How the Best Social Media Marketing Plans Fail

Between eager startups raring to get a chunk out of the local market and deeply established family-run business, the world of social media marketing in the Philippines is a fairly novel concept.

Much of the information they learn – be it from local workshops and seminars to reading about online reputation management is new. They freak out (and believe me, they do). That’s where I come in; I hold their hands and tell them it’s absolutely okay to freak out.

From my years of taking client calls and responding to support tickets, I can tell you that most of these brands and businesses fail on their first attempt at promoting their companies via the social media.

One of the most common reasons why even the best social media marketing plans fail is that brands and businesses in the Philippines have a very strong tendency to bite off more than they can chew.

Promoting a brand or business via the social media is easy; it’s convenient and the best part – it’s ridiculously cheap (to the point of obscenity). Given the same budget for a 30-second ad on the local radio station and spending it on marketing via Twitter, a particular company could reach at least a hundred thousand users.

The massive scale, combined with the reach, convenience and the price point drives small business owners to over-enthusiasm (and up to a point, madness). They bite off more than they can chew, set unrealistic targets and ultimately – fail.

Here are a few tips on how to avoid failure in the world of social media marketing:

1.      Avoid shameless self-promotion. It sends future customers screaming to the hills. Also, it’s just sad.

2.      Not updating your social media profiles. Don’t put up a Facebook page for your business just for the sake of having one. You’ll bum everybody out.

3.      Don’t overthink your results. The social media is a living, breathing organism. You can’t turn it on and off like a faucet. The best you can actually do is to condition its behavior.

There are a ton more things I’d like to share but you’ll want to start with How NOT to Build Your Online Presence: Five Social Media Marketing Rookie Mistakes to Avoid.

Has your social media marketing plan succeeded? Let me know or ask your questions in the comments below.

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About the Author: Between planning weddings and chasing pavement, Shandi Tan is a Community Manager for Pulyetos, the premiere resource for online reputation management and social media marketing in the Philippines.

Google Places as Part of Your Social Media Marketing Strategy in the Philippines

All the papers are in and there really is no better point in time to review your social media marketing strategy – than right now!

In this day and age of cloud computing and mobile browsing, it makes absolutely no sense to simply put up a website for your brand or business. Gone are the days when users key in brand names on their address bars.

When nearly two of every seven pockets in the Philippines hold an iPhone, it’s almost insane not to add Google Places as part of your social media marketing plans. After all, Siri can’t make a suggestion is she doesn’t know you exist.

This infographic on adding Google Places for Businesses in the Philippines should get your marketing up to speed. Credit of course, goes to the brilliant young minds at Pulyetos.com. They’re the premiere resource for online reputation management and social media marketing in thePhilippines.

Is your business on Google’s maps? How has Google Places worked out for you as part of your social media marketing strategy? Let me know or ask your questions in the comments below.

Make the Holidays a Part of Your Social Media Marketing Strategy

Make the Holidays a Part of Your Social Media Marketing Strategy

            

I think it was then Gabriela Party-List representative, Congresswoman Liza L. Maza who was the first to cry foul over the commercialization of the different holidays we celebrate each year.

            

Some of them are wonderful touches (read: Grandparent’s Day) while some of them are wrung out for every piece of merchandising (pins, buttons, mugs and umbrellas) for sale to mark these occasions. When you think about it, we get these reactions precisely because they work. 

But can you do the same for your social media marketing plans?

            

We strongly suggest that you come up with similar approaches for your social media marketing strategy especially in the Philippines. It can be a compilation of awesome songs for Mothers’ Day Weekend or some of the cutest and coolest gift ideas for your old man on Father’s Day.

            

If you’re in for the long haul, try to put some festive themes around your site or your social media profiles. Make your cover photo standout. Here’s an example from Pulyetos, LLC. They’re the country’s premiere resource on online reputationmanagement and social media marketing in the Philippines.

          

Have you tried to make novelty themes and backgrounds for your YouTube Channel or Twitter profile? How has it worked out for you? 

From all of us at Pulyetos, Happy Halloween! 

How to Implement a Social Media Marketing Strategy for Un-Brand-able Businesses

Between freelance graphic designers and brand managers who like to call the shots on anything from art direction to product launch – we sometimes get the odd client whose business doesn’t really brand well.

From our years in the trenches of social media marketing, we’ve seen our fair share of these clients, these businesses that aren’t only difficult to sell, but even more difficult to conceptualize for their ideal target markets.

This post is about dealing with sorts of clients. Granted, I’m writing from my years of experience with social media marketing but the advice I’ve put together here still rings true for graphic designers, web developers and the creative design industry in general.

Refuse the client.

It takes a massive amount of chutzpah and tact to turn down a client (albeit politely). It makes almost no sense at all to refuse business especially when money is tight and the rent’s due in a week or so.

All of these niggling doubts and quibbles tend to disappear once you stop thinking of your (competent) content writing, web designing, app developing or graphic designing skills as a gig, a racket; and start thinking of these valuable assets as a business.

You’ve every right to refuse entry to your premises. After all, you own the business. You call the shots; you run the show.


Shut your eyes, and pull the trigger.

When we happen to find ourselves in a fix with a client who desperately needs a social media marketing strategy, and he or she can pay well over our prices – we stop and think how much his or her brand lends itself to good branding.

If we can wing it, we’ll wing it. For those times we do, we close our eyes and hope everything sticks. The only time you should refuse an un-brandable business that’s willing to fork over your fees is when you can’t see yourself putting in the hours and the quality that people have come to love you for in your work.

Remember, in our line of work, we trade in the currency of our reputations. We’re only as good as our last project. Our greatness is only bound by the ambition we all share.


Send them over to others.

The web design industry is a relatively tight-knit bunch. Designers and developers generally try to stay in touch. This isn’t only useful for flagging down the inevitable clients from hell but these connections come in handy for outsourcing some of your work.

The idea here is take a project you aren’t likely to enjoy and send it over to someone you can trust to get the job done. Skim a little off the top. Rinse and repeat.

What do you do when you’re asked to come up with an advert for a funeral parlor? How do you manage the online reputation for a particularly sleazy personal injury lawyer?

Share your thoughts in the comments below.

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About the Author: Between planning weddings and chasing pavement, Shandi Tan is a Community Manager for Pulyetos, LLC. the premiere hub for online reputation management and social media marketing in the Philippines.

Outsourcing Your Social Media Marketing Campaigns [INFOGRAPHIC]

Outsourcing is Smart Business.

When you think about it, it’s the natural evolutionary step in the greater scheme of things in every business, in whatever economy and in whatever quiet corner of the globe.

Well, don’t take it from me. Take it from an English economist whose words are still rocking the world of social media marketing hundreds of years later. David Ricardo’s Theory of Comparative Advantage teaches us many things and efficiency isn’t the least of these things.

On some absolute level, David Ricardo teaches us that the best businesses operate best when they stick to what they know.

This neat infographic from the brilliant young minds at Pulyetos, LLC. makes the point even better. They’re the premiere resource for online reputation management and social media marketing in the Philippines.

Have you tried outsourcing your social media marketing? Share your experiences or ask your questions in the comments below.

So You Want to Run Your Own Social Media Marketing Campaign? [INFOGRAPHIC]

It’s once again the season of shameless self-promotion and between entrenched political dynasties and young, ambitious business owners looking to try their hand at sculpting our political landscape.

            

While we do our level best to accommodate most questions, requests and consults; so for those who’ve next to no idea how the social media marketing campaigns our done, the brilliant young minds at Pulyetos.com have put together this infographic on how you can run your own campaign. They’re the premiere resource on online reputation management and social media marketing in the Philippines.

Have you tried your hand at building an online presence or pushing for a strong showing in the polls using the election? Do you think this is a real chance for social media to finally push our country to genuine change?

            

Share your thoughts in the comments below.

Five Signs You've Hired a Bad Social Media Marketing Agency

In the years I've spent working with some of the best and brightest minds in the business of executing social media marketing campaigns, I've learned that we generally have three classes of clients:

First is the business owner who acknowledges the need for building a presence online. He or she usually finds our website via Google. From there, our teams of community managers guide them through our services and help them choose the best solutions for their business.

One other type of client is the company that has tried to market their brand using the social media. Though they've poured massive amounts of their resources, success continues to elude them. Like the above, we do our level best to objectively assess what they do wrong and help them set their social media marketing strategy straight.

Finally, the third type of client we get is the business who's hired a social media marketing agency before. Their contractors have either run away with their deposits or have almost no idea what they're actually doing.
It's for this type of client that I've written this post. Today, I want to share five signs you've hired a bad social media marketing agency and what you can do about it.

Claims of Unique Content

Unique content is the first flag I usually pull on bad agencies. When a company or freelancer claims that all of his or her content is unique, you should run in the opposite direction.

This is a given in any social media marketing campaign. If you don't have the right to the material (whether it's a photo or an article); you've absolutely no right to put it up on a website.

Money-Back Guarantees

All of social media marketing is a careful study into the complex, living, breathing organism that is the social media. There are no guarantees in this business; only approximations of success.

While we do our best to manage expectations; those who offer money-back deals tend to use black hat methods that may put your business at serious risks.

Poor Website Design

We always tell our clients that websites aren't unlike brick-and-mortar stores. These should be well-kept, well-stocked and neatly organized. If you're looking to hire a social media marketing agency and his or her website looks like it's been put together from generic templates or the copy is poorly written; it isn't hard to imagine how much more effort they're likely to put on your project.

Remember, their sites should be their portfolios. Don't let anybody tell you otherwise.

Unlisted Business Address

Part and parcel of marketing via the social media is the idea that brands and businesses ought to be present, whether that's on Google's first page or even in the brick and mortar world.

If a business operation doesn't list the specifics of its location, there's an equally good chance that they're hiding something. From what our clients have experienced, these agencies are actually fronts for scammers (who besmirch our industry's fine name) or fly-by-night operations that never seem to be able to deliver.

Unresponsive to Questions and Inquiries

Social media marketing is premised on the need for brands and businesses to connect to their target markets, whether that's via organic search, traffic referral or direct engagement in different social media networks.

If your marketing agency takes forever to process your requests or answer your queries, run away and never look back.From what our clients have been through, we've learned that agencies who tend to skirt questions for their own brands or business also tend to disappear when they're directly engaged by other users.

In fine, here are a few things you need to check to know if you've hired a bad social media marketing agency for your brand or business:

1. Before hiring a company to do your marketing via the social media, take a long hard look at their site. It's their portfolio and it's always a great gauge on exactly how they can help you build your presence online. When in doubt, you'll want to read these tips on how to find the best social media marketing companyfor your brand or business.
2. If you encounter one that isn't responsive, seems shady or generally feels wrong, walk away. How they treat you isn't going to be far from how they treat your customers when they take over marketing your brand.
3. If you think you've hired a bad agency, cancel your plan or subscription immediately. They can probably do your online reputation more harm than good. Remember, online damage control isn't so cheap these days.

Have you hired a bad social media marketing agency for your business before? Let me know or ask your questions in the comments below.

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About the Author: Between planning weddings and chasing pavement, Shandi Tan is a Community Manager for Pulyetos, the premiere resource for online reputation management and social media marketing in the Philippines.

Social Media Marketing in the Philippines with Google Maps [INFOGRAPHIC]

From our experience, it’s the quickest and easiest way to get your business on the map. Where I’m from, social media marketing in the Philippines is at its infancy. Brands and businesses have been using it for a couple of years now, to achieve their business goals.

But hand in heart, all of this has to stop. Somebody has to put some method in all of this madness. When these companies fail (and they almost always do fail) with their shameless self-promotion, it’s our industry in general that gets all the flak.

            

This infographic hopes to dispel the lingering doubts on this fantastic new platform for building a brand online. If anything, it should put some new direction on the shameless self-promotion that floods all the timelines and feeds of the users in the Philippines.

Credit of course, goes to the fantastic people at Pulyetos.com who’ve relentlessly helped small to medium enterprises with their social media marketing in the Philippines for years now.

            

You can read more about putting your business on Google’s first page here.

            

Have you tried putting your business on Google Places? How has it worked out for you so far? Let me know or ask your questions in the comments below. 

Social Media Marketing with Twitter in the Philippines [INFOGRAPHIC]

Between pundits and bloggers, the local mainstream media is abuzz with some of the most interesting development in the social media in the Philippines. Barring a permanent injunction on the Anti-Cybercrime Law, we’re excited to see where candidates are going to come from (shameless self-promotion, aside).

In the words of the ponente in Javellana v Executive Secretary:

It is much too late in the day for our aspiring politicians, both in the traditional and progressive persuasions to sit on the fence of pursuing an aggressive social media marketing strategy as part of their overall campaign plans. We all know it works – Obama did it in 2008. But can they make it in time to engage the millions of Twitter users in the Philippines?

For those who need a bit more help, here’s a nice infographic on the number of Twitter users in the Philippines and how new brands and businesses can capitalize on them.

Credit goes out to the brilliant young minds at Pulyetos.com, arguably one of the most important resources on social media marketing in the Philippines.

If you're new to the world of building an online presence, you'll want to take a look at this. It's a practical guide on where you can start.

What do you think of social media marketing with Twitter? Share your thoughts or ask your questions in the comments below.