Local firms play catch-up on social media

Facebook, Twitter, me2day prevail but firms lack two-way interactions


Amid the explosive popularity of mobile computing and new media, a growing number of Korean companies are hitching a ride on the wave of social networking services in one of the world’s most wired countries.

Facebook, Twitter and me2day have proved fresh tools for marketing, public relations and recruitment as corporations and advertisers try to reach out to a mass group of consumers in a cost-effective way.

The three platforms garnered users at a rapid clip soon after their launch ― Facebook boasts nearly 4 million Korean subscribers, Twitter 3.5 million and Naver-affiliated me2day 5 million.

But many of their corporate strategies lack bilateral communications, experts say, and customers tend to shun businesses that heavily focus on promotion and publicity campaigns for their products.

“Even some early adopters can fail if they simply see SNS as a sales channel, not an instrument to communicate with customers,” said Park Sung-min, a senior researcher at Samsung Economic Research Institute.

Marketing effects

Online marketing is not new to the business world as many firms have been operating their own websites, blogs and mini-homepages.

But social networks steer a shift in their approach from posting information and news to exchanging reviews and feedback.

On Twitter, more than 48,000 subscribers of SK Telecom, the country’s top telecom operator, report connection troubles and ask questions on the use of products or policy changes.

“My 3G network was running well around Hyundai Department Store near Omokgyo Station only about a month ago but it is not working properly this month,” one follower asked.

“We looked into the connection around the area and found out a recent surge of data usage, for which we’re setting up additional equipment. Sorry for the inconvenience and please wait until the work is finished next month,” an SK official replied.

KT Corp. (@olleh) and LG Uplus Corp. (@LGUplus) also provide customer services on the micro-blogging site, plus promoting online raffle events.

Recruitment is one of the hottest topics on the virtual platforms.

Samsung Electronics’ account (@samsungjob) has more than 10,800 followers. It is not just recruiters that put up the company’s hiring plans, but the followers that “retweet” the posting and ask questions on qualifications and other information.

The technology giant keeps the account lively when the hiring season is over by drawing participation in forums, internships and other events throughout the year.

Other corporations including LG Display, KT and GM Korea embrace similar methods using Twitter, Caffe Bene embarked on a new experiment this year via Facebook.

Gearing up for the launch of its first overseas branch in New York, the local coffee shop chain drafted interns on the social utility.

Instead of sending resumes to the website or email accounts, applicants uploaded their profiles on the company’s Facebook page. The company selected those that actively participated in posting comments and tapping the “Like” button, saying that marks the applicants’ high “social index.”

Amore Pacific Corp., a Korean beauty giant, utilized its me2day account (me2day.net/styletainers) last year to prop up its Mis-en-scene lineup. To keep closer to customers, it courted ordinary college students and office workers as “beauty ambassadors” to operate the page.

According to Burson-Marstellar, a research firm, 67 percent of Asian companies in the Fortune Global 100 are now using at least one social media platform.

“While the increase in social media adoption in Asia is in part due to greater investment in this area for local marketing, much of the growth is driven by Asian firms using social media to reach new audiences abroad,” Mark Penn, chief executive of Burson-Marsteller Worldwide, said in a press release.

“In addition, global companies are now demonstrating greater comfort with the interactive nature of social networks and are more willing to engage their stakeholders directly on these platforms.”

But many companies struggle to keep their accounts active after a short period of promotion and events, customers point out, raising the need for consistency and maintenance.

“The relationships between firms and customers are chiefly based on long-term commitment and face-to-face contact,” Park said.

“While social networking does help improve their relationships but it requires additional efforts offline.”

CEO as tweet friends

Industry leaders are increasingly seeking to perk up their corporate images and products by branding themselves as PR chiefs on social networking sites.

Many of them including Dreamwiz’s Lee Chan-jin and KT’s Pyo Hyun-myung work in the information technology sector but the list also includes other conglomerate heads such as Doosan’s Park Yong-man and Shinsegae’s Chung Yong-jin.

As one of the IT pioneers here, Lee is an avid user of nearly all kinds of social media. There, he posts reviews of new gadgets and services, answers technological questions from his followers and shares his daily events and interesting news.

Chung and Park have also come into the spotlight for their brisk activities on Twitter.

Their “tweets” on public affairs and daily routines help familiarize his image as a chaebol member, some users said. Chung (@yjchung68) has more than 121,000 followers and Park (@Solarplant) 117,000.

“Since ordinary people don’t get to talk to such industry executives, their participation in social networks has some impact on changing the impression,” said Kim Young-soo, a 28-year-old book editor.

Lotte Group Chairman Shin Kyuk-ho highlighted the importance of social networks in the wake of an online shopping boom.

“In this new networking era, companies would face a hard time adapting to trend changes unless they communicate with customers and society,” he said early this year.

“To have the brand of Lotte give customers new values and satisfactions, we have to get hold of what they truly want.”

New business models

The latest online fads ― or a revolution ― gave birth to new business models involving social commerce, games and funding.

Korea saw astonishing growth of the industry for social commerce, which involves social media to engage users in the online buying and selling of products and services.

On top of U.S. heavyweights such as Groupon and LivingSocial, local start-ups such as Coupang and We Make Price sucessfully entered the fledgling market.

With Facebook spearheading the boom, Korean platforms are expanding their foray into social networking gaming on the Internet and smartphones.

The interactive gaming, free of charge, entails a different system compared with conventional role-playing games, which usually charge subscription fees.

It instead spurs social activities in Web spaces by playing games and chatting with friends, rather than upgrading skills and climbing to upper levels by slaying monsters and enemies.

Crowdfunding could be the newest concept, which aims at helping artists, entrepreneurs and others raise money for their projects via online networking platforms. The Korea Communications Commission named it as a promising start-up idea in May.

Tumblebug, Upstart, and This Is True Story are among Korean ventures that set out this year. Britain’s IndieGoGo and U.S.-based Kickstarter and Rocket Hub have gathered millions of dollars for their campaigns.

By Shin Hyon-hee (heeshin@heraldcorp.com)