I am a Bank and I am Boring

The below article was published in Qatar Today magazine- Jan 2012 issue. The article is about how can banks manage customer relationships online without just talking about banking and being innovative. Click on the below pics to continue reading.

"Text Version" 

 I am a Bank; Iam Boring

Financial Institutions are perceived to be not innovative and creative when it comes to Online Media and technology. Due to certain regulations and reputation issues, they have been a step behind other industries to make their presence felt online.

Let us explore few ideas that can help you gain foothold in the Online Conversations and interact with your customers.

I recently attended a panel discussion, where a question was raised on how to deal with customer issues raised on your social media channels. Panelists were convinced on the methodology of trying to contact the customer to get details of the problem and acknowledge the issue. Post understanding the issue, commit on resolving the same.

What if your bank’s customer service still gets criticized online even though you have taken efforts to engage with your customers online? Well, then you have to investigate the case and invest in enhancing your customer service. Online media is just another channel to communicate with your customer.

A few more ideas: -

Don’t just talk about banking

If you expect to build a relationship with your customer, you need to talk about various other topics that can build a conversation on social networking sites. If a customer needs to know about your products and offers, they can always go to your public website.

You can use Social Media tools to change the mean and greedy perception of Financial Institutions.

Check out Lloyds Bank Facebook Page. They are talking about the upcoming London Olympics with a countdown ticker. This has got nothing to do with banking. These initiatives create friendly online conversation and interaction that may not be facilitated by a bank otherwise.

Be a Startup Mentor

Have you ever thought about nourishing the potential young talent to form large enterprises? How about offering some advice on launching a start up? A bank has the financial capability and the expertise to mentor start ups. Use your online channels to give tips to people interested in learning more about the enterprise world. Your investment banking arm may probably fund the next Google or Apple.

Show you CSR initiatives.

Have you done something for the community, how about informing people via your Social Media Channels? Do you want volunteers for a CSR initiative, ask for it on your Social Media Channels and watch the response. Check out the Bank of America Page, asking for people who would like to volunteer for their “Building Opportunity” initiative.

Many financial institutions are involved in charity initiatives that go unnoticed. Their projects are not covered in the media and an average customer is not aware about these initiatives. Social Networks are great online tools to tell your customers about these projects and strengthen your brand.

Giveaways for your Online Fans

Customers love participating in competitions. This initiative encourages them to follow your brand online. Host a few competitions for your Social Media Channel Fans. Check out the Citi Bank Facebook page. They are giving an opportunity for their fans to win cash or jam with their favorite band.

How about offering your online fans a $ discount or a coupon to dine at their favorite restaurant.

I wanted to get a feel on what do people expect from their banks in Doha on Social Media Channels. Following is a summarized version of various comments I got from people on Twitter in Doha.

People expect their bank to be more interactive and provide online support for issues. They want instant answers to their queries and special offers for following/liking the brand. Many twitteratis complained that the banks never responded to their queries. Surprisingly, few of them replied that they were not interested in having a conversation with their bank on social networks, as banks are only meant to manage their money, not their relationship. There lies an opportunity for the banks to show that they can manage human relationships and just not financial ones.

Online surveillance of social-networking sites is a new trend for traders dealing in hedge funds and big banks managing customer assets. Stocktwits is a social, stock micro-blogging service monitoring emotions of stock market traders. You will find a community of traders and investors sharing market insight, ideas, charts and news streaming in real-time. This is true engagement of Financial Marketing with Online Media. An investment company, Derwent Capital Markets, has launched a £25 million hedge fund that will use the sentiment of Twitter messages to help guide its trading strategy

As we look forward to 2012, Financial Institution will continue to heavily invest in the Social Media and Interactive Marketing, and work on the revenues.

There is a strong possibility of structural changes in many organizations, where by Digital Channels, e-Marketing and e-Business will fall under one umbrella.

Iwep Features in Creative Commons Qatar

I wannna Express blog has been listed on Creative Commons Qatar website as one of the featured works. This is a proud moment for me. A bit about creative commons - Creative Commons (CC) is a non-profit organization headquartered in Mountain View, California, United States devoted to expanding the range of creative works available for others to build upon legally and to share.[1] The organization has released several copyright-licenses known as Creative Commons licenses free of charge to the public. These licenses allow creators to communicate which rights they reserve, and which rights they waive for the benefit of recipients or other creators. (via Wikipedia). 

Get your CC license from Creative Commons website today.

Women Take the lead on Social Media

Dedicated to all the ladies - the below post articulates various trends observed on the online media. The article was published in the Woman Today Magazine - May 2011 issue. Click on the below pic to continue reading.

***Women Rule the Roost***

Both men and women have basic differences in their opinions and habits, which can seem a little confusing, depending on your perception.

The irony is that from conception stage until the eight week of development, both men and women are almost exactly the same. The differences that manifest then grow with them and are evident even in the online presence and usage.

According to a research conducted by Comscore (global source of digital market intelligence) as a percentage of global Internet users, women are catching up quickly with men. In fact, in North America both the genders are at par.

Communication and Social Networking are central to women’s Internet experience. Men may have taken the lead in the global Internet user’s category, but women occupy a larger proportion of time on the web, and this is increasing over time. The average 15+ female spends 8 percent more time online than her male counterpart.

While Social Networking has become a popular activity for all Internet Users, women take the lead in the usage. As per Comscore, globally women spent an average of 16.3 percent of their online time on social networks, compared to only 11.7 percent for the men.  The Social Networking King Facebook depicts similar picture, where the female users exceed the males globally. In the Middle East the men still take the lead on Facebook.

The Twitter technology being popular among both the genders has been adopted for a different reason. A general observation is that, women like to have a conversation within the 140 characters, whereas men prefer sharing information and links. According to the study, a larger percentage of female Twitter users say they use the site to find deals and promotions. Women are also more likely to use the service as to follow their favourite celebrities.

Females are definitely the drivers of the e-commerce business on the Internet. This is evident from the revenue figures of the below sites: -

Zappos (>$1 billion in revenue last year), Groupon ($760m last year) Diapers ($300m estimated revenue last year) are all driven by a majority of female customers.  According to Groupon, women form 77% of their customer base. Definitely the online retail therapy helps the women to relax and brightens one's mood.

Today’s tech savvy woman 18-34 is heavily addicted to social media networks.  An overwhelming majority (57%) admit to talking to people online more than face-to-face, while 34% say checking Facebook is the first thing they do when waking up in the morning – that includes brushing one’s teeth or using the bathroom, as per Oxygen Media.  Even more surprising is the 26% who get up in the middle of the night to read text messages and the 21% who confessed to checking Facebook during the night. When it comes to dating, Oxygen Media reports that 50% of single women 18-34 (vs. 65% of single men) think its okay meeting and dating other singles they meet through Facebook. 

Sheryl Sandberg, COO of Facebook has reportedly said women drive 62% of activity in terms of messages, updates and comments on the website.

Online Videos have become a popular medium of communicating on the web. The consumption of online videos among women has surged. A Nielson study in 2010 shows women aged 25-44 are a major force behind the rapid adoption. The consumption changes over the course of the day and varies according to time, mood and location. More than half of the women interviewed during the study admitted watching video during the course of the day while at work.

Men are more upbeat about Online Trading, Sports, Games, Personal Finance and Technology.  Men also dominate the internet search world (71.6 searches per searcher for men vs. 64.0 for women)

Johanna Blakeley, who was recently featured on Ted Talks spoke on End of Gender on Social Media. She said women are the drivers of Social Media, they actually out number men in all the age segments on use of Social Media. She is the Deputy Director of the Norman Lear Center, a media-focused think tank at the University of Southern California

If men are the amplifiers of the web then women are the speakers. If men lead the online technology then women drive the e-commerce sales.  Certain activities such as shopping and socializing are known to be favored by women in the physical world and this behavior is replicated online, especially on Social Media front. 

Boss we need to Socialize

The below article was published in Qatar Today's April 2011 issue. Click on the below pics to read.

Text Version

*****Boss - We need to Socialize…*****

The last conversation with your boss on adoption of Social Media may have left you stranded and you may be wondering how to convince him/her. You may conclude that the person is rigid not open to new ideas. A close minded person is difficult to convince and it requires strong will to change ones thought process. According to marketing guru Seth Godin, “a closed-minded worldview doesn't mean you're stupid, it means that you are selling yourself and your colleagues and your community short”.

Your boss is not stupid, probably ignorant. One of the best way to change perceptions and open a close mind is to present data in an appealing manner.

The adoption of Social Media in the Middle East for commercial purpose has been encouraging however it still needs to reach an advanced level. Senior management is still puzzled by the question – “Why the company should explore the Social Media route to reach their customers?”

Here are some tips that could help you to sell Social Media to your senior management:-

Show Them Facts and Figures

A survey conducted on Media consumption & habits of MENA Internet users in 2010 by Spot On PR firm based in Dubai showed that

- Social Networking is the second most popular activity carried out by Internet users after email.

- 32% of all Middle East & North Africa Internet users surveyed, bought products or services online

Spot On PR has reported that the Mena Population on Facebook has reached 17.3 million as of August 2010.

According to InsideFacebook.com, a leading source of news and analysis on Facebook, informed that Arabic language version of Facebook was the fastest growing language as of August 2010.

Blogs: Over 5 million blogs are tracked by Technorati, the “Bible” of Blogs with 600,000 being corporate blogs (Technorati)

Keeping up with the Competition

The hype of Social media would have caught your boss’s attention and there is a possibility that he/she may have seen some social media work at other corporations.

This means your boss is likely in a position to have a conversation on commercial aspects of social media. You just need to develop an online strategy that fits the organization’s business objectives. Your boss might just be looking for someone to take the lead. A survey conducted by IQPC in 2010 showed that 80% of corporate executives consider Social Media as an important aspect of the online communication strategies.

Customer Feedback Online

Every year companies spend millions on customer service surveys. This helps the executives to get an insight on what is their customer thinking.

When you go online try searching “your company name + bad experience”, you would be surprised at the results. Unfortunately, this freely available data online is overlooked by companies. ICICI bank is known to monitor 3-5k tweets per day via its Twitter handler @icici_care. The bank also monitors online conversations on Facebook, Blogs and other social mediums, to help stop rumors.

Listening to your customers creates strong relationships and helps you develop the right products. This would eventually lead to monetization.

Instant Response

Social Media not only gives you customer feedback online, but gives you the opportunity to respond back to your customer online. Many companies in Qatar like Qtel, Virgin Mobile give instant response to customer queries on a social network like Twitter. Customers are keen to interact with their brands online. A study conducted on MENA Twitter habits by Spot-On PR in Feb 2010 gave the following results: -

- 50% of the surveyed had purchased a product or service as a result of Twitter

- 88% of Twitter users recommend products / services

- 65% of respondents were interested in receiving special offers & coupons from brands on Twitter

Here is an opportunity for many for you to sell these stats to your boss which would help you build a case to monetize the investment in online media.

One step at a time

If your boss is partially convinced and asks you to give him a lead, start with maintaining an online blog. It is not that difficult to move some corporate offline content online. Recommend a person who has the passion for writing and can update the blog on a regular basis.

A few more reasons: -

Using SEO (Search Engine Optimization) and Social Media - Get your website among the top 10 searched items on Google, which leads to more traffic and visibility of your brand.

Reputation Management – Customers are discussing about your brand online, whether you like to listen or not.

Customer Service – Twitter, Facebook and various other social networks are becoming prime source of direct interaction with customers.

According to the Internetworldstats.com the Middle East has 63 million Internet users. So, if just 50% of those are affected by brand recommendations online, that’s 32 .5 million people are reachable through online mode of communication. Internet is here to stay and grow big; however, it’s your choice to ride the wave or stay onshore to make a difference.

The Doha Twitter Story

The below article was published in Gulf Times on 09 June 2010, my initial interaction days with the people in Doha to speak about twitter. Click on the below image to read the article.

Qatar 2022 - Twitter Times

FIFA awarded Qatar the 2022 world cup to Qatar today evening. Qatar brings the World Cup to the smallest host ever but one which has unparalleled financial power to stage the world's biggest single-sport event. It overcame the reservations of many people about holding the games in desert heat. 

Qatar will stage a World Cup in and around Doha in a desert summer but promises state-of-the-art technology to cool fans and players alike. It beat the United States in the final round of voting 14-8.

The community tried to bring the #Qatar2022 amongst the top 10 trending topics on twitter, however, twitosphere had different plans. Varied versions of Qatar like Quatar and Katar came out as a trending topics on twitter. 

Check out collection of some interesting tweets posted before and after the announcement: - 

@dohanews 'Russia's really cold, so maybe they'll be ok that Qatar is really hot' overheard watching #qatar2022 bid

@AlmahaAli When Americans ask me "what's Qatar" I will go like "u know the country who beat u 2 the bid 2022

@rachelannmorris To all those (mainly in dubai) who told me I was nuts moving to #doha all those years ago...don't make me say "I told you so"

@AlexKunawicz The speed camera in Doha that fines you £800 is going to be working overtime for next 12 years. Wonder what fine will be by #Qatar2022 ?

@ya3gooby We learn from #Qatar2022: 1)Importance of clear Long-term vision, 2) Work Hard and You'll achieve, 3) Top-Level Support is vital for success

@sghazzi 21 degrees in doha but tonight doha is on fire #qatar2022

@Alkhulaiwi Thank you Sheikh Mohammed bin Hamad Al-Thani. You are a true hero for the younger generation. #Qatar2022

@Xische The bid website has to be contractually taken down 60 secs after announcement. Its down already! http://www.qatar2022bid.com #Qatar2022

@eskaff if Beers not allowed go for #redbull #Qatar2022

@hussdajani am seriously out of words! I don't think it has kickd n yet!:) this has HUGE positive changing effect4this region

@leiandroid It makes me smile knowing that a country people can't even locate won against... well, the US. Maybe it'll motivate people to grab an atlas.

@Mohsinaltaf i need your support for 2028 for pakistan :) . ok?