Thanks to Google Doodles, archery,
diving, fencing, gymnastics rings, and field hockey have been in the limelight.
With the Games of the XXX Olympiad well underway, many medals have been
awarded. My Olympics-themed series is also well underway. In the words of Vala
Afshar, "Don't do social, be S.O.C.I.A.L., which means be sincere, open,
collaborative, interested, authentic, and likeable." To coincide with the
festivities in London, I am featuring experts from around the world who will
share their insights and answer questions about social media. Tune in every
couple of days to see which country will be represented and who will be
featured. And if you comment during the Olympics on Twitter or elsewhere in
social media, don't forget to use the hashtag #London2012.
Today, two experts are chiming in from
Canada. Kim Lavigne is a social media
manager at A Major Media and also a songwriter in Quebec, Canada; and Ray Hiltz is a social media strategist and
owner of Communications NewRayCom in Montreal, Canada. You can connect on
Twitter with Kim @freedomwalker77 and with Ray @newraycom.
Which social network is most popular in your country?
Both Kim and Ray agree that Facebook is
the most popular social networking site in Canada.
How are your country’s legislators dealing with the privacy issue
resulting from social media?
From Ray: We have privacy laws, and in fact, in 2009,
Canada was the first country to take on Facebook for playing loose with
personal information. Evidently, they came to an agreement. We also have the
Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA), which is
scheduled for review this year, and there is hope that the government will
strengthen it, as concern has been expressed by the privacy commissioner that
too much personal data is collected and distributed by social media sites.
What three ways are major businesses in your country using social
media as a marketing tool to promote products or services?
From Kim: To promote products with contests, ads, and free services.
What is the most valuable social media advice you can offer?
From Kim: Social media was meant to be
social…engage in conversations with people and be social.
From Ray: Don’t think of social media as
strictly a marketing tool. When you are planning a social media strategy, make
sure it dovetails not only with your marketing plan but also with your overall
business strategy.
In what ways will smartphones and tablets further evolve in your
country?
From Kim: Improvements in speed and
memory will greatly impact future iterations of these devices.
From Ray: While 40% of the 20 million
Canadians who use mobile devices use smartphones, Android is the preferred operating
system. (Apple, what are you doing about that news?) I see enormous growth as
the Federal government moves to deregulate the telecommunications industry,
which keeps costs artificially high.
NEXT POST WILL FEATURE SWEDEN.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Thank you for your comment!