, new data now says friends will make you visit websites that may make you any of the above.
According to analysis firm Compete, Facebook is now the top source of traffic to entertainment and news portals, besting even the ubiquitous Google. It may sound like just another data point in the ocean, but it hints that the good old days of search may be gone – replaced by the power of a person’s social network to determine what sites are worth a visit.
Popularity: 1% [?]
I remember when I had just started to grow my then web development company Dutchpot Interactive from 2003-2006. We enjoyed brisk business primarily because of our customer service, design talents and our keen understanding of the business context of why companies must be online. In house at our Seymour Park digs we had a team of 7 people. We won new business, we won retainers with corporate companies the whole nine yards.
Then things changed.
Popularity: 2% [?]
Mobile Mania: Maybe the only marketing trend that is hotter than social media is mobile mania. Why? Globally there are four-times more cellphones than PCs worldwide. Locally, the mobile penetration is 100% in Jamaica. Generally it’s the favorite product of Gen Y. Factually, worldwide 130 billion texts will be sent a month. And I could go on and on but you’ll have to start paying me for that info. LOL.
So whether it’s mobile payments; mobile banking; mobile remittances; creating a Mobile App for a client, offering customers mobile coupons or text message campaigns; mobile loyalty programmes; the ability to build their fanbase and community – 2010 is going to be Mobile Marketing’s big year in Jamaica, the Caribbean and Globally – Are you in on or will it pass it you by?
Why 2010? What’s different in 2010?
-The phones are smarter.
- the networks are faster.
- an open development ecosystem is leading to faster innovation, deployment of ideas.
- and digital marketing and mobile agencies have built up a solid knowledge base of what works.
Popularity: 5% [?]
At a time when there are few news organizations with the capital to put reporters on the ground in Haiti, social media is helping to fill the gap with information and financial relief for victims of the earthquake.
Popularity: 1% [?]
(New to Me) I can’t remember where I saw Jamdowndigital but it caught my eye. I’ve been so tired of seeing music and entertainment sites that throw free music videos and free songs your way with no true road to sustainability i.e..profitability. Hence it was damn refreshing to see someone offering a service and charging for it.The well thought and designed site is a contender and yes a competitor to PuKSHOP.
Popularity: 5% [?]
