Social Media makes the Brands Tick! Find out how...

Why should brands embrace Social Media?

Internationally, more and more brands today find social media marketing a great way to establish a personal connect with their customers. And though the trend is beginning to pick up here in India only recently, the past year has already proven its power to change marketing tactics.

Check this out- based on the number of fans, followers, likes etc., the Social Media Brand Equite Ranking (SMBER) index by NM Incite revealed

• Samsung generated enough online buzz to topple India’s favourite cellular giant
• Nokia, from its popularity pedestal in 2011. 
• In the automobile industry, Ford tipped Maruti.
• Flipkart seemed to have cemented its presence as the desi ebay.

Not only do these brands have a strong presence on social media sites, they are as active in engaging visitors as any other international brand. Of course there are a few more things they can do to match the competition. For instance,

The Viral video

The success of Kolaveri has introduced the average Indian to the concept and grasp of the viral video. Sure, there were those few that crop up every now and then, like the True Roots video that managed to plug in 277,287 views, but nothing quite like Kolaveri. The song created a brand for the movie much before its release.

Dove’s ‘real beauty’ campaign too was very popular on social media sites. And I think it’s time more Indian brands used this medium to match the might of its international counterparts. 

A Challenge

Dare your Facebook and Twitter users with a challenge and see where it leads. It’s not about the grand reward here. For the users, the invitation is belonging to a clique; for the brand, it is the free word of mouth publicity.

Incentives

Okay, no rewards is no good either! Fastrack- a leading fashion retail chain store for the youth- decided to celebrate its fan base of 1 million on Facebook. They held a one day only flat 50% discount sale at all their exclusives stores across the country.  The news was promoted only through word of mouth on their Facebook fan page.  And the result:  stores at many places ran out of stock in just a few hours and the traffic police had to be called in for crowd control in Mumbai.

In what other ways do you think Indian brands can use social media to their advantage to compete in the global services market?