Author Archives: Jan Wong

My 1000 Awesome Things: Hard Work Paid Off

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In case you’re wondering – this site also reveals part of my happenings in life, injecting a little bit more flavour to the site as a whole; something lighter than the usual information dosage, especially for the weekend :)

Opening Ceremony of MOFEW 2011

After months of preparation, the largest gathering of online fashion entrepreneurs (MOFEW) was launched on the 11.11.11 and attracted about 30,000 visitors over 3 days at the Mid Valley Exhibition Centre.

Though the turnout wasn’t what we expected to be but working together with PayPal, Amber Chia Academy, Global Entrepreneurship Week (GEW) and the Deputy Minister of Higher Education was an invaluable experience.

Not to forget the project team members that made everything possible. I’m greatly indebted to all of them :)

Awesome!

1000 Awesome Things is initiated by Neil Pasricha and I’m simply sharing my own 1000 awesome things to remind myself of how awesome life can be if we pay attention to the small yet awesome things in life.
What is that awesome thing that happened in your life today?

Are Businesses Today Still After Zombies?

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The past month was a very interesting yet busy one. One of my companies, OpenMinds Resources underwent a complete overhaul with the establishment of a new team; launched the largest gathering of online fashion entrepreneurs (MOFEW) in Malaysia for the 2nd time and published a research paper in the recent Global Communications Conference (GCA). These events allowed me to speak to many students, business owners and academicians from all over Malaysia and when told that I help businesses position their brand online using social media platforms, the immediate question would be:

“How many fans / likes can you guarantee?”

My answer: “None.”

You can imagine the shock and horror written on their faces. But it is true – no one can guarantee the number of likes or followers on your Facebook / Twitter page and here’s two simple reasons why:

#1: Followers are human

And because they are human, anything and everything can be a reason to follow / unfollow you. It could be personal preferences, peer pressure, trend, curiosity, to win something, to lodge a complaint, to spy, to learn and yes, even by accident.

#2: Even if they could guarantee, they’re zombies

Given all these situations, how do some social media gurus out there guarantee, you ask? Simple. They are bought and this is no longer something new. Anyone can purchase hundreds or thousands of followers at a very affordable rate and most of these followers are either real, involuntary followers (bad), bots (worse) or fake accounts (worst) – and all 3 will not benefit you.

Before you click away in disbelief, here’s one of my favourite fan-purchasing experiment I’ve read on AllFacebook.com:

Fake accounts with fake pictures

fake facebook accounts. source: AllFacebook

 

On a serious note…

While you may want to have a huge fan / follower base across social media platforms, getting guaranteed fans is merely instant gratification. If you’re serious in growing your business using social media, forget about locating a social media specialist / consultant / guru / master that will guarantee you followers. You do not want a horde of zombies following you anyway. Last I checked, zombies aren’t sociable.

Brand Focus #10: A Grouposal and 4 things Marketers Can Learn From It

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The proposal on Groupon Malaysia

Okay, this isn’t exactly a brand but it won my vote for being innovative – this guy proposed to his girlfriend using Groupon.

How did it work? He ‘sold’ himself by publishing his deal on Groupon Malaysia, knowing that his girlfriend checks Groupon on a daily basis. The deal garnered almost 48,000 ‘buys’ which indicated the support he received for the proposal. The girl said “Yes”.

4 things Marketers can learn from this proposal:

#1: Know your target audience

How many marketers out there actually sit down to really understand their target audience? I ask this because it is tough. Many businesses out there want to expand too soon, without thoroughly understanding their existing audience and it goes beyond just demographics. What are their behavioral patterns online? What are their interest? The closer you get the better it gets, just like how the guy knew the girlfriend checks out Groupon every morning without fail.

#2: Don’t limit your marketing tools even before it starts

A common scenario
Client: I want a Facebook campaign.
Marketer: Sure! Let’s do one.

I must admit I fall into that once in a while too, simply because it is the easy way out. However the real question to ask is: Will _________ be THE effective tool? Could there be a better tool out there that your target audience is using? Many pick Facebook / Twitter simply because it has a huge user base. But let’s face it – how many will actually participate in your marketing campaign? Think of other tools that can make your campaign fun and memorable outside of the usual Facebook.

#3: Get people talking

Mark Hughes in his book Buzz Marketing says that there are 6 buttons to get people talking (buzz): the taboo, the unusual, the outrageous, the hilarious, the remark-able and the secrets. In the case of the Grouposal, it is the unusual – and it generated more than 6,000 shares on Facebook alone. How’s that for a proposal? Give your campaign an angle that people can talk about.

#4: Be on the look out for opportunities to promote

Ridding the hype

Sometimes you do not need to create your own successful marketing campaigns – you can hitch a ride on the hype. Traditionally, marketers rely on festive seasons such as Christmas, New Year’s, Halloween and etc to market themselves. What about weddings, birthdays, anniversaries or proposals such as the above? This hair salon saw the opportunity to promote themselves using this proposal that was stirring much buzz.

See the Grouposal here

What do you think of this Grouposal? Is there anything else that can make a better campaign?

14 Attributes for Your Entrepreneurial Success from Silicon Valley Icons

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What makes a great entrepreneur? Is it the skills, the mindset, or perhaps the money? So I had a golden opportunity to attend a 2-day conference – Silicon Valley Comes to Malaysia and this conference brought together many great entrepreneurs including Shawn Fanning (co-founder of Napster), Jawed Karim (co-founder of YouTube), Jeff Hoffman (co-founder of Priceline.com), Konstantin Guricke (co-founder of LinkedIn), Naval Ravikant (founder of AngelList), Jonas Kjellberg, Paul Bragiel and many more to encourage and assist local entrepreneurs here in their endeavors.

Silicon Valley Comes to Malaysia

The two-day conference was filled with power packed sessions and the opportunity to network and build relationships with other entrepreneurs was amazing. I even bumped into Krystle (@mskrys) from Twylah for the first time beyond the avatar.

Okay, enough talking. Let’s (finally) dive into the 14 attributes of how you can make it as an entrepreneur I took home from the Silicon Valley icons themselves:

#1: Codes are the new literacy.

You cannot afford to be technologically illiterate when the world is now built on codes. Learn to code!

#2: Do something that can accelerate and you like.

Start something that is scale-able. Not because of the money, but because it is your passion.

#3: Know what your customers want.

Never get your friend to test your product. Go to the customers.

#4: Given a choice and a limited budget, spend on marketing, NOT an office.

You want to have an office like Google but that can wait. Focus on growing your business first.

#5: You cannot do this alone. Get a co-founder.

You’ll definitely need help. If not for extra hands, you’ll need him / her for morale support.

#6: You’re not as smart as you think you are.

The day you think you’re smart, that’s when you grow otherwise. Listen to what others have to say.

#7: Surround yourself with people smarter than you.

Don’t get intimidated by smarter people. You WANT smarter people to work with you.

#8: Play the role you play best and let others do theirs.

Never designate a role that others can’t play their “A” game in.

#9: Build your team around their goals. Not yours.

Have your team know what they want to achieve and work towards their goal. Support is important.

#10: Document your failure.

Never brush a failure aside thinking you’ve learnt from it. Get to it and examine the cause of the failure.

#11: Don’t hire resumes. Hire character and integrity.

Past experiences do not matter. Hire based on who they are and their contribution.

#12: Don’t change the work to fit the people. Your people should fit a specific business objective.

Don’t change your objectives because of your team. Have your team fit into your objectives.

#13: You will fail. More than once. Get over it!

Failure is a part of life. What makes you think you wouldn’t?

#14: Compile data, connect the dots and ask the big question – “What can I do today that I couldn’t yesterday?”

Be aware of what’s happening outside your comfort zone. Look out for opportunities that wasn’t made available yesterday.

My favorite – Q: “What is the secret to success?” A: “When you’re busy looking for that, I was busy working for it”.

Which of the above resonates with you the most?

What Makes A Good Social Media Network Platform?

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clash of social media platforms

A lot has happened in the online sphere lately. The introduction of Google+, the long delayed Twitter Analytics and recently, all the debate on the new Facebook features and layout. In the past we’ve seen the rise (and fall) of Friendster, MySpace, High5 and many other social networking sites. Why did they grow cold? I don’t know about you but as I read through different reviews, complaints and compliments, I realized that everyone have different feelings towards either platforms and a question popped up in my head:

What Do You Look For in A Social Media Network Tool or Platform?

Could it be… Apps?

The games on Facebook, the add-ons on LinkedIn, the 3rd party apps on Twitter. Is the flexibility of the platform a reason of your choice?

Could it be… the number of Users?

“800 million users on Facebook and growing, that’s the place to be!”

Could it be… the Cool factor?

“Because everyone is there and all my friends have it, I’ve got to be there else I’m not cool.”

Could it be… Privacy?

Or would you prefer something more controlled such as Twitter’s protected Tweets?

Could it be… the Diversity of Content?

The ability to post / share / read text, images and videos (and location?).

Could it be… Mobility?

Something that you can easily manage on mobile such as check-ins, text in 140 characters, something that requires less maneuvering on-the-go.

Could it be… Advertising opportunities?

Perhaps Facebook appeals to you more because you are given the option to advertise?

Could it be… the Analytics?

The ability to keep track on what’s happening with your updates – the number of clicks, shares, visitors and etc.

What is it that you look for in a social media network tool? What makes you define a tool as ‘useful’ or ‘great’? I’d love to hear your thoughts :)

Entrepreneurs, Is Defense the Best Offense?

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A football coach was looking for a new player for their team. Along with his assistant, they went to scout for the perfect footballer for their team. After several sessions the assistant had his eye set on a player that jumped back unto his feet the moment he was knocked down – even after 3 times. “That’s the player we need”, he exclaimed. The coach simply replied “Get the player that knocked him down 3 times”.
– Anonymous

This short story came as a great and timely reminder for me. Preservation is important for entrepreneurs but the continuos spirit to overcome hurdles is vital. Often you hear stories of how entrepreneurs persevered and obtained success but what’s more important is to learn how did they break through challenges after challenges without getting tired.

Which player are you? Or rather, which entrepreneur are you?

One that is on the defense or one on the offense?

The Problem With Being A Human Brand by @MargieClayman

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This is a guest post by Margie Clayman (@MargieClayman), the director of client development at Clayman Advertising, her family-owned agency. She is the third generation of her family to work there! Margie is the community manager at 12most.com, the librarian at The Blog Library, and the resident blogger at MargieClayman.com.

When I was first reading about social media, which was in about 2007, the levels of excitement that were surrounding this brave new world was hard to contain. Although the technology was cool, what people in my sector of the business world were really excited about was that brands were becoming personal. With social media, you’re no longer just a customer who buys a certain laundry detergent.

Now you were a face, a name, and interests on that manufacturer’s facebook fan page or on that company’s Twitter account. The other side of the coin was that the company was no longer just a company. Maybe the Twitter account was managed by a person named Jill. Well, now you were buying your laundry detergent from Jill, and Jill was selling to you, a real person with a name and a personality.

What could be greater?

Fast forward to almost five years later and the world online is getting a bit more complicated. While it’s true that brands are becoming more personal, a few problems are starting to arise because of scale and because of human nature. All great things must come to an end, or at least, they have to change, right?

Oh no! I gave away all of my best work for free!

One thing that online brands are realizing is that in the effort to really get to know their customers, along with other companies, they gave a LOT of information away. All of those blog posts you’ve enjoyed reading over the last few years have essentially been people giving away their expertise. Sure, some sites have always had ads on them, but we all know that online ads are mostly good for branding, not for clicks. And besides, even if someone clicks on an ad on your site, they’re not really buying what you sell. They’re buying something that someone else is advertising on your site, right?

Now, a lot of people are wondering how they can push the rewind button on that decision. They want to start charging, or they want to start charging more. With such close contact to their customers, they are hearing about this a lot more often and with a lot more vitriol than might have been the case a few years ago. This is an increasingly big conundrum for online brands.

Oh no! I don’t really think you’re my customer!

Another problem brands are struggling with right now is the realization that a lot of people that they follow, or who are following them, are not really customers. They’re not even prospects. Heck, they might not even be competitors. In the race for online clout (yes, spelled with a c, not a k), people raced to get as many followers as possible without stopping to wonder, “Hey, would this person ever buy from me?”

Now, people who have thousands or hundreds of thousands of people in their online communities are wondering how to filter through all of those people to get to the ones who might actually help them grow their business. As we’ve seen over the last few weeks with the “great unfollowing of 2011,” this can cause a lot of misunderstanding and discomfort, as is the case with so many adjustments. Again, because brands and customers have been so closely intertwined for the last few years, the blowback to these evolutions can be pretty severe.

Oh no! You want me to respond to you right away!

This is perhaps the biggest problem haunting online brands right now. When a lot of brands moved online in 2008 or 2009, there were not nearly as many people online as there are now, and nobody really knew what they were doing. It was all unchartered waters. Brands could respond to requests, suggestions, or calls for help lickety split. Five years later, customers and/or prospects still carry that expectation.

We have been taught that social media enables brands to execute customer service better than ever before, and that response times should be in minutes, not hours. Due to scale, however, responding that quickly to everyone is no longer an option. If the person managing a brand’s account did nothing but respond to people all day, they still would miss someone, and that someone would likely vocalize discontent.

Oh no! How can we get out of this mess?

Well, that’s the million dollar question. It seems like just like in the business world, social media is moving to a scenario where the smaller and more flexible you are, the better off you might be. Could we be moving to a brand new model where fewer followers is the optimum mode of operation? Could we be moving to a world where blog content is gated and must be paid for? All of these changes are going to be very uncomfortable, and there is likely to be a lot of rather hostile discussion as social media grows up and evolves.

Then again, I could be totally and 100% completely wrong. What do you think about the future of brands online? Where are we headed, and where are we now?

My 1000 Awesome Things: Representing Your Country

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In case you’re wondering – this site also reveals part of my happenings in life, injecting a little bit more flavour to the site as a whole; something lighter than the usual information dosage, especially for the weekend :)

opening ceremony of igem 2011 @ KLCC

A week ago I was given the privilege to represent my country Malaysia as a delegate to the International Greentech & Eco Products Exhibition to share about how social media can be used to increase the level of awareness and participation among consumers in the green industry held at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre hosted by the Ministry of Energy, Green Technology and Water of Malaysia.

a picture with the other Asian delegates

It was an awesome (yet scary) opportunity as the sharing session was done among international delegates all over Asia, representing their country’s green ministry including Singapore, Thailand, Taiwan, Cambodia, Vietnam, Pakistan, Japan, Fiji, India and more.

What can I say about this but awesome?

AWESOME!

1000 Awesome Things is initiated by Neil Pasricha and I’m simply sharing my own 1000 awesome things to remind myself of how awesome life can be if we pay attention to the small yet awesome things in life.
What is that awesome thing that happened in your life today?

Brand Focus #9: Mobile and Facebook Integration for Your #SocialMedia Marketing Campaign [Carrefour Malaysia]

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In conjunction with one of Malaysia’s largest festive celebration the Hari Raya, Carrefour Malaysia launched an interesting marketing campaign using a combination of a free downloadable mobile app from the Apple AppStore and Facebook.

wholah campaign by carrefour malaysia

carrefour malaysia wholah social media marketing campaignThe app ‘Wholah’ requires the player to identify as many Facebook friends within 60 seconds to win different prizes including a can of Coke on their first play or subsequently a packet of Twisties or Oreos, all redeemable from any Carrefour outlet with no strings attached. To increase gameplay, the app also gave out in-game badges on different occasions.

If that isn’t enough, the campaign built towards a Tweetup, bringing the consumers together for a festive celebration together with the brand Carrefour.

3 Reasons Why Integration Matters for Your Next Social Media Marketing Campaign

#1: It Goes Beyond A Contest

Everyone can run a contest on social media platforms such as Facebook but not many can integrate a content into their marketing objective / brand message. The Wholah campaign took advantage of a festive season – also a season where shoppers flood hypermarkets to stock up for the festivity. A simple prize redemption method such as the requirement for players to come by and collect may in turn generate sales as consumers may just end up shopping at Carrefour since they’re already there.

#2: An Opportunity to Exercise the ‘Human’ in the Brand

Hari Raya celebrates the conclusion of the fasting month for Muslims and it is often celebrated with your family members. It is a time where children seek forgiveness from their parents and to celebrate as a family with great food. Using this fundamental concept, Carrefour became human by organizing a Raya Tweetup as a follow-up to the campaign, bringing the spirit of togetherness as the nation celebrates this joyous season.

#3: Easily Measureable

One of the main challenges businesses face when running marketing campaigns using social media is the ability to measure its effectiveness and conversion rates. Sure, there are tools out there to do the math but most of them comes back with an estimated figure. By having your social media marketing campaign tied to a offline business operation (such as the redemption of prizes), it will allow your business to determine the effectiveness of the campaign from the redemption rate – leading to other more accurate estimations on the increase of sales figures during the promotional period.

If you’re curious, check out the campaign’s microsite here

What do you think of the Wholah campaign? In what areas Carrefour Malaysia have succeeded / failed?

Watch Out! Are You Building A Frankenstein on #SocialMedia?

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Frankenstein somehow came out as an illustration in a recent discussion with a friend which I thought is a fitting example when it comes to creating a social media marketing campaign. How is it so?

5 Things to Consider When Building Your Next Social Media Marketing Campaign

Powering up the Frankenstein

1. Don’t build something you can’t power up!

Excited business owners and entrepreneurs often fall into the trap of building an idea fortress. You may have a grand scheme in mind but be aware of the time constraints, cost, knowledge, technical skills and practicality in making your plans a reality. Can it really be done with your current resources?

Always build a MVP – most viable product by first putting together what’s most important and practical to keep the costs down until you can afford something as big as a Frankenstein.

2. Watch your back!

Don’t let it haunt you in return. When Frankenstein came to life, it backfired and became a monster instead. Look out for loopholes in your marketing campaign that can bite you in return. It may be the terms and conditions, the sign up process, the voting process, the selection process or even the tools that you pick – you do not want to use a trial tool that ends before your marketing campaign ends!

A simple rule before launching your social media marketing campaign publicly is to test it and test it again!

3. Be innovative!

Frankenstein was created by stitching together different body parts. Your campaign can be created by stitching together different ideas from other marketing campaigns too! There really isn’t a need to reinvent the wheel for your campaigns. Understand existing concepts and inject your own flavor to make things different.

Be on a look out for great ideas both online and offline that you can implement in your next campaign.

4. Don’t build for your own pleasure!

Was there a need for Frankenstein to be created? Do the citizens of that time need Frankenstein? Not many people can create a new need like Steve Jobs did with the iPad. Build a campaign that your target audience would want to participate in. Don’t fall in the trap of building something cool just because the bigger companies are doing it. If your audience needs nothing more than a simple sweepstakes, so be it.

Always fall back to the basics: is this what my target audience wants? is my social media marketing campaign too complicated for them to participate? will there be any technological barriers?

5. Don’t give up!

Unlike Frankenstein, you do have an opportunity to make changes to adapt to the changing requirements of your target audience. Don’t give up when the marketing campaign did not progress as expected because you are dealing with humans and their preferences change from time to time. Take time to understand the flaws of your campaign and do better in the next.

Be reminded that your marketing campaigns are built for human participation therefore their preferences can affect your results.

Are you building a Frankenstein for your next social media marketing campaign?

What are your thoughts on building a social media Frankenstein?