2 Table of Contents ABBREVIATIONS LIST OF FIGURES AND TABLES ACKNOWLEDGEMENT EXECUTIVE SUMMARY CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1.1 Rationale 10 1.2 Research Objectives 11 1.3 Research questions 11 1.4 Research Methodology 12 1.5 Research scope and limitations 14 1.6 Research Structure 14 CHAPTER 2: THEORETICAL BACKGROUND 2.1 Marketing communication mix 15 2.2 Targeting right people 17 2.3 What is social media? 18 2.4 Social media applications 18 2.5 Social Media Participants 21 2.6 Promotion tools 22 2.6.1 Designing an attractive website 23 2.6.2 Search engine optimization 2.6.3 E-mail marketing 23 23 2.6.4 Online Networking 24 2.6.5 Offline Promotion 24 CHAPTER : OVERVIEW OF VTC ONLINE AND THE WEBSITE HTTP://GO.VN 3.1.Overview of Social Media in Vietnam 26 3.2 Introduction of VTC Online and website http://Go.vn 27 CHAPTER 4: RESEARCH FINDINGS 4.1 User profile32 4.1.1 Age 32 4.1.2 Gender 33 4.1.3 Activities of users when using Social network site 4.1.4 Users’ Knowledge 33 34 4.2 The effectiveness of promotion activities 35 4.3 VTC Online Perception about target potential customer groups of http://Go.vn in Viet nam 37 CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS 5.1 General Conclusion 39 5.2 Recommendations 40 5.2.1 Incentivize User Activity 40 5.2.2 Design a successful merger 45 5.2.3 Offline Promotion REFERENCES 49 APPENDIXES 50 46 ABBREVIATIONS - VTC Online: Vietnam Television Corporation Online - SNS: Social Network Site PR: Public Relations UGC: User Generated Content CMS: Content management system URL: Uniform Resource Locator FACEBOOK.COM: The leading Social Network Site in the world GDP: Gross Domestic Product CF: Cross Fire LIST OF FIGURES AND TABLES Figures: F1.1 Data Process F2.1 The tools of marketing communication mix F2.4 Classification of social media F2.5 Social Media Ladder F3.1-1 Vietnam Social Networl Shares F3.1-2 Vietnamese Internet users’ content F3.2 Homepage of http://Go.vn F4.1.1 Respondents’ age F4.1.2 Respondents’s gender F4.1.3 Users’ activities when using SNS F4.1.4 Users’ knowledge Tables T2.1 Strength and Weaknesses of major promotion elements T4.2 Summary of VTC Online’s Promotion activities to Go.vn ACKNOWLEDGEMENT First of all, I would like to thank all of the lecturers, the E-BBA program directors and coordinators from Business School, National Economics University, who did try their best to provide us valuable and precious knowledge Through the courses, I gained a lot of knowledge of economics and business administration that are very useful for my future work and career I would like to express my special thanks to my thesis supervisors, Prof Ph.D Vu Thanh Hung, who provided me with valuable advice, guidance and suggestions in all the time of the research and writing of this thesis I also would like to sincerely thank to Mr Le Duc Thanh, team leader of Go.vn project of VTC Online for giving me the permission of internship and conducting this thesis, as well as providing me information to write the thesis I also would like to send my honest thanks to Mr Aaron Lutkowitz for providing me extra information and translating many difficult documents Last but not least, I want to express my thanks to my family and my classmates in class E-BBA1, who gave me helpful advices, encouragement and enthusiastic support to finish this work EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Nowadays, within the dramatic development of technology, especially, the internet, many enterprises have new opportunities to expand and seek new markets and also have to change their business strategy Therefore, they can bring more new products and services that was never appeared in Vietnam before One of those new things is products and services related to social media, especially social network services.Although social network is a quite new industry but its development is very strong in recent years Many domestic and small companies have become big international groups and enterprises in this period because they can follow this trend and successful with their own strategies such as MySpace, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, etc With much potentials and advantages of being the first in this field, those companies are easy to become leaders in this field In Vietnam, comprehending the development of social network industry is the indispensable trend Therefore, VTC Online established one social network site at domain name http://Go.vn with the expectation that the web will become the centre social network site for Vietnamese users and for global in far future and it can have ability to replace or to compete with other competitors Like other big successful Social Network site in the world, Go.vn is including many different contents for users like Social aspects, Music, Film, Education, News, etc Up to now, there are appropriate million users have already joined and nearly million use everyday Besides, the social network industry is still in developing stage, so the company would have bigger opportunities to expand the website and number of users A main problem that VTC Online is facing at the moment is how to promote the Social Network Site http://Go.vn successfully and effectively Therefore, the research problem chose for this thesis is: “Promoting social network site http://Go.vn to maximize users for VTC Online” In order to solve the research problem, there are some research objectives: - To evaluate about the effectiveness of promotion activities that VTC Online has done to the SNS http://Go.vn - To have the overview of SNS in Vietnam in general - To understand users’ benefits for using SNS in Vietnam - To make some recommendations about the future development Both secondary and primary data were used for this research to collect information to clarify research objectives above A small survey and an in-depth interview were conducted to collect primary data for the research A small survey was designed with a questionare, and was answered by 200 random Internet users An in-depth interview was carried out with the team leader of Go.vn project of VTC Online, Mr Le Duc Thanh For secondary data, few information used as e-books, internet sources and company’s reports After combining and analyzing the findings and results from the in-depth interview and the survey, the author found out some key findings as follow: - The Social network market in Vietnam is very active at the moment, and it is the big opportunity for many company including VTC Online - The perception of team leader of Go.vn project about the importance of promotion activities was strong and serious - Understanding clearly about the target customer groups and what kind of group that VTC Online aims to - Promotion activities and campaigns that VTC Online has already carried out to promote the social network site http://Go.vn were not effectively because the company had not really focused on target customer groups when implementing those promotion activities and campaigns - Almost Vietnamese Internet users have the demand for using social network for many different purposes However, VTC Online and Go.vn only started their bussiness and focused on Education section which always have few users concern about Therefore, VTC Online is facing many difficulties in approaching new customers or competing with other competitors - Vietnam is still a very potential market for social network and it seems to be possible for develop in long-term plan for VTC Online Based on key findings from the survey and the in-depth interview, the author proposed some recommendations for promotion activities for the social network site http://Go.vn to attract more customer: - Enhance and deploy promotion campaigns for http://Go.vn throughtout promotion tools in appropriate ways - Promoting the website throughtout online promotion activities which includes: incentivize user activities, improving current online promotion activities and innovate the website by combining different aspects - Promoting the website throughtout offline promotion activities which is the traditional activities like promote through TV, newspapers, radio or business cards, etc All activities that can approach to customers without the internet - Other promotion implications 10 CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1.1 Rationale Social network is one of the youngest trends on the Internet in Vietnam but it grew up rapidly in the past seven years The beginning of era of Social network in Vietnam was Yahoo 360 Blog and MySpace in 2005 and 2006 After that, within the appearance of Facebook, the Social network industry had a big change Number of users of Facebook surged in very short time led to the formation of many Social networks from Vietnam to compete with Facebook In 2012, there are around 30 Social networks are active in Vietnam with approximately 25 million users Biggest difference between Go.vn and the other Vietnamese Social Networks is the capital to build up the platform Go.vn uses fully capital from Vietnamese government and was built up individually by VTC Online In contrast, its competitors from Vietnam were built up by corporation capital or ownership capital Therefore, it is big advantages of Go.vn compare to its competitors According to the Index of Chinese Internet Network Information Center, in China, in early 2012, there are about 150 million people are using two big Government Social Networks: “Kaixin001.com” and “Renren.com” The others, even Facebook, have very low market shares It proves that Government project can be successful However, this model in Vietnam seems to be ineffective withnumber of users of Go.vn is still smaller than its competitors, even it has run for years Go.vn has nearly million active users and its competitors ZingMe, Yahoo 360 Plus, Facebook and Yume have respectively 4.9 million, million, 3.8 million and 2,7 million.It is the result of lacking of creativity in VTC Online’s product In order to compete with these alreadysuccessful social networks like ZingMe or Facebook, Go.vn needs to develop something unique and attractive in its platform to get more users Unfortunately, there is very few changes in the platform of Go.vn, it is almost the same with ZingMe and a little bit with Facebook Therefore, Go.vn can not impress the users in the first place Consequently, this research concentrates on improving the content of platform of 11 Go.vn to attract more users The output of this research would indicate the potential of this platform in order to make decision in changing on the content and optimizing promotion campaigns more effective 1.2 Research Objectives In order to attract more and more users to sign up in Social Network Site (SNS) Go.vn, the most effective and appropriate ways is promote the website Therefore, the research problem of the thesis is “Promoting Social Network Site http://Go.vn to maximize users for VTC Online” The purpose of this research is understanding how the factors like culture, personal, psychological and technology impact on the users attention Then use that understanding to adjust the content of platform to be more suitable for users This research focuses on over 30 million customers of the other VTC services in general With the research problem mentioned above, the thesis focuses on some specific objectives as below: - To evaluate about the effectiveness of promotion activities that VTC Online has done to the SNS http://Go.vn - To have the overview of SNS in Vietnam in general - To understand users’ benefits for using SNS in Vietnam - To make some recommendations about the future development 1.3 Research questions To make the objectives more clear, there are several questions must to be solved - How does the current promotion activities running? - What are the aspects that affect to those activities? - What is the core value of those promotion activities? 41 CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS 5.1 General Conclusion In general, VTC Online believed promotion activities are very important elements, particular social network site The company has carried out many promotion campaigns as a main approach to target potential user groups Implementing promotion activities would also help Social network site http://Go.vn having competitive advantages with others The research findings have been very useful for VTC Online to understand how effective its promotion activities have been The web http://Go.vn has the sixth ranking among Vietnamese Social Network site in vietnamsurvey.com index in 2011 But the result from customer survey clearly showed that customers did not highly value the web The research findings also confirmed customers’ weak perception about social network and internet benefits has influenced to the success of the website VTC Online regcognized that it is the time for them to review and reassess the strategy for deploying and implementing promotion activities If the company wants to attract many target customers, then promotion campaigns must focus on these customers After each promotion campaign, the company must evaluate the effectiveness and success of that promotion campaign from the web There are number of issues at promotion operations and campaigns that needs consideration Many customers not understand clearly about the purpose of building social network website http://Go.vn as well as its benefits that users can get when entering and using the web They not believe that web can bring them new big thing Other potential customers said that they have not heard and known about the website Although, they are customers that always have high demands for using services of social network site This was due to information regarding social network site conveying target customers was poor and rarely As a result, the majority of users 42 chosen for the survey have not ever heard about website though they belong target potential customer groups of the web It has been regcognized that there was a lack of focus by promotion campaigns on attracting target potential customers This indicated that promotion campaigns were not organized, deployed and carried out effectively and effeciently As a result, after years working, only few users joined in the web and its features while other million of other people have not know about Go.vn In conclusion, implementing promotion campaigns successfully and effectively require a strong management, organization and preparation plus right time as well as major commitment of facilities, equipment and personnel VTC Online has recognized that the most critical element is the professionalism of promotion campaigns themselves To achieve a high level of professionalism and effect, VTC Online should invest more throughout years to build cadre of people who have the knowledge, skills, authority, and desire to propose good promotion campaigns 5.2 Recommendations Leading the merger between social media and already successful gaming companies may determine who dominates the competitive, non-monopolized Vietnamese SNS market Thissection will analyze consumer internet habits, suggest ways to drive users to go.vn, encourage users to engage in both social networking and gaming on the site 5.2.1 Incentivize User Activity A high quantity and quality of users drive all SNSs Especially for go.vn’s portal model, user-generated content and user engagement on site are necessary pieces to the site’s success Go.vn can take steps to incentivize the user to participate in both social media and games This section provides some possible incentives to drive users to both social networks and games 5.2.1.1 Game-based avatar customizations Although the American SNS revenue model depends mostly on advertisements, the relatively lower GDP per capita in Southeast Asia means that advertisements are less 43 profitable Instead, one of the easiest ways to monetize SNSs in Southeast Asia is through virtual goods The difference in the revenue models between America’s and China’s largest SNS highlights the opportunities of virtual goods in Asia One of the most common revenue streams for big SNS in Asia is profile and avatar customizations Although go.vn currently has many interesting avatar customizations, but all of them are free In addition only the “funky avatar” section directly relates to any of the very popular games that 5.2.1.1.1 Create an avatar that cost money Go.vn offers three different types of avatars: animated, created, and funky Each type could be monetized Animated: Certain animated customizations could cost money Because the animated avatars have so many different customization options, there are also plenty of different options for monetizing these avatars ideas for customizations - whether free or monetized - include: • Different skin colors • Wilder hair colors • Jerseys of famous soccer teams • Shorts of famous soccer teams • Masks • Hats of different sports teams, companies, etc • Backgrounds landmarks • Jewelry that says the user’s name • Accessories like a fancy car or a soccer ball of famous 44 Created: Customizations could occur as background add-ons The iPhone app “CatPaint” introduced the idea of users placing objects into an image quickly and easily It was quite successful in the United States Users would buy objects to placein the background of their photos and the company can provide some interesting background like animals, cars, famous people,etc Funky: Some of the more popular funky avatars could start to cost money, or go.vn could create new funky avatars, some of which cost money 5.2.1.1.2 Create avatar customizations based on popular games A user’s avatar is one of the best ways he has to express himself through a social network If go.vn provides easy opportunities for users to make their avatars relate to the games they play, it can encourage a merger between social networks and games These game customizations could be free or monetized; in either case the goal would be for their social network identity to have elements of go.vn’s games Example customizations include: • Angry birds as pets • Angry birds settings as backgrounds • CF guns/goggles/helmet as accessories 45 • CF settings as backgrounds • Ninja swords as accessories • Ninja characters as hair styles/skin colors/facial shapes • Cut the Rope frog as a pet • FIFA Online as gear (jerseys/shorts) 5.2.1.2 Gamify Social Networks Gamification, or applying elements of a game into other activities, is becoming increasingly popular American SNS like LinkedIn, and Facebook and companies like Nike, American Airlines, and Microsoft have all latched onto the idea of gamification For go.vn to merge gaming and social networking, one of the most important steps might be to make the user think that engaging with the social network can be as much fun as a game The following are a list of methods to gamify Go.vn Go.vn can especially gain from making their social network seem more like a game because like section from above, there are many gamers of VTC can become potential customers in the future Gamifying go.vn has the potential to interest the gamer majority of users on go.vn’s site to use the social network features 5.2.1.2.1 Create badges for accomplishments Badges connect with customers and reward them for the use of their services People naturally enjoy being praised for their actions and collecting proof of their invested time and energy to show off to their friends Go.vn could use badge system with reward social networking activity Badges could be awarded for any of the following accomplishments: • Have a certain number of friends (1 badge at 10 friends, another at 50 friends, another at 100, then 200, then 500, then 1000) • Write a certain number of blog posts • Play a certain number of games • Have the highest score on a game 46 • Log into go.vn a certain of number of times • Spend a certain number of virtual coins • Write on a friend’s wall a certain number of times • Change avatars a certain number of times • Create a certain number of playlists • Upload a certain number of clips or songs • Create a post that has a certain number of likes • Visit a certain number of portals that go.vn has to offer • Comment on a certain number of posts Go.vn could have specialized group badges too For example, I could get a “Go ManU!” badge for liking the Manchester United group page and posting content on its site Or anything big, rarely happens can be a special badge To maximize badges’ effectiveness, they must be placed prominently on one’s profile And to further increase excitement towards earning a badge, offer users the chance to share the news each time they win a badge A user could receive an automaticallycreated post Offering financial prizes might further incite action For example go.vn could give a different number of virtual coins for every badge, depending on how difficult it is to obtain the badge 5.2.1.2.2 Create progress bars to spur activity 47 This progress bar is effective because it provides step-by-step instructions on how to move the “profile completeness” up to 100% Some users are not bothered by an uncompleted progress bar but might be reminded of Go.vn’s services as a result of the progress bar Other users might be competitive or perfectionist and want to see their progress bar reach 100% Go.vn’s progress bar might measure the following items: • Have at least a certain number of friends • Play at least a certain number of games • Complete all the pieces of information on the profile • Upload a certain number of clips or music • Comment on a certain number of posts • Like a certain number of posts The progress bar would be optimized if placed in a prominent location on one’s profile so that the user sees it and cares about improving it Additionally, Go.vn would need to decide whether or not the progress bars are public On LinkedIn a user can only see his own progress bar and not others’ 5.2.2 Design a successful merger The success or failure of a social network can often depend on having the sleekest and most attractive design In the increasingly competitive Vietnamese SNS market, effective designs matter Go.vn’s design is well-suited for its portal site model; this is appropriate for a market that seeks news, search, music, movies, games, and social networks all in one space 48 Indeed, because Vietnamese internet interests are so varied, an overreliance on games and social networking would be too narrow; thus, the portal design is sensible However, there are still design changes that could encourage even more user engagement with go.vn’s services 5.2.2.1 Reconfigure friend-finding Social networks are as strong as the group of people interconnected within the network Facebook’s strength comes from this vast interconnectedness A random user on Facebook averages being a mere 4.7 friendships away from another random user even though the average Facebook user only has 190 friends Achieving strong interconnectedness is essential to creating a network; the inability of any SNS to monopolize the Vietnamese market yet is an indication that no company has successfully created such an interconnected network within the country Therefore, go.vn has a unique opportunity to develop this interconnectedness, and connecting people with more friends is the best starting point for that goal 5.2.2.2 Empower sharing One of the most powerful elements of the social network movement is the idea of users sharing media This shift became evident when Facebook added a “share” feature to all linked posted in their site The trend took off, and now every American online newspaper allows users to easily share articles on the biggest social networks; every search on Google can be “+1’d” and shared on Google+; every Tweet can be retweeted on Twitter to spread to the world Sharing catalyzes social network interactions and engages users with both the original material and the SNS 5.2.3 Promote the web http://Go.vn Offline To achieve success each business needs to use all possible marketing channels We live in a world dominated by technology and the Internet is perfect proof to sustain this statement Doing business online goes beyond mere transactions: there are no borders Onece you start using the rights promotion channels, you will be able to be successful 49 Although the Internet offers so many possibilities, there are still people can not approach the information through the internet There are also some potential clients not like to change, other not have enough time to get the information That why offline promotion is also very important for company Start by inserting Go.vn URL in all business stuffs such as cards, letters, envelopes, leaflets and brochues, promotional cards, etc Every time clients, business partners or potential customers get hold one of those stuffs, they should be able to see clearly where to find more information Then brand company ‘s cars A branded automobile could expose company’s name and Go.vn URL, therefore, Go.vn brand can be expressed to thousands of people every day While many people usually ignore stickers on cars, if the messages are clear, stylish and distinctive, there will certainly be some interested in what business has to offer The company also should promote business URL through giveaways: pens, calendars, mouse pads, coffee cups, T-shirts, caps, and so on As online every visitor has potential, offline everyone who sees one of Go.vn branded freebies could decide to visit the site The company never know who will see the brand and how the word of mouth could be of benefit for online business Speaking about mouth, it has an amazing power As long as the company provide impeccable services and high quality products, the power of the word of mouth will work for and not against People have a tendency to complain about a service provider more than to express their satisfaction So perform bussiness respecting own clients and will see it flourish Never ignore the power of conventional media The morning newspaper is still a tradition in many homes The newspaper ads are quite expensive, but if the company start small, with some ads in thelocal paper, they will soon know whether this offline advertising option is right for their business or not The company could make some savings though by posting ads in a paper or magazine related to line of work such as World of Computer, eChip, etc This is not an economic savings, but it also helps company attract targeted traffic to Go.vn 50 Radio and television are very expensive as well, but they are very effective As a matter of fact, the effectiveness of ad will depend upon the time the advertisements run and the frequency that they are shown Usually, this type of advertising is appropriate with big companies like VTC Online with considerable budgets So plan the promotional campaigns carefully and remember that by ignoring one advertisng channel, the company could be missing out of many possible customers 51 REFERENCES VIETNAMESE Phịng truyền thơng VTC Online (2012), tuần san tạp chí nội “Onlife”, Phát triển mạng Go.vn, số tháng 6-8/2012 Thời báo Kinh tế Sài Gòn (2012), Thuật ngữ Kinh tế ENGLISH Zarrella D (2010), e-book “The social media marketing book”, O’Reilly Media Inc., Canada Cimigo (2011), e-book “Vietnam Internet Trends Review” Aaron Lutkowitz (2011), report “Facebook Social graphs” Images in chapter are mainly provided by Mr Aaron Lutkowitz Website: - Go.vn Trang chủ Mạng Việt Nam Address: http://Go.vn - Genk.vn ZingMe chia sẻ kinh nghiệm Marketing mạng xã hội Address: http://genk.vn/tin-ict/zing-me-chia-se-kinh-nghiem-marketing-tren-mang-xa-hoicho-doanh-nghiep-vua-va-nho-20120506040947769.chn - http://english.vietnamnet.vn/fms/science-it/51466/vietnamese-social-networkschange-themselves-to-live-together-with-facebook.html - Social Media Index from http://vietnamsurvey.com - www.facebook.com - ZingMe Trang chủ Zingme Address: http://me.zing.vn 52 53 APPENDIXES Appendix In-depth Interview questions The indepth-interview with Mr Le Duc Thanh, Team Leader of Go.vn project of VTC Online What was the main purpose for building the Social Network Site http://Go.vn? Did VTC Online research or identify clear about the Vietnamese market before deploying the project? What are target customer groups that the Social network site http://Go.vn aims to? What you think about the current situation of Social Network in Vietnam? What were promotion activities that VTC Online has already carried out to promote the website http://Go.vn? Did VTC Online assess the effectiveness of these promotion activities after finishing these promotion activities and campaigns? Has the VTC Online promoted the website http://Go.vn abroad? Why? Did any activities or campaigns aim to any specific customer group? Why? How did VTC Online prepare to compete with other competitors? 10 Do you believe that the Social network site http://Go.vn would become the leading SNS in Vietnam? How you think the company can that? 54 Appendix Survey questionare This questionare is designed to fit and valuable for this thesis only Q1: Bạn độ tuổi nào? a 13-17 b 18-24 c 25-34 d Lớn 35 Q2: Giới tính bạn: a Nam b Nữ Q3: Bạn có dùng mạng xã hội sử dụng Internet khơng? a Có b Khơng Nếu có, xin trả lời tiếp câu số Q4: Bạn biết đến mạng xã hội qua hình thức nào? a Internet b Báo giấy, tờ rơi c Tivi d Khác ( Ghi cụ thể) Q5: Hoạt động chủ yếu bạn sử dụng mạng xã hội? a Giữ liên lạc với bạn bè b Tìm kiếm mối quan hệ c Viết ghi d Làm quiz e Làm việc 55 f Chơi game g Khác ( Ghi cụ thể) Q6: Bạn hiểu biết mạng xã hội Go.vn VTC Online? a Đã dùng b Chỉ nghe nói tới c Chưa nghe qua Q7: Bạn sử dụng mạng xã hội nào? a Facebook b Twitter c ZingMe d Google Plus e Go.vn f Khác (Ghi cụ thể) Q8: Tiêu chí quan trọng để bạn chọn dùng mạng xã hội gì? a Hình thức bên ngồi b Nội dung bên c Xu hướng dùng bạn bè d Ảnh hưởng chiến dịch quảng cáo e Khác (Ghi cụ thể) ... problem chose for this thesis is: “Promoting social network site http://Go.vn to maximize users for VTC Online? ?? In order to solve the research problem, there are some research objectives: - To evaluate... centre social network site for Vietnamese users and for global in far future and it can have ability to replace or to compete with other competitors Like other big successful Social Network site. .. video on the site - Community: How the site enable user to user communication - Customization: Site? ??s ability to tailor itself to different users or to allow users to personalize the site - Communication: