Why should brands in Asia care for Social Media?

There are 4 key reasons:

1. Social Media is big in Asia.

Brands cannot underestimate the size of social media in Asia. Over 450 million consumers are engaging with social media, some of whom are as dependent on it as their Western counterparts, if not more. When social media eventually goes mobile, the numbers reach over a billion, and this scale is something that brands cannot ignore.

2. Consumer opinion counts more than ever.

Consumers in Asia are talking about your brands whether you like it or not, and that opinion has a huge impact on their views of a brand and consideration to purchase. 7 of the top 10 markets that rely most on ‘recommendations from consumers’ hail from the Asia region. The internet is a platform that people listen to and learn about your brand. If you’re not participating in the discussion or feeding into it, you are likely to lose.

3. Consumers are highly connected and harder to reach then before.

The diversity of Asia needs no reminder, and this further accentuates the need to understand commonalities and differences in media repertoire as well as consumer motivations. Marketers are losing the ability to reach consumers in the way they used to as social media starts to displace aspects of traditional brand advertising. Building a corporate website and driving traffic is simply not enough, and calls for brands to re-evaluate the way they reach their audiences. Brands that understand social media by creating a web of activity that can influence and surround the target audience are most likely to be effective.

4. The Y-Generation live their lives in social media and if you’re not talking to them, someone else will.

Social media creates a huge opportunity for brand marketers where they can connect with their target audience like never before. Though the importance of this media may be in its infancy with some of the older demographic segments, there is no disputing that for the Y-Generation and future generations, social media is part and parcel of their daily lives. Brands that fail to appreciate this opportunity will risk losing an entire base of consumers in the future making social media not just a growth strategy but a defensive one too.

"Right now, the largest single group of users on the Internet today is in Asia. Half a billion Asian users. And that’s only 14% penetration. So when they get to 70% penetration which is where we are in the US and some parts of Europe, we’re talking about a couple of billion people. That’s a very, very big customer base. It’s a very diverse customer base but the internet can reach all of them once we get to that penetration level. So this is a really exciting place to be."
Vinton Cerf Vice President & Chief Internet Evangelist,
Google Inc.

"You should try to embrace as many different forms of media as possible because different audiences are in different places. But you will see an increasing amount of, especially the younger generation that’s going to hang out online and be comfortable in communities and social media. And if you don’t market to them, or if you don’t have dialogues with them (not even market to them.) ... then you’re going to lose an entire customer base."
Lee Kin Mun Founder & Blogger,
Mrbrown.com

The Digital Train is leaving - Time to get Onboard

These days marketers must find ways to make the marketing mix produce sales-ready results as the economic slowdown persists through 2009. As they scale back on high-priced tactics like trade shows, direct mail, and print, marketers will have no choice but to embrace digital channels to close the demand generation gap. Luckily, I have heard the interactive whistle blowing, as most now put online channels at the top of their list for this year. Making the digital transformation stick this time means that:

Web sites must cut sales interaction costs. Compared with online interactions, person-to-person sales calls and meetings cost much more to execute. Marketers welcome Web leverage, as I believe that corporate sites will become more important in their marketing mix. With telesales and executive events producing less traction with buyers, Web sites become the main source of online information in the product selection, purchase, and implementation process. To capitalize on this trend, marketers must upgrade online experiences and shift from an inside-out perspective that talks incessantly about features and functions to an outside-in one that focuses on helping prospects and customers accomplish buying and adoption goals.

Digital channels must stretch the B2B marketing mix. In flush economic times, marketers abandon online channels that don't create immediate results and return to what's comfortable — trade shows, PR, and print. Tight budgets require stretching dollars further as marketers use email, Web-based events, online demos, and blogs to replace conventional tactics and create more engaging buyer experiences. Of the all digital tactics that figure more prominently in the 2009 marketing mix, 11 are digital approaches that create more targetable, measurable, and engaging interactions.

Web 2.0 tools must move from experimental to routine. Emerging Web 2.0 tools like microblogs, virtual trade shows, and wikis — as well as long-established tactics like print ads, trade shows, and industry analyst firms — won't figure prominently in the marketing mix this year. Watch virtual trade shows in this space because business buyers — facing cuts in corporate travel — listed these online environments second to support forums as key sources of information they will tap in the coming months to inform purchase decisions.