Social Media growth in Indonesia

[CanonMan]

facebook or Twitter?
Having gone past a few shops now, most notably a new clothing shop in Bali Mall Galeria, I can't help but notice how it looks like we're in for a social media wave in Indonesia. Front and center are Twitter Logo tee shirts stating lines such as "Tweet Me" (send me a message in tweet speak), of "Follow Me" with a big facebook logo on them.

I've spent quite a while customizing my business facebook page and thus far no feedback from any Indonesians. All I do get are people writing as if they are writing in Indonesian SMS language, a law unto itself. There are a few software options out there help you grow your following but I find there is nothing better than elbow grease to get the job done, and done well.

With some study though it is quite straightforward to direct traffic back to such areas of facebook business pages, I consider that I use our Twitter account as a funnel for all things directed at our business, and thus far it seems to go well. Just wondering if other people are aware of, or use these modern day marketing tools?

Cheers,
Mark.

 

[BKT]

If you really want to open a can of internet marketing worms join the Warrior Forum. I've been on the site for a few days now and the people there no their stuff. I also joined the war room for $39 US. The information and free stuff in there will blow your mind. Its like a light bulb will turn on inside your head. There is so much stuff in there you will need plenty of time for reading, but it is all quality.

 

[spicyayam]

Twitter is a huge time sink and I wonder what kind of benefit you get from it. At least with Facebook, you don't need to be updating it all of the time. I think you have done a great job with Facebook page, CanonMan and I wanted to ask you how you got so many followers? :icon_biggrin:

Facebook is huge here in Indonesia. Maybe you can find or start groups for Indonesian surfers?

I think the webmasterworld forum is better than warriorforum as they don't allow any advertising. Digitalpoint is huge also.

If you have a business with a fixed address, Google places can be very good also. If I was you Canonman, I would be getting your website up as soon as possible. You just don't know how or when facebook will change their rules for businesses. Google analytics data from your own website, is also great for finding out about your customers and what they are searching for.

 

[BKT]

think the webmasterworld forum is better than warriorforum as they don't allow any advertising. Digitalpoint is huge also.

I'm not bothered by advertising, I just ignore it, I haven't taken a look at webmasterworld or digital point though so I can't really comment.

When you sign up on the Warrior forum they send you this link

The War Room Threads

All the testimonials for the war room are from people who have joined already. If you're serious about making money on the internet this is the place to find the info. It also has a money back gaurantee.

 

[CanonMan]

Thanks for the pointers. I'm not looking to sign up with all manner of WSO's etc as in my mind only winner in these are those who dream up the schemes. Maybe my original post was lost in translation but I was asking how, if at all, local businesses were, or are, using the explosion of Social Media within Indonesia to benefit their businesses?

Many of the WSO's on the net also rely on using PayPal, something which doesn't work with Indonesian banks and something that has also been discussed extensively on this forum.

Thanks again for taking the time to post though, interesting reading.

Cheers,
Mark.

 

[Tiggy]

All my balinese mates are mad for facebook! Def a great tool to look at if done well.

To answer the question about local businesses using it: well I have a few that I deal with that are building their presence via social media, but they are all driven by ex-pat owners. The mob I dive with on Lembongan are doing a pretty good job despite not having a lot of time to fiddle with computers while out showing me a good time (and mantas and mola mola hehe).

Thanks for the links to those sites. Worth a look for sure.

 

[CanonMan]

The number of followers...

P.S As for the number of followers it seems that the word 'Ocean' is one of the top search keywords on Google and pretty much any other search engine. Mixed with a global annual growth of 12% for the surf industry alone means that a company with such services and key words should get a lot of hits on this and any web feature they have. I am also in the water a lot here in Bali and chat with many of the surfers around me, as soon as they see a camera the topic always directs itself to the availability of any images I may get of them. Whilst this is not a main service of the business per se I do get people contacting me to request imagery of them which may appear in the facebook posted photo albums of any particular sessions. I guess people like the fact that I also engage in discussions and feedback, trying to 'Like' comments people make and answering as many of the posed questions to the updates etc. Social Media, in my view, should be just that, engaging and social.

I would take the numbers with a pinch of salt though. It's so easy to 'Like' something in the facebook World but that, for many, is where their involvement with that page ends. They like the updates etc but there is no reaction from around 60% of the pages 'followers'. There is though a core element of people who religiously respond to updates and new imagery posts, this is what makes it all worthwhile.

Cheers,
Mark.

 

[BKT]

Well I thought you would have known that, you have plenty of fans on your FB page.

Here are some reasons why you should consider Facebook for your business:

People on Facebook

More than 500 million active users
50% of our active users log on to Facebook in any given day
Average user has 130 friends
People spend over 700 billion minutes per month on Facebook

Activity on Facebook

There are over 900 million objects that people interact with (pages, groups, events and community pages)
Average user is connected to 80 community pages, groups and events
Average user creates 90 pieces of content each month
More than 30 billion pieces of content (web links, news stories, blog posts, notes, photo albums, etc.) shared each month.

Global Reach

More than 70 translations available on the site
About 70% of Facebook users are outside the United States
Over 300,000 users helped translate the site through the translations application

Platform

More than one million developers and entrepreneurs from more than 180 countries
Every month, more than 70% of Facebook users engage with Platform applications
More than 550,000 active applications currently on Facebook Platform
More than one million websites have integrated with Facebook Platform
More than 150 million people engage with Facebook on external websites every month
Two-thirds of comScore’s U.S. Top 100 websites and half of comScore’s Global Top 100 websites have integrated with Facebook
Mobile

There are more than 200 million active users currently accessing Facebook through their mobile devices.
People that use Facebook on their mobile devices are twice as active on Facebook than non-mobile users.

This text is from a free WSO from the WarRoom.
http://pensaweb.com/fb/images/Jason-Lee-Fan-Page-Marketing-Guide-PLR.zip

The War Room isn't a WSO its a forum that gives away WSO's for free, proven WSO's that work. Thats why I suggested it.

 

[CanonMan]

Thanks for the pointer, much appreciated. I've seen these figures before, very impressive to say the least. facebook really is a phenomenal success and one if harnessed can be a great marketing tool.

Cheers,
Mark.

 

[ronb]

The figures are impressive, and don't forget that Indonesia has the second biggest Facebook user population. There are 36.6 million users, only beaten by the US with 155 million. And Jakarta has more Facebook users than any other city.

Why is Facebook so popular in Indonesia? - I think it follows from the enormous popularity of mobile phones, with many people having phones that include cameras and networking - so then you want to share photos with friends and that's exactly what Facebook is very good at.

 

[spicyayam]

if at all, local businesses were, or are, using the explosion of Social Media within Indonesia to benefit their businesses?

Many of the WSO's on the net also rely on using PayPal, something which doesn't work with Indonesian banks and something that has also been discussed extensively on this forum.

We have received payment from an Indonesian person for paypal, so I think there are some people who use it. It's going to take some time for widespread adoption by banks and for people to get used to it, I am sure ecommerce in Indonesia will eventually take off, like everywhere else in the world.

It's funny reading complaints by retailers in Australia that buy goods on the internet from overseas websites. I would say in Australia it also took a lot of time for people to realize the benefits of shopping online. When I was in Japan a few years ago, no one knew of Paypal either and people would only do bank transfers when buying and selling on the internet.

A couple of years ago, you couldn't use foreign credit cards to buy airline tickets here, but last year I traveled on Lion and didn't have any trouble.

Companies around the world are trying to work out social media and how they can use it in their business. Social media is a good way to build brand awareness and make connections with your customers, but for most people direct conversion rates are low.

Don't forget email lists, they are still a good way to build customers.

I also just came across https://www.kaspay.com which looks like an interesting alternative to Paypal for Indonesia.

 

[CanonMan]

Thanks spicyayam,
Always a pleasure to read your input. Will look into that Kaspay option.

Regards,
Mark.

 

[CanonMan]

Had to laugh the other day. Just got around to getting my Bike license after now being so pissed off with driving, or not as the case may be, that I'm gonna take my chances with the bike. Plastered on the wall of the Police station is their Twitter address with a big 'Follow Us on Twitter' slogan.

Been on that platform a while, must be doing something right. #1 in Bali according to Twitter Grader...

Cheers,
Mark.

 

[hermit]

Kaspay

I also just came across https://www.kaspay.com which looks like an interesting alternative to Paypal for Indonesia.

Well,i don't know.I read their website and i do not get the feeling it is something that is going to work.
*The topping up of the account seems to be done manually,office hours:if you try to top up on friday afternoon,money might not available before monday.
*very complicated system of topping up.
*maximum topping -up 5 million.
*so far mainly used for buying pulsa,wich you can do much easier at the ATM of your
bank
*And most importantn the whole website there is not a single word about garantee's or what will happen if your saldo is misused.

IMHO it is not fit for this century.