Fake IPL Player signs off

The Fake IPL Player saga finally draws to an end with this video released on his blog. Though his identity stays unrevealed, much to the chagrin of a large number of people who voted on his blog in favour of him revealing himself, it makes for an interesting watch and a classic case-study in Viral Marketing. Looks like we can expect more from FIP in the future. Till then- RIP,FIP.

Will it blend? Blendtec takes it to the NRA 2009

Tom Dickson’s hilarious viral video series continues at the NRA despite power cuts.

8 simple rules for Social Media Marketers

I’m going to keep it short and simple because that was how I liked it when I was scouting for information on SMM not very long ago. Here’s 8 simple rules every Social Media Marketer must keep in mind while considering to launch a Social Media campaign.

1. Your Brand must be Social:There’s no if, there’s only a when. Conversations about your Brand are happening even as you read this and you need to join in. There will always be rough patches and the companies that go Social sooner have a better chance of weathering them.
2. Marketing campaign Vs. SMM campaign:The two have objectives that are quite different. While the point of a Marketing campaign would be to simply generate or increase demand, a Social Media campaign would aim to engage with the Brand’s consumers; to generate WoM ,consumer goodwill and hopefully a loyal consumer base. A Marketing campaign would have a certain ‘life’, after which it would be killed or replaced,while a Social Media campaign is an ongoing process.However, it is possible to combine the two. The catch is to determine the ‘life’ of the campaign and bring it to a close such that the consumers you’ve engaged with have a sense of closure.
3. One size does NOT fit all: What works for one Brand might not work for another Brand, even within the same category. A campaign built for a Cola might not work for a milk-based beverage.
4. A Social Media Campaign doesn’t need a huge budget:If the idea is only Social Engagement, the only capital one needs is human. The people involved will have to spend several man-hours merely listening to conversations about their Brands on various Social Networks, before participating. The expenses in this case would be remuneration for the time spent. However, if the campaign includes both the Social and the Marketing aspects, remuneration for man-hours as well as money spent on developing web applications, content, et al comes into the picture and the budget shoots up. It will still be cheaper than a traditional Marketing campaign for the same reach.
5. Pick your Social Media Agency/Strategist wisely: This is a very new and a very vast field and the best of consultants have been working in the field for 3-4 years, tops. Anyone who claims to be a ‘Social Media Expert’ is being deliberately vague. Considering that it is humanly impossible to be completely conversant with using ALL social media platforms present out there, it makes more sense to pick someone who claims ‘expertise’ in say 2 platforms and a working knowledge of a couple more.
6. The consumer wants to connect with YOU:Your agency cannot be the only one interacting with your consumers because that would defeat the whole purpose of ‘engagement’. The consumer wants to develop a personal relationship with you not the agency. Leave the strategising to the agency, keep the bulk of the conversing to yourself and your people.
7. People hate being taken for a ride : While conducting a Social Media Campaign,make sure you come across as honest and transparent. People hate being taken for a ride and they’re smart enough to figure out when it’s happening to them.
8. Be aware of all legal perils: There  are plenty; it’s best to keep a lawyer involved.

Social Media Marketing made Easy

How does one use Social Media to build brands? Well one begins by being present in social networks and understanding how they work. On-line communities and portals already exist, what one needs to do is to understand how to facilitate conversations about ones brands over there and to add value by providing the community with tools and content to help them do what they want to do. The next step is to listen. To encourage and be a part of their discussions and act on their feedback, if any. Basically to interact, share, listen and observe ; because every conversation will be an either an opportunity to build a relationship with a consumer or an insight that can be used to either better brands or to build new brands.

Since the Internet is now a mass of conversations, what needs to be done as Marketers is to get one’s brands to be talked about. Every community will have a few very active and authoritative people- the objective should be to know who they are, and engage with them and get them on our side; create a buzz.

Brands are not people and therefore cannot build relationships with other people. It is therefore imperative to get the people behind the brands to share their passion and stories about the brand with the consumers. If one can get ones consumers to see then as their peers, they’ve done their job pretty well, because in today’s world, that is what is going to translate into sales and consumer goodwill.

One needs to initiate conversations about their products on non-marketing communities and get people to talk, connect with them and keep them informed about their brands. It is imperative to take their feedback seriously and in the event of negative feedback, respond immediately. Many a times a company’s employees are their biggest source of Word-of-Mouth, there is a need to harness this and allow employees to engage with consumers on-line, albeit after revealing their identities in order to maintain transparency.

Beginnings…

Marketing, as we knew it, is on its way to extinction. A very strong statement, perhaps, but such is the case. Gone are the days when consumers were happy being fed content generated by companies; they want to be the ones in control now. With the proliferation of the Internet, the media today is all about co creation of value- the consumers are the media owners and the media is a whole lot of conversations. This is kind of a scary proposition for Marketers all over the globe. How does one make sure that their brands get the right publicity and the right kind of media exposure when the media itself is something which is now beyond their control? How does one ‘fire-fight’ when one’s brands are at the receiving end of all kinds of flak? How does one keep the not-so-nice facts about their companies and brands under wraps when millions of consumers are researching, writing and talking about their brands? How does one stay in control?

The answer: One does not. The thing about social media that we forget is that it’s all made of and by human beings and the trick here is to work with, and not against, them.

More later, but I hope this sets the pace.