The Social Media Bible, 3rd Edition - Chapter on Bulgaria

Views on BG | May 15, 2012, Tuesday // 08:20
Bulgaria: The Social Media Bible, 3rd Edition - Chapter on Bulgaria "The Social Media Bible: Tactics, Tools, and Strategies for Business Success", a global bestseller by Lon Safko. The 3rd edition features a chapter on Bulgaria for the first time.

Novinite.com (Sofia News Agency) and Novinite.bg publish the first ever chapter on Bulgaria in "The Social Media Bible: Tactics, Tools, and Strategies for Business Success", a global bestseller by Lon Safko. The chapter on Bulgaria was written by Bulgarian PR expert Maxim Behar for the book's 3rd edition at Safko's invitation.

 

International Perspective: Bulgaria

Bulgaria is undoubtedly a social media country.This is true not only because it is ranked 55th among the world's countries on Facebook with almost 2,5 million users, but because Bulgaria is full of young, intelligent, very enthusiastic, and quite ambitious people.

The characteristics of the market - relatively stable with an extremely attractive tax policy and good niches for business – mean that many ideas and sales initiatives are able to find customers and places to thrive.

At least 80 percent of Bulgarian businesses currently online- mostly consumer goods and retail use Facebook. Among the top businesses represented there are one of the leading discount coupon sites, the most popular disco club, and tourism and fashion sites, as well as a chocolate brand produced by a large international company. Commercial Facebook pages average about 100,000 fans, while media and entertainment pages have at least 35 percent more.

The most successful strategies involve implementing Facebook applications,such as creating "like/dislike" games, but the commercial effect is definitely still below expectations. The main reason is the low level of understanding that direct promotions and marketing tools work in a completely different way on social media. Some have also attempted to use  Twitter commercially to improve their branding or to create business interest, but up to now, although "140-character media" is quite popular in the country, its primary uses are to provide news or as a mood- sharing instrument.

Lately, Foursquare has been getting more and more business customers in Bulgaria, and may soon become a very successful marketing tool for retail and entertainment businesses. One of the leading local banks, First Investment, provides excellent information on the network about its branches, and also gives awards to the mayors of its branches. The top computer seller, Plesio, provides special discounts for mayors and regular visitors, and many restaurants and shops have also taken over their places on Foursquare and provide attractive incentives for users.

Vbox7, Bulgaria's YouTube-style website, provides a lot of commercial opportunities and is actively used by show business, while Google+ is still being scrutinized and is used by almost no business customers in Bulgaria.

Bulgaria is generally a very well- connected country, and the more Internet users it gains (57 percent of the population in late 2011), the more businesses will start to rely on online sales, primarily based on social media promotions. This is a stable, growing trend that will surely develop in the coming years.

by Maxim Behar

Social Media Expert

CEO & Chairman of the Board

M3 Communications Group, Inc.

www.m3bg.com

THIS ARTICLE IN BULGARIAN

We need your support so Novinite.com can keep delivering news and information about Bulgaria! Thank you!

Views on BG » Be a reporter: Write and send your article
Tags: Google+, Vbox7, youtube, International Communications Consultancy Organization, ICCO, Foursquare, Twitter, Facebook, Hill & Knowlton, Hill+Knowlton Strategies, M3 Communications Group, PR, Internet, Vint Cerf, Lon Safko, The Social Media Bible, social media, Maxim Behar, Communication on Top, Davos, World PR Forum

Advertisement
Advertisement
Bulgaria news Novinite.com (Sofia News Agency - www.sofianewsagency.com) is unique with being a real time news provider in English that informs its readers about the latest Bulgarian news. The editorial staff also publishes a daily online newspaper "Sofia Morning News." Novinite.com (Sofia News Agency - www.sofianewsagency.com) and Sofia Morning News publish the latest economic, political and cultural news that take place in Bulgaria. Foreign media analysis on Bulgaria and World News in Brief are also part of the web site and the online newspaper. News Bulgaria