Plus headed for Digital graveyard

Like Mark Twain, Google Plus might well exclaim that "reports of my death are greatly exaggerated." That would mean pie in the faces of social media followers like me, who dare to report the death of Google's latest Facebook buster, even as the popular media is agog with reports of Plus being the fastest site to record 25 million visitors.



Sure, G+ has had a phenomenal run upto 25 million visitors, but the reason for its ramp up probably has more to do with FB's popularity than anything else. These are the top reasons why I believe G+'s ramp up has been so swift:

a) Family backing: Any product from the Google family gets a great deal of press and online viewer interest. Even their earlier Social Media expirement Buzz got off to a great start before fizzing out.

b) Facebook+Linkedin+twitter: Ironically the overwhelming popularity of the ruling troika of Social Media helped push user interest and thereby signup for Google+. Social media chatter was all about G+ when it launched.

c) Anti-incumbency: It is the first really big Social network launch in a long time...users tired of the existing networks flocked to G+.

But that's it the launch is done. We've all been on G+ and it's now time to take a call. For me personally and many of my network friends G+ just does not cut it. Here's why:

a) It's taken me five years to build my network on FB. I'm comfortable with the interactions there. My friends post their status updates, pictures, videos there. It is my primary medium for communicating with the majority of my friends. Despite the great start less than 10% of my friends have actually joined G+ so far. Of these hardly any post anything meaningful there. The most number of posts I see on G+ are about G+. My friends, and I, keep the best stuff for FB.

b) We hate, absolutely hate that fact that anyone can follow us. Yes, this is exactly what twitter allows, but it somehow feels way more invasive on G+.

c) We're not looking for an all-in-one social media platform. We like the specialization that comes with FB, linkedin and twitter. Personal stuff goes on FB, Linkedin is for my professional stuff and twitter is when I want to share with a wider audience. Putting it all together on one platform does not work for me.

d) What's new about G+? It's the same candy in a different wrapper. Even the flavor's the same. So why bother to change from a comfortable and familiar old one. I guess the fact that it is a me-too product is it's biggest failing. Theres' no major breakthrough or wow factor with G+. It just does the same stuff that FB does.

Linkedin tools to help small businesses

Linkedin.com is adding tools to help small businesses connect with their audiences. Read this post if you want to take advantage of linkedin.com's new offerings for you.

Case Study: Maruti Suzuki Ritz

Maruti Suzuki Ritz’s “Live the Moment” campaign (on air since December 2010) tries to strengthen the positioning as the car with the right balance. Just like its target group (the young and upwardly mobile) desires to have the right balance of purpose and fun, Ritz stands for the right combination of space, mileage and style. Among the most innovative auto brands on social media, Ritz, for the first time in India, announced to give out a brand new car as a prize. Maruti Suzuki’s objectives of this campaign are both to increase the impact of Brand Ritz as well as making profits.

About the Ritz "Live the Moment" Contest
Maruti Suzuki kicked off the contest by creating a microsite (http://livethemoment.ritzbymaruti.com/), inviting users to submit entries for the “Live the Moment” campaign.  To participate in the contest, the users had to share a story or moment that would attract their social network to vote for them. The entries were to be in the form of a text message along with an image and/or video, thereby making each entry a piece of shareable content.

Ritz on Facebook

The Facebook account of Ritz (www.facebook.com/ritzbymaruti) has more than 1.5 lakh fans who have uploaded over 1,400 photographs of their cars. With a secondary reach of more than 18 million FB users, the Ritz fan page is the fourth largest auto Facebook page in India. The page attracts a whopping 1,12,000 active monthly users, accounting for a post every 5 minutes, each enjoying 30,000 impressions on an average.

Constant moderation, along with engaging both prospective and existing customers by listening to them and answering their queries, keeps up the pace of user activity. Around 70 discussions and 170 user-generated posts have been managed to create the ‘community’ experience.

Micro-Engagement: The Key to Ritz’s Social Media Success

Answering each and every query in a personalized way, Ritz has been able to strike the chord with its audience. The Admin personally replies to all posts on the Ritz FB wall. With more than 3,500 followers on Twitter, micro-engagement through updates, retweets, replies and direct messages has become the best way to receive suggestions from users. A lot of followers on Twitter have been persuaded to join the Ritz fan page on Facebook.

  

Keeping it Simple

Registration is the last thing users want to do online. So, the challenge that Ritz had to face was making the whole process so simple and quick that it would encourage participation from users who wanted to share their moments. The micro-site for the contest was optimized and designed in a way that visitors could instantly enjoy the experience. Social media supported the successful execution of this vision. Says Pallavi Khare, Brand Manager (Ritz) at Maruti Suzuki India Ltd, “Users do participate if you make the mechanics simple and use the latest technology to enable social integration and create a seamless experience.”

An email connect, along with a social media connect, was integrated into the promo site. Then, the functionality further simplified user experience by enabling users to log in from any of the social media or email platforms they want to, submit entries and share their posts on any social media channel. At the same time, the application allowed a user to use Facebook, email or Twitter to connect the entry submission with their personal profile and appeal to his/her social network for votes.

The campaign has also been running on other social media platforms like YouTube, Flickr and Orkut. Ritz also has a large YouTube following with over 14,500 views so far on the official You Tube channel of Ritz which is www.youtube.com/marutiritz. The “Live the Moment” contest now has a bank of about 50,000 moments, constituting an online property that is integral to the personality of Brand Ritz. 

Online pays off for professional services

Professional service providers like lawyers, doctors, CAs etc need to seriously consider going online to grow their businesses. Users are increasingly turning to the internet to find the services they are looking for. This includes local services. Google has responded to this trend by the launching Google Places. However, Places is just one piece of the puzzle. There is a lot more you can do online to generate more business.

Create a Free Website

Creating a website is like owing an office location where internet users can reach your business. You can read about the importance of a website on thousands of articles on the internet; however, here is what you will not find there – the option of free website makers. Free website makers allow you to create a basic website where you can easily upload information in the form of text, images and videos at no price. Some of the most popular free website makers are Wix, Weebly and Jimdo.

Keywords: The Secret to Online Traffic

Keywords refer to the search query that internet users type to search for specific information via search engines. Optimize the website content for keywords that are relevant for your business. For example, legal services in India, Indian legal services, lawyer in India can be good keywords for a legal business. To find good quality keywords, use the Google Adwords tool, which is available online for free. Use keywords in the title tag, Meta tags, headlines and intro paragraphs. Avoid the excessive usage of keywords, as this makes your content look unattractive.

Start Selling with Ecommerce

If you are serious about selling products online, opt for a paid website that allows online transactions. Such websites enable you to create an online shopping store where users can buy products or services by making payments through their credit cards, debit cards or PayPal accounts.

People Love Freebies

Add freebies on your website for users to download. For example, you can add an industry report or a case study imparting information. Internet researches show that a majority of the users participate in a meaningful quiz to test their knowledge. Add an interesting quiz to make people stay longer on your website.

A Blog a Day

A blog a day will establish your presence as an online expert in your field. While a website is dedicated to your business, a blog is more personalized approach to online marketing. Start writing blogs about the latest in your field, personal experiences, tips, and how-to topics.

Establish Identity on Forums

Forums are websites that allow users to discuss a topic. Look for popular forums that are dedicated to your industry or specialization. Answer queries posted by users and ask them to contact you for further information.

Optimize Social Media Presence

Social networking is the buzzword of this era. Take social networking profiles seriously. Facebook allows you to create a company profile page for your business. Use this page to enable existing and prospective clients stay connected to your business. Updates from the company profile page will work as a remainder to your clients. Also, use LinkedIn to connect with other professionals from the industry. This will help you to understand what they are doing differently.

Apart from these free promotional activities, you can opt for paid internet marketing through the Google advertising program. Enroll into this program and your business will get listed in the paid search results based on the keywords that you have chosen. Similarly, Facebook also allows paid advertising. While paid advertising is an easy way of generating sales, do not underestimate the importance of optimizing your online presence through free marketing strategies.

While the to do list above might seem intimidating, it is essential if you want your business to grow. Of course any half decent online marketing company can create your presence in a week or less at a cost of anything between Rs 10,000 to Rs 25,000....depending on the package you opt for. Take a look at the list of companies here, or simply google for one. Remember to check the credentials of the company you sign up with, as there are as many snake oil sellers as genuine companies out there. 

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.

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.

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. 

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.

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.

Marketing for Free

Mark Zuckerberg has probably made it to the top of every traditional Head of Marketing’s black books. Even as these venerable gentlemen were coming to grips with the power and reach of the online medium, Mr Zuckerberg hits them with Facebook. This online phenomenon, along the more cryptic twitter and smaller cousins like linked.in and orkut are rapidly rewriting the rules of marketing. 

I could throw a bunch of numbers at you to show how fast Facebook and twitter are growing, but you already know that. What I want to do instead is to focus on how these two have emerged as amazing powerful marketing tools…especially for companies where having a marketing budget itself is a bit of a stretch. 

Social media works on the principle of six degrees of separation. So in theory, if you know the right six people on say Facebook, you will be able to connect to everyone on the site, and you can do this at virtually no cost. 

In preparation for this series, I actually ran an experiment to see if it was possible to do this for free. We set up a Facebook page for compareindia.com about two months ago. The idea was to try and grow pageviews for the site through the FB page. Initially Sharon Khare, the editor of the site and I, sent out requests to our friends to “Like” our FB page. That got us to about 60 followers in the first week. We also put up a Facebook widget on the compareindia to drive our regular users to “Like” our FB page. Sharon would regularly update the page with the best prices on a variety of products and I would respond to any queries from users.

Initially we had about four to six users “Like”ing our page everyday. While it was difficult to trace where these users came from, it was most likely from the compareindia website itself. The first set of users would generally not comment too much and all you would find on page would be updates from Sharon. However, over a period of time the number of “Likes” started going up every day. We currently average around 25 likes a day. We also noticed a growing willingness on the part of our users to engage in relevant dialouge.

We are also well on our way to achieving our initial objective of driving traffic from FB to compareindia. Month-on-month traffic has increased over 60%. While this has been over a low base, the continued growth of fans on FB gives me the confidence that this will become a major source of traffic for compareindia.com

 The key early take-aways from this experiment have been:

 Social media marketing is real and it works

• Like in traditional marketing, having a single uncomplicated message works best: Our message has been: “find the best prices on compareindia”. We could have chosen to go with a lot of others including our standard “compare products to figure out which is best for you.” But we choose the price angle and it is working for us.
• Keep your page open: A lot of pages on FB only have posts from the page owner. Users can only post comments. We have chosen to go the other way. Anyone can post on our page. This has encouraged users to ask us questions and interact with us and other users. On the flip side we do get some unwanted spam as other marketers try to take advantage of our user base. So far the number has been manageable and we simply delete their messages.
• Social media and viral are twins: FB and twitter are the fastest way to spread an interesting viral.

 This article is my first column on the topic. It appeared in the October 2010 issue Entrepreneur India. You can find it here: http://entrepreneurindia.in/facebook-for-marketers/5840. It was also reproduced by biztech2. The link is here: http://biztech2.in.com/blogs/editorial-blogs/facebook-for-marketers/94522/0