In today’s business world marketing is all about generating the customer’s interest in the goods and services the company offers. Essentially a company’s marketing strategies drive company sales techniques, business development models, business communication etc. and the ultimate aim of it all is to win, satisfy and retain a customer.

It is imperative that any marketing campaign be designed around the customer. His needs, his choices, his demands should be the focus point of it all. So then the first and foremost aim of marketing should be to communicate the key message to  potential as well as existing customers.

The trick here is to create a series of marketing techniques so that the customer gets ample time and opportunity to recognise and respond to the message being sent across. A lot of marketing tools and techniques can be used for this purpose. We will talk about some that are the most impactful, and therefore common: the key elements of a marketing campaign.

1. Publicity: All publicity is good publicity, or so they say. Well, this might not always be the case, but yes, publicity of any type does help boost sales because all the attention of target group is directed towards you. And let’s face it most big names have had their fair share of bad publicity! Cadbury had the worm episode, Coca-cola and Pepsi had the pesticide issue to tackle with, and Nano had to deal with the ‘on fire’ instances. But they all got past it with time and in the end it all worked out in the favour of the brand as the problem was strategically handled. PR has a major role to play when it comes to correcting bad publicity and infusing the media with all the ‘correct’ information.

2. Advertising: Another way of getting into the customers mind is to put your brand out there. This is what advertising does in order to get that coveted place in the customers’ mind – the ‘top-of-the-mind-recall’. Actually advertising and public relations, and all tools of marketing for that matter, have the same intent – to get the customer to first recognise, then be curious about, and ultimately desire the product. And if the desire can be converted into a purchase, then the marketing strategy behind the whole process can be considered to be a success.

3. Online Presence: Social Media is at the forefront of marketing campaigns today. You need to incorporate the online environment very neatly into your strategy. Be it Twitter, Pinterest, blogs, Facebook or your very own website, you need to incorporate these tools to get in touch with your TG. A sound online campaign can give you new customers and help you please current customers. Since the media is instant, you can measure your online performance instantly and alter/re-design your strategies as per the requirements.

4. Telemarketing: This is one element in the marketing tools kit that needs careful handling. But when applied in the right direction, this too is a great marketing tool. For instance, telemarketing works great when it comes to the business to business (B2B) segment.

It must always be kept in mind that the ultimate aim of all forms of marketing is to attain a satisfied, happy customer. Therefore, all the marketing tools so engaged in need to be fine-tuned and well balanced.

The Pros & Cons of Social Networking and Basic Safety Instructions

The Pros

Social networking sites have paved the way for easier communication with friends, family, and colleagues. One example of this increased connectivity is that instead of physically meeting in a certain place you and your classmates can discuss a project via conference on gtalk/FB/BBM/Google+ hangout. Virtual communities are also formed, which are composed of people connected together by common interests, purpose, and goal. The privilege of socializing with millions of people of different backgrounds and cultures is something that the web facilitates.

The Cons

While social networking sites have become places for establishing connections and meeting friends, they have also become likely places for identity theft and fraud. You can log in to Facebook/Twitter and you will see multiple profiles pop up when you type in a celebrity’s name in the search tab. While most of these accounts are harmless, some can cause serious collateral damage. It has also become easier for someone to stalk and harass people online.

Keeping these pros and cons in mind, you should take the necessary precautions and trust and share information about yourself with people whom you know won’t misuse it. You can choose to not be a part of a social networking website altogether. Whether you must take this extreme step or just be cautious, is something that you need to decide on your own.

Social Networking Safety Tips

As a kid you probably learned a lot about safety and privacy: Look both ways before crossing the street; buckle up; hide your diary where your nosy brother can’t find it; don’t talk to strangers. While these will help you in the real world, here are some that you need to keep in mind when you are present in the virtual world.

• Review the Web site’s safety notifications, standards, and learn how to report violating content. Most often it will be disclosed at the registration phase. Otherwise, it might be noted at the bottom of the site. This information will educate users about the function of the website in regard to Internet safety.

• Parents must talk to their children about social networking. Suggested topics to discuss would include not posting private information, explaining what information is private and public, what pictures to upload and which ones to not, and so on.

• Understand that people are not who they claim they are. You wouldn’t reveal your personal details to just anyone, would you? Don’t post it on your profile unless you want everyone to see it. Don’t agree to meet an online friend in real unless you know that person and are sure of his/her intentions.

• Be careful — Social Networking is a double-edged sword. It’s okay to have fun and connect with different people on social networks, but just be alert to the fact that criminals and cons use social networks too. Take precautions to prevent possible negative outcomes.

• Setting your profile ‘Private’ to screen outsiders. Most social networks will permit you to set your profile on ‘private’ mode to prevent outside individuals from viewing your profile. This enables you to reach out to others who you are friends with, but excludes incoming profile requests.

• Maintain your computer’s defenses. As a general precaution, it’s important to make sure you have an updated anti-virus, firewall, anti-spyware and operating system updates. It’s been noted previously, some MySpace advertisements contain malicious code and can infect your computer system. I’ve listed four ways to prevent spyware, check it out.

• Consider using a fake name or alias. There is no need to use your real name on social networks. Get creative and give yourself a wacky and freaky name.

The growth of the media industry has been tremendous over the last few years. The leaps that it has taken would put any prize horse to shame. There has been no looking back ever since people realized the power that lay in media…and the money. The amount of money riding in this industry is a clear indication of its success. But as with all success stories, even this one is not without merit. The media industry is one where creativity is a big buck winner and innovation is the need of the hour. And there is no questioning the worth of a truly original idea, it really works.

One of the newest entrants to this crazy yet interesting world is social media. For many here, including myself a while back, social media was equal to Facebook. That was all there was to it. However in reality it is not the case. While social media is not just Facebook, it definitely is one of its biggest success stories. There will be very few among us who do not have a Facebook account, let alone less than 200 friends. While this number is clearly not an indication of how liked you are in society, it surely speaks of the number of people that you can reach out to in a split second. That power itself is huge. There is a lot of potential in this medium and it has been evident with the kind of speed with which news spreads on social networking sites. Today, the fate of the movie can by all means be judged by the number of activity its site sees. Or making it a little easier, the number of comments or tweets about it.

However social media is not all about Facebook. It is just the start…going on to twitter and even blogs, this form of media has huge potential. How exactly can a media student use this form of media. The answer lies in the term itself- Social Networking. Networking is the buzz word for this industry where people and their opinion form the crux of all successes and failures. Media students should see networking sites as more than a means to broaden their friend circle, it should be a means to keep themselves in touch with as many people and information from the industry they wish to be part of. While this does not mean sending out strange friend requests and hounding people on Linked In, it simply means staying in touch with the industry as such.

It is important to be aware of all the happenings of the industry and this is easily done with all the blogs that are found on the net. While not all of them are potent sources of information, there are few which can really help an aspirant to understand the nuances of the industry. Apart from this, many of the people who blog about media are media persons themselves. While all of them might not be kind enough to encourage youngsters who mail them for information, the openness of the industry indicates that people will not be averse to the idea of helping new comers out. Especially on blogs, apart from getting information, one can build relationships with professionals who will be more than willing to spread their knowledge about the industry.

Apart from this the internet has also blessed us with more sites than one can possibly imagine. There are many sites for aspiring media professionals which give out information about the industry and sometimes even help by giving relevant projects. While there might not be much money in these projects, it will help students to get a taste of the industry and how it functions. An understanding of the industry will help them to get better exposure and thus a better job. Apart from the more obvious benefits, the learning curve is much greater when projects are undertaken. This also improves ones’ portfolio which again would help in getting a more quality job.

Thus media students should make it a point to understand the power of the industry that they aspire to enter. Accordingly they should use this understanding to make the most of the many forms that it has to offer. Using social media effectively can not only improve your chances of getting a better job, it will also aid in the learning process which at the end of the day is extremely important from the long term point of view.

Back in the year 2004, from the warehouse of the online biggie Google, came the pioneer website for Social Networking, Orkut. www.orkut.com was recorded as the most popular website for staying in touch with people across the world. Orkut definitely didn’t expand with the help of any promotion or publicity. The loud and swift word of mouth was enough to get millions of people hooked onto this website.

I still recall those lazy days in the year 2007, when my friends and I were nothing less than Orkut addicts. We were in the final year of our school and we had this funny concept that we ourselves had invented – ‘Scrap Badhao Abhiyan!’. In school, we would talk about creating polls, communities for our batch, making interesting forums. Oh! Being a Moderator was a real matter of honor. We would return from school and there our fingers almost raced on the keyboards as we discussed the exams that were approaching, the journals to be completed on Orkut. We would plan our parties, send invitations online via Orkut. That was the beginning of Social Networking and it elevated obsession to a complete new level. Parents blamed Orkut big time when their teenagers refused to attend the marriage ceremonies or the Pujas held in the complex. Orkut was such a craze that it even came up with a verb form of itself as in Orkutting.

E.g.:
My friend puts forth this statement. “Hey! I had called you up but you didn’t receive my call. What were you busy with?”
I answer it glowingly, “Oh! My cell phone was on silent mode. I was busy Orkutting.”

Orkut was nothing less than an elixir for people from almost every strata of the society around the globe.

Just like every civilization falls and a new one rises from the ashes, same thing happened with Orkut. Facebook can be called the successor of Orkut. Though it launched itself just after a month Orkut was launched; it gained popularity in the recent past.

Taking my own example, I honestly found Facebook highly complex in comparison to Orkut. Hence, even after receiving way too many requests, I didn’t bother to join Facebook as an active member. While the other fact is, I was too obsessed with Orkut to think of even being a part of the Facebook community.

As the law of Diminishing Marginal Utility states that everything after a certain point of time, reaches the level of saturation, I feel this is what is the actual cause as to why Facebook suddenly turned out to be a massive hit among the people who earlier vouched for Orkut. Facebook groups, quiz and updating status became the passion and Orkut lost the appeal it had earlier.

Today, you meet someone new and before asking for their phone numbers, you tend to ask whether they have a Facebook account or not. This clearly states that Facebook is the latest and the most happening thing in the online social networking circuit.

Never to forget, these social networking sites do have their cons. The controversies associated with these websites are definitely unforgettable ones. But, who cares about them as long as you find your buddies to chat from any nook and cranny of the world??

Cheers to the success of Facebook and I hope twitter does not defeat Facebook the way Facebook defeated Orkut.

Let’s keep our fingers crossed to see what’s the future of social networking! Till then, happy Orkutting, face booking and tweeting!

– Arundhati Chatterjee –

Nielsen Online, a service of The Nielsen Company, recently tracked the time Britons spend online and the sites that account for the highest share in the online market. The results were as interesting and varied as the medium itself, as 10 brands accounted for 45% of total UK Internet time.

Communication and Entertainment are Central Themes Amongst Most Heavily Used Web Brands. Facebook (13%) is the most heavily used brand followed by MSN / Live Windows.

In April 2009, the average Briton spent 22 hours 20 minutes online or using Internet-related applications. This represents a 34 percent increase on a year ago when the figure was 16 hours 36 minutes. Facebook is one of the major factors in the increasing time people are spending online – the site recording 3.8 billion more minutes in April 2009 than April 2008.

Rank Brand % Share
1. Facebook 12.7%
2. MSN/ Windows Live 9.2%
3. Google 5.3%
4. EBay 4.1%
5. Yahoo! 3.5%
6. AOL Media Network 3.0%
7. BBC 2.3%
8. You Tube 1.9%
9. Microsoft 1.5%
10. Apple 1.5%

Consequently, the Other 7,625 Brands Currently Tracked by Nielsen Online are Fighting for the Remaining 55 Percent of Time Britons Spend Online.

Alex Burmaster, Communications Director, EMEA, Nielsen Online concluded that the major players have had a pretty good year which will further attract advertisers as the medium has already engaged users through the vehicles of entertainment and communication.

Facebook may be a popular hangout for youth, but it has now caught some undue attention from an anti tobacco activist has served a notice to the website, accusing it of “promotion of smoking culture” through its web pages.

Even though Facebook restricts advertisements of tobacco products through paid advertisement on its website, it promotes the same through its Fan Pages and groups, claims Hemant Goswami.

“Contrary to the claims, Facebook allows promotion of smoking culture through advertisements. We have sent a copy of links of such examples which are considered an offence under the Indian law to M/s Facebook,” he added.

Goswami said India’s law on tobacco control has a provision for imprisonment of up to five years for violations relating to prohibition of promotion or advertisement of tobacco products and brands.
Hemant Goswami is a member of the union health ministry’s National Steering Committee on Tobacco Control. He has been working for the cause for several years now and is very serious in his pursuit to end this kind of promotion of tobacco brands and tobacco products on social networking sites like Facebook.

Facebook may face ban in India, if they are not able to defend themselves.

Let’s hope the Social Networking site has enough networks to save itself…..