Social networking sites are one of the fastest and least
expensive ways to find the target audience and help business grow. Singapore
has a 70% social media penetration which more than doubles the global average
of 26%; ranking the top in Asia. Social media users in Singapore spend an
average of 2.1 hours per day on all social media platforms. (Statista, 2015).
However, due to the incompetency of staff members when using social media,
small and medium fashion businesses in Singapore do not utilize these platforms
effectively to communicate with their customers and to advertise their goods.
According to a study done by Harvard Business Review
Analytic Service and SAS (2010), 43% of business executives said their
companies are not using social media effectively. Even so, most companies using
social media have yet to fully leverage customer interactions via social media
channels. 42% of the interviewed companies did not know which social media
platform their most valuable customers were using while 93% of them did not
integrate social media into their marketing activities. Thus, it is recommended
for small and medium fashion businesses in Singapore to train their staff
members to utilize the social media platforms effectively.
The first solution is to train the staff members through
Social Media Training Module (SMTM). SMTM consists of 4 main modules. Firstly,
there will be a social media literacy module where the staff members will learn
from the basics on the unique functions of the various social media platforms.
It is important for them to learn how to operate and use the features
incorporated in these platforms so that they are able to utilise them
effectively. Next, there will be a customer service module, where the staff
members will be given a range of hypothetical interactions that may appear
social media. They will be trained on how to respond to the different
situations in order to best engage the customers and provide excellent service.
Furthermore, marketing module train the staff members to
use different methods and techniques in social media content creation. They
will be taught on how to create good infographics. Since Infographics are
simple and are the most shared on the web and social media, it is important for
the staffs to use infographics to promote their products to the target market.
Lastly, SMTM also provides an analytical module. The staff members will be
trained to use social media analytical tools such as Google Analytics to
measure the effectiveness of the social media usage in terms of customer
service and marketing effort. They will also need to analyse these data so that
companies can continually improve in engaging their target audience and their
marketing strategy.
With these reasons, training the staff members through
SMTM will help them to understand the unique functions of the various social
media platforms better. As a result, they will be able to utilize these social
media platforms effectively.
Another reason why staff members did not utilize social
media platforms effectively was because they were unsure of which social media
platforms their target market were using. Small and medium fashion businesses
in Singapore should identify and use a mix of various social media platforms
that are suitable for their businesses which will help them to reach out to
their target market more effectively.
Chart 1 (Sources: NUS Database, 2015)
Based on the interviews with 692 people from the
fashion-related industry that uses social media to market their products by NUS
students who took ES2002 in Semester 2, 2014/2015. Chart 1 depicts the
frequency rating of various social media platforms. The rating of 1.00 indicates
high usage rate and the rating of 5.00 indicates low usage rate. Facebook,
Instagram and Twitter have the lower frequency ratings among the other social
media platforms which are 1.25, 1.21 and 2.15 respectively. This clearly shows
that Facebook, Instagram and Twitter are the social media platforms to be used
in fashion-related industry frequently to reach out to their target audience
effectively and to generate more sales.
In addition, according to Statista (2014), Facebook, Instagram
and Twitter are the three most popular social media platforms with 3.8 million,
1.35 million and 1.2 million registered users in Singapore respectively. Thus,
SMEs clothing retail businesses in Singapore should not miss out any users from
either of these social media platforms which may turn out to be their potential
buyers.
Staff members should be trained on the unique features of
Facebook, Instagram and twitter to utilize them effectively. Facebook has its
“Boost Post” feature which allow business user to choose their “specific target
audience”, “budget amount” and the “number of audience to reach” in a few
simple steps. It is important for staff members to utilize Facebook’s features
to promote their products and attract new potential customers.
On the other hand, hashtag feature of Instagram allows
the image post to connect with their target markets. Relevant tags will help
businesses to attract new followers who may be their potential customers. Staff
member will also learn the popular internet slangs so that they will able to
understand and pick the best words to bring their messages effectively across
Instagram and twitter.
However, there are certain limitations. By using a mix of
various social media platforms, it will also suggests that a greater amount of time
and attention are required. The usage of social media may in turn damage the
company’s reputation if their staff members do not interact and respond to its
customer’s enquiries promptly. Furthermore, the cost of advertising in social
media platforms will be high if they are extensively used to reach out to large
coverage of their target audience.
Thus, it is strongly recommended for small and medium
fashion businesses in Singapore to train their staff members through SMTM to be
able to use the unique features of various social media platforms effectively. They
should also identify and use a mix of various social media platforms such as Facebook,
Instagram and Twitter that are suitable for their businesses which will able to
reach out to their target market more effectively.
References
Brands Don't Use Social Media Effectively. (2011, January
19). Retrieved March 9, 2015, from http://www.marketingprofs.com/charts/2011/4269/brands-dont-use-social-media-effectively#ixzz3WaxZrlQk
Carter, B. (2012, January 18). Facebook Pages Only Reach
17% Of Fans. Retrieved March 9, 2015, from http://www.adweek.com/socialtimes/facebook-page-17/377172
McMullen, A. (n.d.). How Does Social Media Affect Retail
Businesses? Retrieved March 10, 2015, from http://smallbusiness.chron.com/social-media-affect-retail-businesses-39275.html
Relander, B. (2014, May 10). 4 Mistakes That Can Harm a
Company's Social Media Campaign. Retrieved March 5, 2015, from http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/233824
Statista (2014) Penetration of leading social networks in
Singapore as of 4th quarter 2014 [Graph]. Retrieved March 10, 2015, from: http://www.statista.com/statistics/284466/singapore-social-network-penetration/
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