toto`s

The Internet audience is growing. The sophistication of technology used to reach the audience precisely is getting better too! The users are spending more time browsing, consuming content, researching, connecting, engaging, comparing prices, shopping or contributing information. Knowledge is also shared to a great extent. On the other hand, there are brands and companies that target the audience for Engagement, Leads, Conversions, Registrations, etc. Every one tries to beat their competitors by being innovative and bringing in Never Done Before things to delight the customer. Here comes the trap (for the innocent customer, its a trap, for the brand or agency, it is a part of their marketing strategy) Acquire New Customers - get new users to register for my service. Re-target Existing base - make sure every single individual is reached out again because he/she has been to my website before. try to remind them about my existence and make them interact / buy or register. Re-mark...

Brands are built by efforts of many stakeholders. Stakeholders are primarily the Company owners, Product teams – R&D; Marketing units - brand team, media agencies, creative team, vendors; Service – customer care, feedback, test marketers; Supply chain - wholesalers, distributors, retailers and most importantly the decision makers across the chain. Brands develop their personalities over years of service, delivering exceptional products / services and assuring the same level of quality across time, geographies and even generations. In the entire mix, the Media Agency has a special importance, significance and role. They not only bring their experience on the table, their analysis & expertise helps reach out to the right audience, at the right time, at the right place, by increasing the efficiency of every dollar spent. In a market that has its dominant spenders, we also see some niche products and services making their mark without spending. They rely on public r...

Social Media is growing at a pace that can be best termed as "unstoppable." Thousands of social media tools  have been invented, launched and then failed.  The top social media platforms are reaching their maturity stage and look to be in a consolidating position, where their objectives and goals are set; and they know their potential. Financially, the major platforms seem to be on a profit making spree. Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn & YouTube stand out of the crowd, whereas Pinterest, Instagram, Quora, Google+ are making their way to the top, but still have a long way to go. But, what does the consumer do, where does he go from here? On one hand, I feel overwhelming by all the products, application, contents and activities offered by my social media networks. Yet, I'll admit, I'm practically addicted to my social media platforms, so I'm a rather vulnerable target of these marketing gimmicks. Recently, I read  5 Tips for Avoiding Social Media Burnout ...

Social Media  is proving to be the most powerful substitute to  Market Research ! Brands, Individuals, Analysts, Researchers, and Products are taking the Social Media Route for insights. B2B companies, who may not benefit a lot with their Social Media Presense, are also venturing on the Web, creating properties that support their existence. Take for example the  PAL  property created by Suzlon in India. Its about Pure Air Lovers Society, where Suzlon will plant 1 tree for every member who joins this cause! Globally, there any hundreds of MNCs that have started such campaigns that works toward social good. There are a few initiatives started by students, youth, and organizations to spread awareness of a Safer, Sustainable Planet! Companies can benefit in many ways: Their goodwill increases, they start understanding the audience sentiments, they can spread awareness of a few causes, and in turn, get an idea of what the people want. In short, its a nice way to ...

A Social Media User, in general, would be happy to share content, network with like minded people, and grow. A Social Media Enthusiast will try to be in as many networking sites as possible, share his content (most of the time the same content). A Social Media Newbie would try to analyze his/her scores, activity, and would always be on the lookout to improve scores. The most common example being  Klout  ,  HowSociable ,  Social Mention , and the like. A Social Media Expert will never analyze his score or check his online reputation. It is majorly done by those who think they are experts/specialists, but aren't. On Twitter, there are so many ways to increase followers, or post tweets with #hashtags to increase participation and improve scores, that there are thousands of users with 10,000+ followers, and come across as Experts. They automatically come across as credible, real specialists. But the reality is far from truth. They are Re-tweeters and content amplifiers,...

Social Media: Videos on YouTube, Updates on Twitter, Sharing on Facebook, Networking on LinkedIn, Trying out Google+, Publishing on Blogger/Wordpress, Checking in through Foursquare, Chatting on Skype, Building Fan Pages, Spreading Brand Messages, and Interacting every bit of our time through the Digital Media.  Where is the real Life, our tangible world, family members, the neighbours, our friends, the sweetheart staying next to the locality, the food across the street, the parties by colleagues, birthday celebration of little niece, and funeral of an Old man. Are we too busy exploring this medium that we don't really have a Real Social Life? Most of our needs are fulfilled by social media. Chatting with friends, keeping in touch with family, friends, relatives, classmates, old acquaintances, and the rest of the world. Then why bother about the Real Social Life? We see products in a store, we can hold them, feel them, smell them, and taste them. But when we shop online, we can buy...

Social Media is broad, wide, deep, and mostly free. You don't need friends to be a part of social media, you can make them here in this virtual world. You don't need ID Proof, SSN, Credit Card, or any other means of verification to be a part of Social Media, Networks. All you need is TIME, Login Username, Password, and a Valid E-Mail ID. Being a teenager, I started browsing the Net with Yahoo! The only way to go online was through the Internet Explorer. The only place to log in or use the Net was the Internet Cafe (Cyber Cafe). A Mobile Phone would just send SMS, make calls, and charge me for Incoming calls too. The best thing I could do with a Mobile Phone was Play Snake! An e-mail ID like Gmail was available only through an Invite. Today, I can have 5 e-mail IDs.  Yahoo !,  Gmai l,  Rediff ,  MSN , and more. Each has a different purpose. One would be for making Personal Profiles, one for professional use, one is for fake profiles, one is for subscribing to various ...

Return on Investment! Returns.. Returns.. More returns..!! In our social life (offline) we have always interacted with people, spent time with like minded individuals, and maintained selfless relations. But, online world is a different ball game. We interact, mingle, network, and follow people with two motives: Returns, and Referrals!  A follower, friend, acquaintance, or a like-minded profile needs to be cared about, tolerated, conversed with, flattered, and greeted by automated responses until he/she adds value to this concept of RoI. On the other hand, we have people and profiles who would take the same actions, but, for a greater cause, i.e. Relationship building. A simple Hi, Hello, or Nice talking to you makes no harm. An automated response does. It is painful to follow or invite a well-known/knowledgeable person and get an inhuman/ impersonated reply. We still follow the profile, but I am unsure of the value created in such a relation, and the Return He/She would get in suc...

Newbies in the world of Social Media face so many challenges, ranging from creating quality content, understanding of tools, analysis of market, identification of target segments, access to reliable data, networking with experts, idea generation, increasing relevant/organic follower base, and building a credible online presence. Though the online space is relatively new, there are thousands of Social Media Experts, Specialists already! A newbie gets confused as to who really is an expert, and who is posing to be one. If we consider the follower ratio, then we are certain to end up at the wrong expert. Startups, freelancers, and small enterprises thrive on the follower optimization scheme. They charge some cents per follower, and by investing a few hundred dollars, these good-for-nothing individuals get a better presence. Billion articles, million Websites, thousands of specialists/experts, and just a handful of real Champions in the online space, there has to be some way out to find o...