DigitalFilipino Talks on Social Media for SMEs
They say “content is king” online. Although the usual form of content is in text, it can also be in audio (podcast) or visual form such as images and videos. The latter is what DigitalFilipino Talks utilizes.
In a recent series of videos hosted by DigitalFilipino Talks, the episode on Social Media for SMEs caught my attention. Ms. Janette Toral interviewed Social Media Specialist Rosario Juan and they discussed different aspects of implementing social media projects from the perspective of a business and the SME.
One particular point I would like to highlight in the interview is what Ms. Juan mentioned about “getting closer with your customers.”
Indeed, this is one of the major objectives of businesses in tapping social media. With the ease and relatively cheaper rates of using the Internet, it has now become more accessible even to the common man. This accessibility has opened doors to more activities on the Net as well as social networking sites. In turn, different forms of engagement in social media has enabled brands and companies to interact directly with its customers.
And for the same reason, my newest client which is a known ice cream brand in the Philippines, has started to engage its customers in social media as well.
New vs. Traditional Means
In the aspect of comparing traditional and online marketing, Ms. Juan was careful not to say that new media will replace traditional media such as print but instead pointed out that “online marketing will only really work if you combine it with traditional marketing.” She emphasized that it really has to be used together to achieve a more effective result.
For me, at the end of the day, the question is not if it was social or the traditional media which was able to give more results, but how the two complemented each other and delivered better results together.
Please watch the full video interview on Social Media for SMEs:
Further learnings from the talk about social media include the following:
- It helps optimize marketing budget
- It is not only about Facebook but a whole group of social media tools including Twitter and Multiply
- Social media marketing is not free but it can be cheaper than traditional means
- Objective is more about budget saving while not replacing traditional marketing
Current focus is on brand awareness and customer relationship management (CRM), as pointed out by Ms. Rosario Juan. This include monitoring increased number of fans and feedback. But more than just simple figures, Ms. Juan encouraged the SME to be able to address the gathered customer concerns appropriately.
The Future
Ms. Juan foresees further developments in the industry of social media, at least here in the Philippines, to emphasize developing methodologies to measure actual effectiveness of the practice. Measurement means numbers and basis points where standards could be established upon.
I would like to personally thank Ms. Janette Toral and DigitalFilipino Talks for these informative and enlightening videos on different topics on the web. I certainly learned a lot as a social media practitioner myself.
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About Author
Jon
Jonel Uy is the EIC of BloggerManila.com. Graduating from UP Diliman with a degree in Computer Science, he is also the Managing Director of #DigitalCircles.asia engaging and amplifying social media campaigns for brands. On Mondays, he teaches information technology classes at Grace Christian College. Know more about him at JonelUy.com
I have to agree with the speaker that it is more effective combining traditional media and online media to boost marketing campaigns. For the matter, since I am a frequent contestant, sometimes I get info about a certain online contest on TV or on a newspaper. Let’s say I don’t have much friends online who can tip me off about online contests. From traditional media, I get to find out where in cyberspace to look for their contest / promos.
Exactly. I concur with you on that one as well.
Nowadays, online media marketing is one asset that would help an entity grow. I realized social media really helps a lot not only on how the company would receive the complaints or opinions of the customer through feedbacks but also an individual can learn more new products. Thank you for posting this video. I learned a lot on online business.
Thanks Jen,
I hope what you just learned about social media can benefit you in your endeavor or future business.
Hi Jonel!
Thank you so much for this wonderful blog post! Wonderful insights from you and I have to agree when you say, “at the end of the day, the question is not if it was social or the traditional media which was able to give more results, but how the two complemented each other and delivered better results together.”
Social media is such an exciting arena to be in, so many things are happening with amazing speed. Keeping up to date is challenging but always fun.
Hope to meet you in person one of these days!
Wow, I’m honored you read my article. Thanks!
Yes, I hope to meet you in person too and shoot ideas together with regards to the dynamic world of social media.
how can the video be downloaded to my PC?