So, if music is your thing, this article could help you reach your audiences. Read and play on!
Saturday, January 29, 2011
Musicians and social media
You can argue that the whole social media scene owes a lot to music. Napster was the first really popular music sharing site and its founder Sean Parker had a big role to play in pushing Facebook forward. Social Media has always been a great platform for music and musicians, especially new bands and voices. There are just too many examples of social media being the platform that launched careers--Susan Boyle, Shaheen Jhafargoli, Justin Bieber...the list is endless.
Friday, January 28, 2011
Another plug for another blog
Sujay Nair is a close friend, brilliant editor/writer and speaker, successful entrepreneur and an IT strategist par excellence. He is one guy who is never short of words. He blogs at: http://mediapreneur.blogspot.com/. So check it out. His first two posts have already set the tone for a thought-provoking blog and I expect like-minded people to jump in and have a go at the issues that Sujay will raise.
Book for every child through social media
Name of Business: Pratham Books
Industry: Education (not-for-profit)
Target Audience: Everybody. Pratham wants to put a book in every child’s hand. So anyone who helps them get there is a target.
Category of Business
Pratham Books is a not-for-profit organization that publishes affordable children's books in multiple Indian languages. Their mission is “to see a book in every child’s hand” and create a “Reading India”. In the last seven years, Pratham Books has published over six million books in up to 11 languages.
Marketing Efforts and Results
Being a non-profit organization, the folks at Pratham Books have made time for people. The same is visible in their social media strategy. Pratham Books realized that it was impossible to accomplish their mission alone. The need of the hour was to collaborate with other publishers, writers, translators, parents, etc to be able to reach the last child. Thus, they began their social media efforts to create a community around reading and their efforts have reaped results.
Pratham Books has methodically tapped on the strengths of multiple social media platforms. “Social media, to us, is not a marketing tool and we have never used it as a marketing tool. Social media has been crucial to us building our social publishing strategy and has allowed us to create a very strong community around our mission of ‘A Book in Every Child's Hand,’ says Maya Hemant, Digital Community Manager, Pratham Books.
The organization maintains a blog - blog.prathambooks.org. This talks about publishing, reading, literacy, kidlit, learning, non-profits, events and more. The posts are a treat for anyone who appreciates creativity. Guest blogs have also been welcomed. Pratham Books sees Twitter as a space where they can engage with the community, share ideas, ask for help, get feedback, listen to complaints, participate and mobilize volunteers, to help their reach their goal. Pratham started using Twitter early in 2009 and has more than 3,000 followers. “Growth has been purely organic and we have built a large, geographically diverse community passionate about reading and always ready and willing to help. Twitter and tweeple have helped us connect with children who run a mobile library for other children in Bengal, bikers who have travelled across states and distributed our books to government schools, housewives who informally teach under privileged children in their locality, parents who coax school administrations to hold book fairs with our books, marketing experts who help better our strategy, organizations that need books and want us to help them in setting up their libraries, authors and illustrators who want to work with us, developers who have developed iPad applications for us and more,” says Hemant.
The organization has uploaded many of its books (available under Creative Commons licenses) on Scribd, so they can reach a wider audience. These books can be remixed/repurposed by the community to suit their purpose. There have been cases when their books have been translated into Lojban (a constructed language), Assamese, French and Spanish.
Pratham Books has more than 1,600 fans on Facebook, where it updates information from the blog as well as about the events organized by them. It uses this platform to communicate with the community. The fan page has a very personal and warm approach. Pratham started using Facebook towards the middle of 2009 and has built a tightly knit community. “One of the things that we do differently is that we do not use Facebook, or any of our other channels, to talk solely about our work or market ourselves. This is very important to us because we want our efforts to be larger than just our organization and to reflect the cause of reading,” says Hemant.
Documentation of the initiatives taken by Pratham Books can be found on Flickr. The organization also uses this platform to upload their Creative Commons licensed illustrations. Again the purpose is to reach more viewers and give the community the flexibility to repackage / reuse the content.
One can find Pratham Books on YouTube as well. Documentation of the work they do and information about some of their initiatives are uploaded here. The organization creates trailers to let people know about their books. Audio books, recorded by Radio Mirchi, are uploaded at Soundcloud.
“A key take away is that patience, authenticity and transparency are fundamental building blocks needed to build a successful social media presence and more importantly, a strong community,” says Hemant. Their social media and publishing efforts were recognized at the IndiaSocial Case Challenge, where they won the first prize.
Social Media Marketing Investment
Pratham Books does not allocate a budget for its social media marketing efforts. There is one person, who anchors the effort, while every member of the team.
Thursday, January 27, 2011
How to get your business on Google Places
It is critical for retailers and local businesses to list on Google Places, especially given its easy access via smart phones.
Claim your business listing on google
View more presentations from Arpit Rohilla.
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Plug for a blog
Do check out this blog that my friend Kamakshi has started. She is a travel buff and a pretty handy photographer. She's decided to blog about her travels at http://picturesqueworld.wordpress.com. You'll find some pretty amazing pictures of Rajasthan there.
Monday, January 24, 2011
What Aamir Khan can teach us about viral videos
No, I am not part of Aamir Khan's team. In fact, I have only met the man once . And no, I am not using Aamir to draw search engine traffic to my blog.
The reason this post is dedicated to Aamir Khan is because the man is a marketing genius, and knows a thing or two about creating compelling marketing videos...in his case movie trailers. Without further ado, lets get into what he has to teach us.
The joke is on Aamir: For one of India's biggest movie stars, and owner of a very successful production house, Aamir is not afraid to make fun of himself or his films. He had done it earlier in a Peepli (Live) trailer and does it again with his latest offering...Delhi Belly.
Lesson: Humor works big time, especially if the joke is on you. If a superstar like Aamir Khan can do it, so can you. It's a great way to differentiate your product/service from the multitudes of tall-claim promotional videos.
Focus on the script: The trailers tell a story, they are complete in themselves. It is almost as if as much attention has gone into crafting and storyboarding the trailer as has gone into making of the film. Check out how different the Dabbang clip is from the rest of the videos featured here. Tell me if you think the Dabbang trailer is anything more than a mishmash of some randomly put together scenes. Whereas there is a distinct storyline in the other trailers.
Lesson: Telling a story in 60-90 seconds can be tough. So you have to get the script right. Shooting a viral video is easier today than ever before, but it is the script that will eventually decide its fate. So put your money there and try and show it as big a focus group as you can before you shoot it.
Innovate: It's amazing how every single campaign of Aamir's is a success. Yet, he never repeats himself. Every campaign is carefully crafted to suite the mood, style and audience of the film. So with Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na the mood is young, uplifting and humorous...while with Peepli (Live) it is realistic with a huge dollop of fun. The Dhobhi Ghat trailers have a sense of mystery and intrigue in them. They are somber, almost black.
Lesson: Novelty is the spice of life. If you want to get those eyeballs, change is the only formula that will work.
Attention to Detail: I have heard that Aamir is closely involved in every aspect of his films--from scripting, directing, editing, post-production and marketing. This gives him an intimate feel of the product and what makes it tick. So when he designs a marketing strategy or a trailer for the movie, he is sure of what he wants. While, he must have a great team putting it all together, the vision is one man's and that comes through clearly.
Lesson: Outsource whatever you want to. But it's your company and your vision so if you feel the video is not working for your product...you are right. Go with your gut, no one knows your product like you do.
Viral videos are flavor of the season...if 2010 had companies exploring the concept, this year will see an explosion of videos. However, only the really good ones stand a chance of going viral. Sure you can do the groundwork to ensure a few thousand hits, but that is not nearly enough to create a viral. With billions of videos to choose from, your odds of making it are fairly tough...but with the right script you just might be the case study of the year. So go for it.
The reason this post is dedicated to Aamir Khan is because the man is a marketing genius, and knows a thing or two about creating compelling marketing videos...in his case movie trailers. Without further ado, lets get into what he has to teach us.
The joke is on Aamir: For one of India's biggest movie stars, and owner of a very successful production house, Aamir is not afraid to make fun of himself or his films. He had done it earlier in a Peepli (Live) trailer and does it again with his latest offering...Delhi Belly.
Lesson: Humor works big time, especially if the joke is on you. If a superstar like Aamir Khan can do it, so can you. It's a great way to differentiate your product/service from the multitudes of tall-claim promotional videos.
Focus on the script: The trailers tell a story, they are complete in themselves. It is almost as if as much attention has gone into crafting and storyboarding the trailer as has gone into making of the film. Check out how different the Dabbang clip is from the rest of the videos featured here. Tell me if you think the Dabbang trailer is anything more than a mishmash of some randomly put together scenes. Whereas there is a distinct storyline in the other trailers.
Lesson: Telling a story in 60-90 seconds can be tough. So you have to get the script right. Shooting a viral video is easier today than ever before, but it is the script that will eventually decide its fate. So put your money there and try and show it as big a focus group as you can before you shoot it.
Innovate: It's amazing how every single campaign of Aamir's is a success. Yet, he never repeats himself. Every campaign is carefully crafted to suite the mood, style and audience of the film. So with Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na the mood is young, uplifting and humorous...while with Peepli (Live) it is realistic with a huge dollop of fun. The Dhobhi Ghat trailers have a sense of mystery and intrigue in them. They are somber, almost black.
Lesson: Novelty is the spice of life. If you want to get those eyeballs, change is the only formula that will work.
Attention to Detail: I have heard that Aamir is closely involved in every aspect of his films--from scripting, directing, editing, post-production and marketing. This gives him an intimate feel of the product and what makes it tick. So when he designs a marketing strategy or a trailer for the movie, he is sure of what he wants. While, he must have a great team putting it all together, the vision is one man's and that comes through clearly.
Lesson: Outsource whatever you want to. But it's your company and your vision so if you feel the video is not working for your product...you are right. Go with your gut, no one knows your product like you do.
Viral videos are flavor of the season...if 2010 had companies exploring the concept, this year will see an explosion of videos. However, only the really good ones stand a chance of going viral. Sure you can do the groundwork to ensure a few thousand hits, but that is not nearly enough to create a viral. With billions of videos to choose from, your odds of making it are fairly tough...but with the right script you just might be the case study of the year. So go for it.
Saturday, January 22, 2011
Case Study: How Cisco uses vlogs
Vlogs or video logs are the next step in communication. Check out how Cisco has made vlogs an integral part of its corporate communication.
Friday, January 21, 2011
8 reasons why Entrepreneurs must blog
4 blogging tips and 3 ways to promote it
"You got to be kidding, on top of EVERYTHING else I have to do myself, you want me to blog. Seriously, do you even know what it takes to be an entrepreneur?" Highly censored conversation with a friend and recent entrepreneur who wanted me to work out a social media marketing strategy. Having tried, and failed, at setting out on my own I do know what it means to head your own start-up and that is why I feel a blog is a critical element for any start-up. Here are my reasons:
Share your passion: Entrepreneurs are some of the most passionate people I have met. They totally believe in their idea and their ability to make it big. It is this passion/conviction that gives them the courage to give up six figure and more salaries and trudge the uncertain path of having their own set up. Unfortunately, their passion is only visible to their family and employees. A blog is an excellent way to share that passion with the world. You never know, who else might catch the infection...a VC, potential customers, potential business partners.
Share your expertise: Many entrepreneurs are domain experts. They have spent years honing their skills and knowledge and now want to use that for themselves. If you fall in that category, you have a lot to share. A blog is a great way to share your expertise and to make your clients comfortable with your company. Your knowledge will help build credibility for your company and go a long way in solving the one question most start-ups have to deal with: "Why should I go with you?"
Blogs are not websites: Blogs are personal, they are not the same as your company website. A website represents the formal online presence of your company. That is where you have details about your business, your products/services, customer interface and even your shopping cart. A blog on the other hand is an outlet for you, your personality and lets your community understand the person behind the show.
Connect and share: Helps you connect with peers in the industry or other start ups. Many of them share the issues, concerns you have or could have the solution you are looking for. A blog helps you get to them, and helps them understand your needs. If you are blogging on your expertise, you will be surprised as to how quickly a community forms around your blog.
Test your ideas: A blog is a great place to test your ideas. The feedback will help you refine and better it before implementation. If it is a bad idea, the community will let you know.
Social Networking Tool: Blogs are at the center of the whole social networking Web2.0 buzz. You can connect your blog to your Facebook page, twitter handle, Youtube channel and improve your chances of getting noticed.
Google loves blogs: Google and other search engines love blogs. Also there are a number of blogging directories that you can list in. A great way to get yourself and your business noticed.
Lorenzo Von Matterhorn effect: Okay, I picked that up from a cheesy dating rom-com. Basically in that particular episode the character has a dating playbook. One of the tricks he uses is the Lorenzo Von Matterhorn. Basically, he sets up a web presence for this fictional character--Lorenzo Von Matterhorn, where Matterhorn is an adventurous European billionaire. He goes to the bar, drops his name and goes away. The girl does a quick search for the name, finds the fake news all over Google and the guy gets his girl. TV dramatics apart, the reality is everyone is checking out potential business partners, investments, employees, employers. Having a strong web presence will go a long way in making the deal happen. A blog is the cornerstone of your online presence.
Yes, I know its takes time and effort (I've already spend three hours on this post and figure I still have a couple of hours to go) so here are four ways to do it really quickly and painlessly:
1) If writing is not your thing, consider a video blog (vlog) or even a podcast. You can actually blog straight into the webcam on your laptop and post. It's that easy.
2) Doesn't have to be long detailed posts full of wit or wisdom. It's personal, so develop a style that works for you. I'm a writer, I like writing so I do it. You can share an idea and that's it. Your community will get used to your style.
3) Don't worry about the writing style. Keep it conversational...but do try and avoid an over casual texting approach...that is irritating to read.
4) Repost. I actually write about one original post a week. Rest I repost other posts, videos, slides that I think are relevant for my community.
Finally, if I've convinced you to start blogging do these to get noticed by your community:
1) Republish: See if your posts can be republished. Mine are republished in Entrepreneur India, biztech2.com and sometimes the big daddy in my space socialmediatoday.com also picks up my posts.
2) Share: On Linkedin, twitter and Facebook. I have set up a fan page for my blog on Facebook and have joined relevant communities on Linkedin. They drive a lot of traffic my way. Twitter too helps as, increasingly people in this community are beginning to follow my tweets.
3) Outsource setting up and marketing of the blog: It has actually taken me more time to set up and market my blog, than post on it. I did it, because I had the time and because I wanted to see what works. But you're probably not going to have the time to write & market your blog and run your business. So consider outsourcing it. There are enough and more firms that will do everything from setting up the blog to marketing it. It is also not every expensive. I have compiled a list of social media marketing companies...take your pick or just google for them. You can then focus on the message, while they take care of selecting the right platform and ensuring maximum audience reach.
"You got to be kidding, on top of EVERYTHING else I have to do myself, you want me to blog. Seriously, do you even know what it takes to be an entrepreneur?" Highly censored conversation with a friend and recent entrepreneur who wanted me to work out a social media marketing strategy. Having tried, and failed, at setting out on my own I do know what it means to head your own start-up and that is why I feel a blog is a critical element for any start-up. Here are my reasons:
Share your passion: Entrepreneurs are some of the most passionate people I have met. They totally believe in their idea and their ability to make it big. It is this passion/conviction that gives them the courage to give up six figure and more salaries and trudge the uncertain path of having their own set up. Unfortunately, their passion is only visible to their family and employees. A blog is an excellent way to share that passion with the world. You never know, who else might catch the infection...a VC, potential customers, potential business partners.
Share your expertise: Many entrepreneurs are domain experts. They have spent years honing their skills and knowledge and now want to use that for themselves. If you fall in that category, you have a lot to share. A blog is a great way to share your expertise and to make your clients comfortable with your company. Your knowledge will help build credibility for your company and go a long way in solving the one question most start-ups have to deal with: "Why should I go with you?"
Blogs are not websites: Blogs are personal, they are not the same as your company website. A website represents the formal online presence of your company. That is where you have details about your business, your products/services, customer interface and even your shopping cart. A blog on the other hand is an outlet for you, your personality and lets your community understand the person behind the show.
Connect and share: Helps you connect with peers in the industry or other start ups. Many of them share the issues, concerns you have or could have the solution you are looking for. A blog helps you get to them, and helps them understand your needs. If you are blogging on your expertise, you will be surprised as to how quickly a community forms around your blog.
Test your ideas: A blog is a great place to test your ideas. The feedback will help you refine and better it before implementation. If it is a bad idea, the community will let you know.
Social Networking Tool: Blogs are at the center of the whole social networking Web2.0 buzz. You can connect your blog to your Facebook page, twitter handle, Youtube channel and improve your chances of getting noticed.
Google loves blogs: Google and other search engines love blogs. Also there are a number of blogging directories that you can list in. A great way to get yourself and your business noticed.
Lorenzo Von Matterhorn effect: Okay, I picked that up from a cheesy dating rom-com. Basically in that particular episode the character has a dating playbook. One of the tricks he uses is the Lorenzo Von Matterhorn. Basically, he sets up a web presence for this fictional character--Lorenzo Von Matterhorn, where Matterhorn is an adventurous European billionaire. He goes to the bar, drops his name and goes away. The girl does a quick search for the name, finds the fake news all over Google and the guy gets his girl. TV dramatics apart, the reality is everyone is checking out potential business partners, investments, employees, employers. Having a strong web presence will go a long way in making the deal happen. A blog is the cornerstone of your online presence.
Yes, I know its takes time and effort (I've already spend three hours on this post and figure I still have a couple of hours to go) so here are four ways to do it really quickly and painlessly:
1) If writing is not your thing, consider a video blog (vlog) or even a podcast. You can actually blog straight into the webcam on your laptop and post. It's that easy.
2) Doesn't have to be long detailed posts full of wit or wisdom. It's personal, so develop a style that works for you. I'm a writer, I like writing so I do it. You can share an idea and that's it. Your community will get used to your style.
3) Don't worry about the writing style. Keep it conversational...but do try and avoid an over casual texting approach...that is irritating to read.
4) Repost. I actually write about one original post a week. Rest I repost other posts, videos, slides that I think are relevant for my community.
Finally, if I've convinced you to start blogging do these to get noticed by your community:
1) Republish: See if your posts can be republished. Mine are republished in Entrepreneur India, biztech2.com and sometimes the big daddy in my space socialmediatoday.com also picks up my posts.
2) Share: On Linkedin, twitter and Facebook. I have set up a fan page for my blog on Facebook and have joined relevant communities on Linkedin. They drive a lot of traffic my way. Twitter too helps as, increasingly people in this community are beginning to follow my tweets.
3) Outsource setting up and marketing of the blog: It has actually taken me more time to set up and market my blog, than post on it. I did it, because I had the time and because I wanted to see what works. But you're probably not going to have the time to write & market your blog and run your business. So consider outsourcing it. There are enough and more firms that will do everything from setting up the blog to marketing it. It is also not every expensive. I have compiled a list of social media marketing companies...take your pick or just google for them. You can then focus on the message, while they take care of selecting the right platform and ensuring maximum audience reach.
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Does Google Utilize Signals From Facebook And Twitter With Respect To Ranking?
Author: TimNagle
Many people are inquiring if Google uses Twitter, Facebook and other socail media links and landing pages as ranking signals. The answer is yes, however for this to work to your benefit there are a few items you need to identify.
When Google is sweeping social links for ranking, like those secured from Facebook, Twitter and other social networks, they are also taking a hard look at the reputation of the people that set up the content, thereby creating the links.
Google has a number of web quality teams that assess blog searches, real time searches and now social media searches. In the past they largely considered real time searches or individual tweets. They are now checking how productive it is to go further inside the social network web search links.
When Google first starting ranking social networking sites they didn't focus as much on content. As of December 2010 content and reputation has become an pressing key in ranking these links for top notch exposure.
Google can only rank what they can identify. If for some reason the content on the link is obstructed from web crawlers or some other method and Google is not able to recognize the content, the links and content won't be signaled. This just makes sense but is often unnoticed.
It you are considering this information as a great opportunity to make money online, you're most assuredly right. Before jumping in however, here is some crucial advice you need to note before going crazy trying to throw content on your Facebook And Twitter posts or profiles.
Google's ranking signal qualifying methods cautiously look at not only the quantity of the links but the quality of the links along with quality content. Always keep in mind - garbage in garbage out. You don't want to jump in trying to take advantage of this great moment in online marketing, rapidly creating tons of links that have diluted content. It will be a huge waste of your time. Taking time to construct or post good content implementing your wonderful writing, marketing and sales talent will be worth the effort in the long run. This is really not so different from old school marketing. Exhibit that you are a real professional offering what the public wants.
Another thing to keep in mind is that odds are sizable that Google will pay no mind your pages if you are using software programs or bots to construct them. It is also important to remember that if you link someplace from your social networking posts, you must send your followers to a landing page, not just a straight affiliate link. At this point you're not being graded, your affiliate program is. So take the time to create a landing page if you're linking people to the theme they were interested in with your information around it.
Google normally looks at real time searches and the entry streams but they are considering it in more depth in web searches as well.
Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/marketing-articles/does-google-utilize-signals-from-facebook-and-twitter-with-respect-to-ranking-4068819.html
About the Author
Next, discover more about Google ranking when you follow Tim on his blog make money online today.
Many people are inquiring if Google uses Twitter, Facebook and other socail media links and landing pages as ranking signals. The answer is yes, however for this to work to your benefit there are a few items you need to identify.
When Google is sweeping social links for ranking, like those secured from Facebook, Twitter and other social networks, they are also taking a hard look at the reputation of the people that set up the content, thereby creating the links.
Google has a number of web quality teams that assess blog searches, real time searches and now social media searches. In the past they largely considered real time searches or individual tweets. They are now checking how productive it is to go further inside the social network web search links.
When Google first starting ranking social networking sites they didn't focus as much on content. As of December 2010 content and reputation has become an pressing key in ranking these links for top notch exposure.
Google can only rank what they can identify. If for some reason the content on the link is obstructed from web crawlers or some other method and Google is not able to recognize the content, the links and content won't be signaled. This just makes sense but is often unnoticed.
It you are considering this information as a great opportunity to make money online, you're most assuredly right. Before jumping in however, here is some crucial advice you need to note before going crazy trying to throw content on your Facebook And Twitter posts or profiles.
Google's ranking signal qualifying methods cautiously look at not only the quantity of the links but the quality of the links along with quality content. Always keep in mind - garbage in garbage out. You don't want to jump in trying to take advantage of this great moment in online marketing, rapidly creating tons of links that have diluted content. It will be a huge waste of your time. Taking time to construct or post good content implementing your wonderful writing, marketing and sales talent will be worth the effort in the long run. This is really not so different from old school marketing. Exhibit that you are a real professional offering what the public wants.
Another thing to keep in mind is that odds are sizable that Google will pay no mind your pages if you are using software programs or bots to construct them. It is also important to remember that if you link someplace from your social networking posts, you must send your followers to a landing page, not just a straight affiliate link. At this point you're not being graded, your affiliate program is. So take the time to create a landing page if you're linking people to the theme they were interested in with your information around it.
Google normally looks at real time searches and the entry streams but they are considering it in more depth in web searches as well.
Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/marketing-articles/does-google-utilize-signals-from-facebook-and-twitter-with-respect-to-ranking-4068819.html
About the Author
Next, discover more about Google ranking when you follow Tim on his blog make money online today.
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Five Basic Facebook Business Page Optimization Tips
Author: MagicLogix
Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/social-marketing-articles/five-basic-facebook-business-page-optimization-tips-4061462.html
About the Author
Magic Logix is a digital marketing solutions company that provides services in Professional Website Design, Website Development, SEO and Online Marketing. The company utilizes open source development to design and integrate customized CMS for online business management, web applications, as well as customizable ecommerce websites for online merchants. By combining high quality web design and online marketing, Magic Logix offers businesses highly customized, fully functional websites that are designed and developed for Search Engine Optimization. To learn more about Magic Logix web based marketing services please feel free to visit http://www.magiclogix.com.
- Create and set a unique Facebook name. You can do this by going to www.facebook.com/username and selecting your Business Page (not your Personal Profile) from the drop-down list. This unique name will also be used for your unique Facebook URL. Also, choosing your name is one and done – once you choose it, you can't change it, so be sure to double check for errors.
- Add interactive Facebook applications. Facebook offers over 550,000 active applications, many of which help promote your own website and content via your Facebook Business Page. In addition to providing a user-friendly interface, most of the applications are very easy to install and customize. Also, integration and usage of these Applications will promote links to your website, blog, or online retail space. Here are my top five must-haves: Networked Blogs, Static FBML (Facebook's HTML), Promotions, Slideshare, and Reviews.
- Add the Like Button Plug-in to your website. To encourage your blog followers and website visitors to follow you on Facebook, add the Facebook Like plug-in to your site. This Button is single line of generated code that allows people to share your content with their network of friends. By clicking on the Like Button, a story appears in the user's friend's News Feed with a link back to your site. In addition, users have the ability to add a comment, giving more prominence to the published story on Facebook.
- Be social, and let your fans, too. Locking down your Page to limit management time is going to make your page less fun and less interactive for users. Let users to post on your Wall, add photos, tag, add videos and comment on your posts and posts made by other fans. Enabling interactive options may result in a spam post here or there, but you can monitor all activity and delete what you deem inappropriate.
- Optimize your status updates with keywords. It's significant to note that Facebook Pages are indexed by search engines, meaning public updates from your Business Page (unlike your Personal Profile) often show up in Google's real-time search results. When posting a new update on your Page, keep your most important keywords in mind. Also, try to add a picture when possible – Facebook updates with images posted on Business Pages are clicked on 54 percent more than text-only updates, and even 22 percent more than posts with a video update.
Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/social-marketing-articles/five-basic-facebook-business-page-optimization-tips-4061462.html
About the Author
Magic Logix is a digital marketing solutions company that provides services in Professional Website Design, Website Development, SEO and Online Marketing. The company utilizes open source development to design and integrate customized CMS for online business management, web applications, as well as customizable ecommerce websites for online merchants. By combining high quality web design and online marketing, Magic Logix offers businesses highly customized, fully functional websites that are designed and developed for Search Engine Optimization. To learn more about Magic Logix web based marketing services please feel free to visit http://www.magiclogix.com.
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Six lessons from five companies that use social media
Between them they have more than a million facebook fans and twitter followers. On an average they have been on social media platforms for less than a year. Barring one, they do not have a budget or staff for social media marketing activities. Yet, they acknowledge that social media marketing is the "backbone of their marketing efforts." These are the lessons from the five companies that have understood social media and have used it to grow their business.
Listen: "Social Media have a feedback mechanism built-in, which needless to say benefits both the customer and the brand," says Sachin Bansal, CEO and Co-founder of Flipkart.com (an online bookstore). "The key is to listen to what is being said about you and to you. Users will be brutally honest if you give them an opportunity. The onus lies on you and your brand about what you do with the feedback." Flipkart.com has done very well by listening to its customers. The site has close to 700,000 fans on Facebook and has used conversations both as a tool to sell products as well as build features users want on the site.
Integrate: Giveindia.org, a charity portal that lets users donate to their favorite charity, has used an integrated social media marketing campaign to reach out to donors across the world. Their facebook page links back to their site. Their landing page on causes.com links back to their facebook page, twitter handle, blog and also has videos of giveindia events that are posted on youtube. This 360 degree social media integration has helped the organisation reach its message effectively to the widest possible audience. Indiamart too uses an integrated approach that includes blogging, facebook, twitter, youtube and photo sharing sites Photobucket and Flickr. This all round approach has helped the site engage with its audience of SMEs and keep them informed about products and services on the site as well as general developments in the sector. “Social media marketing has become a very strong medium to reach out to a wider audience. Social media platforms in the form of Facebook, Twitter, Youtube have made it possible to broadcast messages and news to a larger base of business persons and the like. Its ability to engage with the stakeholders irrespective of geographical barriers has helped us penetrate SME space to a large extent,” says Dinesh Agarwal, Founder & CEO, IndiaMART.com
Engage: One site that has learned the value of engaging with its audience is pagalguy.com. The site prepares students for MBA entrance exams and has been active on Social Media since 2008. Pagalguy realized early social media is ideal for interacting with its students and prospectives. The company uses its facebook page for contests, polls and surveys. It does not duplicate content between its facebook page and its website. “We recently launched a survey to rank business schools and saw around 9,000 clicks from facebook in 20 days. This was a phenomenal way to reach out to our current and new users,” says CEO Allwin Agnel. Legal website Lawisgreek.com also uses its social media platforms to create a level of interaction with its audience. This, the company believes, has resulted in a loyal customer base and one that actively contributes to the growth of the site and therefore the business. On its twitter account too Law is Greek encourages conversations between its experts and its customers.
Use Discussion boards: For a specialized service like Lawisgreek, discussion boards are a great way to connect with their audiences...in this case lawyers and people in need of legal advice. The site is active on Linkedin and regularly participates in relevant discussion boards. This helps create awareness as well as drive traffic. Palash Das, from the Strategic Alliances division of LawIsGreek.com, said, “Social media marketing is the backbone of our marketing initiative. This is what has helped us reach out to our target audience, engage them and create our brand.”
Inform not just advertise: Indiamart, lawisgreek and pagalguy have learnt to provide a wide spectrum of relevant information on their social media platforms. For example: you will find interesting discussions on news--everything from a UP Khap Panchayat ruling on Jeans to Advani demanding black money from Swiss bank be returned can be found on the lawisgreek facebook page. Indiamart uses its platforms to inform about government policy and overall developments in the SME sector, while pagalguy limits advertising its services to its website.
Social Media Marketing is really free: Barring lawisgreek.com (which has a minuscule budget for social media marketing), the others have used existing resources to set up and run their social media marketing. All those fan pages and followers have come at little extra cost, thereby truly bringing home the advantages of this medium.
Listen: "Social Media have a feedback mechanism built-in, which needless to say benefits both the customer and the brand," says Sachin Bansal, CEO and Co-founder of Flipkart.com (an online bookstore). "The key is to listen to what is being said about you and to you. Users will be brutally honest if you give them an opportunity. The onus lies on you and your brand about what you do with the feedback." Flipkart.com has done very well by listening to its customers. The site has close to 700,000 fans on Facebook and has used conversations both as a tool to sell products as well as build features users want on the site.
Integrate: Giveindia.org, a charity portal that lets users donate to their favorite charity, has used an integrated social media marketing campaign to reach out to donors across the world. Their facebook page links back to their site. Their landing page on causes.com links back to their facebook page, twitter handle, blog and also has videos of giveindia events that are posted on youtube. This 360 degree social media integration has helped the organisation reach its message effectively to the widest possible audience. Indiamart too uses an integrated approach that includes blogging, facebook, twitter, youtube and photo sharing sites Photobucket and Flickr. This all round approach has helped the site engage with its audience of SMEs and keep them informed about products and services on the site as well as general developments in the sector. “Social media marketing has become a very strong medium to reach out to a wider audience. Social media platforms in the form of Facebook, Twitter, Youtube have made it possible to broadcast messages and news to a larger base of business persons and the like. Its ability to engage with the stakeholders irrespective of geographical barriers has helped us penetrate SME space to a large extent,” says Dinesh Agarwal, Founder & CEO, IndiaMART.com
Engage: One site that has learned the value of engaging with its audience is pagalguy.com. The site prepares students for MBA entrance exams and has been active on Social Media since 2008. Pagalguy realized early social media is ideal for interacting with its students and prospectives. The company uses its facebook page for contests, polls and surveys. It does not duplicate content between its facebook page and its website. “We recently launched a survey to rank business schools and saw around 9,000 clicks from facebook in 20 days. This was a phenomenal way to reach out to our current and new users,” says CEO Allwin Agnel. Legal website Lawisgreek.com also uses its social media platforms to create a level of interaction with its audience. This, the company believes, has resulted in a loyal customer base and one that actively contributes to the growth of the site and therefore the business. On its twitter account too Law is Greek encourages conversations between its experts and its customers.
Use Discussion boards: For a specialized service like Lawisgreek, discussion boards are a great way to connect with their audiences...in this case lawyers and people in need of legal advice. The site is active on Linkedin and regularly participates in relevant discussion boards. This helps create awareness as well as drive traffic. Palash Das, from the Strategic Alliances division of LawIsGreek.com, said, “Social media marketing is the backbone of our marketing initiative. This is what has helped us reach out to our target audience, engage them and create our brand.”
Inform not just advertise: Indiamart, lawisgreek and pagalguy have learnt to provide a wide spectrum of relevant information on their social media platforms. For example: you will find interesting discussions on news--everything from a UP Khap Panchayat ruling on Jeans to Advani demanding black money from Swiss bank be returned can be found on the lawisgreek facebook page. Indiamart uses its platforms to inform about government policy and overall developments in the SME sector, while pagalguy limits advertising its services to its website.
Social Media Marketing is really free: Barring lawisgreek.com (which has a minuscule budget for social media marketing), the others have used existing resources to set up and run their social media marketing. All those fan pages and followers have come at little extra cost, thereby truly bringing home the advantages of this medium.
Twitter Marketing Best Practices
Author: Steve Herbert
Social media is here to stay and utilizing it for marketing is only going to become more important as more people embrace this channel to give and receive information. This article focuses on Twitter but these core principles can be applied to any social media or even traditional off-line marketing techniques. None of the concepts are difficult to apply.
If all you do is tweet out 140 characters that say, "Buy this great thing now! link to my site" then you may get a sale or two. Heck, if you have a large enough list you may even be fooled into believing that it's effective. You may get some quick results you will not have any lasting results if you're not providing people with a reason to stay connected.
Lead with value. This is first, and by far the most important, core principle in marketing. Leading with value leaves the door wide open for you to determine what "value" is for you and your market. I have provided value by writing this article. You can provide value by sharing this article (and others like it) or by posting a quote that others may find inspiring, thereby valuable. It's really that simple. The more you give, the more you get.
Keep it interesting and varied. Every post doesn't have to be the greatest, new thought or even specific to your topic. Find a good quote, a video that's interesting or funny, share ways to save money, get organized or save time or just post a fun photo. There is an endless supply of quality content that you can post so when you're ready to post a sales tweet prospects will actually look at it instead of saying to themselves, "Here we go again with another sales pitch" and press "delete".
Do not over-saturate with "sales" tweets. There are differing theories on how often you should place a sales tweet in your rotation. Those ratios vary from one sales tweet in every three tweets to one in ten. I tend to subscribe to the one in ten arena myself. I'd rather have people stay connected to me than have them feel pressured or bothered by a constant flood of "BUY! BUY! BUY!" tweets. Wouldn't you delete someone if they did that to you?
Respond to Direct Messages (DM). This is a very effective way to build a relationship with your followers. Also, thank people for their comments or retweets of your content. Remember Twitter is a two way street - it's not just for you to blast out content. It's for creating relationships. Take a little time and explore some of the sites and links your followers send you and comment on them. People love to get complements and know that you are "listening."
Build relationships. Twitter is a quick and easy way to connect with people and open the door for a genuine conversation. Once you've engaged someone you have a far better chance of them buying your goods or services. After all, people don't buy on fact. They buy on emotion. When you interact with someone you develop trust, and that's essential for a lasting relationship and a sale.
Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/social-marketing-articles/twitter-marketing-best-practices-4052427.html
About the Author
Husband and Father of Twins, Loves Traveling to New Places, Scuba Diving, Internet Marketing Success Coach Helping People Make Five Figures a Month From Home, Highly Motivated to Help Others Succeed.
Social media is here to stay and utilizing it for marketing is only going to become more important as more people embrace this channel to give and receive information. This article focuses on Twitter but these core principles can be applied to any social media or even traditional off-line marketing techniques. None of the concepts are difficult to apply.
If all you do is tweet out 140 characters that say, "Buy this great thing now! link to my site" then you may get a sale or two. Heck, if you have a large enough list you may even be fooled into believing that it's effective. You may get some quick results you will not have any lasting results if you're not providing people with a reason to stay connected.
Lead with value. This is first, and by far the most important, core principle in marketing. Leading with value leaves the door wide open for you to determine what "value" is for you and your market. I have provided value by writing this article. You can provide value by sharing this article (and others like it) or by posting a quote that others may find inspiring, thereby valuable. It's really that simple. The more you give, the more you get.
Keep it interesting and varied. Every post doesn't have to be the greatest, new thought or even specific to your topic. Find a good quote, a video that's interesting or funny, share ways to save money, get organized or save time or just post a fun photo. There is an endless supply of quality content that you can post so when you're ready to post a sales tweet prospects will actually look at it instead of saying to themselves, "Here we go again with another sales pitch" and press "delete".
Do not over-saturate with "sales" tweets. There are differing theories on how often you should place a sales tweet in your rotation. Those ratios vary from one sales tweet in every three tweets to one in ten. I tend to subscribe to the one in ten arena myself. I'd rather have people stay connected to me than have them feel pressured or bothered by a constant flood of "BUY! BUY! BUY!" tweets. Wouldn't you delete someone if they did that to you?
Respond to Direct Messages (DM). This is a very effective way to build a relationship with your followers. Also, thank people for their comments or retweets of your content. Remember Twitter is a two way street - it's not just for you to blast out content. It's for creating relationships. Take a little time and explore some of the sites and links your followers send you and comment on them. People love to get complements and know that you are "listening."
Build relationships. Twitter is a quick and easy way to connect with people and open the door for a genuine conversation. Once you've engaged someone you have a far better chance of them buying your goods or services. After all, people don't buy on fact. They buy on emotion. When you interact with someone you develop trust, and that's essential for a lasting relationship and a sale.
Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/social-marketing-articles/twitter-marketing-best-practices-4052427.html
About the Author
Husband and Father of Twins, Loves Traveling to New Places, Scuba Diving, Internet Marketing Success Coach Helping People Make Five Figures a Month From Home, Highly Motivated to Help Others Succeed.
Sunday, January 16, 2011
Flipkart grows by listening to customers
Name of Business: Flipkart.com
Website URL: http://www.flipkart.com/
Industry: ecommerce
Target Audience: Online shoppers, people who shop for entertainment online (books, movies, music, games, etc)
Category of Business
Flipkart.com aims mostly at people who would like to buy books online in India. What the company calls the “steroids” for its website are low prices, free shipping and an intuitive interface that makes it very convenient to search for books. The site has a young and trendy look and feel. Flipkart.com was launched by a passionate group of professionals who aimed at giving Indians a good online shopping experience and excellent customer service. Technological initiatives were focused on making the search for books faster and more convenient.
Marketing Efforts
In its social media initiatives, Flipkart.com aims at facilitating an easier conversation channel for customers and users. Conversations are to the point and are targeted at specific issues, thoughts and ideas.
Flipkart.com began activities to make its presence felt on Facebook and Twitter about a year ago. The company has also used LinkedIn to connect with people. The popularity of the site has grown through recommendations...people recommending the site to their family, friends and co-workers. And what better platform than social media to leverage ‘word-of-mouth’! Flipkart.com recognized that using social media is about being human. The people who manage their channels infuse Flipkart's culture and personality in what they do or say in tandem with their own personality.
“Social Media have feedback mechanism built into them, which needless to say benefits both the customer and the brand,” says Mr. Sachin Bansal, CEO and Co-founder of Flipkart.com. “What's key is to listen to what is being said about you (as opposed to hear), and for that matter being said directly to you. Users will be brutally honest if you give them an opportunity. The onus then lies solely upon you and your brand, about what you do with the feedback. That's where we've seen tremendous benefit.”
“Transparency and Honesty is the key. If you value these traits as an organization, Social Media will help amplify it,” adds Mr. Bansal.
Result of Efforts
Flipkart.com has a strong presence on Facebook, with a staggering number of fans. The company has more than 690,000 fans and has used easy, interesting conversations to engage them. Flipkart.com has 2,877 followers on twitter. Flipkart.com’s Alexa global ranking is 2,101, while its India ranking is 164.
Marketing Investment
The investment in social media has been in terms of time and effort. Almost everyone at Flipkart monitors social platforms.
Saturday, January 15, 2011
Consolidating your social media exchanges on one platform
While social media is a great way to reach out to markets, I have always struggled with the numerous accounts I had to keep track of. My facebook account, the FB fan page for this website, twitter, linkedin, comments on the blog and direct mails.
I was actually looking for something that could simplify my whole social media interchange and provide me with a sort of single window system for all the different accounts. That is when I came across nutshell mail...I have just signed up for this service so I dont know if it will be as promising as it seems, but what they do promise is to integrate all your facebook, twitter, linkedin, youtube and a few other messages into an email delivered direct to your mail box. They don't do blogs yet, and I hope they add it, because that would complete the cycle for me. The service is free, so either check out their video or try out the service at nutshellmail.com. I will post a review of their service in a few days.
Friday, January 14, 2011
Using Social Media to get a job
It cost Alec Brownstein just $6 to get his dream job. You can argue that what he did, does not strictly come under the purview of Social Media and I would agree...but the point is Alec used an extremely innovative way that cost him virtually nothing to get to his target audience.
While his strategy might not work for all of us, having an active and relevant presence on social media can actually help you reach out to your audience and get your dream job. Read this post and implement if you want the power of social media to work for you.
While his strategy might not work for all of us, having an active and relevant presence on social media can actually help you reach out to your audience and get your dream job. Read this post and implement if you want the power of social media to work for you.
Thursday, January 13, 2011
Why Consumers follow a company on Facebook
Finally some answers behind all those big number of likes that some companies seem to manage on their Facebook fan pages. A recent survey lists the top 10 reasons behind hitting the like button. Check it out here.
What GiveIndia gets from Social Media
Name of Business: GiveIndia
Website URL: http://www.giveindia.org/
Industry: Non-profit
Target Audience: Internet savvy, working class population falling between the age group of 25-45
Category of Business
GiveIndia was launched by Venkat Krishnan, an IIM-A graduate, in April 2000 as icicicommunities.org. GiveIndia is an online platform for people across the world who wish to make donations. There are about 200 NGOs that receive funding through GiveIndia’s online donation platform. They first carefully scrutinized over 3,000 Indian NGOs for transparency and credibility and out of those chose 200 that met the GiveIndia listing criteria. Till date, more than 75,000 donors from across the world have been able to help millions of people through the GiveIndia platform. Donors have the freedom to select a cause of their choice to support from the 200 NGOs.
Marketing Efforts
GiveIndia has used social media integration in order to increase visibility and awareness among the working class and also to encourage people from all over the world to make donations to the causes of their choice. GiveIndia has used Facebook to reach out to its target audience. They began this endeavor two years back. They have customized their fan page to include additional tabs that connect the users and fans to their blog and events. They also have a tab that features videos from YouTube for all of their fans.
GiveIndia has also made use of Twitter to inform users and fans about their activities. They started using Twitter in April 2009. They have regularly updated their tweets for their fans.
Another social media initiative taken by GiveIndia is the GiveIndia page on www.causes.com. This causes page is a part of Facebook where they promote this philanthropic endeavor and aim at connecting people and organizations in the US to 200 Indian NGOs.
GiveIndia also has an active blog http://blog.giveindia.org/, which they use to highlight their programs and causes. They also have user posts and have done a great job in integrating the blog with their website, their page on causes.com as well as their facebook page.
When talking about social media, GiveIndia’s CIO Dhaval Udani said, “It’s a great tool for awareness and reaching out to the mass number of people out there. However, we are yet to see its real benefit.”
Result of Efforts
GiveIndia’s Alexa rating has improved continuously. Their traffic rank for India now stands at 17,972 and worldwide stands at 151,153. Due to their efforts, their fans increased to over 900 on Facebook and to over 600 on Twitter. On causes.com, GiveIndia now has more than 3,400 members and has received donations through this platform.
Marketing Investment
GiveIndia has made marketing investment in the form of employee time and effort. Their current employees, who understanding the objectives of GiveIndia and the message they want to convey, have taken all the initiatives.
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
How Google can take your retail business "Places"
The silly pun in the headline notwithstanding, Google Places has become a serious business opportunity for retailers, especially since Google has tweaked the way listings show up on search results. Aimed primarily at boosting the relevance of local searches, think Just Dial and yellow pages, Google places is a fantastic opportunity for retailers to drive in more business.
Google Places also includes user reviews and ratings and unlike the local listings models of yellow pages or a just dial you can customize your search to get the best rated retail establishment. For example a search "chinese restaurants, mumbai" yielded this page:
By changing the search parameter to "best chinese restaurants, mumbai", the results change to:
The ratings seem to involve a combination of website reviews as well as user generated ratings from within the Google system. Google, of course, has made it easy for users to review/rate retail establishments. With the addition of hotpot (google.com/hotpot), the rating facility now becomes available on all Android smart phones, thereby enabling users to rate on the go.
What does this mean?
Retailers need to get listed on Google places. Google already has over 50 million business listings worldwide so chances are you are already there. However, you can simply check and if your business is not listed, then do so immediately. Listing on Google places is easy enough. Simply go to: www.google.com/places and list your business. The site allows for a fair amount of detail, including photos to be added to your listing--this is free by the way.
You can also choose to promote your business. The ads will appear on the right nav bar, where google ads traditionally appear.
Who should do this?
All retailers should get on this immediately. From shops, restaurants to professionals like lawyers, doctors, Chartered accounts, malls, cinemas get yourself or your firms listed.
Why should I list?
Local search is the most powerful way for customers to find you. The fact that Google has integrated its local search on the mobile platform means it is now more convenient for users to find the right establishment quickly. The overwhelming growth of android-based phones is only going to drive local search faster and finally Google is the big daddy of search...so if you want the business you need to be listed.
How to improve your rating?
You can get your customers to provide you a rating via the google.com/places website. A higher rating will help in your establishment figuring more prominently in search results.
Google Places also includes user reviews and ratings and unlike the local listings models of yellow pages or a just dial you can customize your search to get the best rated retail establishment. For example a search "chinese restaurants, mumbai" yielded this page:
 |
| Click to enlarge pic |
By changing the search parameter to "best chinese restaurants, mumbai", the results change to:
 |
| Click to enlarge pic |
The ratings seem to involve a combination of website reviews as well as user generated ratings from within the Google system. Google, of course, has made it easy for users to review/rate retail establishments. With the addition of hotpot (google.com/hotpot), the rating facility now becomes available on all Android smart phones, thereby enabling users to rate on the go.
What does this mean?
Retailers need to get listed on Google places. Google already has over 50 million business listings worldwide so chances are you are already there. However, you can simply check and if your business is not listed, then do so immediately. Listing on Google places is easy enough. Simply go to: www.google.com/places and list your business. The site allows for a fair amount of detail, including photos to be added to your listing--this is free by the way.
You can also choose to promote your business. The ads will appear on the right nav bar, where google ads traditionally appear.
Who should do this?
All retailers should get on this immediately. From shops, restaurants to professionals like lawyers, doctors, Chartered accounts, malls, cinemas get yourself or your firms listed.
Why should I list?
Local search is the most powerful way for customers to find you. The fact that Google has integrated its local search on the mobile platform means it is now more convenient for users to find the right establishment quickly. The overwhelming growth of android-based phones is only going to drive local search faster and finally Google is the big daddy of search...so if you want the business you need to be listed.
How to improve your rating?
You can get your customers to provide you a rating via the google.com/places website. A higher rating will help in your establishment figuring more prominently in search results.
Monday, January 10, 2011
Case Study: Indiamart uses social media to connect with SMEs
Name of Business: IndiaMART
Website URL: http://www.indiamart.com/
Industry: B2B Marketplace
Target Audience: Bulk buyers, bulk suppliers, manufacturers, exporters, service providers, SMEs and MSMEs
Category of Business
IndiaMART.com is India's largest online B2B marketplace. The platform is aimed at connecting buyers with suppliers. Through this platform, Indian businesses can hope to gain global exposure and conduct business with companies across the world. There are more than 1,000,000 companies that have profiles on the website. IndiaMART.com aims at providing its members cost-effective solutions for business promotion. The site offers its members options like premium listings, portal sponsorships and banner advertising to enhance their online visibility.
Marketing Efforts
IndiaMART.com has great confidence in the power of social media marketing as a medium of reaching out to the target market. It has a presence on various social networking sites.
The company began using Facebook in 2009. The company sees Facebook as a “consistent medium of brand promotion.” IndiaMART.com uses its Facebook account to provide SMEs specific latest news and information about current trends. It does this through regular updates on its wall. Through this medium, the company is able to share information about various business aspects, such as trade shows, with its members.
IndiaMART.com has a meager presence on Twitter. Its Twitter account has less than 500 followers. A restricting factor could be that most of the tweets are promotional, rather than what social networking is actually about, i.e. being social.
IndiaMART.com also uses Youtube to share videos of their media coverage, including interviews of their CEO, as well as success stories of their clients. The company uses Photbucket and Flickr to share pictures of their products and events. Blogger has been used to educate SMEs (small and medium enterprises) on how to better handle their business operations, share key announcements from IndiaMART.com and related news. IndiaMART.com also has a presence on social bookmarking sites like delicious and Stumbleupon.
“Social media marketing has become a very strong medium to reach out to a wider audience. Social media platforms in the form of Facebook, Twitter, Youtube have made it possible to broadcast messages and news to a larger base of business persons and the like. Its ability to engage with the stakeholders irrespective of geographical barriers has helped us penetrate SME space to a large extent,” says Dinesh Agarwal, Founder & CEO, IndiaMART.com.
Result of Efforts
IndiaMART.com has 58,351 fans on Facebook. Many of their fans are very active and freely exchange their thoughts, suggestions and opinions here. IndiaMART.com and other marketplaces generate more than 40 million page views per month. IndiaMART.com’s three-month Alexa global traffic rank is 1,391. Its Indian traffic rank is 108.
Saturday, January 8, 2011
Facebook and twitter are unsafe
While, I do spend all my time on this blog advocating the benefits of social media marketing and how sites like facebook and twitter help you get to your market...there are precautions you have to take when on these sites. A recent report lists facebook and twitter as the most unsafe sites of last year. Read this to know how to secure yourself.
Friday, January 7, 2011
Thursday, January 6, 2011
Case Study: Pagalguy.com a hit on Facebook and Twitter
Name of Business: PaGaLGuY.com
Website URL: www.pagalguy.com/
Industry: Education
Target Audience: People who are interested in getting a graduate degree in management
Category of Business
PaGaLGuY.com is an online platform for MBA preparatory resources. The platform was founded in 2002 with an aim to enable MBA applicants make informed decisions. More than 700,000 MBA applicants access the platform every month. The website provides resources to help with preparing for MBA entrance exams (like the CAT, GMAT and TOEFL) as well as admission interviews. PaGaLGuY.com is also a place where MBA applicants help each other by sharing information, suggestions and experiences.
Marketing Efforts and Results
PaGaLGuY.com has a strong social media presence. It has close to 6,000 fans on its Facebook fan page. The fan page was created in 2008 and sustained a good rate of growth in fans. PaGaLGuY.com facilitates interaction as well as promotes contests through this page. It does not believe in duplicating content on its site and its facebook page. So, the interactions are unique and more meaningful.
“Recently we launched our survey for business school rankings and we saw around 9,000 clicks on our application from facebook over a period of 20 days. This was a phenomenal way to reach out to our current and new users,” says CEO Allwin Agnel.
PaGaLGuY.com has a twitter account as well, where it has more than 3,100 followers. It began the endeavor in 2010. The platform is used to announce new stories to its followers. The followers on Twitter and fans on Facebook have grown organically—no marketing monies invloved. PaGaLGuY.com uploads videos of events and news on YouTube.
The website has experienced huge success with its forum, which has more than 2 million discussion posts. MBA applicants can find useful stuff out there on MBA preparation and admissions.
PaGaLGuY.com’s three-month global Alexa traffic rank is 7,569. Its Indian traffic rank is 480.
Marketing Investment
PaGaLGuY.com has not outsourced its initiatives in social networking. People who update the website spend some time in maintaining the facebook and twitter accounts.
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
Social Media Marketing mistakes to avoid
While there is no doubt about the power of social media, many companies will fail simply because they do not get the nuances of the media. This posts the 12 ways you can go wrong with your strategy. Do read and fix.
Outsource your Social Media Marketing
In all of life's uncertainties a couple of things that we can take for granted
a) Social Media Marketing works
b) It takes bucket loads of time to get the campaign underway and for it to pay-off.
If you belong to the category of entrepreneurs/individuals who need social media marketing but do not have the above bucket load of time, then consider if it is worth investing in either a full-time employee or outsourcing it. I am not a big fan of the full-time social media expert idea and this is why:
Outsourcing, on the other hand, works out to be better value for money and you actually get experts who bring their learning from different companies to play for your campaign. However, I see two main issues with outsourcing; a) what do you outsource and b) who do you outsource it to
What do you outsource: Basically everything related to setting up your presence on the social media networks. Once you have decided on what you want to communicate, let the agency recommend the right platform (facebook, twitter, youtube, linkedin, blogs etc), the strategy and the campaign look and feel. There is a level of programming involved with facebook and this too can be part of the package.
The one thing that you should not outsource at any cost is the interaction or the dialog with your audience. The exchange is key to a successful social media campaign and is the one area which needs you to be personally involved.
Who do you outsource it to: Way more difficult to answer. For starters you can check out this list of digital agencies I have compiled. However, barring a couple, I have no personal experience of their ability, expertise or professionalism. Meeting with them and talking to their clients should give you a good idea of their capabilities.
However, if you are still not satisfied, I would recommend you try out a freelancing site like elance.com. These sites list a number of providers who bid for your work. Quality is assured, as their ability to garner more projects depends to an extent on how existing customers rate them. You can check out their ratings as also testimonials from past clients. Another advantage of going this route are the rates. Since it is a bidding, rates are extremely competitive. I have used elance on a couple of occasions and am pretty satisfied with the value proposition the site provides.
Finally, Social Media Marketing has become too big for you to ignore. It has to be an integral part of your marketing plan. But, do realize success here depends on keeping the communication going with your customers...so that is one aspect that you have to keep with you. No one can talk about your company/product better than you can.
a) Social Media Marketing works
b) It takes bucket loads of time to get the campaign underway and for it to pay-off.
If you belong to the category of entrepreneurs/individuals who need social media marketing but do not have the above bucket load of time, then consider if it is worth investing in either a full-time employee or outsourcing it. I am not a big fan of the full-time social media expert idea and this is why:
- Too expensive: This is probably the most expensive option to take. The experts cost a lot and the novice could end up costing you much more in the long term.
- Lack of expertise: Social media is an evolving phenomenon and there are not enough individuals who have really understood the nuances of their medium. There are also many aspects to social media, it is not possible for one person to fully understand and integrate relevant aspects of social media to your overall business plan. A Social media company on the other hands brings the expertise of the team to play for you.
- Dependence: With just one expert, you are up shit creek, if they decide to quit, fall ill whatever. What happens to your plan, what happens to continuity?
Outsourcing, on the other hand, works out to be better value for money and you actually get experts who bring their learning from different companies to play for your campaign. However, I see two main issues with outsourcing; a) what do you outsource and b) who do you outsource it to
What do you outsource: Basically everything related to setting up your presence on the social media networks. Once you have decided on what you want to communicate, let the agency recommend the right platform (facebook, twitter, youtube, linkedin, blogs etc), the strategy and the campaign look and feel. There is a level of programming involved with facebook and this too can be part of the package.
The one thing that you should not outsource at any cost is the interaction or the dialog with your audience. The exchange is key to a successful social media campaign and is the one area which needs you to be personally involved.
Who do you outsource it to: Way more difficult to answer. For starters you can check out this list of digital agencies I have compiled. However, barring a couple, I have no personal experience of their ability, expertise or professionalism. Meeting with them and talking to their clients should give you a good idea of their capabilities.
However, if you are still not satisfied, I would recommend you try out a freelancing site like elance.com. These sites list a number of providers who bid for your work. Quality is assured, as their ability to garner more projects depends to an extent on how existing customers rate them. You can check out their ratings as also testimonials from past clients. Another advantage of going this route are the rates. Since it is a bidding, rates are extremely competitive. I have used elance on a couple of occasions and am pretty satisfied with the value proposition the site provides.
Finally, Social Media Marketing has become too big for you to ignore. It has to be an integral part of your marketing plan. But, do realize success here depends on keeping the communication going with your customers...so that is one aspect that you have to keep with you. No one can talk about your company/product better than you can.
Monday, January 3, 2011
Reaching your target audience for $6
Brilliantly creative way of reaching out to the top advertising directors for a job. Do check this out.
Sunday, January 2, 2011
Social Media trends of 2010
Maggie Fox, founder and CEO of Social Media today, sums up the year that 2010 was for Social media. An absolute must read for everyone. Especially, those still cynical about the power of this movement.
Case Study: How Law is Greek engages customers
Name of Business: LawIsGreek.com
Website: www.lawisgreek.com
Industry: Legal
Target Audience: Laypersons, Lawyers and Law Students
Category of Business
Launched in February 2010, LawIsGreek.com (LIG) is an online platform for resolving legal issues, with a focus on India. It aims at increasing awareness of Indian laws among laypersons and does this by publishing articles that simplify legal jargon and through “how to” articles. The website also publishes legal news. LIG aims to resolve legal problems that people face through its “Ask for legal advice” section. The website features details and profiles of lawyers who offer their opinions through blogs as well as through legal counsel to people seeking information on specific law categories. There are forums that enable discussions on varied topics among laypersons and law experts. LIG provides specialized services to students, lawyers and laypersons.
Marketing Strategy
LawIsGreek.com has used social media integration for enhancing its visibility, popularity and awareness within and outside the legal sphere. Its Facebook Fan Page forms the primary tool to reach out to Indians across the globe. Updates on this page invite a lot of feedback. This interactivity has created a community that is loyal to the site and contributes to it. This fan page has been customized to include additional tabs. For example, the “Latest on LIG” tab is where Facebook users can take a look at all the recent activity on the site. This engages them by providing them the opportunity to express their thoughts around the content on LawIsGreek.com.
LIG has used Twitter to do much more than what businesses typically do. The profile encourages conversations rather than merely being a tool to send tweets to its followers. Additionally, LIG has a page on the site that displays legal updates from people on Twitter.
One medium that has helped LIG to connect with legal professionals is LinkedIn. Using discussion boards to involve experts in the field of law, LawIsGreek.com has built a strong group on this networking site. It focuses on converting this effort into greater activity on the site.
Palash Das, from the Strategic Alliances division of LawIsGreek.com, said, “Social media marketing is the backbone of our marketing initiative. This is what has helped us reach out to our target audience, engage them and create our brand.”
Result
LIG reached 20,000 fans on its Facebook Fan Page in September 2010. Activity of its fans has also grown. As of December 2010, there were more than 50 daily comments on various posts and more than 20,000 daily post views. Alexa’s global traffic rank improved from 800,000 in March 2010 to 66,956 in December 2010. Alexa’s Indian traffic rank improved from 60,000 in March 2010 to 10,383 in December 2010.
Investment
LIG began investing in social media integration in May 2010. Their marketing investment has been in the form of hiring dedicated SMO experts. The associated investment was around INR 60,000 ($1,350) per month for the first eight months. Once the foundation was laid, the investment for maintaining social media involvement declined significantly to about INR 16,000 ($350) per month.
LIG has two separate segments involved in social media integration. One segment focuses on building the base and the other focuses on increasing overall user engagement.
Website: www.lawisgreek.com
Industry: Legal
Target Audience: Laypersons, Lawyers and Law Students
Category of Business
Launched in February 2010, LawIsGreek.com (LIG) is an online platform for resolving legal issues, with a focus on India. It aims at increasing awareness of Indian laws among laypersons and does this by publishing articles that simplify legal jargon and through “how to” articles. The website also publishes legal news. LIG aims to resolve legal problems that people face through its “Ask for legal advice” section. The website features details and profiles of lawyers who offer their opinions through blogs as well as through legal counsel to people seeking information on specific law categories. There are forums that enable discussions on varied topics among laypersons and law experts. LIG provides specialized services to students, lawyers and laypersons.
Marketing Strategy
LawIsGreek.com has used social media integration for enhancing its visibility, popularity and awareness within and outside the legal sphere. Its Facebook Fan Page forms the primary tool to reach out to Indians across the globe. Updates on this page invite a lot of feedback. This interactivity has created a community that is loyal to the site and contributes to it. This fan page has been customized to include additional tabs. For example, the “Latest on LIG” tab is where Facebook users can take a look at all the recent activity on the site. This engages them by providing them the opportunity to express their thoughts around the content on LawIsGreek.com.
LIG has used Twitter to do much more than what businesses typically do. The profile encourages conversations rather than merely being a tool to send tweets to its followers. Additionally, LIG has a page on the site that displays legal updates from people on Twitter.
One medium that has helped LIG to connect with legal professionals is LinkedIn. Using discussion boards to involve experts in the field of law, LawIsGreek.com has built a strong group on this networking site. It focuses on converting this effort into greater activity on the site.
Palash Das, from the Strategic Alliances division of LawIsGreek.com, said, “Social media marketing is the backbone of our marketing initiative. This is what has helped us reach out to our target audience, engage them and create our brand.”
Result
LIG reached 20,000 fans on its Facebook Fan Page in September 2010. Activity of its fans has also grown. As of December 2010, there were more than 50 daily comments on various posts and more than 20,000 daily post views. Alexa’s global traffic rank improved from 800,000 in March 2010 to 66,956 in December 2010. Alexa’s Indian traffic rank improved from 60,000 in March 2010 to 10,383 in December 2010.
Investment
LIG began investing in social media integration in May 2010. Their marketing investment has been in the form of hiring dedicated SMO experts. The associated investment was around INR 60,000 ($1,350) per month for the first eight months. Once the foundation was laid, the investment for maintaining social media involvement declined significantly to about INR 16,000 ($350) per month.
LIG has two separate segments involved in social media integration. One segment focuses on building the base and the other focuses on increasing overall user engagement.
Saturday, January 1, 2011
Free Course on Social Media Marketing Basics
I found this to be an interesting introduction to Social Media Marketing. Covers the basics and gives a fairly decent understanding of the importance of the media. Best part is, the course is free and does not take too much time.
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