Hello,Twenty Eleven!
What I wish for in 2011,
for loved ones - health,wealth and love
for myself – less tears,more rest, more fun, more love.
In general, I wish there’d be more positivity in the world. It’s been a sad 2010 for us, waking up to negative news every other day. We are surrounded with such negativity that every relationship seems to be coated with this toxic. Why live in such bitter resentment? Why the lack of compassion?
Life is short. Make the most out of the time we have, with your loved ones. Tame the selfish self and be selfless.
I wish people would be more honest with themselves, that includes me. Be it in a relationship with someone or yourself. Communication is important and honesty is the foundation to all relationships. Don’t fool yourself anymore in this brand new year. Know what you want, express yourself, don’t bottle things up. Nobody is a mind reader and everyone deserves the truth. Be honest with yourself,with your feelings. Know what’s right and know when to stop. Learn to let go.
On a personal note, I am going to start detaching myself from school (not that I’m very attached/fond of it to begin with) and start focusing on my next step in life – work or masters ? Either way, I know I will enjoy it (be positive) and make the best out of it. By the end of 2011, I hope to stay in touch with people I love (yays to bff coming back!), meet new interesting people, have a healthy and balanced life, get my driving license, get a job/enroll to masters, pay back university fees debt, enjoying my part time jobs,remember to control my temper,stop falling in love with the ‘wrong’ people and love myself more, blogging for 2012.
[update : I had an awesome start to 2011, counting down with bestie and friends and a bunch of random people at a cozy pub. Wine and food with them and parents afterwards. Had fun talking on the phone with a couple of people, whatsapp-ing bff and a couple of other friends, forgetting half of the conversations when I eventually knocked out at 5am...how did you spend your first few hours of 2011? Hope everyone had fun !]
Speak and Listen to your consumers !
More and more businesses are getting on social networking platforms, especially Twitter. I’ve come across many (in fact, way too many) company accounts that are either pretty much inactive or can be classified as ‘spammers’. Sure, 140 characters is good enough for business advertisements, quick and cost-effective. What’s more ? It’s free ! But doing it the wrong way can actually backfire your plans and destroy all potential relationships you may gain.
From personal experiences, I think it is important for business to bear in mind a few tips before starting to reach out to your crowd on social networking sites, IMHO :
1) Know your audience, listen to their needs !
Recently there was this email spam from a certain property agency that pissed most tweeples off. As for me, I think it’s quite silly to email me (of all people!) who have yet to pay off my university debt to check out the new apartments in town. Seriously, do some research and know who are your target audience ! Obviously I don’t need a condo yet?!
I think it’s a good and important thing that companies are starting to ‘listen’ online to their consumer’s needs too ! I tweeted about looking for a short term rental apartment in Hong Kong just yesterday and I got a reply from @Ascott_Ltd recommending their serviced residences. Perfect example of listening to what your customers need and responding to what they are looking for, without sounding too pushy.
2) Don’t just be yet-another-brand, be personal !
It’s no longer about how ‘BIG’ your brand is but consumers need to be ‘entertained’. It’s nice to know there are ‘real people’ behind the online presence too. We like to see behind-the-scenes after a movie is out, so same goes for brands online. We’re not talking to bots afterall !
I personally like @standingsushi even thought I have yet to try their food. Mainly because I read about them on their blog and I really liked how they bring their concept across. And when I mentioned to my bestie that I want to visit @standingsushi someday, I immediately received a personal message to welcome my future visit. It certainly makes me want to go down and check it out personally (real soon!).
3) It’s about profit BUT more about relationship !
Be a ‘friend’ rather than an annoying salesman. You need to build a relationship based on trust, sincerity and constant interaction. Sure, not everyone can buy your products all the time but hey, no harm retweeting or spreading the message to others who can possibly do so if I like you. Don’t just follow everyone and expects to be followed back instantly. It’s not about the numbers either.
I like @thegardenslug alot as you can see from my tweets if you’ve been following. I started off not knowing what they have to offer but I don’t feel that their main objectives of being online is to force people to visit them but instead, to build a relationship with their customers. That’s definitely a (Popsicle) brownie point for me and when I visited them, I knew it won’t be the last time I’m going over because The Garden Slug won my heart with their friendliness and awesome food.
4) Don’t act like a naggy old fart. Stop repeating the same messages!
This is spamming. Quality over quantity. 987123415623 tweets about the same product isn’t going to get you sales. We get your message but we may not like it. In fact, count yourself lucky if you still have 1 follower at the end of the day.
5) Reach out – help – contribute !
Sometimes it’s not just about your brand. No one really cares about you on twitter since it’s such a huge community unless you reach out to them individually. Introduce yourself at the right time – don’t be too money-minded aka not too eager to sell your product/services. Promote others or retweet their messages is a good way to start, it’s not just about you afterall. It’s all about the charm and making people genuinely interested in you. Share interesting relevant links or include pictures or videos in your messages. People will follow you if they enjoy reading your tweets.
6) Customer is always number 1. (not entirely true but that’s the saying)
(Almost) Real-time customer service is probably the best thing that one can get from social networking sites. I like how @Starhubcares try to answer to everyone’s enquries and drop direct messages to assist you when you are getting pissed holding on to the phone for half an hour listening to that awful waiting tone. Sometimes it just takes a tiny effort to pacify your angsty customers and we like it when you are willing to listen to our feedback and improve. It’s a 2 way communication afterall.
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Of course I’m no expert and I may be wrong but at least that’s how I feel as a consumer. Any good case studies or examples that you can think of ? Or any other tips you can think of to share ? Open to discussion =)
