Economy of Social - Social Media Tips, Marketing and Business

A somber week comes to an end. This week destiny had written a tragic ending for what Russel Brand calls "Pure Talent".  Her dichotomous public image of critical and commercial success versus personal turmoil proved to be controversial. The New Statesman magazine called her " a filthy-mouthed, down-to-earth diva ". Was it about Winehouse or the music? asks Sasha Frere-Jones in his tribute to the lady who had made American soul a viable category. Russel Brand shares his friendship with Winehouse on his blog and recalls watching her perform for the first time, after years of seeing her as " just some twit in a pink satin jacket shuffling round bars " So now I knew. She wasn't just some hapless wannabe, yet another pissed-up nit who was never gonna make it, nor was she even a ten-a-penny-chanteuse enjoying her fifteen minutes. She was a fucking genius... ...Publicly though, Amy increasingly became defined by her addiction. Our media thou...

Jonathan has made a point on Old Spice Social Media campaign . he says, The Old Spice campaign is the latest variation on this very old idea, with some important caveats. It isn't classified as commercial, but rather social, so there's no message at the end like "Shoot the brute some Old Spice." It riffs on its own prior creative content, so it's not really about the brand as much as about the brand's branding and giving entertainment to in-the-know viewers. So I'm sorry, what's the point again? I understand why the campaign is perfectly suited to social-technology platforms, but TV or print ads were matched to the requirements of those media, too, without giving up their purpose. The argument that social campaigns have no point other than being social is more an excuse than a strategy, since consuming and commenting on content is nothing new (only the clickable tools are). You can add up all the time consumers spend chuckling at the videos and st...

The latest sales pitch from Gmail reads, "You’ve probably already improved the lives of your friends and family members by helping them switch to Gmail, but what about that one friend who still hasn’t made the switch? It’s time to take a stand and stage an intervention." I like the attitude of the pitch. But is it over confident? Are there people who are not satisfied with Gmail? Is Gmail  a monopoly or looking to be one in the email market? Is it sounding like Microsoft?

In an emerging economy, transfer of knowledge and technology from the developed economy  has been given a simple name - Learning .  India due to a better political setup (Democracy) as compared to China has had more of knowledge transfer. This has resulted in lower amounts of innovation. Problems are no longer challenging. For growth and development Indian firms with deeper pockets simply buy know-how, get rights for patents, and borrow processes and systems. In the bid to grow quickly and reduce uncertainty (characteristic of the average mind), innovation has not happened. Emerging economies to match their developed counterparts have spent little on research. The result is lack of innovation. Growth in these economies has been a more a contribution of learning rather than innovation. Learning although necessary results in herd mentality. Innovation in emerging economies thus has come from the less resourceful firm. Its been a consequence of challenge. Indian defense...

Facebook Pages have got a lot of attention and brands have focused on increasing their fan base. The result has been a million+ fans on some of these pages. But is it the end ? Clients on the other end of Social Media Campaigns are not saying, "Make us attractive looking Facebook Pages". They want a media that can connect and engage their user base. Facebook page is not about fan count. It is essentially an engaging information dissemination media. Have a million plus fan count does not guarantee success on these pages. Its success depends on is how creatively it is used to "engage" and "supply information" to your customers.

The involvement level of a person buying a soap is low. This assumption led to marketers focusing on peripheral cues while advertising the soap. The ads focus on the pleasurable effects of soap, celebrities endorsers and the glory of a soap. The fact is that it gives little respect to the soap and the consumer. For shampoos fate had a little more respect. While selling it marketers paid greater attention to its ingredients. It was on the premise that a consumer was more involved while buying a Shampoo. Hence there was a greater focus on central cues. And like sheep advertisers followed the same assumption. It was never challenged. The cover of Soap never intended to give it respect and it never got it too. It never conveyed information about the product in a manner that could be easily read and understood. Moreover the cover was thrown as soon as the soap got out. Soap was hence never understood by the consumer. True Brand Loyalty thus can never exist for the poor misunderstood soap...

My friend started his own business of building online portals and platforms for SMEs. His enthusiasm and passion for business drives him to cut his sleeping time, eating time and most importantly party time. Although in all respects I can assure you that for him, work is like a party. It probably gives him a bigger high. I’ve seen him work on a startup since our third year of our graduation and ever since despite many hiccups his go getter spirit is still on and he is fighting it out. But… What happens when you meet another fighter ? A similar person who has been fighting it out for so many years and has seen the same ups and downs, gets a similar kick and is equally competent, if not more… And suddenly you see an army of such people who are competing, with equal passion, but … driven by different values.

Customer service is the biggest reason people switch brands. A happy and satisfied customer will share his experience with 5 friends but an angry customer will go on top of the hill and shout about it to 50 of his friends. The fact of life is that we all screw up. Some products end up being defective, some days aren't like how you thought they would be. How would you react when you got late for a date, or you promised your family a good vacation but circumstances led you to not fulfill it. You would say "Sorry" and try and make up for it. An unhappy customer is the result of an unfulfilled promise made by your product. You need to simply say sorry. Most customers like normal human beings will understand. They'll understand that you are genuine in your approach. And that is what matters. Your repeat sales orders would be a testimony to this approach. The subtle smile would travel till your next repeat order. They'll remember the experience, the personal touch. It ...

Advertising is fundamentally persuasion and persuasion happens to be not a science, but an art.  ~ William Bernbach. Mobile Advertising industry globally is a billion dollar industry with operators, application developers, media agencies trying to milk the cow of high penetration and reach of mobile phones. But to all the mind and money behind this medium for persuasion lies a critical flaw. The assumption that mobile phone advertisements can persuade. This assumption is not entirely a fallacy but in its current mode of implementation most mobile phone advertisements are ineffective and inefficient.