The document discusses the rise of social media and its relevance for retailers in Asia-Pacific. It defines social media as internet-powered platforms that allow people and organizations to connect and engage in various social activities. The document notes that over 1.5 billion people worldwide now use social media, representing 22% of the global population. It provides examples of how retailers like Ikea, Uniqlo, Best Buy, Starbucks and Tesco have successfully used social platforms like Facebook and Foursquare to increase customer engagement, word-of-mouth marketing and sales. The document concludes by outlining eight steps Asian retailers can take to harness social media for their business objectives.

1. SOCIAL MEDIA:
HYPE OR BUZZ?
THE NEW REALITIES FOR
ASIA-PACIFIC RETAILERS
SIMON KEMP • we are social • RETAIL ASIA ROUNDTABLE, SINGAPORE, 13 OCTOBER 2011

2. SIMON KEMP
@ESKIMON

4. DIA’S
SOCI AL ME AIL
RET
R OLE IN ACIFIC
IN ASIA-P

5. 3 QUESTIONS:
WHAT EXACTLY ARE ‘SOCIAL MEDIA’?
WHY ARE SOCIAL MEDIA RELEVANT TO YOU?
HOW CAN RETAILERS IN ASIA HARNESS SOCIAL MEDIA?

6. 3 QUESTIONS:
WHAT EXACTLY ARE ‘SOCIAL MEDIA’?
WHY ARE SOCIAL MEDIA RELEVANT TO YOU?
HOW CAN RETAILERS IN ASIA HARNESS SOCIAL MEDIA?

7. “ 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.

8. THE CONCEPT OF SOCIAL MEDIA HAS
EXISTED SINCE THE DAYS OF CAVE PAINTINGS

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

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

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

12. NOW IT SEEMS LIKE A NEW SOCIAL
NETWORK LAUNCHES EVERY WEEK

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

14. 3 QUESTIONS:
WHAT EXACTLY ARE ‘SOCIAL MEDIA’?
WHY ARE SOCIAL MEDIA RELEVANT TO YOU?
HOW CAN RETAILERS IN ASIA HARNESS SOCIAL MEDIA?

15. WORLWIDE USERS OF SOCIAL MEDIA:
1,500,000,000+
SOURCE: SITE-REPORTED FIGURES, WIKIPEDIA

16. PROPORTION OF THE WORLD’S
POPULATION WHO USE SOCIAL MEDIA:
22% SOURCE: SITE-REPORTED FIGURES, WIKIPEDIA, UN DATA

17. 1,338
1,183
800
310
231 193
CHINA INDIA FACEBOOK USA INDONESIA BRAZIL
SOURCE: FACEBOOK, UN DATA

18. 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

19. NEW USERS JOINING
FACEBOOK EVERY DAY:
500,000
SOURCE: FACEBOOK

20. FACEBOOK 800 M
QQ 700 M
TWITTER 200 M
SINA WEIBO 200 M
HABBO HOTEL 200 M
VKONTAKTE 135 M
GOOGLE+ 50 M
SOURCE: SITE-REPORTED FIGURES, WIKIPEDIA

21. ASIAN SOCIAL MEDIA USERS:
800,000,000+
SOURCE: SITE-REPORTED FIGURES, WIKIPEDIA

22. 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

23. REACH

24. 50%
OF FACEBOOK USERS
SIGN IN EVERY DAY
SOURCE: FACEBOOK

25. REACH
FREQUENCY

26. MINUTES SPENT ON FACEBOOK EACH MONTH:
700,000,000,000
SOURCE: FACEBOOK

27. ( )
THAT EQUATES TO MORE THAN
1 MILLION YEARS
ON FACEBOOK EVERY MONTH

28. REACH
FREQUENCY
AFFINITY

29. SOCIAL MEDIA ARE REAL-TIME
COMMUNICATION CHANNELS
OCT
13

30. EACH FACEBOOK FAN IS WORTH
US$3.60
IN ‘EARNED MEDIA’ REACH
SOURCE: VITRUE.COM

31. REACH
FREQUENCY
AFFINITY
EFFICIENCY

32. BUY NOW!

33. REACH
FREQUENCY
AFFINITY
EFFICIENCY
CONVERSION

34. HOW CAN YOU TURN THIS POTENTIAL
INTO REAL BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY?

35. 3 QUESTIONS:
WHAT EXACTLY ARE ‘SOCIAL MEDIA’?
WHY ARE SOCIAL MEDIA RELEVANT TO MARKETING?
HOW CAN RETAILERS IN ASIA HARNESS SOCIAL MEDIA?

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

37. IKEA’S ‘SOCIAL CATALOGUE’

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

39. 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

40. 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

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

42. UNIQLO’S ‘SOCIAL LOOKBOOK’

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

44. 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

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

47. 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

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

49. BEST BUY’S
‘TWELPFORCE’

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

51. 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

52. 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

53. 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

54. REDUCED CUSTOMER
COMPLAINTS BY 20%
USING SOCIAL MEDIA

55. DIESEL GOES SOCIAL
IN THE FITTING ROOM

56. 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

57. 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

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

59. STARBUCKS’S
‘MAYOR OFFERS’

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

61. 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

62. 150,000 CHECK-INS AT US
STARBUCKS OUTLETS PER WEEK

63. CONVERTING SOCIAL
ACTIVITY INTO REVENUE

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

65. 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

66. 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

67. 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

68. GENERATED MORE THAN
£2 MILLION IN SALES
FROM SOCIAL ACTIVITIES

69. LOTS OF GREAT INSPIRATION
FROM PREVIOUS ACTIVITIES

70. …BUT WHAT DOES
THE FUTURE HOLD?

71. 3 TRENDS SHAPING THE FUTURE
OF SOCIAL MEDIA FOR RETAILERS

72. MOBILE DEVICES WILL MAKE
SOCIAL MEDIA UBIQUITOUS

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

74. ¥€$
E-COMMERCE WILL
BECOME MORE SOCIAL

75. ‘COLLECTIVE BUYING POWER’

76. SOCIAL ANALYTICS WILL MAKE
EVERYTHING ACCOUNTABLE

79. IDEA
SO HOW CAN RETAILERS IN ASIA
GET STARTED IN SOCIAL MEDIA?

80. 8
STEPS TO
SUCCESS

81. STEP 1: DEFINE YOUR
BUSINESS OBJECTIVES

82. STEP 2: MONITOR AND INTERPRET
YOUR AUDIENCE’S CONVERSATIONS

83. STEP 3: UNDERSTAND YOUR
AUDIENCE’S MOTIVATIONS

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

85. STEP 5: SELECT
YOUR PLATFORMS

86. ♔♘♗♕♖
STEP 6: STRATEGISE
YOUR APPROACH

87. STEP 7: TEST
AND LEARN

88. STEP 8: RINSE
AND REPEAT

89. 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

90. 3 QUESTIONS:
WHAT EXACTLY ARE ‘SOCIAL MEDIA’?
WHY ARE SOCIAL MEDIA RELEVANT TO MARKETING?
HOW CAN RETAILERS IN ASIA HARNESS SOCIAL MEDIA?

91. SOCIAL MEDIA:
HYPE OR BUZZ?

92. WE ARE SOCIAL IS A CONVERSATION AGENCY. WE HELP BRANDS TO LISTEN
TO, UNDERSTAND, AND ENGAGE IN CONVERSATIONS IN SOCIAL MEDIA.
WE’RE ALREADY HELPING MANY OF THE WORLD’S TOP BRANDS,
INCLUDING TESCO, UNILEVER, ADIDAS, COCA-COLA, AND DIAGEO.
IF YOU’D LIKE TO CHAT ABOUT HOW WE CAN HELP YOU TOO, EMAIL US
AT SAYHELLO@WEARESOCIAL.SG, OR CALL US ON +65 9146 5356

93. SIMON KEMP
MANAGING DIRECTOR, SINGAPORE
@ESKIMON
DJESKI
+65 9146 5356
SIMON.KEMP@WEARESOCIAL.SG
HTTP://WEARESOCIAL.SG