How Important Social Media Marketing is for a Brand?

by Vivek

The Context

Everyone today is using some social networking site or the other. If they are a professional they use Linkedin. If they have a flair for writing they are either a regular blogger or use microbloging sites like Twitter. If they are interested in connecting with their old friends or finding new ones they are hooked on to Facebook, Orkut and many others. And there are several other Social Networking Sites which cater to varied tastes, like Flickr for photography and YouTube for videos, music and movies. Invariably, more often than not, users on these sites are discussing a brand / product / service. These individuals are using social media to share views, and news about brands. Consequently, from the point of a brand promotion and management, social media becomes significant. To know more read our post Quantifying Social Media

Social Media, today, is among the ‘best opportunities available’ to a brand for connecting with prospective consumers. Social Media Marketing is the new mantra for several brands since early last year. Significantly different from conventional marketing strategies, Social Media Marketing (SMM) offers three distinct advantages. One, it provides a window to marketers to not only present products / services to customers but also to listen to customers’ grievances and suggestions. Two, it makes it easy for marketers to identify various peer groups or influencers among various groups, who in turn can become brand evangelist and help in organic growth of a brand. And, three, all this is done at nearly zero cost (as compared to conventional customer outreach programmes) as most of the social networking sites are free.

Companies in the west are investing increasingly in SMM to get in touch with their customers. They are indulging in constant interaction with their prospects in order to understand their needs and hence make products better. It’s the best way to learn from your customers about their needs and your own shortcomings. However, SMM is a very personalized way of advertising and promotions can be targeted only to particular groups which are interested in a particular domain, quite unlike conventional advertising. [Brand Engagement on Social Media – Industry Perspective]

Social Media Marketing in India

Social Media Marketing in India is being undertaken by brands like Tata Docomo, MTV India, Channel V, Clear Trip, Tata Photon, Axe deodorants, Microsoft, Naukri, Shaadi and many more. For an exhaustive list of Indian Brands on Social Media please read. Besides, numerous Indian celebrities are also using SMM platform to promote their movies, music and events via Twitter, Facebook and personalized blogs. Social Media Marketing is also boosting public relations business. Several PR agencies in India are undertaking brand building exercises for corporate organizations, brands and celebrities. However, to the delight of many among us, the biggest gainers from SMM till date have been the organizations from the Not-for-Profit sector. Several Campaigns like ‘Bell Bajao’ and ‘Jaago Re’ have been quite successful on Social Networking Sites. These campaigns have been spreading the word about their cause through blogs, Twitter and Facebook.

Social Media Marketing Checklist

SMM is still in its infancy. Most of the online retailers though appreciate its positives fallouts on the brand awareness and promotion, they are still in the early stages of adoption. For an organisation willing to invest in social media marketing, it is important to understand why SMM is an important marketing strategy and how it can help:

This is the age of consumer satisfaction. It is not about selling it is more about interacting. There is a lot to learn from the customers. Using social media one can identify customers, listen to their feedback and use them to improve and innovate on products or services.
SMM is not a mass advertising strategy. It can be used to identify peer groups and advertise to that particular group. Social Media can help in identifying influencers and through them one can guide a prospective customer into making a purchase.
SMM calls for novel advertising methods as the attention span of online junta is very low. This is largely due to the multitasking phenomena. A person watching a video clip on YouTube might be simultaneously updating a blog, while reading another one and watching friend’s photographs on Facebook. In order to garner their attention away from distractions the advertisement must be innovative and interesting to hold the imagination and attention of the prospect.
At the same time the message must also provoke the recipient into action; like seeking a detailed description of the product/service, or suggesting to a friend, or initiating purchase. So, if the advertisement is trying to sell something then it should be conveniently placed with links so that the prospect can make a purchase with least effort.
Similarly Social Media can be used to increase customer loyalty through customer support services and hence improve customer retention.
Social Media Marketing can also be used by brands to ward off any negative publicity. But the brands will have to be cautious here as over doing it may further aggravate their customers / stakeholders.

To successfully implement one’s SMM strategy the following points must be kept in mind:

Don’t just jump on to the bandwagon just because others are jumping into it. Analyze the market first to understand whether your brand would really benefit from SMM. Try and find out whether SMM strategies fit your brand.
Don’t expect results over night. SMM is a long term strategy. It will not happen overnight. The results might become visible anywhere from three to six months.
SMM is not a standalone tool for marketing. It has to be used along with all the other conventional marketing strategies. Read – Three Reasons Why Your Brand Should Not be on Social Media

Summing Up

Social Media is all about being social. It’s that aspect of marketing where communication happens two ways. One just does not say but also listens to what others have to say. Social Media Marketing is simple and can have great, long term impact on businesses, because a word on Internet travels across the globe in nanoseconds.

Top Image Source: The Hand by Vincent Guillocher

Tagged as: advertising, Brand Promotion, branding, facebook, Indian brands, internet marketing, marketing, marketing strategies, Social Media, social media marketing, social network service, Twitter

~by Vivek K. Singh

A blogger, social media entusiast, MBA by qualification, he started webvedics.com in 2009. He works as a Marketing Research and Business Intelligence professional for one of India's leading corporate groups. He writes short stories both fiction and non-fiction for his blogs.

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