Costa Rica and social media

On a recent holiday to Costa Rica [not a holiday gloat, honest], I couldn't help noticing how much people and businesses were using social media. It seemed almost the same or even more than what I've experienced in the UK.

Every business I came across, tour guides, hotels, restaurants and hire companies all had real world sign posts [posters, literature] pointing people to their social media profiles - mainly Facebook and Twitter. OK, so maybe just looking at retail businesses aimed at gringo tourists, doesn't give a full picture, but I got the distinct impression that more businesses in Costa Rica were using social channels than the same type of businesses in the UK. OK, maybe not by volume, but by proportion. [Unfortunately problems with my Orange SIM i.e. Orange couldn't get it to work, and my lack of Spanish, stopped me exploring the different profiles].

Overall, I felt that Costa Rica was extremely advanced in the use social media and digital tech in general [everywhere I went there was free wifi, even on the outskirts of the jungle], which perhaps I shouldn't have been surprised by [or so judgmental] . 

Based on this, I immediately leap to the conclusion that up and coming countries, like Costa Rica, are perhaps keener on new ways of marketing [like social media marketing]. Mainly because they may not have historically used the traditional and costly broadcast marketing methods, and so, are not wedded to them like many UK organisations. 

OK, this conclusion is a massive assumption based on a two week trip around the country. I wish I had lots of screen grabs and other first hand evidence [blame Orange]. I hope these photos of cute monkeys makes up for it.

Social media business cases

Interesting work being done by Altimeter group on social media ROI with this recent study. I like the way Charlene Li and co have created a social media measurement compass that gives a handful of business cases for social media strategies.

I think this gives a good way of framing your strategic thinking i.e. are you devising a social media strategy to improve brand health by, say, creating positive conversations? To improve the customer experience with a customer service strategy? Increase revenue by generating more leads? Or a mixture of a few.

I also really admire the Altimeter Group for the way they give away they research for free and generate revenue from the consultancy which the reports attract.

Cool social media comic

Damien Mulley, erstwhile social media chap and straight talker, has produced a v funny comic strip about social media. It pokes fun at bullshitters and people who talk a lot of jargon.
Very funny and worth a read.