Online Marketing (K2 #69)

Question of the Week 
How can I use online marketing to promote my services?
– A new entrepreneur in Thimphu

Answer
Dear entrepreneur,

Online marketing is indeed a powerful tool. Let’s start with the obvious: Facebook. The world’s largest social network is very popular in Bhutan – there are around 118,000 accounts in the Kingdom – and so a free Facebook page for your new venture is a natural place to start your experiments with online marketing. Go to www.facebook.com/pages/create and follow the instructions. Add your business information, then invite your friends to “Like” the page. Make sure that you regularly update the page with relevant photos and new posts – a stale page is as attractive as a dusty display window.

You can also experiment with Twitter (twitter.com). Although the number of tweeple (Twitter people) in Bhutan is still relatively small, many of them are social influencers and can help spread the word. Linking your two accounts (Facebook and Twitter) will make sure that Facebook posts also appear on Twitter, saving you work (facebook.com/twitter).

If you have earmarked some real money for marketing – and have access to an international credit or debit card – you can increase your visibility using online ads. Facebook advertising (facebook.com/advertising) is one popular option. People see these ads when they use Facebook. You can target a specific audience, for example Bhutanese users (in case your business is for the local market) or any other country or countries (for example, if you are a tour operator). Another popular option is Google Ads, which appear when people search for information on Google, but they are more complicated to set up (google.com/adwords). Barring international payment cards, your best bet is advertising on popular local websites, such as KuenselOnline.com or thebhutanese.bt.

Lastly, here are a few more tools to consider. Mass email and online forums can be helpful, but use with care, as spamming will create a negative effect. Online surveys (surveymonkey.com) are a low-cost way of conducting market research before launching your business. And while not exactly “online” marketing, taking advantage of B-Mobile’s Cell Broadcast Service can help your message reach the 80% who are not online.

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Readers are encouraged to submit technology-related questions to boaz@thimphutech.com

Pyramids and weight loss

I recently received a flyer in downtown Thimphu advertising the high-cost weight-loss food supplement Herbalife as promoting GNH:

If a country's citizens are more Obesity/Overweight and Underweight the Country will remain always bankrupt, hence can never achieved GNH

To see how happiness is involved, let me consider the two types of people involved in the Herbalife plan: customers who use the product to lose weight, and distributors who sell the product to make money.

From a customer's perspective, I'd ask myself whether the product really helps reduce weight and whether any risks are involved. The flyer or the Herbalife website are clearly giving one side of it. From a search online I found that scientifically, Herbalife has been shown to be no better than a placebo (as found in two clinical studies).  I also discovered that there have been several accusations of Herbalife containing toxic components, and especially lead, but that there is no conclusive evidence. By the way, turns out that the founder of Herbalife, Mark Hughes, died at age 44 of an accidental overdose of alcohol and doxepin, an anti-depressant. My own GNH approach to maintaining healthy weight is doing some exercise, cutting out the junk food, and not obsessing with my weight.

From a business perspective, Herbalife uses "pyramid marketing", which means that you buy a stock of the (very expensive) products, then sell it to your friends, who sell it to their friends, etc. On each sale, a cut is given to people higher in the pyramid, such that the person at the top of the pyramid makes a fortune, and the people at the bottom much less if at all... See the very prominent "Business Opportunity" section of the herbalife.com website. 20 years ago in Israel, I remember that meeting a friend sometimes involved the friend trying hard to sell you Herbalife in order to get rid of the expensive stock that s/he purchased. Most of these friends ended up in serious debt (is this really GNH?)

Here is what Wikipedia has to say about pyramid marketing schemes:

"The secret of our camels is Herbalife"

"[pyramid marketing] companies have been a frequent subject of criticism as well as the target of lawsuits. Criticism has focused on their similarity to illegal pyramid schemes, price-fixing of products, high initial start-up costs, emphasis on recruitment of lower-tiered salespeople over actual sales, encouraging if not requiring salespeople to purchase and use the company's products, potential exploitation of personal relationships which are used as new sales and recruiting targets, complex and sometimes exaggerated compensation schemes, and cult-like techniques which some groups use to enhance their members' enthusiasm and devotion."

In terms of GNH, it seems like pyramid marketing is not one of the pillars.