Lighten up (or not) on Facebook!

Be prepared to face the wrath of bloggers and social networkers, if you say something that’s politically incorrect on Facebook. That’s the message that cosmetic major Vaseline seems to be getting these days. The company’s ‘Transform your face’ application to promote its skin-lightening cream has earned negative criticism across the online world. The campaign, promoted by Bollywood star, Shahid Kapoor, allows users to upload their picture, clear the dark spots and whiten the face. This has indeed attracted wide spread criticism as the promotion endorses fairer skin over the darker shade.

Though the campaign primarily targets the South Asian market, bloggers from across the world talked about being ‘uncomfortable’ with this Facebook application. In all ‘fair’ness, we may say, that it’s after all, a promotion for a skin-lightening cream. Nevertheless, companies must keep in mind that social media promotions address large audience demography from across all parts of the world. What seems perfectly normal in one country may be entirely offensive in another culture.

Its true many Indians are obsessed with fair skin and this is a smart promotional strategy is a safe bet with them as is the Shahid Kapoor ad. That’s why the Indian skin-lightening market is worth USD 500 million a year. But globally, racial overtures are considered offensive and that is the reason this Facebook application is not seen in a good light.

Unilever, Vaseline’s parent company has defended the application saying it was “created for the Indian market as a culturally relevant and engaging way for Indian men to interact with this product.” But, keeping the sentiments of the global community in mind would help in garnering a more favorable response from Facebook’s globally-tuned audience.

Twitter gets down to business!

Twitter has made a foray into the business side of micro-blogging and has announced @earlybird Exclusive Offers, which will put forth deals on products and events that will appear on the @earlybird Twitter account. Everyone is welcome to follow that account to get access to some exciting deals. All deals are time-sensitive and up for grabs by the entire twitter population.

Deals can be on any product ranging from diapers to jewelry to iPods. In Twitter’s official blog, the company stressed that it would be selective about which deals were offered and “try and make these deals interesting and of value to you.”

Already several companies like Dell and Hivelocity are successfully using Twitter to promote offers, discounts and schemes. Twitter, itself, has now borrowed from the model and started its own e-commerce venture. The retailers will determine the price of the items and twitter will earn money from the sales.

This really is a twist in the twitter success trail. Twitter with 75 million users is every marketer’s ultimate playing field. And with enough visibility, @earlybird will soon feature an enviable number of followers, all looking to bag a cool deal. It will surely attract advertisers and marketers by the drove. It won’t be surprising if Twitter’s @earlybird becomes the next big thing in online shopping. After all, who doesn’t like a good deal?

There’s Independence Day, Labor Day and now Social Media Day!

If anyone of you still thinks of social media as just another fad, think again. Victoria, the capital city of British Columbia, has officially designated June 30 Social Media Day. Mayor Dean Fortin has signed the proclamation, making it the first city in the world to dedicate a day to the social media cause. And that unofficially goes on to prove that social media is indeed here to stay!

Now that makes me wonder why social media so important that it deserves a day of its own. Well, I spent a few minutes thinking about it and here’s what my thought process coughed up.

Social media has the face of communication: The internet made communication faster. But it was social media that brought in ‘instant interactivity’ to communication. Twitter lets you tell the world what’s on your mind that very instant the thought comes in. Facebook lets you keep in touch with long-lost friends on a daily basis. You talk. You listen. You share. All in an instant. It’s instant communication that travels across the world faster than the time it takes to make instant noodles (which is 2 minutes!).

Social media has brought the world closer: So, your best buddy who sat next to you through school and college lives in another continent. Yet, you get to talk to him for hours, send him instant updates on what’s going on in your life and meet him over coffee every evening. Now, how is that possible? Only with social media, of course. You post videos of your baby’s cutie-pie antics on Facebook which your friend in Nairobi ‘likes’. You tweet your favorite celebrity who lives in another part of the world. You share news of your news conference to co-workers in China. You network with a client in Tennessee

from your office in Tirupur. Social media binds people together, beyond geographical, cultural, emotional distances.

Social media spells ‘people power’: Social media gives undisputed power to individuals. It allows people to speak what’s on their mind, share ideas, emotions and thoughts. It allows every individual to voice his opinion through a blog. Share experiences through home videos. Speak their mind in just 140 characters. Connect on a one-on-one basis. Social gives voice to individuals. You don’t have to be a rock star or a sports champion to speak out and be heard. You can be a home maker and still make a difference. That’s the magic of social media.

Social media helps drive social change: Social media is a people’s movement which has successfully driven change on many frontiers. So many causes are endorsed by a large section of social media users on Facebook and Twitter. Social media helps spread awareness on key issues like Maternal and Neonatal health (Sure Start) and tiger deaths (Save the Tiger). It helps in gathering funds for earthquake victims (Hawaii) and poverty-striken children in Africa. It gets people involved in other people’s lives. It lets people do their bit for the betterment of others. It truly helps make the world a better place.

Please feel free to share your views on why we in India should/shouldn’t have a Social Media Day!

FIFA Soccer World Cup 2010: Social media scores big!

It’s Waka, Waka time on social media! Facebook, Twitter and Youtube are all abuzz with football fans rooting for their team, celebrating team wins and moaning defeats. Advertisers are having a field day, leveraging the power of social media to promote their mighty brands.

Yup…there’s heavy-duty competition on the social media turf, as well. The heat is on to catch the larger social media mind space. Right now, Nike seems to have taken the early lead. According to independent studies by Nielsen and Meltwater, Nike (now, called the unofficial sponsor!) has generated the most buzz online in the lead up to the World Cup. Much greater than Adidas, it’s arch-rival and official sponsor. Coca Cola, Sony, Visa and other FIFA partners are lagging far behind.

Source: Nielsen

So, what’s drives Nike’s success? Nike’s smart use of its 3-minute television commercial ‘Write the future’, featuring Wayne Rooney, Cristiano Ronaldo, Didier Drogba and even Homer Simpson. The commercial has been viewed over 14 million times since mid-May. What’s so amazing about the success of Nike campaign is that it effectively blurs the line between traditional media and social media. It really brings out the best that Web 2.0 offers – INTERACTIVITY.

People watch – Nike TVC.

People watch again when they like something – Nike TVC on Youtube.

People talk about it and encourage others to watch it – Nike TVC discussed on Facebook/Twitter.

That ultimately spells the success of the Nike World Cup campaign. And it also brings to the forefront the term ambush marketing, which refers to an ad campaign run by a company that’s not directly affiliated to an event like the FIFA World Cup. And Nike’s success only goes on to prove that ambush marketing works great with social media. The reason being the high level of virality involved. Everyone knows that the potential of viral messages is indeed tremendous, and the reach goes beyond geographical boundaries.

But be warned, this is only the beginning. The World Cup has just begun. And the advertisers are gearing up for some top-level action. Adidas has launched its Adidas FIFA World Cup Match-Ups on Facebook and also unveiled a star-studded commercial as a part of its Quest campaign. Budweiser has launched a World Cup-inspired online reality TV series. The “Bud United” series follows 32 football fans – one representing each nation playing the World Cup – living together for the duration of the tournament. Sony Ericsson has its own share of social media activity on Facebook UK backed by TV personalities David Baddiel, Frank Skinner and James Corden. Every major advertiser – sponsor or otherwise – has something big going on in the social media circuit.

The effectiveness of individual campaigns has to be watched for. However, there is no denying the fact that social media has changed the way the world advertises.

Why being LinkedIn is great for small businesses?

It’s no secret that social media has changed the way the face of the world wide web so very drastically. From school-going kids to octogenarians, everyone is up online connecting, communicating and interacting like never before. And tech-savvy marketers are no way behind. With such a huge audience up for grabs, advertisers and marketers are using every trick-in-the-book to grab those elusive eyeballs. Being a small business, you too, can actively leverage the power of the web to take your business places. Much has been written about using Facebook and Twitter for business. Now, let’s look at LinkedIn and see how it can be utilized to further business interests.

Right now, LinkedIn has more than 60 million members which include top-tier employees from all Fortune 500 companies. And a new member joins the LinkedIn network every second. So, just imagine the number of business contacts you can develop from this vast pool of professionals. Reason why, LinkedIn must be a part of every small business owner/entrepreneur’s online marketing mix.

Your company may be small in size. Your advertising budget may be miniscule. However, LinkedIn doesn’t cost a dime. But can help you reach the people who matter the most – business associates who can help enhance your business. Vendors who can offer you a better deal on raw materials. Prospective franchisee owners who can expand the geographical boundaries of your business. Valuable customers who can increase your bottomline. Bankers who can offer more lucrative loans and so on. Most importantly, your business/your products/your services/your brand gets noticed by a great number of people with similar business interests. Now, that’s the true power of being LinkedIn.

Here’s how small businesses can successfully utilize LinkedIn to further their business:

1. Your profile is a powerful marketing tool:

Your profile is your marketing space on LinkedIn. You can gain more mileage by simply putting your profile to good use. Refine it to showcase your personal skill-sets as well as your organization’s key capabilities. Use keywords in your professional summary and all along your profile. You can also hyperlink relevant URLs (say, your company’s website) using keywords as anchor text. This way, search engines notice your websites. Also don’t forget to post latest updates on your blogs on your status on LinkedIn. Your connections will learn more about you through your blog.

2. Start a Group/Join other groups

Make connections with vendors, customers, competitors, colleagues and just about anyone who is relevant to your business activities. Then, take the initiative and start a group pertaining to your business in order to attract like-minded professionals. Keep the group engaged with discussions, polls, question and answer sessions. Connect with a bigger crowd using your group. Join other groups with similar interests. Share ideas, develop relationships, post links and spread the word about your business. Don’t ever go in for blatant promotions. Always be helpful. Inform and engage people. People will automatically get to know more about your business.

3. Use other channels to share information

Use Slideshare, Company Buzz and other third-party applications to add more information to your LinkedIn account. Share your corporate film or your new television commercial. Give a link to a slideshow on a recent conference. Keep your network updated on new product development, business events, promotions and so on. A little bit of audio-visual information-sharing will keep people interested in your company, time and again.

4. Strategic use of other social media tools

Another great technique is to use other social media sites like Twitter and Facebook to promote your LinkedIn profile. Connect your twitter updates to your LinkedIn profile. Promote your Facebook events through LinkedIn. Promote your LinkedIn profile through your company blogs. Sign your email with a LinkedIn link. This cross-promotional strategy would help you gain more mileage for your company across several social media sites.

5. LinkedIn Answers

LinkedIn Answers is a great forum for exchanging ideas, for seeking new business strategies and gaining new insights from more like-minded professionals who operate within your area of business. You can also network with other professionals and establish yourself as an authority in your field by answering queries on LinkedIn Answers. You can even ask questions and get valuable information that can save you some money or improve productivity.

6. LinkedIn Jobs

Use LinkedIn jobs to post new jobs. LinkedIn is the new-age job site accessed by a veritable pool of talented individuals across all fields. Right now, you have a better chance of hiring a skilled, well-qualified and tech-savvy professional through LinkedIn, than through anyplace else.

7. LinkedIn Recommendations

Recommend friends, business associates and anybody else who has a good professional track record or whose work has really impressed you. Chances are they will return the compliment with a neat recommendation for you. Recommendations are the ultimate word-of-mouth on the LinkedIn website. From prospective employers to prospective business associates, everyone likes to know they can trust you to get the job done. A few good words can really make a difference. So, work at being recommended by professionals on your network.

LinkedIn helps small businesses strike it big with very powerful contacts and useful connections.

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