ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : ศาสตร์เกษตรดินปุ๋ย : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation
INTERVIEW
The emergence of digital media not only offers tremendous opportunities for companies wanting to market their products, but can also create jobs for bloggers, some of which have become important links between brands and consumers.
“New brands are created every day in the market. Each of those brands needs its own differentiation and uniqueness. Storytellers, therefore, are needed either for |traditional communication or online conversation,” explained young entrepreneur Patcharah Sirikietsoong, executive director of Nuffnang Thailand.
Brands are being challenged by an array of uncontrollable risks |on online platforms. Smart consumers are searching out and reading comments and product reviews available on their connected hand-held devices before opening their wallets.
Patcharah said bloggers and influencers had provided answers for those consumers. On the other hand, brands are seeking specialists to help deliver their messages to target audiences.
He said that several years ago, bloggers worked individually, pursuing their own preferences and interests, so it was quite difficult for brands to connect with them and vice versa. Nuffnang’s co-founders, Malaysian Timothy Tiah and Singaporean Cheo Ming Shen, seized on this opportunity. They brought the company to life in 2006.
“Tim and Ming are my best friends. We met each other in Hong Kong during that time. They invited me to join the business, but I had to suspend my decision because I was very busy in preparation for my family business,” Patcharah recalled.
After being founded in Malaysia, Nuffnang has reached out to |six other countries: Singapore, Australia, China, the Philippines, Britain and Thailand.
“Our good news is that Thailand is ranked among the top three markets in terms of revenue from monetising through the use of bloggers and online influencers after it landed in the Kingdom four years ago,” he said.
He added that Nuffnang Thailand currently managed around 1,000 bloggers, YouTube users,Facebook page managers and Instagrammers. Dealing with those talented people, the company expects to enjoy at least 30-per-cent year-on-year growth in revenue.
The company acts as a business matcher between brands or companies and top bloggers. The agency must understand its clients’ marketing strategy and demands and translate these requirements to the right bloggers and influencers to promote online marketing campaigns for its clients.
It also encourages and recruits new writers to be bloggers and influencers through many activities and networking.
“We hope that our business can create new jobs for the advertising industry as Thai people have great talent in this regard,” he said.
The Digital Advertising Association (Thailand) projects 33-per-cent rise in advertising spending via digital media to Bt8.13 billion this year, compared with Bt6.11 billion last year. Investment in video and Facebook ads is on the rise as the number of mobile Internet users increases.
Nuffnang is encouraging its bloggers and new prospects to write their product reviews on a new mobile application called Dayre developed by Singapore-based software developer FTW Tech.
Patcharah said Dayre would be a key digital platform for Nuffnang’s bloggers to engage with all social-media users.
ศาสตร์เกษตรดินปุ๋ย1 