Comment on Big Four Trends

Some experts say if you aren’t engaging online, you’re missing out on a huge opportunity to gain new customers and fans who will effectively market for you if given enough reason. Businesses must jump online or risk being left behind by the competition.

Big One: Social Media

Facebook and Twitter were the standout social networks from 2010, and their popularity will surge in 2011 with both introducing new features, including paid accounts for business.

Businesses need to pay attention to the trends on these sites. Creating a social media strategy is no longer optional, it is vital to the health of a company and its ability to tap into an online user-base.

Big Two: Mobile web

Every web-savvy business knows smartphone use is on the rise. But few are actively developing for mobiles by creating websites specifically used for handheld devices.

As more and more mobile users flock to gadgets with larger touchscreens and internet browsers, such as the iPhone or Google Nexus One, the mobile space will become bigger and SMEs need to get on board. If your website isn’t accessible through a smartphone or app, users will give up and go somewhere else – losing you traffic and potential sales.

Big Three: SEO

Using search engine algorithms in order to get your site on “page one” has been a tactic used by online businesses for years. But SEO experts say the process of getting a website known will become even harder in 2010 with the rise of personalised and real-time search. Those social media sites, such as Tweet, will have greater impact to how websites are listed. 

Big Four: Online retail

Online spending has grown from 1% to 3% of overall spending over the last 10 years, compared to the American equivalent of 7%. Increasing in competition online, businesses start to realise they cannot operate without an eCommerce offering.

Traditional banking goes online!

Last week, I blogged about ANZ's Max Bourke.

SO I became curious of what all these banks gotta do with online!

I found that contrary to the Internet participation rate of 84% has remained fairly stable in 2009, the graph above points out behaviour of consumers to media have changed greatly; the hours spent on internet has increased impressively from 16.6 to 18.3 hours, more than any media. The gap difference in usage between the city and rural has shrunk to only 3%.

I also found banking is the second most regularly conducted activities online – 76%, increased 4 percent points from 2009 and had been increasing every year since 2005. The highest growth for online services in 2010 is also expected to be banking.

Technology has made the world smaller while this has expanded the digital marketing landscape opportunity for businesses. Digital trends have greatly affected the transformation of traditional business like banking toward online operations. To ensure survival in 21^st century, digital marketing is no longer an option.

Today's bank has conducted their promotion through Facebook, Twitter, Youtube or even blog! It will be interesting where technology will take this traditional business to. In the future, we could barely see face of any real person bankers as they all may have become robot operating all transaction online.

When my friend turns out to be my debt collector!!!

Imagine one of your friend in Facebook turns out to be your debt collector spying on you!

ANZ debt collectors, including a staff member in management, were behind the creation of a fake Facebook profile they used to try to get information from bad credit customers.

The Age revealed that Melbourne collections staff had created the false persona, named ''Max Bourke'', on the social networking site in order to find people with outstanding personal loans and credit card debt. Max, with 81 friends, was made to look like a real person - it included a photo of a man running on a beach and listed his hobbies as football and poker but failed to mention ANZ. Through this fake profile, they observe their borrowers' activities and daily life as part of their analysis.

What do you think about this ANZ's strategy? To me, creativity is essential for business success, however within limit! Allowing business to use what people value as relationship and turns it into $, treating human as a number of their profit, is it ethical?

Sued! Google, stand in 10 years!?

Google convicted of defaming French user 'by linking his name to rape in searches'

A convicted man, after three-years imprisoned, discovered his name was linked by the search function to the phrases, including "rapist", "satanist", "rape," and "prison".

The court ruled the man had been defamed because he is considered innocent under French law until all of his appeals have been exhausted. The ruling confirmed the search function was not illegal. However, it was ordered to pay damages to the man after he sued for libel 5,000 euros (£4254) in costs. As well, Google was ordered to remove the "harmful" suggestions from the search and adopt measures to prevent it from reoccurring.

It is believed Google has been facing enormous numbers of lawsuits worldwide. The industry involved online has grown massively during the past years along with more regulations in this fast-moving modern age. Will Google sustain its leader position or even its survival in the next 10 years?