ThoughtBuzz

The buzz about Lady Gaga’s controversial concert in Manila

Thu, 24 May 2012 15:55:00 +0800

The buzz about Lady Gaga’s controversial concert in Manila

Find out which American Idol finalist has the highest share of...

Wed, 23 May 2012 01:19:56 +0800

Find out which American Idol finalist has the highest share of voice in social media!

Infographic: The Most Famous Avenger in Social Media (Data...

Wed, 02 May 2012 22:24:32 +0800

Infographic: The Most Famous Avenger in Social Media

(Data captured from 25 April to 1 May, country-specific to the Philippines)

Measure your Facebook fan's worth!

Thu, 11 Aug 2011 12:09:19 +0800

E-Commerce sites work hard to drive more traffic to their websites to realize higher sales. But if no one is finding your site/ blog, it’s tough to engage with prospects and begin the process of selling them any products/ service.

Traffic is generated through established norms such as search engine optimization (SEO), email marketing campaigns, Google Adwords or even a social media marketing program on Facebook.

Why Acquire Facebook Likes?

Acquiring Facebook “likes” has become the major goal of many social media marketing efforts so that it opens the communication channel to their network of friends and relatives increasing traffic and brand awareness.

This is good to know but what is that Fan worth in creating an increase in actual traffic to a website?

What is a Facebook Fan Worth?

A recent study by Hitwise in the UK has revealed that a Facebook fan is worth 20 additional visits per year to an on-line stores.

The figure of 1 fan = 20 extra visits to a website uses a unique methodology that combines Hitwise data with data from Techlightenment. They took the top 100 retailers ranked in the Hitwise Shopping and Classifieds category and benchmarked visits to those websites against the number of fans those brands had on their Facebook page. They then also looked at the propensity for people to search for those retail brands after a visit to Facebook.

What is a Facebook Fan Worth In Hard Cash?

All good on-line retailers know their ratios and will know how many sales they will achieve for every 100 or 1,000 visitors to the web site. From there it is easy to calculate the direct cash benefit in cold hard sales.

It will vary from store to store depending on conversion rates, average sale values and industry benchmarks. If your ratio was an average sale of $20 for every 100 visits then each new Facebook fan would be worth $4 in additional revenue per year. That starts to put some perspective on the cold hard cash you may be missing out on by not having a Facebook presence or active marketing campaign to increase your Facebook likes.

Eventbrite (an on-line ticketing company) calculated that for them a Facebook like is worth $1.34

So there you have it. A Facebook fan is actually bankable.

Do you have a Facebook page and are you building your likes?

Real-Estate and Social Media

Fri, 22 Jul 2011 14:39:08 +0800

From SMEs to MNCs to whole industries, businesses of all sizes have begun the great migration into social media. One of the newest members of this great movement is the real-estate industry, having already made noticeable strides in harnessing the power of social media.

This trend began in the US by real estate professionals who saw moving into social media as a gateway to recovery from the housing crisis. The world has caught on since. Singapore too has seen a surge in social media usage by real estate professionals, which compliments, and will probably, soon completely replace the flyers, mailers, billboards and television commercials we are currently used to.

Ascott, CapitaLand’s wholly owned serviced residence unit, has been in the forefront of social media practice among real estate players in Singapore since 2009. Today the group has a healthy following of over 20,000 fans across different social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and Flickr.

“Fans following our Facebook page as well as our Twitter feed are privy to exclusive deals, promotions and contests that are only available through our social media platforms. Ascott has also received reservation enquires which translated into actual bookings at our serviced residencies,” said Tony Soh, Chief Corporate Officer of The Ascott Limited.

Belysa Executive Condominium recently had great success, having sold out their 315-unit apartment in just two months! Since May of this year, when they first started offering their units to buyers, their Facebook page saw quite a buzz among prospective buyers. A quick glance at the Belysa page will tell you that they’ve shared the right amount of information, carried out timely and quality engagement with their page visitors and drawn in a healthy amount of traffic into their page.

Blossom Residencies at Segar Road and RiverParc Residence at Punggol - City Development’s latest projects - hope to achieve success similar to Belysa. Their brand-new Facebook pages seem to have gotten off to a good start; it will be interesting to see how their progress unfolds.

More real estate professionals now need to go beyond building four walls and a roof and create a virtual ‘go to place’ where potential buyers and sellers can have an interactive engagement avenue.

However, most real estate agents in Singapore still think of social media as an avenue to blast out information, not realizing that maintaining dialogue to engage customers is an important aspect of customer relations, and making conversation one-way is just not good enough to maintain a relationship with your customers.

Singaporean’s trust in consumer opinions posted online is relatively high, according to Nielsen. However, social media usage has not been fully realized in the Singapore real estate market. Individual real estate professionals have not yet discovered the full extent of the power of social media, and unless they do, they will not be exploring the full potential of their marketing efforts.

With HDB announcing 25,000 new flats for 2011 and with 10,000 new private homes expected to enter the market in the second half of 2011, real estate professionals need to reach out to Singapore’s rising housing demand - and they can do so by actively and strategically engaging in social media.

In places like the US where social media has become part and parcel of businesses, it is not surprising that 84% of real estate professionals have turned to social media to actively engage with clients, garnering considerable results with leads, sales and brand building. And with 94% of home buyers who look to the internet before making a purchase decision, real estate agents have been successful in making sure their listings, information, advice etc. reach out to the largest number of prospective buyers and sellers.

Could Singapore’s real estate market soon reach a similar figure? Perhaps they can. Judging from the recent Singapore elections and the realization of the effectiveness and reach of social media, the real estate industry in Singapore could do well by fully embracing the potential of social media.

Companies can build excellent customer relations by engaging their consumers online; they can monitor online chatter about themselves, their competitors or the industry at large. or simply build brand recognition - the possibilities are endless.

Social Media is changing the way we do business. Scott Monty, head of social media at Ford puts it perfectly; “LinkedIn is the business meeting, Facebook is the hallway conversation and Twitter is the cocktail party.”

Facebook + Skype Video Calling: Marketing Opportunity?

Sun, 10 Jul 2011 15:27:39 +0800

Facebook Video Calling was announced today with much fanfare. The new feature allows for one-on-one video chatting within the Facebook environment.

For individual users, it means the chance to connect not just with text, but with actual face-to-face (sort of) conversations where you can hear the tone of the other person’s voice and see their every expression.

Do most users want to have full conversations? Do they want to be seen, no matter what time of day it is or what condition they’re in? Time will tell. Certainly Skype, Facebook’s partner in the feature, has gained plenty of traction. And the new Google+ social network launched with a group video chat feature, Google+ Hangouts, right out of the gate.

Our thoughts turned toward what this means, or could mean, for marketers. Of course, at this point these new features are not available to brand pages but it’s probably not far behind.

What occurred to us first and foremost is a new ability to conduct one-on-one, face-to-face customer service right on Facebook. We’ve heard the consumer cry out into the wilderness again and again, “All I want is to talk to a real person!” Companies who not only offer this kind of real-person interaction to solve customers’ issues but who do it within a social networking environment stand to gain more than a healthy dose of goodwill.

Tony Bates (Skype CEO) & Mark Zuckerberg (Facebook CEO) announcing the partnership

Here’s a golden opportunity to give your Fans a positive customer service experience, something many consumers have all but given up on. Your customer service reps may soon be able to incorporate slides or some other visual to help walk the caller through the steps needed to resolve their issue.

Taking the next logical step, Facebook Video Calling could be used for sales. Your rep could not only answer questions and discuss the features of your product, but demonstrate those features as well. Which brings up the larger question, what role can Facebook Video Calling play in the emerging world of eCommerce? Am I more likely to make a purchase if it requires 4 hours of online research and waiting for answers in my email inbox, or if I can talk to a sales rep on Facebook Video Calling for 10 minutes or less?

Internally, you can bet if it’s the easiest thing to use, Facebook Video Calling will be called upon to handle long-distance business meetings. If it allows for group chat, you’ll be sitting in Facebook Video Call business conferences. Facebook Video Calling could soon be where you give presentations or conduct webinars.

Sometimes new features arrive and marketers are slow to see or execute the potential business applications. But be aware, Facebook Video Calling is another tool for communicating…this time built right into an environment that’s already proven successful at connecting brands to their customers and strengthening those relationships. Why wouldn’t you jump on and take advantage of that? Just be sure to fix your hair first.

Singapore Elections 2011

Tue, 07 Jun 2011 16:10:00 +0800

2011 was witness to probably the most exciting General Elections since Singapore’s founding 45 years ago.

The proliferation of social media was probably instrumental in the amount of chatter that was tracked online. Finally people had a space from which they could speak out, and that’s precisely what they did. Social Media sites were full of comments, debates, videos and passionate opinions about the elections, the parties and their candidates.

It was exciting to see so many differing views and opinions being broadcast without fear or censorship. But it was not just the public who embraced this new medium. The political parties, from the current ruling party to the various opposition parties took advantage of this medium to express their views, share their thoughts and basically engage with the public.

Singapore is not the first country to use Social Media to get reach out to the voters. In the U.S., Barack Obama’s presidential election campaign in 2008, employed social media heavily to win votes.

By combining social networking applications under the banner of a movement, the Obama camp created an unforeseen force to raise money, organize locally, fight smear campaigns and get out the vote that helped them topple all their opposition.

As a result, when he arrived at 1600 Pennsylvania, Mr. Obama had not just a political base, but a database of millions of names of supporters who could be engaged almost instantly.

CONCLUSION:

The power of Social Media lies in the fact that it is free, it has infinite reach and most importantly, it gives people a platform from which they can air their views, express themselves - and converse and engage with other like minded individuals.

This medium, still in its infancy, is still catching on in Singapore. With the current government encouraging businesses to embrace this new platform, we hope that in the near future, we will see Social Media being utilized to its maximum potential, crossing all boundaries and uniting people of similar interests together, irrespective of geographical distances.

Final chapter: what happens when a company fails to move with the times..

Mon, 28 Feb 2011 22:47:19 +0800

Borders Bookstore, a 40-year-old retail chain, has filed for bankruptcy protection in the United States after a bitter financial struggle that began in late 2010. The company, which operates over 650 stores, is now in the process of shutting down over 200 of its stores in the US.

Borders began in 1971 as a used bookstore in Michigan. When the 1990s hit, the company quickly expanded into a chain superstore, out-competing smaller independent bookstores, which were shutting down en masse.

But the advent and surge in popularity of the internet and e-readers soon saw Borders and other major players in the industry, getting a taste of their own medicine…

It was during this time that the now- struggling book industry should have started preparing themselves for what was to inevitably happen — technology takeover.

Borders’ closest competitor, Barnes & Noble, joined cyberspace with its e-reader, the Nook. Barnes & Noble now accounts for 25 percent of the U.S. ebook market and the company is selling twice as many ebooks as printed books in its online store.

Borders took notice of Barnes & Noble’s success and began carrying devices like the Kobo, the Sony Pocket Edition and the Velocity Micro Cruz tablet. However, when compared to the Nook and Amazon’s Kindle e-reader, none of Borders’ devices saw significant success.

With profits nose-diving and a mounting accumulation of missed payments to Publishers, Borders finally filed for bankruptcy at the United States Bankruptcy Court in Manhattan. Borders listed $1.27 billion in assets and $1.29 billion in debt. The company currently owes $272 million to its largest unsecured creditors, and it has had to retrench over 15,000 of its employees.

But could this situation have been avoided?

Industry players have been of the opinion that Borders has simply been ‘behind-the-times’ and too slow to catch on to changing trends – especially with regard to customer experience and expectation.

Instead of competing with the internet, Borders should have used it as a tool to understand how to better engage their current and potential customers. If you type in “what is wrong with borders.com” Google returns over 20 million results…

Many believe that Borders could even have simply better utilized its Facebook page as a sounding board, paying attention to its members’ feedback rather than just using the page as a big advertorial for the franchise.

Borders also had plenty of time to invest in some social media monitoring tools and learn from the market how the company is seen from the outside: Too expensive, lack of selection, poor service, etc.

The main criticism though is Borders’ failure to adequately address the internet sales channel and the subsequent ebook market – specifically, the decision to outsource Borders.com to Amazon.com. Borders.com was costing the company millions of dollars in losses each year, and therefore the outsourcing solution was originally justified as a case of letting the most efficient ‘etailing’ organization (Amazon.com) handle the job and turn a big negative into a profitable business.

In the short-term, this saved a lot of money. In the long run, however, the internet is too important to outsource in this manner and Borders’ branding and customer base suffered immeasurably.

Not a ThoughtBuzz fan yet? Join us at www.facebook.com/thoughtbuzz today!

Facebook Fan Page Analytics, Facebook search and more..

Mon, 01 Nov 2010 10:46:28 +0800

Its the time for ThoughtBuzz updates again. We have worked hard and listened to you guys and made the dashboard into a much more powerful tool for monitoring which now includes Facebook Fan Pages as well! Access Facebook Fan page analytics right from the ThoughtBuzz dashboard. Some key highlights are

1. Facebook Insights - Your Dashboard now has a new tab named ‘Manage’ which would allow you to manage and check out insights on your brand’s Facebook page!

You can see details such as:

- Monthly summary of Total page fans, page views, new fans and new likes

- Bar charted age group and gender classification

- 3 line graphs categorized into groups : users, content and interaction

Thats not all ! Our newly enhanced graphical charts provide you an enhanced level of interaction with

a. Zoom Mode - Now you can simply click and drag any section of the graph to zoom and focus on the segment you want

b. Pin Mode - Comparing 2 time periods has never been easier with Pin Mode. A period of interest can be selected and dragged to compare with another time window by simply clicking and dragging.

c. Export Options - You own the data and you need to be able to export any analysis associated with it. The graphs come with an advanced export option which gives you the choice to save into various formats.

d. Selective Toggle - Want to see only selected data series from the graph? No hassles, just select the ones that you really need from the interactive legend to hide/ show any series.

2. Regional Twitter Search - One of the challenges of segregating data on a regional/ country level from twitter has now been eliminated! You now have access to tweets from a specific geography that you choose to look at.

3. Enhanced Facebook Search - You can now read Facebook wall posts, status updates directly under the Facebook tab in your dashboard ensuring you get INSTANT access to all relevant Facebook posts.

4. Compatibility - Our charts are now 100% iPhone/ iPad compatible ! This means that even if your mobile device doesn’t support Adobe Flash, you will still be able to access all charts.

And there’s more on the way! To know more check out the slideshow below

Facebook Fan Page Analytics View more presentations from thoughtbuzz.

ThoughtBuzz among the 12 semi-finalists to pitch at Innovate!2010 Pitch Slam in Silicon Valley..

Wed, 06 Oct 2010 13:51:25 +0800

ThoughtBuzz among the 12 semi-finalists to pitch at Innovate!2010 Pitch Slam in Silicon Valley..

Topics discussed during SMWF 2010. You can also see top twitter...

Mon, 27 Sep 2010 10:43:16 +0800

Topics discussed during SMWF 2010. You can also see top twitter users during the event.

Consumers award for the Best Brand goes to..

Thu, 23 Sep 2010 17:59:02 +0800

In social media, questions, and not answers, dominate the landscape for branded digital programs. Anyone who tells you otherwise, is misinformed. The answers that reveal strategy and direction are ours to discover, however it’s our responsibility to take the initiative to answer our own questions and accordingly.

As brands vie for guidance and ultimately, credibility on social networks, they compete with the individuals who are also gaining prominence with every new connection they forge and reaction they cause. While social media is the great democratization of information, it is also the equalization of influence. As such, brands compete for attention and ultimately advocacy equally.

While years of branding may provide leverage in social media, the reality is as profound as it is rooted in common sense, in a landscape of equalized influence, everyone is racing towards prominence. Thus, in social networks such as Facebook, Twitter, Yelp, and Foursquare, we begin at the beginning.

I guess the point is this, the mere presence of a brand is lackluster and honestly, it’s the ante required to play this game. Many brands believe that simply creating these presences is all that’s required to “win.” But, consumers are far too sophisticated now and they’re not interested in your quests to build a stable of influential avatars. They are the gatekeepers that stand between your brand and your marketplaces as they’re represented online. In fact, many of the most influential voices within social networks, have mastered social networking beyond what you know or think you know.

The answer to “why” your brand is present is a good place to start. The creation of a new or renewed conviction to a mission statement reveals purpose and as such, unlocks the keys to earn presence and ultimately credibility. But as the old proverb says, “actions speak louder than words.” Indeed. And in social media, this is about turning our words into actions.

InSites Consulting conducted research in January 2010 and concluded that social networks reach an estimated 940 million people around the world. While that number may seem inconsequential to some brands, the truth is that social networks are gaining insurmountable significance and along with it, consumer attention and loyalty follow en masse.

For the naysayers within the organization and those who report to them, take note. Consumers place trust and value behind their peers or consumers with similar experiences – no surprise. According to InSites Consulting, their research indicates that in social networking, the brand itself follows in close second. In a distant third, hard to believe of course, are journalists.

Most credible sources of information about a brand in social networks according to worldwide Internet users, January 2010:

The study also found that thoughtful brands were also earning the attention of consumers ranking third behind bands and notable celebrities and personalities and ahead, quite surprisingly, of charities.

Groups that social network users worldwide fan, January 2010:

58% of participants in the study had already fanned pages and 79% were already active in social networks.

Attention and Intention

For those brands who engage with purpose and resolve, will find their actions merit rewards. It’s one thing to earn fans, it’s ultimately the goal of every business, to transform fans into customers and advocates.

Recently emarketer reported that Chadwick Martin Bailey and iModerate studied how brand graphs (the relationships that are interwoven within social networks) and the social graphs maintained at the consumer level impact the likelihood for purchases. The results were promising. More than 50% of Facebook fans and 67% of Twitter users reported that they are more likely to make a purchase for the brands they follow.

Equally important, the power of social and earned media indicates that 60% of respondents claimed their Facebook fandom increased the probability of providing recommendations to friends. In Twitter, the numbers were more pronounced. Nearly 80% stated that following a brand would result in a referral.

US Internet users who are more likely to buy/recommend a brand since becoming a fan/follower on Facebook, February 2010:

The report also sought to uncover why people follow brands in social networks. And for those brand managers seeking inspiration or data to make your case for pilot programs or upcoming campaigns, the top response may or may not come as expected. Most respondents, 255, claimed that they follow brands to receive discounts and promotions. Consumers on Twitter agreed, but also stated that real-time information and exclusive content were primary reasons.

For those decision makers who believe that the stature of the brand warrants respect and loyalty simply by creating a presence, only 2% of those surveyed stated that they follow brands on Twitter to show their support.

Primary reason that US Internet users are fans of a brand on Facebook, February 2010:

Chadwick Martin Bailey also asked fans about why they initially followed brands, allowing them to choose as many reasons as they deemed necessary. Notice the difference in the responses.

49% – Already a customer

42% – Show of support

40% – Discounts and promotions

34% – Fun and entertainment

On Twitter however..

51% – Existing customer

44% – discounts

42% – Fun

The prevailing insight for brands is quite simple, pay attention and create a content and engagement strategy that caters to the needs of all consumers. Social Media represents the socialization and personification of brands and social networks are the public forums where relationships are forged and tested. Brands earn the attention, trust, loyalty and advocacy they deserve and by delivering value across all of the fronts that determine the success and prominence of brands offline and online, businesses can earn the reward of community and commerce.

ThoughtBuzz is a silver sponsor and on the panel at Social Networking World Forum!

Sat, 21 Aug 2010 18:51:35 +0800

ThoughtBuzz is a silver sponsor and on the panel at Social Networking World Forum!

YOG Buzz..after the opening ceremony the buzz is coming down!...

Wed, 18 Aug 2010 10:54:33 +0800

YOG Buzz..after the opening ceremony the buzz is coming down! Comeon YOG!

BuzzElection.com

Mon, 26 Jul 2010 13:18:16 +0800

Real Time Social Media Monitoring of the Australian Federal Election

Updates from ThoughtBuzz!

Mon, 19 Jul 2010 13:15:46 +0800

Work-flow introduced. Respond, tag, share from the application.

The spike on 21st May was because of the Manganiyar program...

Mon, 24 May 2010 12:10:54 +0800

The spike on 21st May was because of the Manganiyar program which showcased 40 Indian musicians.

Come on Singapore Arts Festival…where’s the buzz?

Wed, 19 May 2010 16:21:42 +0800

Come on Singapore Arts Festival…where’s the buzz?

ThoughtBuzz Updates

Fri, 07 May 2010 16:56:05 +0800

New features introduced for more accurate and relevant tracking. Also, highly requested and anticipated, Facebook tracking is now available! Contact us for a trial now!

Hilarious! If Super Mario Bros. Was Made in 2010

Fri, 07 May 2010 00:01:57 +0800

Hilarious! If Super Mario Bros. Was Made in 2010