This means you’ll be getting updates on key events and live coverage from the show floor at HOFEX specifically focussing on the wine sections of the exhibition. So follow our blog, Twitter and Facebook groups for the up-to-the-minute coverage and photos from each of the events.

HOFEX is of course the premiere international exhibition of food and drink, hotel, restaurant and food service equipment supplies and services. There will be 1,800 exhibiting companies on the 48,000 square metre show floor.

While it is a trade show it will definitely define the trends in the food and wine business in Asia for the years to come! You can pre-register now at www.hofex.com.

Here is our full page advertisement in the official guide book – we hope to see you there.

Our initial launch includes first check-in’s receiving 20% off any Siglo Accessory product. But that alone is part of the attraction, the key is that if anyone from Hong Kong or tourists visiting Hong Kong check in within a certain area they will see the Siglo Accessory promotion and know there is a cigar shop nearby and act on it if they wish or dismiss it.

Here are 2 examples, the first one is a check-in at Exchange Square in Central – while looking for the nearest location we were at the system pulls up that the Pacific Cigar Divan on Des Voeux Road Central has a special offer.

In this second example, we checked in at RED SoHo and it immediately showed us the offer at the Havana Express in Soho on Cochrane Street right near the escalator and Lyndhurst Terrace.

So this kind of social media marketing lets a business stand out especially those ones not on the ground floor, and by giving an interesting incentive will at least either draw in that person or that person might tell someone who would benefit from it. We feel this kind of location based marketing to work best in dense cities like Hong Kong.

We’ll see how the check-ins do over the next few months and look at how we can reward the mayors of each of the shops.

See more on Siglo’s own blog at www.sigloblog.com

Seems like the Italian restaurant chain has been on Facebook since May 2009 posting photos, menu updates, promotions and newsletters with nearly 1,400 fans showing their support.

Although now that Facebook has changed the term “fans” to “like” it would seem they’ll need to update their menu’s on the next printing.

And on a Visa Compass billboard we saw the giant “F” of Facebook overlooking North Wan Chai.

It’s the same feeling we had when we started seeing “www” appear on ads all across Hong Kong 10 years ago.

Social Media: Business Friend or Foe

Lunch Briefing: Thursday 29 April 2010

Social Networking is now the number one activity conducted on the web. Organisations today can no longer afford not to have a social media strategy. Hong Kong, and indeed the rest of Asia, has clearly embraced social networking. Hong Kong now has more Facebook members per capita than the United States!

Consumer opinion is now more important than ever for businesses. However, there can be a downside when organisations and its employees engage with social media, which can be detrimental to your business if mismanaged.

Join our panel of experts to find out the business opportunities and risks of social media and the best way to make social media work for your brand. Our panel of industry experts has been assembled to answer all your social networking questions.

Our panellists include:

Moderator: David Ketchum, President, Asia Pacific, Bite Communications
David Ketchum specializes in off- and on-line corporate and marketing communications for companies expanding their business in the Asia Pacific. He is President, Asia Pacific of Bite Communications, Chairman of the Asia Digital Marketing Association, and Deputy Chairman of the Council of Public Relations Firms in Hong Kong. David is the author of BIG M, little m Marketing: New Strategies for a New Asia.

Casey Lau, Head of Creative, Popcorn Media Network
Casey Lau is a serial entrepreneur and digital business pioneer. Casey has used his graphic design qualifications across a broad range of areas from designing products for the Disney and Warner Bros. Stores to producing travelogue and entertainment gaming content for various CD-ROM production companies. Casey later moved into web design and founded his own internet design company, Rouge Media and Hong Kong’s first e-commerce site: ActionAce.com as well as web entertainment company Velocity9. Currently he is focusing his time as Head of Creative for the Popcorn Media Network, a new digital marketing company he co-founded in Hong Kong.

Jeremy Woolf, Global Social Media Lead, Senior Vice President, Text 100
Jeremy Woolf has worked in public relations and marketing in Asia Pacific for more than 18 years, with proven expertise in a wide range of communications disciplines. As Global Social Media Lead, he manages the company’s global social media practice. Jeremy has direct reports leading the Asian, North American and European regions, with dedicated social media teams in each of Text 100’s worldwide offices. The Global Social Media Practice is tasked with ensuring Text 100’s continued leadership in using social media channels to enhance a company’s brand and business performance. Jeremy’s team is responsible for product and service development, team skill enhancement and client consulting. Jeremy has consulted to and developed social media programs for blue chip clients around the world.

Louise Kristensen, Head of Digital Engagement, TBWA\TEQUILA
Louise Kristensen has worked across Asia, Europe & US with extensive experience in the conception and management of digital marketing strategies and campaigns for B2C and B2B, including notable work in social media space over the last 5 years across Asia. Louise joined TBWA\TEQUILA in February 2009 to lead and continue expansion plans in the digital space. She previously worked for brand consultancy Eight Partnership spearheading their digital marketing in HK & China and before that with the agency Digital Outlook in London specialising in interactive marketing for entertainment clients.

Date:

• Thursday 29 April 2010

Time:

• Registration from 12.30pm Presentation 12.45pm [sharp]
• Session ends at approximately 2.00pm

Venue:

• AustCham Seminar Room
• 3/F Lucky Building, 39 Wellington Street, Central, Hong Kong

Cost:

• HK$200 Members; HK$380 Non-members
• (includes sandwiches, fruit and orange juice )

More information:

• http://www.austcham.com.hk/

Online reviews grow legs: The search engines are aggregating them, Google’s putting them on Google Place pages and many users are even starting searches on review sites.

You want to make sure that you’re encouraging your customers to leave reviews, that you know what’s being said about you and that you’re active about managing them. That said, not all reviews are created equal. And not every bad review warrants a response or even an acknowledgment. How do you know the difference?

Here’s a quick list of the types of negative reviews worth responding to. And then some that aren’t.

When To Respond

Someone is misstating the facts: If someone is on your business page leaving a nasty review about a doctor that doesn’t work in your clinic or about an offer they didn’t receive because it never actually existed, you should politely step in to correct them. They probably don’t realize they’ve made an error and correcting the bad information will help to add context to new visitors who stumble across the page.

When Not To Respond

When the person is mad at the world, not you: Some users are known for leaving irate reviews about every establishment they visit. If you go through someone’s profile and see that bad reviews are ALL that’s there, don’t waste your time trying to change that person’s opinion. You may step in if they’re providing completely nonfactual information about what you offer/charge/etc, however, this isn’t a fight you’re going to win. Invest your time in something you can. Or go encourage someone to leave a positive review to help balance this one out.

Read the rest of the reasons to respond at SmallBusinessTrends.com

In a recent study of social media usage it is clear that consumers who are Facebook fans and Twitter followers of a brand are more likely to not only recommend, but they are also more likely to buy from those brands than they were before becoming fans/followers. The study of over 1500 consumers by market research firm Chadwick Martin Bailey and iModerate Research Technologies found that 60% of Facebook fans and 79% of Twitter followers are more likely to recommend those brands since becoming a fan or follower. And an impressive 51% of Facebook fans and 67% of Twitter followers are more likely to buy the brands they follow or are a fan of.  Considering Facebook’s over 400 million users, the opportunity is great for social media marketers.

The study also uncovered perceptions among consumers that those brands not engaging in social media are out of touch. When asked the question “What does it say about a brand if they are not involved with sites like Facebook or Twitter?” they said the following:

• “It’s EXPECTED that a company have some digital face – whether it’s on FB or Twitter I don’t know – but they need a strong electronic presence or you doubt their relevance in today’s marketplace.” Female 50-54
• “Either they are not interested in the demographic that frequents Facebook and Twitter or they are unaware of the opportunity to get more exposure in a more interactive method.” Male 35-39
• “It shows they are not really with it or in tune with the new ways to communicate with customers.” Female 18-24.
• “If they’re not on Facebook or Twitter, then they aren’t in touch with the “electronic” people.” Female 55-59

Recent statistics from Facebook show they have 400 million active users and more than 20 million people become fans each day.  Twitter users post over 50 million tweets per day—that’s an average of 600 tweets per second.

Read the rest of the story at Chadwich Martin Bailey.

With China Unicom and China Mobile battling it out for supremacy of the ultimate smartphone. We did an extensive interview with iPhonAsia.com’s senior analyst Dan Butterfield about his take on the strength of iPhone adoption in China, how many legal and grey market iPhones are in China and how Apple will open 24 stores in China in 2010.

You can read Part 1 here and Part 2 here.

We’re extremely happy to see it got picked up by the Wall Street Journal’s industry-wide read blog All Things D and was quoted in the March 18th Digital Daily posting by Deputy Managing Editor John Paczkowski entitled “China Mobile Getting Desperate for iPhone, iPad Deal?”

They even re-printed our iPhone Farmer image which we made to go along with the story which thrills us to no end.

Read the story at All Things D here.

An amazing way to get people to head over to your place after their work hours. You can install the location-based app for free on your iPhone or Android phone – it even works on Nokia and other phones, not as elegantly, but it still does the trick.

According to Marketing magazine there appears to be about 300,000 users as of March 2010 on FourSquare, and more offers like this one and a few others will keep bringing more people into the fold.

Call us at  3488-1090 or email us so we can consult with you on the best way to get your business on Foursqaure in Hong Kong.

1. Have scalable web server resources
2. Get all of your social media accounts beforehand
3. Have content ready to publish for at least a month
4. Drop hints about the upcoming launch to build anticipation
5. Plan your tasks for at least a month after the site launch
6. Triple-check the technical details before going live
7. Launch on schedule
8. Contact your friends and family about the site launch
9. Provide easy ways of contacting you
10. Show site visitors a roadmap of what’s to come

Read further at the Sixrevisions.com blog.

Its basically a round-up of the weeks hottest fashion and shopping stories on Butterboom.com but featured on their huge Asia-wide portal that CNNgo.com caters to including Hong Kong, Tokyo, Singapore, Bangkok, Mumbai and Shanghai.

We’re very excited to be a sliver in Ted Turner’s empire. Read the first Butterboom Beat here.