The Campaign

It's been almost a week since the end of our final presentation for SMM. I would like to thank every group member for their effort and team spirit during the span of our campaign. At times, it was frustrating and we had our differences, but it is through arguments that we could analyse and obtain the better conclusion. It was not a mutual decision to be in this module but everyone has been cooperative and giving. Yunhao has defined our roles well in his post.

I believe the main role I play is to analyse arguments and to support the idea that is more logical and feasible. I believe it is important to be fair and impartial during group discussions so that other members do not feel isolated. It is also important to convince them with valid reasons of your support for a certain idea, so that others will be more supportive towards your judgement in the future.

Other than that, I help to edit slides and tutorial answers. Also, I contribute for monetary purposes when the group requires it. On 10 Jan 2012, I send out 7 emails to respective owners of food blogs, however they have never replied. I believe I should have been more insistent in this important assignment because it would help a lot to raise awareness about our company. On 1st February, I also completed Tutorial 1 for SMM, which took around an hour since the answers are available in powerpoint slides 1.

Some of the problems we faced as a group was that it almost felt that we were 2 different sub-groups. Clinton and Fiona were one, while the other 3 of us formed another. We did not set up good communication when we first formed this group. The only way to Fiona seemed to be through Clinton whether during group discussions or notifications. Also, Yunhao was the only member with Clinton's number. I believe this lack of unity fueled our inability to work on our campaign during the entire of December and the execution of more strategies. However, during the second tier, our group felt more united and we began to progress with our campaign more efficiently. We used facebook to communicate more often when we could not contact through phone. The use of the task calendar also helped to define our work circle so that we would not be lost without communication at times.

I felt that task management between members could be better defined so that work would be more efficiently carried out, resulting in better quality results. This is because often we have uneven workload among members. It would be unfair to everyone but fortunately, everyone was understanding and did not make a fuss about it.

In conclusion, I have absorbed some experience in marketing and clearly understand the importance of social media in expanding businesses. I also thank my SMM tutor for giving tips and being helpful, boosting our performance in the second tier of our campaign.

Practical 4: My Reflections

I guess we have reached the end whereby, soon we will have bid farewell to each other, this would be a suitable time to let out our heartfelt feelings to one another. I would like to thank each of my group-mates for their effort, time and care they have given me throughout this year. Throughout the module, I have continually improved my skills and character, even though there is still much to be learned. Without the team, I have to admit that many things would have fallen out of place, they can do what I can't and I do what they can,t. Helping each other out during hard times, we have also been through tough times and good times together.

I will not deny that I still have problems communicating with my group-mates, especially when our ideals clashed.   Time has proved again and again, we have toughen through those moments, we may not have survived all, but at least we pick each other up when we 'died'. I used to be a loner or some people would say to a particular group of people who never socialise well anywhere, but together with my team, I have picked up some of my self-esteem back when I communicate to my group-mates, presenting or liaising with the boss. Daryl proved to be a great team leader, organising the team with patience and neutrality, Yuan Tong, keeping us cool and chill enough to let us think out of box, providing great ideas and suggestions, Fiona though quiet, but she done excellent jobs at gathering information and analyse them, Clinton, good presenter and does his part well. As for me, I have a bit of issues here and there, Facebook banning me randomly when page, causing inconvenience to me and the team. I was in charge of liaising with the boss, providing feedbacks and gathering of company information, editing presentation slides with the team, so basically, I'm like a reporter and an editor. 

Our boss was a bit uncommunicative at first, we were unable to obtain several information and things we want at times even after reminding her, such as the logo design and such. We were quite angry at that, and at times we were having conflicts because of differing opinions. Our group was unable to be active during the December holidays, because each of us have things to do, for me, i have community services and personal events such as going back to Malaysia to visit relative and stuff. Our timetables clashed and we were unable to get anything out of it during that time. We have poor time management, we do things quite last minute, but things all came well together, as we spend time together to finish up the things we do. January has been a rush hour, busying with campaign set-up and proceeding on with it, we did our presentations and tutorials. (Awefully proud when the teacher says the answer was quite good). 

So i guess we really need to brush up on our time and roles management, throughout the whole module, i have learnt a lot from my friends, my teammates and from lesson itself. Analytic skills were learned, not to mention communication skills. This module have been fruitful, i'm glad that i am able to enjoy the whole process though it is tedious at times. But i still have many more to learn, time managing is of priority of course , and also being more conscious of other people, for example; how much they have done, how much effort, etc... In all, i'm glad that we are a team.

Practical 4 - Where the journey of a thousand miles comes to an end

Prologue
A thousand miles? Yes, this project was indeed a journey of a thousand miles, for no shorter journey would open unlimited possibilities for the creative ability of the human spirit, nor allow me to delve so deep into the unknown, exploring new horizons and opening new doors. This was a journey I didn't choose to take: in fact, I absolutely hated it, and was completely uninterested in it. However, fate has ordained that I, who chose this diploma to learn Infocomm Security Management, will have to learn Social Media Marketing, a module I would never had thought of taking. I have encountered countless setbacks and also countless triumphs, and then it dawned on me that, although the journey is not going to be frictionless, there is hope for me in completing this journey, for the path to wisdom is a treacherous journey, and if I choose to avoid it, I will never know where I am.

A short note to my group members
Before I continue, I would like to address my group members first:
Our marketing project, to be honest, was a complete failure and I have no way to remedy that. My decisions were made on the best information available and I know that all of you have did all that you could have done. If any blame or fault attaches to the attempt it is mine alone. It was a pleasure to work with all of you, despite all our differences, we worked hard to strike for a common goal, a common hope, and a common dream. You have brought me to new heights that I would never have attained without your help. But right now, our journey has ended and its time to say goodbye. As we part, I do not know if we will ever collaborate again. Even we would never cross our paths again, I will remember this project, for this project was my first - my first foray into the unknown and you will remain the foremost in my heart. May I have the honor to wish you the very best for the success of the projects that you will undertake in the future.

The journey
 A foray into the unknown, perhaps it was a step into the right direction, perhaps it wasn't - I do not know what shall be the judgment of history but I would be well pleased if on some later day this proves to be indeed a step in the right direction. In this journey, I took on many roles, learnt many new concepts skills, and also furthered my skills in many aspects of my knowledge. It lifted my sights; it demonstrated to me that magnificent conceptions can be made real. It had inspired me and at the same time taught me true humility.

Starting with a touch on what I had done and learnt, we shall now recap on what I have gained in this journey. Through the sourcing of a client for us to run a campaign for, I learnt how to liaise with clients and the art of communication. Through the creation and running of the Facebook page, I learnt more about social media marketing and how to fully utilize the tools provided to me to bring information across a mass audience quickly and effectively. Through the contributions to the editing, suggestions for changes and contributions of ideas to Powerpoints, reports and other articles of the group, I gained the chance to brush up my English language skills and also learned to push the boundaries of my creativity. Through the creation of posters and other articles for the group, I brushed up many skills, from my information gathering and research skills such as sourcing for details, answers to our problems to even skills like Photoshop and design. Not to forget, through the group meetings and occasional clashes in opinions with the group members, I learnt how to collaborate with others, how to make concessions, how to make peace with them and how to work with others who are different from oneself, and also to learn from them and better myself in areas I am sorely lacking in.

As I had previously mentioned, this journey wasn't just a walk in the park. It is, with much difficulty, did the group come to where we are today. Now, let us look back and consider the problems which the group had encountered, and how we had managed to overcome, sidestep or perhaps even ignore. To begin, the largest issue the group had encountered was poor time management, for most of our work was done at the very last minute - even though we had the advantage of an entire December holidays on our side, we failed to take advantage of it and left the project to crumble and stagnant for the entire holidays. What the group should have done would be to utilize the December holidays to plan ahead and prepare for the upcoming tasks and also to post regularly on the Facebook page. It is, with much regret that I did not inform the group to do so, even though I had thought of doing so during the holidays countless of times and, in fact, also spent all that valuable time for my own leisurely benefits. The other notable issue we had was our lack of coordination among the group members and also, between the group and the store owner, which often led to mismanagement of the group, unproductive meetings and cancellations to plans. What could have been done was to properly plan out not just a timetable with sketchy details, but a detailed timetable encompassing even the most minute of details so that the goals are clearly set out and allow the group to work towards it. Now, on to myself. I have to admit I lack dearly in time management, which have led to me being late for a couple of presentations. I should have planned my personal timetable not to just allocate the right amount of time for everything, but also to have included some room for delays and the likes to prevent a delay in a task causing everything else to be late.

Footnote

At this historical moment, I am particularly proud to announce that although this journey has come to an end, the benefits and knowledge gained will forever be with us, where perhaps, in the future, it may bring us to reach new heights in the journeys to come. It is a happy coincidence that the group bears the name Solace; this symbolic name defines comfort or consolation in a time of distress or sadness, indeed, the journey we had gone wasn't a smooth and happy one, but it has brought us much consolation that our efforts were not in vain.

Practical 4: Blog Entry - Fiona

As a team member, I participated in most group meetings and point out my opinions. I also done researches and completed the allocated parts for the report, tutorials and powerpoint slides. On 18 Nov 2011, I reminded my team members to submit their research for practical 2. I followed the social media calendar and posted regularly on the Facebook page of the company. I collected details of seven foodblogs on 4 Jan 2012 and pass it to Yuan Tong who sent the e-mails to request for reviews on the company. For the Facebook Awareness Campaign, I designed a voucher on 11 Jan 2012. The finalized voucher was completed on 15 Jan 2012. Together with my team members, I participated in the promotional campaign that lasted about 90 minutes on 17 Jan 2012.

The problems I encountered are poor time management resulting in last-minute work and inactivity during December holidays that lead to poor result of the overall campaign. I could have allocated more time for this module by reducing the time spent on my personal leisure. I should be more initiative in carry out the strategies planned for the Facebook campaign during December 2011. I learnt that teamwork is very important and it greatly reduces the workload. I also understood that each member have their own strengths and weaknesses. We can take advantage of it by allocating tasks they excel in. For example, Yun Hao is outspoken and possess great presentation skills. He contacts the company for the details of the promotional campaign. It also strives myself to do better in areas that I am weak in.

As a team member.

 Hello peepos! How's today presentation? Did you all made any mistakes? hahaha. Hope not. But I am nervous!

Well anyway, this is really a very great experience for me to be a leader for you all in SMM module. Soon, it will be over, so those who hate me being a leader, you all gonna celebrate soon? Hahaha. Just kidding. But I really enjoyed  to team up with you all, especially when all of you know when to be serious, when to crack jokes! xD
As leader of my team (Team Solace), I do my best to perform well as a leader, to guide my team mates through, getting and accepting their opinion, gather them for meetings and sometimes suggesting ideas, making the decisions for them. At the same time, I helped to remind them when to hand in reports, presentation, works, and even when to post.
These things, on my previous post, I have put down the dates, together with my other team members date for certain tasks.
For example, the mini campaign, the one I suggested it. It took quite long for us to really carry it out. It is due to our manager of the company who did not reply us, and partially my role as a leader not pushing them forward. Thus, this event was dragged and dragged from the start of the year till it was only able to carry it out on the 17th January 2012 (Tues).
The problems I am facing are having no confidence in what I am doing, e.g like I am too nervous in presentation, don't really dare to give out opinions. Together with lack of time mangement for my group meetings, work, and laziness in me.
From all this experience, I feel that I need to learn how to manage my time well, between this module and others modules, at the same time, manage my time well for group and solo projects. I also have to be much more hardworking in that sense that, I have to get rid of my laziness. At the same time, having much more confidence as a leader, with the sense of leadership to guide my team mates forward on a correct path to achieve great results.

Start of practical4

This will be our Social media calendar for our group from 1st January to 27th January 2012. If there is anything missing, please msg me to tell me what's wrong. Thanks!

What to do now~~

Happy Chinese New Year advanced!
Haahaha. Can't wait for it though.
well, last Tuesday didn't really meet our target. But we tried! That's good.
Don't know what to do for our next campaign though. Any suggestion? Feel free to share with us. xD
Reports and presentations on the way!
Btw, good one for our last presentation during last Tuesday! One more coming up!
Goodluck!

DarylOon