Earlier, if a company had to launch a Brand, they’d tell their managers to book print and television spots nationwide – and sit back with arms behind their heads. However, in today’s complex world, television and print no longer dominate the advertising sphere.

The advent of Internet, social media networks (Facebook & Twitter) and handheld technology i.e. iPad, Blackberry smartphones etc. have enabled conversation between Global brands and consumers – giving managers sleepless nights and making the marketing strategy a tough nut to crack.

Even luxury brands (Gucci, Tommy, Zegna, Blackberry) have hopped onto the bandwagon, joining small businesses and entrepreneurs with Facebook fan pages, groups and even Twitter profiles. The objective is feedback, conversation and engagement.

This has opened a plethora of opportunities for small businessmen, local tradesmen, startups and entrepreneurs around the world. It’s primarily because you no longer need gargantuan (leave aside any for that matter) marketing budgets to get the word out.

Lets say you run a small chain of bakeries by the name Freshtime Bakers in your region or lets just make that one outlet for now. What options do you have as the owner to market your product? You could either hand out leaflets, brochures or do ads in local newspapers, magazines and radio spots.

If you were to take it a notch further, people could be deployed around town with free samples (shopping plaza, parks etc.) and you could even go door to door with freshly baked cookies and pastries.

What else could you do to promote your business with little resources? I’m sure you’ve still got plenty of ideas but for the sake of conversation lets say you had some knowledge of social media and a computer nestled away at home.

All you’d have to do is setup a Facebook page and a Twitter profile. Add contact information with phone numbers, Google Map listing and connect these profiles to your website (if you have one by adding links).

Now, send out invites to all your existing customers, friends, relatives etc. (even add these web links on your bill, carry bags and in-store merchandise to get the word out). Next, upload pictures of freshly baked cakes including other items your bakery is known for online.

You’ll be surprised at how many inquiries will come your way when Raj (a friend of a friend) shares pictures of the chocolate mud cake he had on his birthday. This is what social media experts around the world try to achieve – when your Brand becomes a word of mouth viral campaign.

By doing so you’re engaging with your existing as well as perspective consumers, enabling them to be a part of your business – creating evangelist of your Brand.

This article was originally published in Sector News.
Image: Corbis

If you think social media marketing is not for you, think again. Lets take a look at how an old reputed brand, such as Old Spice, has been re-vitalized and sold successfully through social media.

Till recently, without much doubt and hesitation, I considered Axe to be the coolest brand for most male grooming needs. This was primarily because of a few reasons, one being the advertising that is based on the brand positioning of ‘mating game’, two, the product itself, which is innovative, surpassing in quality and three, the simplicity with which the brand connected with its end consumer – fuelling the imagination of men from across the globe.

And, up till now, no one could fathom the possibility of approaching this category in any other way. Well, not until Wieden and Kennedy took over Old Spice. The agency devised an entire campaign that is centred on Isaiah Mustafa, also known as the Old Spice guy.

The campaign was executed through online media, namely Youtube and Twitter, in a span of three days. The response was unequivocally positive and revenues shot through the roof by 105%. The Youtube and Twitter accounts amassed hundreds and thousands of followers overnight.

The team behind Old Spice took great care to engage influencers, celebrities, popular social media sites and common folk with utmost care. A series of over a 108 videos were shot and uploaded to the Youtube page were a mix of responses and ads.

The Old Spice campaign has set benchmarks for marketers from around the globe as well as proved that social media is an authoritative platform for promoting a Brand. You can checkout the campaign on the Old Spice website.

Note: This article has been orginaly printed in the Sector News.

All right, you’re a hot-shot writer, with an eye for the next big story. You’re armed with ideas – notes from a deep-sea expedition, a wild safari in the Himalayas and an encounter with a world-famous snake charmer from Jaipur, who, by the way, also happens to be a regular member of Sarita Devi Armed Forces for Divorced Men in Denial.

Ok, I made that last one up.

The first thing you need to do is figure out what you’re good at or what you like talking about most. Now, this doesn’t mean that you can rant about a newly acquired 4-in-1 mixer and grinder that makes excellent banana smoothies. Wait, if that’s the case; let me know where you got it.

You should be a bit specific with your genre. For eg. Apple Fan Blog, Traveling in Himalayas, Desert Rallying for Grandmothers or even Smoothies for Geeks.

You pick.

Once you are certain of what you’d like to talk about with the world, you need to acquire a branded domain name. This could look something like this: yourdomainname.com, travelinhimalayas.com or even smoothiesforgeeks.com

You can opt to host your blog and branded domain on several available free blogging platforms. My personal favourite is WordPress, simply because of the functionality, ease of use and managing database, which it is known for. Other well-known platforms are Blogger, Tumblr and Posterous.

If you’re a beginner, use your existing Gmail account to start with Blogger. It is free, simple and easy to use. Once you get the hang of it, upgrade to what you like (Preferably WordPress).

Now comes the tricky bit, where you might jump into a can of soup. Don’t ask me how the soup got into all this.

Readers.

One of the most important aspects of blogging is readership – people who go through your inane blabber. The bread and butter, your fuel for inspiration, the dark horses in the blue clouds. Don’t over think that last one.

The easiest way to attract audience on your blog is by finding the secret formula to run cars on water. Just kidding. In case, you did find such a formula, do contact me on the web address mentioned below.

On a serious note, you stand a good chance of attracting loads of people you already know with social media. The best part about it is that you don’t need a marketing budget. All you need is some spare time, which I’m guessing you have loads off.

Start with Facebook and Linkedin; upload your articles on the blog that you chose earlier and share the URL with friends and family on their profiles. This would help you generate a conversation with readers and collect valuable feedback.

Another potentially elaborate idea would be to find blogs that are relevant to your genre and start commenting on their articles. By doing so, you would pat them on their back as well as invite them to view your content.

This means that if you are any good, people will share you further into their circle of friends and colleagues. And, before you know it, and by doing this over and over again, you’ll be the proud owner of a successfully running blog.

Finally, about that formula for running cars on water, please contact us on info@hdegreeglobal.com

Note: This article has been originally published in Sector News (See it here).

Image: Corbis

Did you know that you are a brand? Yes! No jokes. For the sake of conversation, look over your shoulders. What do you see? Can you can identify a South-Indian from a Punjabi or a Hindu from a foreigner.

If you watch closely at the way each individual dresses, eats food, and speaks, you’d come to the conclusion that all of them have a unique style that’s reminiscent of their culture and beliefs.

Now, look at yourself. How are you any different? What makes you unique?

This, by far, is the easiest way to distinguish one individual from another – by their appearance. It’s precisely how we associate with brands. Brands leverage our inner beliefs and values. People associate with like-minded brands.

That said, everything you do and choose not to reflect a certain kind of an image about who you are. The way you answer phone calls, participate in office meetings – keeping a low profile or raise issues, replying to emails, going that extra mile with your business card – which, by the way, is one of the most important tools of building a memorable brand You.

This brings us to how you can become a powerful brand by taking advantage of the social media boom – Facebook, Linkedin, Blog, Twitter and Youtube.

If you’ve got a hold on writing, begin by building your Blog on a domain address that is either yourname.com or something people can identify you by: For eg. themanagementguru.com etc.. By doing so, you can voice your opinion, engage readers in a conversation as well as build brand You.

And, if public speaking is your domain, start shooting your seminars, keynotes etc and upload them to Youtube. Usually, and most commonly, it’s difficult to take the first step. Once people see you as a genuine leader and find your inputs worthy, they’ll share you across social media – leading to a snowball effect.

This is where Linkedin and Facebook make the scene. They will increase your social network and give you access to a large audience for the content you generate on your Blog and Youtube page. Linkedin will give you the advantage of joining relevant groups and discussion panels. Although Facebook faces privacy issues, it is an excellent source for people-led information.

Lastly, to synchronize and smoothly align all your online profiles, use Twitter. It will help you generate leads, understand trends and news, share content and build a strong network of people as followers.

By doing the above continuously and regularly, over a period of time with fine-tuning and tweaking, you can develop a strong brand You.

Note: This article has been originally published in Sector News (See it here).

Image: Corbis

Websites have come a long way. In a time, not so long ago, when the Internet had just arrived in India, people were abuzz with the idea of having their – mostly black and white or nearly calculator like – computer connect to (a contemporary dial-up modem, through a phone line that usually took ages to work) the world of possibilities.

At this point, and you’d agree with me, there was this one family in the neighbourhood that had a computer, with this so called Internet (and most of us huddled up around the computer, like kids, while it made all those beeping sounds, and waited for ‘something extraordinary’ to happen) because clearly, we had no idea what the it (the Internet) was all about.

Who could ever fathom the possibility of leased lines, broadband or a Facebook and Twitter in the near future – which, now, holds a substantial part of our life. For that matter,  some top institutions of the world are comprehending the idea of making online social networking an imperative part of the curriculum, while some have already gone ahead with it.

During that period – back in the day of dial-up – companies or brands (and most media agencies) were not fully aware of this new found technology and what it could do for their business.  Most people, if they thought about the Internet at all when thinking about their brand, figured they’d need a website, and that was about it. And back then, the website was everything – it was almost a sure shot way of differentiation (and of course you had the first-mover advantage).

Nowadays, a company’s website can play so many different roles (mainly due to the availability of resources, such as: the penetration of broadband Internet, the overall advancement in technology- computers, softwares and awareness) that can range from: a) an online shopping cart; b) a full grown interactive entertainment model; c) a house for like minded people to get together; d) an informative platform, similar to a company brochure – all made with the objective of engaging their prospective consumer.

It is due to this phenomenon that an industry of web marketing was born and banner ads and viral marketing, short form videos, games and the like. And, today, because the way we share information has changed, every site has a send-to-a-friend tab (which is how most companies are building viral campaigns, through you). We no longer have to wait for the information to come to us, rather, with the Internet (loaded with websites of large corporates to individuals) which can be easily accessed at any given time.

And lastly, but most importantly, our perception of a legit vs a dubious company or individual is on the basis of their website – making this the most appropriate time for you to develop and grow your business online.

(Originally printed in Sector News, distributed on Kalka-Delhi Shatabdi)