Marketers not yet in a twitter over social networking sites

A Twitter link on a business card might be uncommon, yet exists, as some media experts intend to stress the fact that the future of communication lies in Web 2.0 social networks, wikis and shared consumer-generated content.

Following the global economic crisis, reliability on internet as a source of information has hit 63 per cent in the UAE, according to a study by Integral, the research and insight specialist agency, part of Omnicom Group. The rate tops TV viewership rate of 61 per cent.

The study reveals that consumer consumption of the internet has increased by 50 per cent during this period, with top choices being social networking and politics.

With an internet penetration of 60 per cent in the UAE and a growing rate in Saudi Arabia currently estimated between 40 and 45 per cent, most media experts believe it makes sense to utilise new media to promote their clients, create more awareness about the brands they represent, learn about their consumers' habits and preferences and measure the ROI effectively.

Yet, while social networking among other new media tools sounds great, very achievable, low cost and mass targeted at the same time, does it really make the perfect marketing dream of each business come true?

How realistic is it to talk about a major shift to online media in the region when many businesses still struggle with the notion of interacting with their consumers via blogs, or simply updating their websites regularly?

Social networks, in particular, have played a major role in building reputations and destroying others.

Last April, Domino's Pizza faced a communications crisis that spun a "don't eat at Domino's anymore" call among internet users and public. Two employees of a Domino's Pizza franchise in Canada created a video purporting to show the preparation of unsanitary food for customer delivery. The video was seen by more than one million YouTube viewers.

In Saudi Arabia, a boycott campaign against Toyota car dealer, "Let it Rust", gained momentum recently through chat forums, and other online media including financial services and stock websites, and proved successful.

Measurement of social networks is relatively accurate because it offers complete profiles of internet users, yet, fails in other areas where most research in the region is site-centric based on the number of hits. Emirates Business asked communications professionals their views and opinions.

Douglas Palau Managing Director, Impact Proximity

The principles of social media sound great, but a marketer still needs to apply his ideas and strategies to define how it best achieves his overall objectives and whether it can do so in an acceptable time frame.

The market where it is being deployed should also have the critical mass of users to justify investments. Our research points to the fact that social networking take up two to three hours of an average GCC youth's internet time in a day.

In the past six months alone we have seen a 44 per cent increase in social media usage across the UAE and Saudi Arabia. So the medium is established and will continue to deepen its involvement with users over time. Digital media is interactive and hence it's not just about creating awareness but has the ability to engage consumers for longer than normal advertising.

In the case of some social and viral usage because messages are passed person to person, brand opinions are influenced directly by peers and thus there is an added credibility and trust. However, new social media must expect uncontrollable factors such as the consumer deciding whether to spread the brand word or not. So social media really needs to be tested out by each brand to find its own respective role within the overall media mix.

The established media companies have been quite smart to leverage their editorial and content strengths though online properties and hence are reaping the benefits. There are many interesting independent online media companies that are digitally focused and hence are able to move quicker into spaces such as social networking, online video, mobile content etc.

Each media has its own merits and while online is the new kid on the block with a lot going for it doesn't mean right now it's the best way to reach every audience at any time, although it may well prove to be, some time down the line.

Ronald Howes Managing Director, Memac Ogilvy

Social media on its own, without the support of a well thought through integrated digital strategy is not going to help realise marketing objectives successfully.

Social media as a marketing tool for brands is still in its trial and error stage, so while the potential is huge the industry is still working towards understanding how best to use this platform for brands, how to measure effectiveness and where we see social media playing a role for brand communication.

Consumers are moving to Web 2.0 platforms and naturally business must follow. There are two separate questions here, one relates to the shift from passive information to active engagement from a marketing perspective – and yes we are seeing this change happening very quickly. As marketers we must look at blogger engagement, establishing dialogue with our consumers, soon brands that don't engage will be left behind.

A major media shift to online, however, is unrealistic in the short and even medium-term. Several macro and micro factors will play a role in media shift including internet communications technology growth, internet penetration and adoption rates, more Arabic-language content, localised applications and better systems for evaluating metrics among others.

Currently we see digital playing a key role in communication, and we see strong indicators that digital will become a major player, this will probably happen over the next three to five years.

Internet marketing is valuable not just in terms of quantifying success via metrics and analytics but also in terms of allowing users to co-create and share in brand values. The key difference between the internet and other media in shaping opinions is that it's collaborative – the brand and the user shape opinions together.

Most online advertising is centred around high traffic portals. Whether its news, entertainment, business or sport, in general we have to look at sites that attract a large audience to justify the media spend and get the best results for our clients.

Shyamsundar Ramlal Regional Digital Champion, Mindshare

Using social networks for marketing is not for the faint-hearted. Yes, it can pay rich dividends if you enroll your customers in the brand movement and heed their suggestions and comments and act on them. But if you are simply there in the same 'lifeless', 'unactivated' state as you are in other media then it will either turn around and bite you or simply turn away with a disinterested shrug.

Consumer-controlled brand websites are the pinnacle of the brand-consumer relationship. This depends on mutual trust. Sure, not all brands are ready to relinquish control, but the caution is understandable. A brand that is not fundamentally strong cannot afford to drop its defences. In the region the brand-consumer bonds are still being built, and it may be a while before a chief executive officer will answer a blog post on his corporate website with one of his own. In terms of measurement, if we are talking about a simple animated banner then you will have to measure its impact on consumer perception the traditional way. However, when we use the internet to engage consumers and enable conversations about the brand, then the metrics take a whole new form, and the results can be ecstatic or agonising, depending on what is being done.

Rafic Kamaleddine Chief Strategy Officer, TBWA\RAAD

Social networking needs to be handled with utmost care, needs to be relevant to consumers and above all needs to be managed correctly. For those who can get it right, it is a great marketing tool that allows companies to get first hand engagement with consumers and have an honest and interesting conversation. However, brands need to be ready to accept criticism and input from consumers. They also need to be ready to talk in consumer speak.

Companies are still slightly timid when it comes to setting up blogs. But, recently some have been using Twitter to start a conversation. Consumers are free to use whichever websites and social networks they want without any external push. As such they use the internet to exchange information and share opinions about everything under the sun.

Choose any subject, book, company or movie and you will have thousands of people on the web who have expressed some kind of opinion about it. This opinion is uncensored and unprompted by the brand or the marketer in a company. It happens as a reaction to an activity done by the company. And a lot of people use it as a guide to form their opinion or to do a future purchase.

Lately, companies have started to look at what is being said about them and the shift of opinion through tools such as Tag Clouds that allow advertisers and everyone else to find out what is being said about a brand or a subject by measuring the recurrence of the brand name and the attributes and language used to describe or talk about it. Other websites such as Digg show you the latest conversation on the web and your brand could be one of them. Channels like Twitter allow you to follow an event or a subject as it happens. In short, the conversation about your brand on the net is the 'real thing' versus the structured research done in face-to-face interviews.

Advertisers use the websites that can reach their respective customers. So if they can reach them through the ones listed above, then they will use them. If not, they will use other websites and chat sites to do that.

Ziad Skaff Group Director, Integral

In response to some claims that social networks, being fast evolving media, quickly become obsolete, such as the debate on Facebook being replaced by Twitter, for example, I believe it is too early to reach such a conclusion in the region.

According to our studies, social networks are very powerful, but they are not top-ranking. The highest numbers still go to search engines such a Google, or Hotmail and MSN. You could consider Google and MSN part of social networking because they have social activities. They offer chatting applications that are part of socialising as well.

That said, Facebook, for example, is more limited. Yes, it is trying to diversify more by enhancing information sharing applications, or creating sub groups for professionals. It doesn't mean those networks are moving as fast as said. Social networks have become an addiction, or more like a complementary virtual existence that people can't do without. As with online companies, individuals are embracing the notion of "brick and mortar" existence – the combination of physical and virtual.

Speaking of Facebook, I believe it is a good platform that many clients are using for advertising. However, I can tell you that overall online advertising has increased since the crisis. Our study proved that consumers have started to increase their online interaction to acquire more information in times of major events. Yet, in our region, it is still too early to talk about internet replacing traditional media.

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