Marketing with a Purpose – Interview with Matthew Lim

At We! Interactive, you solve brands’ needs by delivering digital strategies with a focus on five digital competencies: social CRM, branded content, influence & advocacy, ecommerce and mobile. Can you tell us a bit more about this approach?

During the years of our operation and looking at how the market has evolved, WE! has come to embrace a whole new perspective that marketing (and branding) must drive a response from the audience, because anything else is as good as trying to get the client to talk to brick walls.

Amidst the onslaught of social, mobile and ecommerce, WE! believes in full scale that our client’s marketing decisions should come pegged with a trigger mechanism. The effect of this trigger widely varies from client to client, be it a sales-driven call to action, or a downloadable whitepaper, WE! have always enforced this vision with our clients to never market just for the sake of awareness.

Market with a goal of recording an interest for purchase. Or market with the objective of delivering a product demo or sample. Whatever our clients’ goals are, it is WE!’s shared perspective with all our clients to always keep the conversation going. Whether it is a transaction or a complaint on Facebook, to us, all opportunities are there to keep the conversation going, ultimately “humanizing” our clients’ brands, using the universe of communication channels available out there.

Why can’t businesses afford to ignore mobile marketing’s potential nowadays?

The rise of smartphones has changed consumer behavior. The general public is spending more time on their mobile phones than any other device. The mobile platform is where most people consume information. The majority of social sites have a higher usage on mobile than on desktop, and social apps like Instagram and Snapchat are developed solely for mobile.

However, the important thing businesses should take advantage of is the ability for a more targeted marketing approach. Businesses are now able to push relevant messages out to a targeted demographic, enabling a personalized experience.

What are some best practices when it comes to driving engagement through mobile marketing?

Relevance and usability. Being on mobile also means that users are on a smaller device with limited functionalities. When attempting to engage users, think of the possibilities and how users can interact with your site through a small device. Always conduct user testing to be sure of usability before rolling out the campaign. All is pointless if a user cannot carry out the desired actions, or if they give up because it is too difficult.

We consume most information available online with our smartphones. Do you think that companies should rethink their internal communication by making it easier for employees to follow company news on their mobile devices?

Definitely. Employees are not always in front of their computer or looking at the bulletin board. Mobile will always be a better platform to push out information, although they will have to weigh security concerns before making any decision.

What are the key benefits of empowering employees through Employee Advocacy on social media?

The number of employees means that the total outreach is potentially more than a single brand channel’s.

Individual employees reach out to their own network of friends and family. This intimacy brings trust and helps put the brand in a better light.

Employees will have in-depth information about their products that helps them “sell” the product better.

Do you have tips for launching an Employee Advocacy program on social media?

Ensure that proper training and guidelines are in place.

As good as the benefits are, companies will also need to make sure that employees do not expose company secrets or embargoed news.

Being on social media also means interactions. Employees need to know how to respond as someone representing the company – what to say and what not to say, and how to do so.

Source: Smarp