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Marketing in a Recession and The Social Media
Is Twitter a Blueprint of the Future
Social Media Extends the Reach of Advertising
Link to Bio and Reason For Experiment
Establishing Internet Goals
Many companies have made the mistake of planning websites that are just electronic versions of print materials
When users access this type of sites they see two things
A company that does not understand the Web
The same materials they have already seen in stores
Neither will win over your audience, most internet users want information and they want information to be more timely and expansive than print
The above was written in 1996
The internet came into being in 1969, the Web was creating in 1990, it was mainstream in 1998
Do SME's understand the Web, if they do not, they do not understand internet users and so fail to grasp the implications of Social Media.
You cannot walk or run before you crawl, you cannot go to secondary school or university before education at a lower grade has been mastered, so it follows business cannot get the best from participation with the Social Media if they don't understand the Web
Capital Gains Tax
This has reared its head again, a capital gains tax on housing. The reason put forward, New Zealanders put / invest too much money in the housing market and a tax may cause them to consider other forms of investment, such as investing in the businesses in New Zealand. Something which will benefit NZ as opposed to an over heated housing market.
This begs the question why don't they invest in New Zealand businesses now, is it a culture thing borne out of the many years of the nanny state, the Government will look after you and business is capitalist and something to wary of and has this given us a less than dynamic business with a lets go forward culture.
We are in the Internet Age yet the majority of businesses big and small have not embraced the Web and the business tools associated with it. They are still in the mass media and placing ads in the back of telephone books mindset.
Current statistics show New Zealand business advertising on the Web is low compared to other country's with which we compare ourselves. The latest Trade and Enterprise report indentifies problems in our business culture which preclude us from going forward.
A marketing truism is "people do not leave things, they go to things". People will not invest in the business of New Zealand when they cannot see the benefit, no matter how illusionary the value of an over priced house it, it is a lot better than businesses who are not coping in doing business in todays world
If only we could see ourselves as others see us. This thought crossed my mind when I flew back from Australia to New Zealand, landing at Auckland Airport.
The flight was fine, cleared customs o/k, collected the bags and headed outside to the domestic terminal for an internal flight, the time about 6.45pm getting dark and it was cold and raining. The distance to the domestic terminal 900 meters, say 1km.
Not knowing the area, I had hoped to find some transport (maybe I missed the sign) but I did note painted lines on the pavement and signs saying "follow the lines to the domestic terminal", so off I went accompanied by fellow travellers who obviously had also not found any transport.
Suffice to say after about 1km we arrived, cold and wet.
The message I would like to get across to those who run the Auckland Airport is, New Zealand is a great place and the Tourism Board spends a lot of money to get people here, but when incoming visitors who require a domestic flight have to endure a walk in the cold and rain, it is not a good advertisement.
The world does not start and stop at Auckland, step outside and see how others view your operation when they are tired, wet and cold.
It was thought, if you gave a person insight into a situation they would improve / advance, not the case, there will be no advancement unless they are motivated.
Only customers can grow your business, you cannot, all you can do is put in place the infrastructure that makes or prompts a person want to do business with you.
The days are fast fading when advertising comprised handing information or copy over to a third party to which they added fancy fonts or pretty pictures or wrote a catchy jingle and placed it in their publication / on their station. And whose targets were you hitting when you did this.
The business tools of the 21 century exist and people in business if they wish to go forward are going to have to learn how to use them. If not hire someone who can. You may find the wage may be offset by the money saved from advertising elsewhere.
You are on your way to being your own advertising agency
NBR what are you doing. A tweet seen of Thursday 16th July said NBR were restricting access to their content, later updated to restricted to about 20% of their content, writings / comment and articles that were particular to them and not found elsewhere on other websites. The intent if you want to see it, pay.
About the same time while reading the NBR on-line I saw an article listed as most popular commenting on the Cadbury Chocolate fiasco, so I published a tweet and linked to the Chocolate article as others may be interested.
The tweet clearly shows the link to, but if you click on it and it goes to the NBR site, a message appears "Access Denied"
Sorry NBR you just blew it, I was sending you business and you blew it. Best I refer you to Clay Shirky and his paper Newspapers and Thinking the Unthinkable
Interested to hear if anyone else experiences the same result when linking to NBR, (probably popular articles) I copied the URL and shortened it with Tiny URL. Firstsearch tweets
A follow up to the following "went to" below: The email addresses of the people at the meeting were circulated to all who were at the meeting, no doubt to facilitate networking, I emailed them all information, something similar to what is written belong. The result zilch, I just don't think they get networking in a changing world.
Went to a Breakfast Meeting the Guest Speaker spoke on the subject of Networking - on how business can increase their business just by talking to people, it is just a matter of communication and while the subject dealt more with to business to business activities my thoughts drifted onto to how businesses communicate, network with customers.
Because doing things the same way and expecting a different result isn't going to make it happen
Having mangled a well worn cliché, we should consider well the sentiments expressed
The world is changing, how we communicate with customers is changing, changing not only in what is said, but in the channels used to get the message out.
For the past two decades a quiet revolution has been taking place and everyone in business has been affected, potential customers are no longer limited to the old media, potential customers are out there- Networking - using the new media of the 21st Century
Print, Radio, TV, are competing with the
Internet, Web1.0, Social Networking Sites, Social Media, Web 2.0, Facebook, Twitter and soon Google Wave with more to come
Facing the facts, business today cannot do things the same way and expect a different result. It's time to get out there and start networking with your customers, because if you don't someone else will.
Barlow Lendrum FitzGerald in their latest newsletter profile a book:
"Twitter Means Business: How microblogging can help or hurt your company"
The book is available on Fishpond NZ
Down at the pub and a general discussion on advertising was underway, what works and what doesn't, and a business person there said they spent about $20,000 advertising in the back of the telephone book because their market was not the younger person, more the middle aged and older.
Another person, an office holder in the Grey Power movement said they did a survey among our members and 60% have computers and use the Internet. Why are you ignoring us if we are your target market. A moment of silence and the subject was changed.
I hope those present took the Grey Power words on-board and now consider using the media of the Internet age to attract custom
A few hours later several of us left the pub to go home, sharing a taxi, also waiting for a cab were a couple of young people about 19 to 20 years of age, who initially seemed not impressed with these old slightly inebriated folk out so late at night.
While waiting we continued our discussions about the Web, the Internet, Search engine optimisation, Twitter, justin.tv and the like and our words must have carried to the young people, who seems to take notice, for out came the mobile phones. I cannot be sure but I think they were texting something like, "you want to hear what these old people are talking about".
Ever take note of the job advertisements in the newspaper nowadays, They all say to apply, "email" this would suggest the advertiser recognises that the job applicants are on-line. If the advertiser understands this, why don't they advertise the job on-line.
What a fantastic changing world we live in
July 2009
Read a report where the Australian Federal Government was putting together a task force to advise them about Web 2.0, also read an article where it was said that a great number of Australian businesses wished to ban and restrict the Internet / Web usage of their staff. Changes
The world is full of people with ideas, what is required are solutions.
Ever wanted to easily tell people about the arrival of new stock, the specials and discounts or just your opening hours. Employment opportunities and what's on in your town
How about just saying hi to your customers and remind them of your shops birthday (and the birthday specials)
Can you type 140 characters into a computer or use a mobile phone to text
That's how easy it is to talk to your customers. Make contact with potential customers.
Twitter is a business tool
Twitter is an example of the social media in action: it is a media, a means, a way to get your message out, what you have for sale and how you can assist a potential purchaser.
And you do it with 140 characters of text.
Quote: "Twitter is a great resource for smaller or sole proprietorship businesses to get exposure with a minimal investment (time)." It is real time advertising
Went to a presentation for the introduction of a Portal, do we need another one. We still have a long way to go
Competition on www.eventfinder.co.nz
Name your "Four Last Songs" to Win Vector Wellington Orchestra Tickets
My selection:
Anarchy in the UK, Sex Pistols.
Voodoo Child, Jimi Hendrix.
Comfortably Numb, Pink Floyd.
Hero's, David Bowie
Guess I'm just a rocker from way back, Strauss may not be my thing, but I know someone who is.
June 09
Going home- leaving a note for the cleaner - if you trip over my computer and break it- I won't mind
Small business owners, they still want to put ads in a telephone book, Twitter-- who ?? Grrrr
The following was posted on Twitter, Wednesday 27 May 2009
"Found a lovely Indian restaurant in / Wanganui last night. Having an iPhone with GPS+3G and Google maps is wonderful"
The message (tweet) then linked to a Google map showing the location of the restaurant in Guyton Street Wanganui.
The person tweeting was not from Wanganui (possibly in town on business) and all his followers on Twitter have the opportunity to see his message.
The restaurant concerned does not have a website (as far as I can see) but their business is being advertised online using the tools of the 21st Century that make it happen, Phone, Twitter, Maps
This is Social Media in action: Update- took this info along to the lovely restaurant- still waiting
"We're not saying social media should be a replacement for other types of marketing, but with the economy the way it is, as a business, you've got to utilize every tool you've got". Read more from the President of the Greater Milwaukee Committee
The Social Media, forget the corporate speak, it is just business, another channel for telling the world (your customers and potential customers) that you exist. And if you exist, how you, and your products can solve their problems.
Corporates.. they have got it wrong
Happened to review a site
Vodafone New Zealand is going with Twitter. Telecom New Zealand is going with Bebo. Guess that says it all. Update: Telecom is also signed up with Twitter
If the news is migrating to online, the newspaper model is broken, if businesses and retailers are advertising online, the newspaper model is broken. Where are the retailers and businesses going to advertise in a few years time when the newspapers close.
A letter to retailers
Twitter Demystified for Newbies. Unless you have been living in a cave, you're aware of the hype over Twitter and the scramble to figure out either how you can use it to grow your business or how you can ignore it and still not be left behind.
Well, you can't ignore it or you will be left behind so let's look at some very simple ways you can enhance your business strategy with Twitter and maybe even enjoy yourself in the process. Twitter Demystified
Two Wanganui businesses on board, a motel / restaurant and a coffee roaster - now if they follow each other on Twitter a network of Wanganui businesses starts to form. The chance of going exponential is on the horizon.
Thanks to kiwihavoc Very nice coffee and I won a Havoc Coffee T- shirt, check them out
And the Alma Motel & Stonze Restaurant almamotel A group of us had a meal there a few months ago, very enjoyable
The Social Media is about stepping out of the walled garden
Suzuki New Zealand require an experienced and enthusiastic IT Support Technician. You must have the ability to analyze and interpret user requirements and translate these into working solutions. Good all round knowledge of IT rather than specialist. Must be able to work on own initiative as well as part of our team.
Applications closed on Friday 22 May 2009.
Please forward your CV via email in strictest confidence to
This ad on an online job site got more replies than the ads in the newspaper and cost less.
We are joining the real world
Vodafone signs Twitter deal
Vodafone New Zealand has inked a deal with high-flying microblogging website Twitter, allowing its users to send updates and receive text messaged notifications.
Vodafone says its customers, will be able to receive TXT messages from people they choose to follow via TXT on Twitter and send messages to a short code (TWTR/8987) for their "tweets", @replies, or to follow someone.
"Twitter lends itself neatly to our SMS service, but more importantly this is a great way for our customers to use their mobiles to stay connected with their on-line community," says Vodafone head of media and entertainment Charlie Clementson.
"Mobile TXTing extends the power of Twitter's real-time network in a simple but significant way," Twitter's mobile business development director Kevin Thau.
The service will go live in a few weeks.
2Degrees
Even though it has not yet commenced operation, the new mobile phone network, has within a day of announcing its presence, already attracted a large number of followers on Twitter.
Often heard were the words "our customers don't use the web". It's only for the young people, wrong, I happened the other day to see the results of a competition run out of Midweek one of our two free newspapers. The columnist mentioned the number of entries received, 60% had been emailed in. I don't think they were all from youngsters. People of all ages are on-line
I heard the same kind of excuse, when asked why didn't they have a website, given the success of TradeMe. The answer, Trademe is for auctions. Yes, but it is more about people with money going online to buy things. And given that people will shop locally, a website showing what is available locally would encourage people view online and buy in the store.
And now we have the Social Media What's the Excuse this Time
Went to a concert at the Repertory Theatre Wanganui: Don McGlashan and the Seven Sisters - Marvellous Year Tour, this included Reb Fountain, an excellent event, you guys were great.
The question was asked the next day how did you find out about the concert: used EventFinder, looking for What's on in Wanganui, which lead to Undertheradarnz from whom I purchased the tickets. (Eventfinder and Undertheradarnz are both on Twitter)They had found an audience that derived value from what they tweeted.
Why didn't I read the newspaper to find out about the concert, it was advertised, true, but why look for something that may or may not be there and if I did, I would have to get into a car and drive to purchase the tickets, why, when it could be done online.
A situation of two worlds cyber and physical, businesses cannot just inhabit just one if they want the customer
The World is Changing
New flyers written for mail drop plus: "The internet and the mobile phone were in some vague sense almost predestined 50,000 years ago to appear eventually" A thoughtful look at history The social media, just another step
Which way forward, do I persevere with the free listing of businesses in Wanganui which was done to show business owners that the public do use the Web to contact the businesses (and feedback records this to be the case) or do I change direction
The purpose of the listings was to make businesses aware of the public's interest in the businesses existence via the Web, to prompt the business to consider such and go forward using the business tools of the Internet Age. Alas this has not eventuated and tends to prove the point you can only market on the Web to people who are interested and on the Web. Face to face contact, as in physical salespeople, still has its place.
Another directory has entered the market and proposes to charge for listings. To my way of thinking any person in business who pays to list in a directory on the Web, has rocks in their head. We are over run with directories, is that was the public wants, is it what the search engines prefer. No doubt the new directory will obtain takers, but will their success be more to do with salesmanship that any awareness on the part of the business owners
Time to try a different approach see Article: "How to inject one million dollars into the Wanganui economy" The target market is Wanganui New Zealand but it could apply to any community or town or city anywhere
The world changes, quite like the Wikipedia definition of "Social Media"
May 09
More flyers and no response from the retailers but responses from other Twitter users, possibly they were looking for other Social Media commentators, so it is building a community of like minds (I think).
Thinking about the retailers and other small businesses, they are very much wedded to the back of a telephone book, which is possibly not surprising considering that when the Web arrived the NZ Retailers Association expressed reservations about the Web and advised their members to take care when dealing with the Internet. A wonderful communication channel shafted
Was pointed towards a very good article written by Clay Shirky "Newspapers and Thinking the Unthinkable" and got to thinking: If the retailers in Main Street sum total knowledge about advertising consists of putting an advertisement in the back of a telephone book and following the advice of a salesperson from the newspapers or radio station about using their media, how are they going to fare in the future.
Yes, the Internet will be 40 years old this year and Main Street is still nowhere to be seen. Maybe they think the revolution will pass them by, but it wont, they are part of it whether they like it or not. There will be winners and losers and the collateral damage has possibly already occurred, a society, a town, a business, a city grows in leaps and bounds and dies by inches. One day they may wake up and ask what happened and who did it and the answer is ...
Oh yes more flyers delivered, the reply, deathly silence
More flyers delivered, another retailer who has never heard of Twitter but interested, will have to help them set up. A dis-connect exists, two different worlds, offline and online. The ones with the most to gain, the retailers are still firmly in the off-line world, possibly because that is where their bread and butter is, but the potential customer is searching online. A search of "Social Media" on Twitter threw up some interesting people and articles.
More flyers delivered to local businesses at this stage no response. But on a positive note, another follower, will follow them, their business is online, highlighting events around New Zealand. Must check and see if any of the events in Wanganui have been placed online by Wanganui event holders.
It's early days yet but the signs of a network are appearing. The Wanganui Rugby team is challenging for the Ranfurly Shield. It is an event which involves the community. A Twitter user is setting up to Tweet about it: blacknbluearmy
By the way, John Key the Prime Minister has a Twitter Account
A search on Twitter for Wanganui, looking for other users in area, used www.search.twitter.com found one; bio says mobile marketing developer, now following, another local business for network. Now have two Wanganui users
Next article and tweet dealt with how the Reach of Advertising has been expanded by the use of the Social Media. More people following, all from overseas. The interesting thing is the followers tend to be like minded if I am reading the bio's correctly, business oriented
Wrote an article: Marketing in a Recession and the Social Media. Is Twitter a Blueprint for the Future. The article had a business social media bias rather than the personal social media aspect. Put out a Tweet about, two major overseas users now following (they have lots of followers) scary, the power of a network. Will have to follow up with another article.
Spoke to business person about Twitter. In business they have website, they have never heard of Twitter, surprising as much mention in newspapers, on radio and television
Mail drop on the counters of 10 local businesses. Subject: Social Media and Advertising
After becoming a Twitter user, went searching for other Wanganui users, found one: Alma Road Motel and Stonze Restaurant, not surprising as they use the Web and Adwords probably classed in marketing terms as an early adopter
April 09
Bio and about
As in my Twitter bio (firstsearch) and on my "about us" page on www.firstsearch.co.nz my interest is in local search and in finding out how people in business transact business in the Internet Age and now, how they inter-relate with the new media; the online Social Media
The subject community or area is Wanganui New Zealand servicing a population of approx 40,000. The media used in this area for advertising purposes is one daily newspaper, two free weekly newspapers, several radio stations and the back of a telephone book
In general with the rest of the business community in New Zealand, businesses here missed Web 1.0, true they have websites but it was more the case of we have a website, we are in the 21st century, without any understanding of the Web or how they can use it to attract custom
We are now at Web 2.0, where businesses must go and inhabit if they want custom, how will they cope or interact and will they show any interest. And can a community be built using the online social media as a business tool, people in local businesses interacting with potential customers, advising the potential customer that the businesses exists and what the business and town has on offer offline in a specific geographical area
In someway, the people in business becoming their own advertising agency
By no means is this experiment conducted on scientific lines. More along the lines of random mail drops and talking about it in a social setting (off-line), the results or lack of them will pose more questions.
We are dealing with a new ball game, maybe we are only dealing with the early adopters with the majority still to arrive, and then maybe it is the business culture and structure which needs to change. Who knows, everything evolves, but we have to start some where.
If you are in business and are unsure of how it works, or question are there any benefits to your business or is it to your advantage, may I suggest you become a social media user. In this case on Twitter.com as this is the platform we shall be using. The process of joining is easy and you can bail-out at any time. But I hope you stick around even if it is just to read our updates.
Contact Firstsearch
Join www.twitter.com