•    HOME   
•    NEWS   
•    BUSINESS   
•    INTERNATIONAL   
•    TECH   
•    SPORTS   
•    LIFE & TIMES   
•    OPINION   
•    MY JAKARTA   
•    BLOGS   

Updating his Twitter, Facebook and blog site is Nukman Luthfie’s lifeblood. The 45-year-old is the founder of Virtual Consulting, which develops online marketing strategies for national and multinational companies. Today, Nukman describes how he got into the field and tells us that there’s no easy way to boost your fan base on social networking sites. He also gives us a peak into the virtual world, in which he is an expert.

Can you talk about making the transition from journalist to entrepreneur?

It happened naturally, without planning. I had been working as a journalist for five years and was at SWA magazine when I was offered the chance to help develop Agrakom, the first Web consultancy in Indonesia in 1996. Agrakom took off in its first year and handled big IT companies like Intel, Microsoft, Dell and so on. From Agrakom, Detik.com was born in 1998 and I became its marketing director. Working for those companies ignited my entrepreneurial spirit, so in 2002 I resigned from Detik.com and on Jan. 24, 2003, I established Virtual Consulting.

Tell us something about the virtual world that we don’t know.

Since the gap between the virtual and the real worlds is closing, conventional ads are no longer effective. Why? Because the opinions of your friends in the virtual world have a greater impact than conventional ads. Imagine, there are now at least 35 million people in Indonesia using the Internet and 60 percent of them have a Facebook account!

What’s the easiest and fastest way to grow your Facebook fan base from 500 to a million?

One of them is to give prizes. But this doesn’t create an emotional connection between the people and the brand. As a consequence, I’ve seen many brands in Indonesia that have hundred of thousands of people on their Facebook, but hardly any activity. To tell you the truth, there is no easy and fast way to build your fan base in the social media world. The only way is to be patient and work hard. You need to listen to your consumers and engage them emotionally.

What’s your daily routine like?

I wake up and check my Twitter and Facebook on my BB [BlackBerry]. In the bathroom, I read Detik.com and Kompas.com, also from my BB. At 5:30 in the morning, I take my kids to Labschool Kemayoran and then, on the way to the office, I do research and read some of the articles on social media that flood the Internet. I use my laptop, browse the Internet, check my e-mail messages and blog in my car. I still read the newspaper, magazine and books in the car too. I usually monitor my office tasks via mobile. The office is being run by trustworthy professionals whom I trust, so most of my time is spent developing new businesses, including an e-market site on www.juale.com. Lunch and coffee times are usually spent meeting clients and prospective business partners. I try to finish work by 6 p.m. so I can go home and spend time with my family.

Last year I spent a lot of my time sharing my knowledge through seminars, workshops, as a guest speaker at universities and even as a guest lecturer for a master’s program on online business, social media marketing and PR. I think I will do more of that in the future.

Tell us about your upcoming seminar.

Many companies realize that they need to make use of social media platforms but they don’t know how. We shall discuss local case studies so it’s easier for Indonesian companies to adopt the methods.

What’s the best place in Jakarta to surf the net using a Wi-Fi connection?

The Golden Triangle in Jakarta [Central Jakarta’s business district]. I love to have my meetings and relax in that area.

What’s Jakarta like through the eyes of an Internet strategist?

Indonesia has the third-highest number of Facebook users in the world and is the biggest Twitter user in Asia. And most of the users reside in Jakarta. Virtual life in Jakarta is really alive. Even though the Internet connection speed in Jakarta is amazing compared to other cities in Indonesia, it’s still far from perfect. The price for Internet connection is also still expensive and it prevents Jakarta residents from making optimal use of the Internet.

What and where would we find you on a Friday, 9 p.m.?

In my physical being, I would be at home with my family. But I am also on twitter.com/nukman and facebook.com/nukman

 

Nukman Luthfie was talking to Angelyn Liem.