Mediaboss Marketing

Summary: A new study has suggested that CEOs in Asia appreciate the value of social networking -- but keep a tight rein on how it is used.

A focused study of CEOs in multi-national companies has found that although the adoption of mobile devices is on the increase, Asian business leaders are taking pains to restrict their use of social media.

Why? The dreaded idea of always being accessible.

Added Value Saffron Hill surveyed 32 CEOs for the study across Singapore, Hong Kong and India. Researchers found that CEOs "valued their privacy" and understand the potential social media has for their businesses -- but put boundaries in place to stop their work and personal lives merging.

"There are all these requests I need to accept and I just don't want to get started on dialogues," one Hong Kong CEO commented.

Internally and during working hours, social media plays a different role. Some respondents have provided space for their Gen-Y employees to offer their opinions through social media, understanding that unless a platform is provided, their employees may voice their thoughts outside of the company.

In addition, some CEOs use social networks as a B2B tool for marketing and promotion. Although this is unlikely to be effective inmaintaining relationships with consumerswithout also creating a customer-based platform, social networking can be used for news, updates and in order to partner with other companies.

The report says that Asian CEOs are more accessible today than ever before -- mainly due to smartphone adoption, tablets and email. This does allow business leaders to respond quickly to brand communication, but unless the messages are relevant, it is unlikely they will respond. Emails were, unsurprisingly, the preferred form for messages.

CEOs appear to be pragmatic about brand communication but do expect honesty and respect. "As long as it's done sensibly -- like an SMS with 'ADV' at the beginning of the message -- I appreciate the honesty," said one CEO.

The respondents may have reservations over social media and instant communication, but mobile devices proved popular -- especially those made by Apple.

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Are Asian CEOs cautious of social networks?

Google has started publicly testing an initial set of enterprise social networking (ESN) features for Google+, adding a key collaboration component for Google Apps customers.

Google first indicated last year that it planned to release an enterprise version of Google+ and that it was already using it internally.

On Wednesday, the company released in preview mode the first Google+ features tailored specifically for workplace use, aimed at Google Apps, the cloud email and collaboration suite for schools, companies and government agencies.

"During this preview period, organisations that have gone Google will be able to use the business features of Google+ for free through the end of 2013 while we continue to add more features and administrative controls designed for organisations," wrote Clay Bavor, product management director, Google Apps, in a blog post.

Google+ was launched as a consumer social networking site in mid-2011, but by creating a version for workplaces, Google is joining the hot ESN trend. ESN software provides Facebook- and Twitter-like functionality adapted for workplace use, including employee profiles, activity streams, microblogging, document sharing, content rating, blogging, discussion groups and online communities.

ESN software is provided by specialty vendors like NewsGator, Jive Software and Socialtext, but larger vendors like Cisco, Microsoft, IBM, Oracle, SAP and Salesforce.com are adding ESN modules and capabilities to their larger collaboration suites and enterprise applications.

Thus, gaining an ESN component is critical for Google Apps, since ESN by now is considered an essential element in enterprise collaboration suites.

The ESN features of Google+ have been in private testing by customers like Kaplan and Banshee Wines, the company said.

Specifically, this first set of ESN features in Google+ includes more granular control over content posted on the service. "When you create a post you can mark it as restricted. Restricted posts are private to your organisation and can never be re-shared with anyone outside," he wrote. However, it's also possible to share posts with partners and others outside of an organisation's domain.

Google+ is also gaining IT administration controls to let IT staffers establish policies for usage and content sharing.

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Google gets enterprise social networking boost

Scott Harrison/Retna/HarrisonPhotos.com

DJ Pauly D at Rehabs Season 9 grand opening at the Hard Rock Hotel on Sunday, April 22,2012.

By Allison Duck (contact)

Wednesday, Aug. 29, 2012 | 6 p.m.

The summer is coming to a close even though the thermometer holds steady at 100 degrees. That can only mean one thing: its time for one more big party weekend before the pools begin to wrap up their seasons.

In addition to blowout pool parties, all the area nightclubs, concert and comedy venues will pull out all the stops with top names like Paul Oakenfold, Kaskade, Tony Bennett, Dee Snider and P. Diddy. Read on to plan your ultimate Labor Day weekend.

Thursday, Aug. 30:

Las Vegas Weekly's Nightlife Issue Party: Join the crew from Las Vegas Weekly to celebrate the Nightlife Issue in style at The Bank at Bellagio. Enjoy music from DJ Ikon and a hosted bar by Stoli Elit Vodka, while supplies last. Please RSVP here.

Gigolos premiere party: The cast of the TV series Gigolos hosts the Las Vegas premiere, sponsored by Kah Tequila, welcoming in the third season at Vince Neils Girls Girls Girls Gentlemans Club. The 10-episode unscripted show welcomes back series favorites Nick, Vin, Brace and Steven plus newcomer Ash.

ATB: German DJ ATB spins at Tao. With almost 15 years in the business, he's sure to play the beats to get the crowd on its feet.

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Events guide: Labor Day Weekend 2012

Kristina: What does Zuberance do for brands?

Rob Fuggetta, CEO, Zuberance: Zuberance is the leading Brand Advocate Platform company. We provide a unique Brand Advocate Platform that makes it easy for retailers and online brands to systematically and continually identify and energize their authentic Brand Advocates. This is enabling retailers and online brands to increase conversion rates and sales, generate referral traffic, and slash customer acquisition costs. For example, Ancestry.com - a Zuberance customer - generated over 8,000 highly positive recommendations from its Advocates in only about three months. Ancestry.com Advocates shared these recommendations with their Facebook friends and Twitter followers, enabling Ancestry.com to reach millions of prospects with trusted, relevant advice.

Kristina: Social media has exploded over the past 18 months; how important is the social space for retailers and online brands?

Rob: Social media is incredibly important for retailers and online brands. As everyone knows, social media has empowered and amplified consumers. A single post by a consumer can reach 10,000 people if it's passed along only three times, according to Facebook. Ninety-four percent of consumers trust peer recommendations but only 24 percent trust ads, Nielsen says. That's why it's critically important that brands to find their highly-satisfied customers (which we call "Brand Advocates") and empower them to tell your brand story and help sell your products.

Kristina: How can a brand tell the difference between a sometime-shopper and a true brand advocate?

Rob: At Zuberance, we help companies identify their Brand Advocates by asking the "Ultimate Question" for customer loyalty: "On a scale of 0 to 10, how likely are you to recommend this brand or product to a friend?" Customers who answer 9 or 10 are considered Brand Advocates. We then give Brand Advocates online applications that make it easy for them to recommend the brand or product plus share promotional offers and content with their friends. Via Zuberance's Advocate Analytics, we can determine whether Advocates are actually recommending the brand, how often, and what the results of these recommendations are (in-bound clicks, referrals, sales, etc.)

More from Rob and Zuberance tomorrow - including his advice for engaging brand advocates.

Tags: WOM advertising, Zuberance, social ads, social marketing, social marketing tips, social presence

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How Zuberance is helping social brands

Google on Wednesday got dressed up in its best suit and tie and grabbed its briefcase to head to work, rolling out new Google+ tools and features tailored for businesses that will be free through the end of 2013.

Google is no stranger to business-ready applications, having built up an impressive enterprise portfolio in recent years with its Gmail and Google Apps offerings.

"Every day, more companies are going Google. We're excited to help them take advantage of modern, Web-based tools and give their employees new ways to connect and collaborate," Google Apps product management director Clay Bavor said in a blog post.

All Google Apps users can get a sneak peek at the new features in full preview mode, a step up from Google's beta testing format. Pilot customers, including Kaplan and Banshee Wines, have been testing the new site by engaging and connecting employees, according to Google. Early feedback is crucial for Google to tailor its new features to organizations, the company said.

Google+ for businesses is defined by three features that differentiate it from the consumer platform private sharing, video integration, and administrative controls.

Google Apps users get more control over the content they post to Google+. There's a new option to mark posts as restricted, which keeps them private within an organization and bars another user from re-sharing them with outsiders. Businesses can also share a message only with specific partners or colleagues outside of the organization as well.

Since July, Hangouts have been accessible through Gmail and via a Google doc, but now, users can also add a hangout to a Calendar event, turning it into a one-stop-shop for attendees to check the time and location of the meeting, just before joining.

Administrators can also restrict Hangouts for private meetings.

"These latest business features for Google+ ... are just a start," Bavor said.

A mobile version of the new business tool suite, plus more administrative controls are on their way, according to the company.

Excerpt from:
Google+ Launches Business-Savvy Social Networking Tools