Social Media for Entrepreneurs: An Introduction

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February 29, 2012

About two weeks ago I was invited to speak to 120 aspiring entrepreneurs at a workshop hosted by Prudential Malaysia under the RU Ready campaign, specifically targeted towards college / university students and young adults. It was an exciting opportunity as I always enjoy sharing with young people but yet a humbling experience to be speaking alongside two well established entrepreneurs, Candice Lee (Sales Director of Capital Asia Group) and Timothy Tiah (Co-founder of Nuffnang).

Speaking to young entrepreneurs always reminds me of the excitement of being an entrepreneur, especially when you’ve a new idea in mind. You just can’t stop thinking and talking about it with the intention to grow the idea and eventually commercializing it. However, any entrepreneur would tell you that the journey won’t be easy. It’ll be tough. That’s because…

Entrepreneurship isn’t science

One of the key attributes of an entrepreneur is to not fear failure, so much so that if you’re afraid of failing, you won’t cut it as an entrepreneur. It is a never ending journey of trial and error and what worked for Mark Zuckerberg or Steve Jobs may not work for you, simply because there’s no one fixed formula to success in entrepreneurship.

Similarly, there is no fixed formula to social media success

In the excitement of establishing a new business as an entrepreneur, many approach social media as if it is the cure to business problems or the formula to a successful business. The thing is, entrepreneurs must remember that building your social media presence is similar to building a business. It takes time, commitment and dedication that grows through time.

Social media can be part of the cure or formula, but never THE cure or formula

Social networks are a gift to entrepreneurs. It is only until the introduction of social networks that entrepreneurs are able to start at a faster pace. Think about it – you’ve resources on blogs, video content on YouTube, and a whole world to explore and to be in contact with potential investors, partners or buyers via Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.

Is there more?

This is the introduction to a 4-part series on social media for entrepreneurs so stay tuned for more!

[ Introduction | Part 1: The Basics | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 ]

Here are the slides to my sharing session at the workshop if you’re interested:

Social Media for Entrepreneurs

Quick access to the series:
[ Introduction | Part 1: The Basics | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 ]

The Credibility Curve, 2nd Impressions and Social Media

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February 27, 2012

| Jan Wong

I was listening to someone over the radio the other day speaking about sales on how the importance of building your credibility in your networks will attract more business opportunities. I wasn’t really paying attention at first and I suddenly thought:

“Hey, isn’t this true on social media networks too?”

If you take a look around, you’ll find many companies, businesses and individuals trying their very best to accumulate masses of fans. You know how it works – some put together promotions and contests requiring you to first “Like” their page or to “Share” with their friends, some go all out to build connections and to send personal invitations, some create a welcome page with a freebie to give away upon a “Like”, and some go by the shady way of just purchasing fans / followers.

Where am I getting at

Many tend to spend their time accumulating, amassing huge amount of fans by creating a very well polished, presentable and approachable first impression. It’s like walking into a newly opened cafe in town and the waiters are friendly. They greet you by name, start small talks and will even leave you something so that you’ll come by again. All these are great to have, however…

How many take note of creating a great 2nd impression?

It is very easy to start off something big but it is never easy sustaining its growth and its the same on social media. You see, being social does not end at having amassed 100,000 or 1,000,000 fans. In fact, whatever the number of followers are, that is only the beginning and here are 3 reasons why:

#1: You’re the new kid in town

Which also means that you’re probably one out of the many competitors out there doing the same thing.

A painful truth: Your followers may have “Liked” you only for the sake of winning that brand new gadget you offered as a prize.

What can you do: Show them you’re not just a pretty face. Give them reasons to remember or to talk about you in their personal networks. Leave them something to share and to take action of, keep them involved in one way or another.

#2: You’ve left them looking forward for more

Consumers have high expectations, especially when you’ve created an unforgettable first impression. They’ll want to experience it again, or more.

A painful truth: If you’re unable to keep up with their expectations on their 2nd experience with you, there’s a possibility that you’re out.

What can you do: Never, ever over promise beyond your means. Can you still fulfill that promise if you have 10, 100, 1000 or even 10000 customers? Go small, but strive to over deliver all the time. Ask yourself, “What else can I offer to create a better experience?”. Sometimes the key is not to create an extensive but a unique experience.

#3: You’ll be forgotten, soon

No matter how good the experience is, there’ll be a time where your customers will experience something better elsewhere and you’ll be forgotten.

A painful truth: They forget quicker online. Can you remember all the pages you’ve “Liked” on Facebook in the past? When was the last time you posted / interacted on a brand’s Facebook page?

What can you do: Don’t let the momentum of your launch campaign go down. Start putting out content that matters. It helps when you tell your fans what you want them to do or to even ask for suggestions on what you can do better. This may sound like common sense but the more people you get interacting, the more people will see your brand on their timeline.

So how is credibility related to this then?

Creating memorable experiences naturally breeds memorability towards your business. When that happens, a relationship is formed between you and your customer – because you’ve been there with them. It’s a feeling of familiarity, or trust. The reason why you say or think that social media isn’t working for you is because the perception of risk continues to supersede the perception of trust among your customers.

To make social media ‘work’, you’ll need build your credibility with your customers.

So if you haven’t already, remember,

2nd impression matters. It drives credibility.

Yes, even on Social Media.

Photo credit: Bob Gorrell

A Crawling Restaurant Experience @ The Hungry Hog

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January 11, 2012

| Jan Wong

It was my mum’s birthday last weekend and we decided to head to a nearby cozy local restaurant for a simple celebration dinner. It wasn’t our first time there so we ordered our usuals and all was well… until my dad started swinging his leg about. He stood up and lo and behold, a cockroach fell out of his trousers. Yes, it crawled into his trousers when we were eating. Disgusted, we decided to get the bill and leave.

Being concerned customers, we told the waiter (or what seemed like the boss) what happened and to my disbelief, she just shook her head saying:

“Sorry, it’s too bad. I just got in so I didn’t see what happened.”

Followed with the bill, with a 10% service tax and the usual 6% government tax.

What was she thinking!?

Now, we weren’t expecting a discount or a free meal but it would be nice if we got a (nicer) apology rather than a (very) poor excuse. While you’re nodding your head in agreement (I’m guessing you are), it’s amazing to see similar occurrences happening even on digital platforms. From the recent Paul Christoforo to Versace’s Facebook wall-closing incident, we can learn two things:

1. Treat your customers like customers. Sure, some customers can be a pain and customers are not always right but they’re still your customers. Did you know that for every 1 complaint received, there are 26 others that did not complain, making up to 10,000 dissatisfaction?

2. Avoiding the situation won’t make things better. In fact, it’ll get worse. In the case of Christoforo, let’s just say that his career is over. As for Versace, well, they got a whole lot of blasting themselves from fans and supporters.

With all that said, it is important for businesses today to remember that…

Customers today are social customers

They no longer are customers who purchase blindly and allows you to get away with things easily. The proof?

social media supporting consumer decision making in malaysia

click for larger image

Malaysians actually rely pretty heavily on social networks to receive advice prior to making a purchase. On top of that, 78% of the Malaysian internet population are on Facebook and 31% of them has a blog on Blogger (source: Nielson Research). This also means that if they don’t like you, there’s a 78% chance you’ll end up on their Facebook wall or in a blog post somewhere in the digital world.

What happens in the digital world? It gets worse

Not only the complaints are visible to potential customers, they are permanent. And since these content are user generated, you have no way of removing them. A well optimized complaint on a blog will probably guarantee frontage results across search engines. Same goes to negative reviews on FourSquare, Amazon, eBay or TripAdvisor and shared across Facebook and Twitter.

Think about it – would you really want that for your business? What if you’re able to turn that around to a positive testimonial instead? Wouldn’t that be good? I’m sure it is.

With an experience like that, will we go back there again? We won’t. Will you?

4 Social Media Predictions for Malaysia 2012

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January 6, 2012

| Jan Wong

2011 has been an amazing year in the digital realm. From the major Google Panda update somewhere in February 2011, to the design overhauls with major social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and even StumbleUpon, the introduction of Google+, the beta launch of Kred and the list goes on.

What excites me most is that more and more businesses are seen to be adopting and experimenting on social media, leading towards exciting times for both marketers and consumers alike in 2012 – a concrete indication that social networking is indeed changing the way we communicate, do business and definitely not a trend.

Having seen all that, have you wondered what 2012 would be like for social media? Here are my four (4) predictions of social media in Malaysia for 2012:

Prediction #1: Increased social media adoption among small business owners

Why: Social media campaigns have been prevalent in larger corporations throughout 2011. However, small businesses (known as Small-Medium Enterprises) makes up the largest business establishment in Malaysia with 99.2%, equivalent to 518,996 businesses in which the huge majority (86.5%) are in the services sector which includes retail, restaurant and wholesale businesses. (source: Census of Establishments and Enterprises 2005)

What does this mean: With larger corporations leading the way in 2011, the SMEs in Malaysia have tangibly seen the implementation and results of different online marketing campaigns and may emulate the success. On top of that, the nature of businesses in the services sector (especially B2C) can greatly reap the potential of social media networks.

If you’re a small business owner, here’s a bonus article on why your business benefits best on social media.

Prediction #2: Rise of social commerce

Why: Malaysians spent MYR 1.8 billion on online purchases back in 2010 . In 2011, there was a rise of e-commerce enabled websites (putting behind the usual blog layouts), electronic marketplaces (e.g. Mudah.my, AsiaAsiaMegastore.com), digital services (in government and private sectors alike), group buying sites such as Groupon and the recent opening of PayPal’s Global Operation Centre in Malaysia. To top it off, these businesses have been promoting their sites across social networking platforms using various methods with 94% of Malaysian online consumers using social networks as a guide to shopping (source: Nielsen Company).

Before and After E-Commerce Integration: Online Fashion Entrepreneur – Soul Chic (from the MOFEW community)

What does this mean: Businesses in Malaysia are beginning to recognize the importance of using electronic mediums while consumers are experiencing the convenience of online purchasing. Having that said, consumers may grow and continuously seek social proof or recognition from their peers and businesses when making a purchasing decision.

Prediction #3: Increased importance of social media integration in marketing campaigns

Why: Existing local business pages on Facebook have been using similar strategies in building their presence using various promotional campaigns such as sweepstakes or contests in which will continue to grow. Having said that, competition will increase having to attract the consumers’ attention which may lead to the need for more innovative or integrated social marketing campaigns to break out from the norm.

Local businesses such as the above video are already innovating to be different from their competitors.

What does this mean: As business competition increases across platforms, the demand and expectations among consumers also increases. This demand may act as a requirement benchmark in which businesses have to keep up (or surpass) with, whether it is the level of engagement, method of engagement or even the tools of engagement.

Prediction #4: The growth of mobile

Why: The growth of smart phone users in Malaysia is scary. A recent report by Nielsen’s online consumer survey in Malaysia revealed that the number of smart phone users are expected to rise from 48% to 89% within a year.

Thousands of people queuing at the launch of the iPhone 4s. Image source: www.yogaretnam.com

What’s even more interesting is that 83% of existing smart phone users are using free apps while 37% are on paid versions.

What does this mean: This suggests that the penetration rate of smart phone users are not as low we thought it has been and people with such devices ARE using mobile apps. We may be able to see a rise in the adoption of mobile driven / optimized websites, apps, mobile games or a wider use of quick response (QR) codes.

What do you think?

Brand Focus #11: Interactive Videos As A Social Media Marketing Campaign [Wing Heong]

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January 4, 2012

| Jan Wong

The local dried barbecue meat industry in Malaysia has always been competitive especially when the Lunar New Year is around the corner as it is commonly made as gifts during the festive season. The delicacy producers, however, have been relying on traditional promotional methods over and over again – television commercials, radio commercials, print ads, in-store promotions, roadshows to popular shopping malls, giving out free samples and etc until recent.

The Change

Wing Heong, one of the producers of this delicacy decided to make a change. A change in which was told (after the campaign) that yielded unexpected results and a visible increase in sales – all through a single interactive video (as below) shared primarily on Facebook.

My first reaction was: “Whoa! This is REALLY smart!” and I instantaneously shared it. The thing is, I wasn’t the only one.

Here are three (3) important aspects to learn from this interactive video social campaign:

#1: One size cannot fit all… Know who you’re targeting

The barbecue dried meat has been a delicacy for years especially among the Chinese community during the Lunar New Year. This product has been popular among the older generation and Wing Heong wanted to go beyond that – to also reach the younger (tech savvy) generation of today which led to the development of this campaign. If you would to think about it, a full-fledged digital campaign may not be able to reach their existing (more mature) customers as there’s a digital divide – it was a risk they were willing to take which leads to my next point…

#2: To know them well… And use the right approach

“We came out with the Superhero character called ‘Yok Man’ to represent the new generation and to rebrand Wing Heong so it would be perceived as a young and vibrant brand as opposed to a traditional brand.” – Wilson Pee, creator of the interactive video campaign

Wing Heong took time to understand their audience. They knew they needed to be different from their competitors who were also using digital animation to reach out to the consumers. They created an animated character that was closely representing kungfu legend Yip Man that was made popular in a recent Hong Kong made movie, a movie the local Chinese were able to identify to easily.

On top of that, the fictional storyline is closely knitted to Malaysia and the introduction of another popular local delicacy, the Seremban Siew Pau (baked dumpling) to draw a greater relation with the Malaysian-Chinese target audience.

#3: Drive them home… By giving them something to remember you by

Marketers understand the importance of creating memorability with their consumers. Visuals and content are both important and great but what makes a campaign memorable? With a young and engaging story line in place, the creators of the Wing Heong campaign allowed their target audience to actively interact with the characters itself by punching in commands to assist ‘Yok Man’ in defeating his enemies.

The Results

This interactive video garnered 565,792 views to date, shared over 131,000 times and “Liked” over 243,000 times on Facebook.

If an average Facebook user has 130 friends, the video and the name ‘Wing Heong’ has potentially reached more than 17 million impressions on the most popular social network in Malaysia. Sure, anyone can create an interactive video and it may garner even more views but what made Wing Heong’s campaign standout wasn’t just the video but the ingredients and groundwork behind it that made it work.

The combination of the above made the character ‘Yok Man’ into an immediate icon simply because the consumers are now able to identify a kungfu legend and an engaging story line to the brand.

Social Media Integration Framework

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December 5, 2011

| Jan Wong

Social media is no longer something mysterious to businesses and the number of businesses integrating and accepting social media as part of their branding and marketing efforts are increasing as time passes. The question is – how many of them are successful in doing so? Business and social media experts generally agree that social media works when it is done right – through understanding your target audience, actively engaging and to be human when interacting.

The Problem

Having that said, why do businesses still find it difficult to integrate social media into marketing strategies? With so many businesses all around the world hopping unto different social media platforms fighting for attention from the consumers, how can organizations today engage the target audience effectively?

With these questions in mind, I decided to write a research paper and to propose a Social Media Integration Framework to assist organizations (brands) when integrating a social media strategy. The research is split into two different parts where Part 1 is merely the preliminary stages of the framework (i.e. planning and design); while Part 2 will be an in-depth research upon the actual implementation / execution of the planned social media strategy.

Here’s the proposed Social Media Integration Framework:

The framework is basically a walkthrough of different phases for organizations that are looking at integrating social media that spans from identifying the objectives to the actual launch. It is meant to be a guide for marketers / decision makers on how to go about integrating social media to better their chances in being successful by ensuring the strategy produced covers the important aspects.

To test the importance of having a clearly defined social media strategy, this research compared three (3) different organizations of similar criterias:
1. from the FMCG industry;
2. have an existing social media presence quantified by a minimum of 45,000 Facebook fans and minimum page views of 500,000 – 1,000,000 monthly
3. have their social media goals derived from not more than 1% of existing traffic
4. looking to increase fan base, page views and engagement with their target audience

These organizations utilized different social media strategies where:
Company A – had no specific social media plan / strategy with a simple microsite
Company B – had a specific target audience with a product based microsite with Facebook sharing
Company C – had a specific target audience, Facebook contest microsite with sharing and online banners
Note that Company A has no social media strategy in place where Company B and C has a social media strategy derived from a process that resembles the proposed framework

The Findings

From the findings above, it is seen that Company A struggled to meet their goals while Company B and C surpassed them. As seen in Company C, a well planned strategy and by being relevant to the target audience can in turn generate a larger response and level of participation. This may very well indicate that consumers are likely to participate with a brand should it be relevant to them.

This can be done by first identifying the objective(s) of brand in integrating social media, identifying the target audience and the relevant channel(s) before even attempting on putting together a strategy as illustrated in the diagram above.

What’s Next?

This preliminary research only indicates the importance of having a well defined social media strategy in today’s businesses to maximize the level of participation with your target audience. Part 2 of the research will be looking at Part 2 of the model, the relationship between the content and the audience and an introduction to methods of monitoring social media efforts.

It will take a while before Part 2 of the research is done so hang in there!

If you’re interested in this research and would like to receive a copy of the research paper, simply leave your details below and I’ll personally drop you an email with it! On top of that, you’ll be informed when Part 2 is ready :)

Note: the academic research paper entitled “Social Media Integration Framework in the Creation of Brand Strategy: Preliminary Stage” is written by Jan Wong & Albert Quek and was presented at the Global Communications Conference 2011, expected to be published in 2012.

Are Businesses Today Still After Zombies?

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November 24, 2011

| Jan Wong

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 2^nd 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

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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November 21, 2011

| Jan Wong

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

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?

What Makes A Good Social Media Network Platform?

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October 1, 2011

| Jan Wong

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 :)

The Problem With Being A Human Brand by @MargieClayman

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September 26, 2011

| Jan Wong

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?