Key Take-Aways from Presentation for Singapore Institute of Directors
In a great morning of dynamic discussion among council and team, I had the pleasure of presenting the topic ‘Growing a Brand in the Digital Age: International Perspectives’ to the Singapore Institute of Directors, during a weekend ‘Advance’ retreat focusing on board effectiveness lead by Board Accord.
Following are some of the key take-aways from my presentation, which discussed Australian digital marketing trends and some LinkedIn statistics from around the world.
1. Challenges of marketing in today’s world, and insights into how Australians are growing brands in the digital age
Challenges include:
- Standing out and staying top of mind amid the digital ‘noise’
- Increased ‘busyness’ and information overload means audience has a lower attention span
- The customer is making informed choices and leading the sale, due to the amount of information freely available and the choices in the market
- Customers expect more value for their money
- Customers expect to see differentiation among brands and authenticity in brand values
Trends in Australia include:
- Brands are seeking to be more ‘human’ in the online space
- Increased awareness of the need for brand differentiation
- Organisations, such as membership-based and not-for-profit, are taking on a marketing model similar to that of other businesses
- Staff education on the impact and potential of their personal brands, as influencers of a wider company/organisation brand
- Leadership teams, sales teams and marketing teams up-skilling on using LinkedIn for business – not just for sales, but brand awareness and relationship/network building
- Executives & businesses learning how to use LinkedIn as an extension of their face-to-face/traditional networking activities
- C-suite executives are working with consultants to position or reposition themselves on LinkedIn
- Using LinkedIn as an integral and detailed part of an organisation’s marketing plan
I also highlighted the personal brand model we use at NWC and its applications, through some client examples.
Read on below for LinkedIn facts and applications
2. LinkedIn: facts about its use around the world – how it’s used, by whom, for what purpose
Why LinkedIn is so powerful:
- Not just for job seekers and recruitment agencies – now recognised as more than an online CV
- Used by sales teams & marketing departments, as well as business leaders
- Used to build and maintain business relationships
- When used strategically it can achieve specific business and professional goals
- Unlike other social media platforms, it is seen as ‘strictly professional’
- The perfect platform for the ‘personal brand’
WHO uses LinkedIn:
- Half a billion people, with 70% outside US
- Highest numbers in US, India, Brazil, GB, Canada
- 28% of members belong to companies of over 10,000 employees
- 43% members are in a decision-making role
- Finance & medicine are big industry users on LinkedIn
- In Australia, LinkedIn is ranked 6 / 26 most popular social media platforms. Approximately 4.2 million use LinkedIn
- Singapore reached over 1M members in 2013
- In Singapore in 2015, the most common job function was sales, with business analysts on the rise. Management was the top skill listed. 5600 non-profits listed
Sources: Sensis 2017 Social Media Survey, Mumbrella, Australian Government website, Australian Bureau of Statistics, Social Media News, Marketing Mojo, LinkedIn
HOW LinkedIn is used: Tools and strategies
- Company pages – establish brand and regular updates
- Team profile pages optimised/positioned and brand-aligned
- Regular on-brand content from individuals, demonstrating their expertise
- Development of personal brands
- Targeted audiences, connecting and networking
- Advertising
- Research
- Training
We finished with a discussion of SID’s online presence and some possibilities for the future.