Western Digital Hosts Davao End-User Media Forum

Western Digital, widely known as a producer and distributor of end-user storage devices, delights Davao with their series of workshops that will cover useful multimedia input. This event will happen on August 5, 2011 (Friday), at Garden Oases Convention Center, Bo. Obrero, Davao city. Doors open at 3:30PM as the event is slated to start at four in the afternoon.

Initially, it was planned by the hosts to be a hard-selling event promotion. As time went by, it became more of an educational event.

“We didn’t want them to just go ahead and buy the products. Instead, we wanted to host an event that will really make people, especially business owners, appreciate how great it is that their backend hardware are fully reliable. We wanted them to realize that great hardware and great skill do not just create great projects, but also masterpieces. Most of the corporate outfits in the IT and multimedia industry depend on the products that Western Digital produces, and so we came up with the main framework for this event.” This is the statement of Mr. Ray Rubio, Chief Creative Director of Cube Pixels Design Studio, one of the leading names in Davao’s design and multimedia scene. Sir Ray, as he is fondly called, is also one of the producers of the event.

To give you a little background on the host, Western Digital, they provide products and services for people and organizations that collect, manage and use digital information. They design and produce reliable, high-performance hard drives and solid state drives that keep users’ data accessible and secure from loss. Moreover, Western Digital’s advanced technologies are configured into applications for client and enterprise computing, embedded systems and consumer electronics, as well as its own consumer storage and home entertainment products.

Aside from the free-flowing food and beverages during the event run, there will also be talks and forums about photography, film making and the IT industry in general. Business owners and multimedia professionals are all invited to come.

Speakers for Davao’s 1^st end-user forum are no less than Wit Holganza, ICT Davao President, Kenth O’Bajo, Convenor of the Mindanao Film Festival and Mr. Paul Borromeo, a famous Davao-born and Davao-bred hobbyist photographer.

For more information, you may call Cube Pixels at (082) 225 0362 and look for Dhew or call/ text Kath at this number: 0932 122 5044.

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This event's Public Relations efforts are contributed by Your New PR Girl (karlastefansingson@gmail.com). 

Is Your Business Ready for Social Media Marketing?

Nowadays, the Internet can easily make or break many business efforts. There are a lot of small companies which have created resounding names through online rave reviews and there are also many big time companies whose sales have dwindled because of some bad reviews that proved to be influential, and was made even more influential because of the influx of bad experiences from other clients. Due to this impact, more and more businesses have increased their comfort using social media, and have treated it with more seriousness and tact that ever.

Now, no matter how easy signing up on Twitter and Facebook may be, many businesses still lack maturity towards social media. Most of the think like this: “Hey, Twitter and Facebook really worked for others, and they’re free, so let’s do it!” However, it’s not that simple. Even though signing up may be mechanically easy, keeping your account alive and positive takes a lot of work. And if you pass out, that would be very bad for business.

So that, passing out, and other social media mistakes, must be avoided. To determine if your business is really ready for social media, here are some pointers:

Don’t get too excited; you’ll drown yourself. Those who are new to social media follow a lot of businesses and public figures around, trying to get a hold of their market and establishing “presence”. They follow many users, use all the tools offered, and register many accounts all at the same time. What usually happens here is that every account might not be maintained properly and if the other accounts didn’t work well, one might just lose hope in social media in general. Remember that social media needs consistent, focused effort. Stick to social media platforms which worked for others—Twitter and Facebook—and build your online presence upon them. And don’t forget your website!

Train your social media account handlers well. Okay, almost everyone is on Facebook right now. Twitter is not rocket science as well. Social media may look like a piece of cake, but really, it’s not. And the most important part of the game is your handlers. Don’t let the new employee handle and manage your accounts. No; not even if he has 50,000 friends on Facebook. Remember, whatever he does, it will reflect on your business’ reputation. Social media is too valuable to entrust in the hands of a newbie. Instead, educate someone who knows the company’s ins and outs, goals, products and services how to use social media.

It’s STILL business. Treat social media as an inherent part of your PR (Public Relations); not just an extra thing-to-do for when the people are bored. Recognize that it WILL need a budget, a carefully mapped-out strategy, and yes, the results may be fairly calculated at the bottom line. Of course, remember that all of these things won’t happen overnight. Have realistic expectations all the time.

For easier appreciation, I'll leave you with a nice illustration of how social media marketing works:

Those are some of the most important things about social media which I want to get out in the open. Most multinational companies, those who usually spend for major R & D are making big waves in social media already. I’ve written PR for multinational companies and Davao-based ones, and here’s what they had in common: treating social media seriously. So, for businesses out there, do exactly that. I swear, it will all work out fantastic in the end. (And contact me if you need some PR done! Hahaha!)

Love,

Your New PR Girl

yournewprgirl@gmail.com