all you need is your smartphone

Korean do not have time to do their grocery shopping once a week. Tesco has launched virtual stores in the subway station in South Korea. The stores look exactly the same as the real one. However, each grocery items has a QR code. People only need to scan the QR code with their smartphones for the items they want to buy, then the items will be on their online shopping cart. They then pay by their phone and the items will be delivered to their home. Tesco boosts their online sales up to 130% and has been the first in Korea's online market.I found this quite interesting and I think it may also work in Australia as people may not have time to do their grocery shopping as well. What do you think?

using social media for looking for jobs

I have recently read an article about a teenager using social media to ask Google to give him a job. He upload a video "Google please hire me" on Youtube. Although Google didn't offer him a job at the end, he was given 80 interview opportunities by other companies. He joined a company which is called SigFig.

I found this quite interesting. As social media is not only used by companies, it can be used for marketing ourselves too. Will you ever try social media for jobs?

think before you tweet

Two Mexicans tweeted yesterday by reporting that gunmen were attacking schools. The consequences of this was 26 car accidents and parents rushing to schools to pick up their kids. The two people are facing 30 years jail which is the most serious charges brought up for using Twitter. news article

As there are not clear guidelines for people for using Twitter properly, Twitter should outline some clear guidelines for using Twitter ethically and legally. I have found nine things not to do on Twitter. I think it should add one more to it: not to publish false or offensive information.

Some organisations did badly on Twitter such as Telstra Bigpond which we discussed in class. However there are also some organisations did well (40 of the best twitter brands). The organisations which did well often monitor its twitter page, respond to the comments, and engaging with their fans and critics. 

Do you think Twitter should set up code of conduct for its users? If yes, how?

type in what you want :)

Tipp-ex released a youtube video which I found it quite interesting. It is an interactive campaign. After you have pressed "Don't shoot the bear", you can type in anything to decide what the bear and the hunter in it do. Try it and you will love it!

P.S. it contains foul language.

how Apple make use of Youtube

Apple uses a series of videos to introduce iOS 5 which is a new operating system for iPad, iPhone, and iPod Touch. It shows few of the 200 new features and how people benefits from them. In the video, there are two iOS vice presidents describing what Apple has implemented and improved the new system which increase credibility. Through youtube, people can immediately see the effect of iOS 5 and think that it is innovative. It sends out a strong brand message - Apple keeps innovating to meet customers' needs and wants. I think Apple is quite success in using youtube as a social media platform. What do you think?

Urban outfitters - a successful brand in social media marketing

Urban outfitters is an American brand which is actively engaged with social media marketing tool. It ranks first in the apparel retail industry with the best relative performance.They do not place ads on TV, newspapers or magazines. They know that their customers are mainly teenagers which are highly connected with social media. They updated their twitter and facebook page everyday to let people to know about their newest products. They also updated youtube videos about their collections and trends.

I found a blog that describes 12 rules of social marketing for Urban Outfitters 



1) Hang out with cool kids
2) Don't be a Snob 
3) Be a good listener
4) Ask good questions 
5) Make some introductions
6) Stop talking about yourself too much 
7) You need a good party spot 
8) Music can really set the mood 
9) Be spontaneous 
10) Don't take yourself too serious 
11) Be vulnerable 
12) Keep in touch 


I found it quite interesting =) What do you think?

social media for customer relationship management

More and more organisations are using social media for its customer service as there are many potential customers for the organisations. It can increase efficiency and can reduce cost. Many people leave comments which spread word of mouth for the brands. The brands can then find out which part they haven't do well enough. There are 79% of companies using social networking sites. I personally using Twitter to contact with Qantas for my flight which was being delayed by volcano ashes and is quite up-to-date. When I called Qantas for info for my flight, it took around four hours for a Qantas' staff to respond to my enquiry, but it just took like 5 mins for Qantas respond to my Twitter post.


This report provides an insight for how companies use social media for CRM. (link)

Social media is an effective way for brands to communicate to customers and respond to their needs. What do you think?

social media for organisations

Social media is a new field to organisations. Many of them are starting to engage in it. They are starting to set up Facebook and Twitter accounts. As social media can be accessed freely and easily, most firms have overlook the issues for social media. It is hard for them to measure the effectiveness of using social media. However, it is essential for businesses to market online. 
There are four benefits that i have found : 

• wider audience exposure
• build relationships 
• successful branding 
• risk management strategy 

In Australia, there are only a few organisations using social media which is lagging behind other countries. According to a global analysis from KPMG Australia, China's adoption rate is 87%, 71.5% in the US and 70.2 % in India, Australia is second last at 41.6 per cent. It is, however, still well ahead of Japan where just 27.5 per cent of businesses use social media. (link)

Organisations should take advantage of social media, but should also beware the negative impact of it. What do you think?

Google+ versus facebook

Google+ is a combination of Twitter and Facebook. Google+ has more features than any other social networks. It's been perceived as a fierce competitor in the social network industry. However, many people question about its effectiveness. I myself is a fan of Facebook and I think Google+ has too many features. Nearly everyone has a Facebook account. Facebook is now dominating in social networking with 750 million users and is still increasing. Google is still beta limited version and its traffic has dropped. This is not a good sign to Google+. There are many issues for Google+. People must use their real name and it only allows individual profiles. Google+ claims that it offers better privacy and is more better and easier to use than Facebook.

These are the articles I read about Google+:
1)http://www.computerworld.com.au/article/395205/hitwise_google_traffic_dropped_last_week/?uts_source=taxonomyfeed&utm_medium=rss
2)http://www.computerworld.com.au/article/395048/can_google_next_facebook_-_next_twitter_/?uts_source=taxonomyfeed&utm_medium=rss
3)http://www.cio.com.au/article/395492/google_passes_first_tests_challenges_remain/#

What do you think about Google+? A failure or success?

First post

Hi everyone. I am new to blogger. I am still exploring the features of it. In my last semester, I am here to blog for my Social Media Marketing Unit. Nice to meet u :)