Understanding social media and exploring

business opportunities

What is Social Media?

• Websites, applications that enable users to create, share content and participate in social networking

• Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Whatsapp, Instagram and YouTube

• New age communication between businesses, organisations, communities and individuals

• Changing way people communicate and do business

Power to people

• As it is free and accessible to all, social media has given a chance to every organisation, brand and individual to create their own voice

• The interactive nature of the medium has ensured that there is an immediate response – unlike the mainstream media

• Business leaders – big & small, journalists, experts, thought leaders, customers are ALL on social media

• It is the most engaging and empowering medium of our times

The power of numbers

• India has over 500 million internet users

• Internet penetration in urban India was 64.84% in December 2017

• Rural internet penetration was 20.26% in December 2017

• Indians in rural and urban regions are increasingly using the mobile to access web – which is a huge advantage for all businesses

The shift has happened

• India has 1.01 billion mobile connections

• India has 478 million mobile internet users

• In 2019, it is estimated that there will be around 258.27 million active social network users in India

• The most popular social media networks in India are Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and YouTube

India and E-commerce

* India entered the E commerce market after 2010, amidst a steady-growing GDP and has taken its advantages in the E-commerce field

* A recent study by digital agency eMarketer claims that retail E-comm sales in India will climb 31 % to reach $32.70 billion in 2018

E-commerce metrics

• Retail E-comm growth – 31%

• Retail E-comm sales – $32.7 billion

• Digital shoppers as % of population – 25.3

• India’s rising internet and smartphone use has contributed towards the upsurge of digital buyers

• By 2022, the share of digital buyers will rise to 41%

Gen Next ride high!

Going digital!

• Advertising expenditure in India is expected to grow at 13% to touch Rs 69,346 crore in 2018

• According to a report on digital advertising by Group M,digital continues to be the fastest growing medium registering 30% growth rate to reach Rs 12,337 crore. It will command 18% of the overall advertising spends

• Within digital, video advertising will grow at 54% with improved bandwidth, cheap data and affordable mobile devices

Brands going social

• All Indian brands have a Facebook presence

• 96% have a Twitter presence

• The next most popular social media platforms are Instagram and YouTube

• 80% of Indian brands have Instagram as one of their official social media channels

• 96% brands have their own website

Social media influencers

• A Social Media Influencer is a user on social media who has established credibility in a specific industry

• They have large following • Their followers engage with

them – retweets, likes and shares

• They can persuade others by virtue of their authenticity and reach

• It is good to follow them, interact with them and even ask them to support your cause/business

Facebook rides high

• India has 220 million FB users

• It is the first social media platform for everyone

• Friends, family and fun

• Very good for events, promotions and campaigns

Facebook rules

• Doesn’t have word limit, but since people access on phone, get put off by long posts and too many pictures

• Sharing posts – say something on why are you doing so? Adds value

• Read before you ‘Like’ something

• Showcase your personality, direct talk

FB Live • FB live – Important tool to promote your cause, event

• Don’t remain silent till viewers join – start and explain what is happening

• Look into the camera

• React to people’s comments

• Use it sparingly unless it is very important

Twitter is crucial

• Most popular, yet intelligent social media app

• There are 30.4 million Twitter users in India, globally 330 million

• Tweets are 240 characters, add link for more info

• Before tweeting, check - Can I concise it better?

• Reduce long words short

Attempting - tried

Pontificate - think

Twitter rules

• Ask question when you tweet

• “Why” “what” “who” and “how”

• Hashtag (#) is key - Wait and check popular ones

• Tagging people in debate is important

• Check grammar, though speed is important

• Schedule tweets only for brands not people

Twitter rules

• Follow relevant people, organisations

• Abuse, trolls can be muted – do NOT engage them

• But people who differ with you are NOT trolls

• Use Thread – to discuss an issue, idea or a campaign – tag relevant people

• Avoid politics, controversies

Twitter for business • Your followers become the

distributors of your message and their followers also see mentions of your company as coming from a trusted source

• This adds credibility to your company and spreads your message to untapped demographics

• If your high profile clients are twitter, post regularly

• Update your feed regularly, reply to direct messages and tweets sent to your company

Twitter Savvy business is good • It is a valuable tool for providing up-to-the-minute coverage of events or breaking developments at your business • For a business in a fast-paced industry where being the first out of the gate is an advantage, this can give you an edge in a competitive marketplace • Twitter-savvy business can gauge reactions instantly, as well as provide customer service by responding to any consumer complaints, questions or concerns as soon as possible

Drives Traffic • If you sell products or services directly through your website, you need traffic on your site

• Twitter can be an effective tool in your kit of traffic driving methods, both by making the site link present in the Twitter universe and by diversifying content

• If add a new product or service, using Twitter will help deliver bursts of traffic

Instagram

• Critical social network owned by FB, which gauges the visual identity of your business

• ‘King’ of social media, hit with Gen Next

• One billion active users

• A follower rate of 4.21 % than FB and Twitter in terms of engagement

• Important for businesses like restaurants, fashion, travel cos, retailers, celebrities, products, services

Instagram

• Choose colour palette

• Define your visual identity

• Use enhancing apps for this

• Brands use professional pictures as pictures speak a 1,000 words

• Hashtags (#) are key

• Businesses using creative visual dynamics to come on this platform

Instagram for Business

• Create Insta Business page

• The primary purpose of Insta is sharing photos, which are added to your profile and your followers' timelines

• To add a new photo, tap the add (camera) button on the bottom of your screen. You can either take a new photo, record a short video or select one from your camera roll

Instagram for Business

• Next, you'll be taken to a screen with multiple options, including Instagram's filters and an edit button

• Once you've edited the photo to your liking, click Next. Then you can write a caption, add a location, tag people and share it on other social media platforms

• You also have the option to turn off comments (at the bottom of the Advanced Settings page)

Insta stories

• Instagram stories are photos and videos that disappear 24 hours after they're posted

• Small businesses should leverage Instagram stories to market their products and services, getting their messages to followers that otherwise might not see regular Instagram posts in their feed because of the latest updates to the algorithm

• You can add normal photos, live videos, boomerangs (mini videos that loop back and forth), basic text, music and focused photos to your story. Once you record your video or take a picture, you can add stickers such as your location, tags for other users and hashtags to your content

• There are also stickers like polls, questions and sliding bars that allow you to directly interact with your users

Insta tips

• Use Live videos that stay for 24 hours

• Like posts, comment, tag

• Activate DM on your account

• 30 #hashtags are allowed, be clever

• Use photo and video ads

How to get best of Insta

• Links don't work in Insta, so if you're trying to direct people to a specific webpage, you can change the default link in your bio

• Make sure your posts relate to your brand – be specific

• Run giveaways and promotions: Post an image advertising your giveaway, sale or contest and ask users to repost that image with a specific, custom hashtag to enter

• You can then search that hashtag to see who has reposted it and pick a winner. Promotions like this allow your customers and followers to market your brand

How to get best of Insta

• Use polls and other features in your stories to crowdsource opinions from your audience about your product/ services, while geotags, hashtags and tagging makes your brand use relevant trends, places and people to maximise responses

• IGTV: It is available in a stand-alone app along within Insta and each video can be an hour long. You can use IGTV to market your business in several ways, including by hosting FAQ sessions and conducting chats

Whatsapp for messaging

• Owned by FB, increasingly used to communicate ideas, information, popular mass media

• Write when you want things to go viral

• Beware of fake news

• Infotainment, but can be destructive

• Brands, MSME’s want to own this medium

Beware of Fake news

• Fake news is unverified information, false data make viral created for propaganda and to confuse people

• If the message has a link, check the story, see whether the website is genuine and cross-check on Google

• Edited/doctored videos can create havoc with company’s reputation or destroy a brand image

Whatsapp for Business

• It is a stand-alone app

• It is a Business account – you get a blue tick ie a verified account

• There are messaging statistics to see what’s working, what’s not

• There are several messaging tools:

- Quick replies

- FAQs

- Greeting messages

- Away message

Whatsapp for Business

• Tool used by people always on go – consultants, real-estate agents, MSMEs, SMEs

• Quick way to get in touch with multiple people at one time, while you are at work

• Information can be shared fast

• Whatsapp Business needs different number than the personal whatsapp number

The world of LinkedIn • Online directory of companies, professionals

• Hiring, job seekers, sales and networkers

• Use clear pictures, work on your resume, seek industry connections first

• Share posts after rewrite, research, be specific

• Endorse people only if you are sure

• Use slideshare if you have expertise

LinkedIn is good for PR

• Serious business platform with real-time information, expertise and ideas

• Effective groups of serious networkers

• Major presence of HR professionals

• LinkedIn posts are often broken down to define the professional you/your client is

• Simple, clear, non-technical writing

Perfect platform for blogs

• Blogs are web pages, sites and very different from newspaper articles/columns

• It is a personalised take on an event, an experience

• It is also an expert advice

• LinkedIn is best for an updated, authentic blog, which is interactive

YouTube

• Visual social networking • Create your own channel • Share videos that give

insights on your professional and social personality

• MSMEs, SMEs must make short films on their products, services on YouTube

• Post links on our other social media handles, share it with your fraternity, industry

Crisis management

• Today, social media is the first media platform to handle crisis

• Time is crucial – react fast

• Services, public interest issues, lapses (govt-related) – apologise first

• Apology is ice-breaker, gives time for follow-up

• Stay engaged to avoid pitfalls

SM posts can get you fired

• One wrong tweet can get you fired – Eg Chef Atul Kochhar of Mariott group. His issue broke the internet

• People will tag your family, friends, employers in case of sensitive tweets

• Businesses, govt bodies – create a social media rule book

• Decide your own rules but don’t trample expression

Bottom line

• FB - Shorter posts, fun, family, videos

• Twitter - 240 characters, links, hashtags

• Instagram - Visual identity

• LinkedIn - Serious business networking, blogs

• Whatsapp - Best for viral info, videos, pics

• YouTube - Your own cinema theatre

• Social media influencers – Can persuade people thanks to their reach and credibility