I’m sure you’ve read lots of predictions for marketing and social media in the past 2 weeks (I offered my own predictions here), but how many have been specific to Malaysia? I asked a few of my friends who operate businesses here in Malaysia for their predictions, and here are responses.
Colin Charles, open source software hacker and entrepreneur; TJ Tee, former digital marketer turned restaurateur; Lim Cheng Soon, Web Director of Netizens Media; Edwin Ong, MD of EARS.my and Grace Look, marketing chili padi behind 95% Training Academy take the time to answer my questions. Please note that these are their personal opinions and not the official views of their respective companies.
The short story: Social Media will grow in 2010 for small businesses and startups. However, challenges exist in discovering which social channels is best in terms of ROI. Other digital tactics are still important, especially search.
2009 saw enormous growth of social media as a marketing tool for small businesses. Do you think this trend will continue and why?
TJ: It’s likely we’ll see an increase in adoption especially in the SMB sector because social media has a relatively low barrier of entry (easy to set up, low cost). Facebook’s rapid growth also means that social media is now mainstream, so naturally it’s just a matter of time before businesses start fishing where the fish are.
GL: The simple answer is YES, because with the internet small business have a bigger opportunity to make an impact on their targets – just as much or even more than the big players. The trend will continue because of the trend of internet usage is increasing.
How much are you intending to increase / decrease investment in social media for yourself in 2010? Why?
GL: Definitely an increase, however we’re not sure what kind of investment that we should channel in.
EO: Increase to spend 30% of budget on social media. Because that’s where my target market are, teenagers and young working adults.
CC: Increase, 100%. Why? Business baby, business
What specific social media tools or channels will you be focusing on in 2010? Why?
TJ: Twitter, Facebook as well as location-based tools such as Foursquare and Gowalla. It makes sense for our business (F&B) to use such tools.
CS: Twitter. Simple, direct, effective platform to connect to a targeted group.
Besides social media, what other online marketing tools or channels will you / your clients be investing in for 2010? How would you rate these other tools in comparison to social media?
CS: SEO still accounts for more than 50% of the traffic (at least for my sites), compared to social media (around 30%). It has already reached its maturity stage and a necessity for every website. Social media has yet to, but will soon reach that stage (1-3 years?).
TJ: SEO and SEM as support for social media.
EO: Google Adwords is essential
CC: Metrics… Brandtology, JamIQ, etc.
GL: We see the need in sprucing up our website because as we increase our presence online through social media, our website will be the place where we formally introduce ourselves to the rest of the world.
Any other comments?
EO: I personally feel that it is the internet that is the tool for future marketing, social media is one of the channels but not limited to it.
CS: Word of advice: choose ONE platform for social media (blog, twitter, facebook), focus & dominate.
The Respondents
Thanks to the respondents for providing their insights into social media in 2010. Do visit their websites to learn more about them and what they do:
Colin Charles, open source software hacker and entrepreneur
Colin works at Monty Program Ab, on MariaDB, and Open Ocean Investments on Web of Trust, and MoSync. Learn more at http://bytebot.net
Lim Cheng Soon, Web Director of Netizens Media
CS rocks the web by creating, running and managing niche websites. He also provides online marketing consultation. Learn more at http://netizensmedia.com
TJ the Food Dood
TJ is the guy behind Ninja Joe’s Yummylicious pork burgers at LG-18, Tropicana City Mall, Petaling Jaya. More info on twitter.com/porkburger and facebook.com/porkburger
Edwin Ong, Managing Director of EARS.my
EARs is a one-stop Emergency, Assistance & Rescue Solutions provider that is revolutionizing automotive assistance in the 21st century. More info at http://ears.my
Grace Look, Marketing Executive at 95% Training Academy
95% specialises in branding, advertising and creativity training programmes to ad agencies, students and corporates. Learn more at http://95percent.com.my
Photo credits – Fork in the Road by evilmightyacorn on Flickr
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