Social Media for Retail: Hype or Buzz?

SOCIAL MEDIA:
HYPE OR BUZZ?
THE NEW REALITIES FOR
ASIA-PACIFIC RETAILERS

SIMON KEMP • we are social • RETAIL ASIA ROUNDTABLE, SINGAPORE, 13 OCTOBER 2011

DIA’S
SOCI AL ME AIL
RET
R OLE IN ACIFIC

IN ASIA-P

3 QUESTIONS:
WHAT EXACTLY ARE ‘SOCIAL MEDIA’?
WHY ARE SOCIAL MEDIA RELEVANT TO YOU?
HOW CAN RETAILERS IN ASIA HARNESS SOCIAL MEDIA?

“ SOCIAL MEDIA ARE INTERNET-POWERED
PLATFORMS THAT MAKE IT EASY FOR
INDIVIDUALS, GROUPS OF PEOPLE, AND
ORGANISATIONS TO CONVERSE AND
PARTICIPATE WITH ONE ANOTHER IN A
“
WIDE VARIETY OF SOCIAL ACTIVITIES.

THE CONCEPT OF SOCIA MEDIA HAS
EXISTED SINCE THE DAYS OF CAVE PAINTINGS

BUT THE INTERNET HAS MADE THINGS
POSSIBLE ON A WHOLE NEW SCALE

EARLY ‘INTERNET-ENABLED’ SOCIAL MEDIA
INCLUDED BULLETIN BOARD SYSTEMS (BBS)

THE WEB’S FIRST ‘SOCIAL NETWORK’ –
SIXDEGREES.COM – LAUNCHED IN 1997

NOW IT SEEMS LIKE A NEW SOCIAL
NETWORK LAUNCHES EVERY WEEK

BUT IT’S NOT THE NUMBER OF PLATFORMS THAT
MAKE SOCIAL MEDIA SO IMPORTANT FOR RETAILERS

WORLWIDE USERS OF SOCIAL MEDIA:

1,500,000,000+
SOURCE: SITE-REPORTED FIGURES, WIKIPEDIA

PROPORTION OF THE WORLD’S
POPULATION WHO USE SOCIAL MEDIA:

22% SOURCE: SITE-REPORTED FIGURES, WIKIPEDIA, UN DATA

1,338
1,183

800

310
231 193

CHINA INDIA FACEBOOK USA INDONESIA BRAZIL
SOURCE: FACEBOOK, UN DATA

800M
700M

600M

500M

400M

300M

200M

100M

…AND GROWTH SHOWS NO SIGNS OF SLOWING

AUG 2008 NOV 2008 FEB 2009 MAY 2009 AUG 2009 NOV 2009 FEB 2010 MAY 2010 AUG 2010 NOV 2010 FEB 2011 MAY 2011 AUG 2011
SOURCE: FACEBOOK

NEW USERS JOINING
FACEBOOK EVERY DAY:

500,000
SOURCE: FACEBOOK

FACEBOOK 800 M

QQ 700 M

TWITTER 200 M

SINA WEIBO 200 M

HABBO HOTEL 200 M

VKONTAKTE 135 M

GOOGLE+ 50 M


ASIAN SOCIAL MEDIA USERS:

800,000,000+

18M 15M
CHINA: 531M
QZONE
SOUTH KOREA: JAPAN:
CYWORLD MIXI
HONG KONG:
INDIA: FACEBOOK
FACEBOOK 4M TAIWAN:
9M
WRETCH
29M
VIETNAM:
ZING PHILIPPINES:
15M
THAILAND: 11M 25M
FACEBOOK
FACEBOOK

MALAYSIA: 11M INDONESIA:
FACEBOOK FACEBOOK
ASIA’S FAVOURITE 2.5M 39M
SINGAPORE:
SOCIAL NETWORKS FACEBOOK
BY COUNTRY
SOURCE: BURSON MARSTELLER

50%
OF FACEBOOK USERS
SIGN IN EVERY DAY

SOURCE: FACEBOOK

MINUTES SPENT ON FACEBOOK EACH MONTH:

700,000,000,000
SOURCE: FACEBOOK

( )
THAT EQUATES TO MORE THAN

1 MILLION YEARS
ON FACEBOOK EVERY MONTH

SOCIAL MEDIA ARE REAL-TIME
COMMUNICATION CHANNELS

OCT

13

EACH FACEBOOK FAN IS WORTH

US$3.60
IN ‘EARNED MEDIA’ REACH

SOURCE: VITRUE.COM

REACH
FREQUENCY
AFFINITY
EFFICIENCY

REACH
FREQUENCY
AFFINITY
EFFICIENCY
CONVERSION

HOW CAN YOU TURN THIS POTENTIAL
INTO REAL BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY?

3 QUESTIONS:
WHAT EXACTLY ARE ‘SOCIAL MEDIA’?
WHY ARE SOCIAL MEDIA RELEVANT TO MARKETING?
HOW CAN RETAILERS IN ASIA HARNESS SOCIAL MEDIA?

SOME ‘BEST PRACTICE’ SOCIAL MEDIA
CASE STUDIES FROM THE RETAIL SECTOR

IKEA’S ‘SOCIAL CATALOGUE’

OBJECTIVE:
RAISE AWARENESS OF A NEW IKEA
STORE WITH ALMOST ZERO MEDIA BUDGET

APPROACH: UPLOAD PHOTOS OF ROOMS IN THE IKEA SHOWROOM
TO FACEBOOK, AND LET PEOPLE ‘TAG’ THEMSELVES AGAINST AN
ITEM OF FURNITURE FOR THE CHANCE TO WIN IT IN REAL LIFE

TAG

WHEN SOMEONE IS TAGGED IN A PHOTO MORE IMPORTANTLY, THE SIMPLICITY OF
ON FACEBOOK, THEIR FRIENDS RECEIVE AN THIS COMPETITION, AND THE GENERAL
UPDATE THAT SHOWS THE PHOTO AND ITS DESIRE FOR ‘FREE STUFF’ MEANT THAT THE
ACCOMPANYING STATUS UPDATE ACTIVITY RECEIVED HUGE PR COVERAGE

NOT ONLY DID THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE
HEAR ABOUT MALMÖ’S NEW STORE,
IT BECAME THE TALK OF THE TOWN

UNIQLO’S ‘SOCIAL LOOKBOOK’

OBJECTIVE:
ENGAGE A FASHIONABLE, TECH-SAVVY
AUDIENCE WITH THE CHAIN’S NEW RANGE

APPROACH: REINTERPRET THE SARTORIALIST’S BLOG BY INVITING EVERYDAY PEOPLE
TO UPLOAD ‘UNIQLOOKS’ – THEIR OWN OUTFITS MADE UP OF UNIQLO ITEMS – AND
ENCOURAGE THE PUBLIC TO VOTE FOR THEIR FAVOURITES AMONGST THESE PHOTOS

THE ACTIVITY HAS PROVEN VERY POPULAR THROUGHOUT THE
WORLD, WITH MANY ASIAN COUNTRIES PARTICIPATING TOO

BY ENCOURAGING FASHIONISTAS TO BY THEN ENABLING OTHERS TO VOTE
CREATE THEIR OWN LOOKS AND SHARE VIA SOCIAL MEDIA, THE BRAND
THEM VIA SOCIAL MEDIA, UNIQLO BROADENED ENAGEMENT TO FRIENDS
CREATED A NETWORK OF ENDORSERS AND THEIR SOCIAL NETWORKS

HUNDREDS OF PHOTOS UPLOADED,
AND HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS
OF VOTES IN SINGAPORE ALONE

OBJECTIVE:
REDUCE THE COST OF CUSTOMER SERVICE
WHILE SIMULTANEOUSLY EXTENDING ITS REACH

APPROACH: HARNESS THE COLLECTIVE KNOWLEDGE AND ENTHUSIASM OF
THE WHOLE BEST BUY TEAM TO RESPOND TO CUSTOMERS’ QUESTIONS
AROUND THE CLOCK VIA A CONSOLIDATED TWITTER ACCOUNT

APPROACH: ANY MEMBER OF BEST BUY’S TEAM ACROSS THE U.S. THAT
HAS REGISTERED TO BE PART OF THE TWELPFORCE CAN OFFER
ASSISTANCE TO CUSTOMERS WHO TWEET QUESTIONS TO THE BRAND

BY TAPPING INTO THE VAST BEST BUY BY HARNESSING THE POWER OF
NETWORK, THE BRAND MULTIPLIED TWITTER, BEST BUY REDUCED THE
THE LIKELIHOOD OF BEING ABLE TO COST OF DELIVERING ANSWERS WHILE
DELIVER CUSTOMERS AN ANSWER ALSO DELIVERING THEM FASTER

REDUCED CUSTOMER
COMPLAINTS BY 20%
USING SOCIAL MEDIA

DIESEL GOES SOCIAL
IN THE FITTING ROOM

APPROACH: CREATE A BOOTH IN THE FITTING ROOM THAT ALLOWS PEOPLE TO TAKE PHOTOS OF
THEMSELVES WEARING ITEMS THEY’RE TRYING ON, AND POST THESE PICTURES INSTANTLY TO
THEIR OWN FACEBOOK PROFILE IN ORDER TO GET FRIENDS’ OPINIONS AND SUGGESTIONS

CUSTOMERS CAN GET OPINIONS DIESEL GAINS FREE EXPOSURE FOR
AND OBJECTIVE ADVICE FROM ITS RANGE THANKS TO THE PHOTOS
FRIENDS, EVEN IF THEY’RE NOT THAT PEOPLE SHARE TO THEIR
ACTUALLY SHOPPING TOGETHER FACEBOOK PROFILES

SUCCESSFULLY INTEGRATED THE REAL-
WORLD SOCIAL ASPECT OF SHOPPING
INTO DIGITAL SOCIAL NETWORKS

STARBUCKS’S
‘MAYOR OFFERS’

APPROACH: OFFER DISCOUNTS TO THE
PERSON WHO ‘CHECKS IN’ TO EACH
BRANCH MOST OFTEN ON FOURSQUARE

CUSTOMERS GET VALUE IN THE FORM STARBUCKS GETS VALUE IN THE
OF POTENTIAL DISCOUNTS, AND THE FORM OF WORD-OF-MOUTH
EGO BOOST OF BECOMING ‘MAYOR’ ADVOCACY, AS WELL AS THE ABILITY
OF THEIR FAVOURITE STARBUCKS TO IDENTIFY ITS TOP CUSTOMERS

150,000 CHECK-INS AT US
STARBUCKS OUTLETS PER WEEK

CONVERTING SOCIAL
ACTIVITY INTO REVENUE

OBJECTIVE:
DRIVE ACTUAL SALES AMONGST A
FASHION AND MONEY-SAVVY AUDIENCE

APPROACH: CREATE A BLOG THAT FOCUSES ON GREAT FASHION TIPS AND
ADVICE, AND BRINGS EVERYTHING BACK TO HOW EVERYDAY CUSTOMERS
CAN AFFORD THE LOOK BY BUYING DIFFERENT ITEMS FROM TESCO

APPROACH: EXTEND CREDIBILITY AND REACH BY PARTNERING WITH
OTHER INFLUENTIAL BLOGGERS, AND CHALLENGE THEM TO CREATE NEW
LOOKS AND WRITE ABOUT THESE ON THEIR OWN PROPERTIES TOO

APPROACH: MAKE IT STRAIGHTFORWARD FOR PEOPLE TO ENGAGE AND
GET EXTRA INSPIRATION BY EXTENDING THE ACTIVITY INTO EVERYDAY
‘QUICK CONSUMPTION’ SOCIAL MEDIA LIKE FACEBOOK AND TWITTER

GENERATED MORE THAN
£2 MILLION IN SALES
FROM SOCIAL ACTIVITIES

LOTS OF GREAT INSPIRATION
FROM PREVIOUS ACTIVITIES

…BUT WHAT DOES
THE FUTURE HOLD?

3 TRENDS SHAPING THE FUTURE
OF SOCIAL MEDIA FOR RETAILERS

MOBILE DEVICES WILL MAKE
SOCIAL MEDIA UBIQUITOUS

MOBILE SOCIAL CONSTANT DYNAMIC
SEARCH ‘CHECK-INS’ COMMS OFFERS

¥€$

E-COMMERCE WILL
BECOME MORE SOCIAL

SOCIAL ANALYTICS WILL MAKE
EVERYTHING ACCOUNTABLE

IDEA

SO HOW CAN RETAILERS IN ASIA
GET STARTED IN SOCIAL MEDIA?

STEP 1: DEFINE YOUR
BUSINESS OBJECTIVES

STEP 2: MONITOR AND INTERPRET
YOUR AUDIENCE’S CONVERSATIONS

STEP 3: UNDERSTAND YOUR
AUDIENCE’S MOTIVATIONS

STEP 4: IDENTIFY HOW YOU CAN ADD
VALUE TO YOUR AUDIENCE’S WORLD

♔♘♗♕♖
STEP 6: STRATEGISE
YOUR APPROACH

8
STEP 1: SET YOUR OBJECTIVES
STEP 2: MONITOR CONVERSATIONS
STEP 3: UNDERSTAND MOTIVATIONS
STEP 4: IDENTIFY HOW TO ADD VALUE
STEP 5: SELECT YOUR PLATFORMS
STEP 6: STRATEGISE YOUR APPROACH
STEP 7: TEST AND LEARN
STEP 8: RINSE AND REPEAT

3 QUESTIONS:
WHAT EXACTLY ARE ‘SOCIAL MEDIA’? MM
WHY ARE SOCIAL MEDIA RELEVANT TO MARKETING? MM
HOW CAN RETAILERS IN ASIA HARNESS SOCIAL MEDIA? MM

SIMON KEMP
@ESKIMON
SIMON.KEMP@ W E A RE S OCIAL.SG
HTTP:// W E A RE S OCIAL.SG

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