Hello readers. This is my first post in a business blog, so please be patient with me regarding cliches. The very first post would talk about social marketing, and why it is so important in a diverse country like India.
Marketing, today, has become an integral and definitive part of every product, more so as the noise factor as well as the product awareness are increasing rapidly. The transition from the classic "Jalebi" commercial of Dhara (Dhara's 'Jalebi'- Classic Commercial) to going huge strides in Social Marketing (Axe Angels Club, the Sunsilk Gang of Girls-see image below) is big.
But what is evident from many surveys about Social Marketing- the latest buzz, is that marketers keep on doing the same mistakes time and again- trying to make the consumers believe that theirs is a better product- sometimes creating unnecessary noise and lack of clarity which makes way for their downfall. Rather than putting up a sincere effort to find out what does the social consumer actually want from the product(or the brand), they try to feed them tit-bits which make no sense to the consumers.
In this context, there are two major points I would like to add.
1. Paid Advertising is giving way to Earned Advertising:- The days of paid advertising are nearing the end phase, unless, companies like Google pull out something fresh and new. Word of Mouth- or Earned Advertising- however old it may seem- is in a aurora phase now. The discussion on products which was a rare sight in the Indian markets has become a common feature. With the advancement of Social media and growth of the internet, “Word-of-mouth” has taken the center stage.
2. Intelligent use of Facebook:- Facebook is the most important tool in social marketing today. The gigantic amount of time spent in Facebook versus other sites (only Google in the race) is a endearing proof. A ComScore report states that social networking in India accounted for 25.2 percent of all time spent online in June. The biggest beneficiary of the social networking boom in India is, of course, Facebook. 50.9 million users in India used Facebook in June, 2012 (India's Web Culture). Some fine examples are:-
Dove..
Dove's approach is simple. For each product they are promoting, they ask a relevant question that incites a like and usually a share.
A very poignant example is the image below showing a post. It has got around 620 likes till now.
Tata Docomo..
Tata Docomo's strategy is pretty straight- use the most happening events to your favor. The use of Yuvraj Singh and Ranbir Kapoor in perfect timing- the nation is watching Yuvraj closely as he plays in T20 World Cup; and Barfi is riding high on both critical and commercial success- this has helped Tata Docomo increase the Brand Recall factor. See in the image below.
Other examples like Lay's, Kit-Kat also follow suit.
Changing lifestyles have brought in major changes to the marketing strategies marketers need to bring in to catch attention. Increasing social media presence has changed the way many companies reach out to their customers. Thus, unless the marketers start to understand the needs of social consumers and design a social marketing strategy accordingly, there are only two ways left- either follow the strategies of the leading companies or, pave way for better companies!
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