Social Media for business

According to a study conducted by Gartner, most Fortune 1000 companies will implement social media by 2010 but more than half of them will fail. Also many small businesses are of the opinion that social media channels like social networking is not working for them. This may be because these small businesses do not understand the working of social media and also have no knowledge on how to measure it. Some are of the opinion that small businesses profit from social media because the process starts from scratch.

Businesses need to have a social media personality. Social media helps businesses increase their brand visibility and helps build brand reputation. Businesses use social media primarily for communicating with customers and building a one-on-one relationship which helps build trust and reputation. As the main objective of businesses is to communicate with loyal customers and potential customers, it is vital for businesses to understand the sphere of social media and its working. Brands need to be human in their approach and encourage a dialogue making the communication two-way. Listening to customers and what the competitors are saying is an important aspect in building social media in business.

Deciding the channel for your brand is also necessary but that doesn't mean that brands need to have their presence in all the channels. Some brands are able to get the desired outcome through a limited number of channels or a specific channel. For instance, Zappos uses Twitter to communicate about the work culture, giving outsiders a view into Zappos and its philosophies. Businesses must begin by using one platform or channel to communicate their message, must gain proficiency here and then switch to the next channel.

After selecting the channel, it is vital to build a profile on the specific channel. Having a good profile helps build a lasting impression of the brand as a whole. Filling in the necessary details and uploading a picture to represent the brand is all the more important. Having a company logo or the face of a representative is crucial as it helps connect with millions of customers as opposed to having a question mark, or an image that does not relate to the brand.

As you know, communication is the primary step in the process of social media. Hence brands must be cautious about what they communicate and how they communicate the message. The content becomes a part of branding and remains an integral part of your branding process. What one communicates goes public and is viewed by millions of people, hence brands need to communicate the right message. Also having consistent messaging helps customers understand the personality of the brand. Social Media is a relationship tool that brings about engagement with customers and potential customers. Hence content must lead to interaction and participation where people can comment, discuss, exchange views and information, and make this experience rewarding for both the brand and the customers.

Analyzing the best social media tool is the last step. Analyzing the incoming traffic, number of conversations – positive and negative, number of clicks, number of people following you or the number of friends you have, looking at the profit in terms of sales or lead generation post the implementation of social media channels are some of the ways in which social media channels can be analyzed.

Lastly, one needs to realize that social media is a gradual process and takes time to build and maintain relationships. Tony Hsieh,CEO of Zappos, didn't make Twitter a happening platform for Zappos overnight, but did it over a period of time. Before long, we will see more and more companies jumping into the 'social media' bandwagon trying to connect with customers the world over.

Source: mashable

Are we ready for online media?

Organizations are looking at new avenues and opting for new media. Why? The reasons are many – it is a platform that brings in one-to-one interaction, gives quick feedback and suggestions, the reach is greater, it is a personalized form of communication, it helps one to create content and play with the medium... In short, unlike the traditional medium, the new media or the online media is an interactive medium giving a lot of scope for improvement and implementation of new technology.

In today's age of communication and technology, marketers are experimenting with the web like never before. Marketers have used and established Web 1.0 as the primary step in the online space. Most internet users have been exposed to Web 1.0 and have used it and still do. For example, hyper-linking of web pages and bookmarking is a basic step of receiving, storing, and sharing information. Studies show that more than 70% users are only familiar with Web1.0. Web 2.0 helps in the retrieval of information. Wikis, podcasts, RSS feeds are some of the examples of Web 2.0. Web 3.0 is seen as the next version of Web 2.0. Here users can do anything and everything they want from a single source on the web. Unfortunately, we are still exploring Web 2.0 and have a lot to learn and explore.

Some of the Web 2.0 companies in India are Pixrat which is a photo social bookmarking website based in Bangalore, Zoho which works on calendars and spreadsheets like Google, and Bixee is a web crawler for jobs among others.

Is Web 2.0 for India? Some professionals are of the opinion that Web 2.0 is not for the Indian market. The reason being, the low internet penetration in India, the penetration being 5-7% only. Ways of accessing internet is poor in India...people either have slow broadband connections or they need to run to a cyber cafe to even check their email. Whereas in the U.S. millions of homes have broadband connection and are able to access the internet round the clock! Marketers are predicting the rise of mobile internet in India, with over 350 mobile connections in India. But the question is how many of them are GPRS-enabled ? The online medium and the idea of internet mobile is at a very nascent stage in India. Also internet users in India is low compared to U.S. where Web 2.0 has been successful. Businesses in India, need to understand the online space and how it operates...experimenting and finding new ways to tap the potential of the online space in India. Understanding the technology is the first step to adopt Web 2.0 which will help the user adopt to the change quickly. With the help of web 2.0, companies can help promote their products in the emerging markets. The Government does help organizations and start-up companies to implement Web 2.0 and its various facets to its business. With Social Media emerging in India, Web 2.0 is a big opportunity for the Indian market that businesses need to invest in.

Source:exchange4media

Blogs as a marketing tool

Social media channels like social networking sites, microblogging sites, blogs, photo sharing sites, video sharing sites, social bookmarking sites, document sharing sites etc help branding and the number of businesses gaining profit from these sites, is increasing by the day. Blogs have a great impact on social media initiatives that businesses want to venture into. The advantage of using blogs is, that a detailed story can be posted which encourages feedback and comments. It leaves a lot of room for discussion. It helps to increase the morale of an organization, it leads to sales, it helps build the reputation and image of an organization, and brings about customer relationship management among others.

Blogs can be of various kinds, some use blogs as a personal diary, writing in their views and experiences of life. Some write blogs on specific topics catering to a particular section of readers. For instance there are blogs dedicated wholly to photography, gardening, movies, dogs... There are also organizations who blog for either internal or external marketing. Some organizations maintain an internal blog that looks to inform employees about the organization, its projects, and acts as a medium where information is communicated and exchanged via a single platform. Internal blogs help in the time of communication crisis, brings about a consensus among people, and makes the process of exchanging knowledge and information faster.

There are also company blogs which are maintained by the particular company to give an insight into the culture of the company, to promote products and services, to get quick feedback and to generate more customers. For instance, a camera company has an interactive blog that allows customers to give feedback on the product and suggestions on how they can improve the product. These are corporate blogs that are maintained by a representative of the company or by the CEO. For instance, it was Robert Scoble who started blogging about Microsoft giving an insight into the happenings at Microsoft. He gave a human touch and feel to the blog that made it popular. Other popular corporate blogs are that of Sun Microsystems, and Fastlane.

Blogs are a good medium of promoting business online as it helps to promote new products and services giving customers latest news and updates. It acts as an effective PR and marketing tool helping both the clients and the customers. Also they rank high on the list of search engines and are easily accessible. The reach is greater compared to other marketing methods. Branding one's blog brings about new visitors, building links, gaining subscribers, and developing content that will draw search engine traffic for years to come. The best part of having a blog is that over a period of time, it brings in loyal readers who give good feedback. Hence companies need to develop blog posts that are specific and well targeted.

Social Media campaigns in India Sunsilk Gang of Girls and Pepsi “What's Your Way”

Girls love to express their thoughts and bond with like-minded girls. Most young girls love to experiment with their looks and its fashion and style that gets them going! That's where Sunsilk Gang of Girls succeeded. It made urban Indian girls go online to share beauty tips, hair care, get an online makeover and discuss many other tips with hair expert Jawed Habib. The various tools and interactive features provided an opportunity for fun and emotional bonding for the young girls.

Sunsilk was doing well with the traditional advertising media. What made Sunsilk go online? It expanded its branding online due to the increasing percentage of Indian youth communicating and making friends here. Being the first all-girl online community, many of the Indian girls became an active part of Sunsilk GOG. Also that was a time when Orkut and MySpace was gaining popularity in India and the Asian market. The campaign was a success as the number of initiatives got them closer to the target group and also provided them value. It led to Indian women having an emotional relationship with the brand, making it the most viable product to be purchased.

This is what Hruthika, who works in an online marketing firm had to say about the success of GOG. “I think GOG was a great way for Sunsilk to engage with people. The interesting stuff on the site, got them many visitors coming back for more. Also they didn't actively promote the product but made GOG a knowledge sharing portal for young girls”.

Another campaign which is getting the youth hooked onto is the recent success of Pepsi My Can T.V. commercials. They want to have it their way! Pepsi's “What's Your Way” campaign's idea is to get youngsters to answer tricky questions and get their picture on a Pepsi My Can. The “What's your way” campaign has got many things right, one is getting the Youngistaan brigade of Bollywood to promote the campaign. Second is the overall idea of getting youngsters to answer questions that they have normally fallen trap to.

“Pepsi's ability to connect with the youth is not a new thing. But 'What's your way' campaign is one of a kind. It will be a good case study on integrated marketing communication. B-schools in the country can pick up this case study for their IMC program. The marketing strategy is well supported with matching tactics. Also it does excite me a lot and I'm looking forward participating in the contest. I can relate myself pretty much to the tricky situations they have come up with”, says Apollo Singh, online marketing professional.

Whether or not the Pepsi My Can campaign will succeed in engaging the youth like Sunsilk GOG, most companies would definitely want to take their product online and experiment with Social Media.

Source: exchange4media