Avignyata

INTEGRATING SOCIAL MEDIA INTO MKTG COMMUNICATIONS

The newest kid on the block always gets the eyeballs and attention with respect to what it does. Same is the case with the social networking sites which have taken the world by storm. Experts predict it to be the next big thing. Only time will tell whether it will but it doesn’t stop people from taking big bets on it.

What started out as a forum for like-people to exchange views and opinions and start type of online club has turned into a marketing arena for marketers to get each and every pounce of it. The huge response social network sites have got and the type of audience available to the marketers unprecedented before has resulted in them researching how to leverage it. However there are concerns whether they should be clubbed with the other forms of media or should be kept separately due to the type of audience.

Moksh: Integration with existing marketing strategy or not? For me it doesn’t matter, what matters is how we tap this market. If our goal is the same, then I think we should integrate it since it would give a holistic picture and there would not be duplication of activities.

Daksh: Integrating it will help more since the objectives are same. However the technology and information for this media is developing and thus the quantity of budget allotment would differ from product/ service to product/ service. E.g. Telecom players such as Vodafone or Airtel or Idea who spend huge budgets would not mind spending on social media but low spenders and who prefer focused marketing would be circumspect till the actual response of social media is known.

Moksh: though social media is a bit different from internet marketing, the basics remain the same. i.e. banner ads or classified ads or search based ads will be the way on social media. Social networking websites cannot force neitizens to click on the banner ad.

Daksh: I think social media scores over other forms of media in a way that it is interactive. Thus the consumer is more likely to read and understand the product. Thus I would say that it is more focused and the target market is much more under the microscope.

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