Marketing and Social Media

social networking

The world is becoming a smaller place day by day. Thanks to internet. We are very close to the people all around world and also have the option to directly connect to anyone in the world with a click using WhatsApp or Skype or other similar applications. The traditional ways of communication and marketing have undergone a phenomenal transformation with the advent of the internet. Here we will talk amount how social media marketing is gaining ground and helping the small businesses to make more money with least monetary investments.

Pros

We are all very much aware of the advantages on usage of internet. Though it has made the people lethargic and that is the least to say. We have come to expect everything to happen with a click. The new breed of work force would not even think about going to a bank to deposit money. He would rather do all that online from the comfort of his own. Who would not give into the temptation of doing all banking chores, all your grocery shopping etc. right from your AC rooms. No parking problems, no traffic, no crowds.

Cons

But obvious is the fact that you do not get to touch and feel what you buy. There is no inter personal relationship online to start with. Online frauds are on the rise, your personal information is available online, you do not “see” the person you are dealing with are some other factors which are considered as deterrents to the online wave.

Having said that I would like to talk more about the marketing of products and services and how it is developing and flourishing in this new era. With so many new apps available is desktop and mobile versions, marketing has taken on new dimensions

WhatsApp

As of Feb 2016, WhatsApp has more than 1 billion users globally. Now this is very huge number. Add to that the fact the messages and video sharing is free (India). If we were to analyze any other marketing models like through TV, ads, newspaper etc. we can see that there is a monetary aspect. You need to pay to get listed. Also the audience is limited. WhatsApp unlike these, gives you the access to the targeted user base with no cost involved. Even if WhatsApp was to be made chargeable, the charges would be bare minimum compared to others. WhatsApp allows small businesses who cannot hire a dedicated marketing team or software to expand its user base. There are no time limits here, no deadlines.

Facebook

Next best marketing tool today is Facebook. Unlike WhatsApp this platform allows real time communication between people. It also has the provisions to create pages, groups and shops to cater to the marketing needs of small businesses. It allows you to boost certain pages and groups with minimal monetary input. You have the flexibility and the freedom to create your own online store and show case your products. Once that is done, you just need to drive the traffic to your store. This again does not need a dedicated marketing team or software, any individual with interest and flare can do the job well. Facebook with its in build chatting feature, allows prospective buyers and sellers to “talk” to each other and negotiate. With both the buyer and seller having an individual profile also helps both parties to understand and judge each other better.

Twitter

This is another powerful platform. Twitter has mostly the elite cream of the market users. Here also its pretty easy to create brand of your own and publicize it or drag traffic to it. You can tweet and retweet your products and services to the targeted client base. You can start up discussions and forums. Hashtags are another very powerful and popular twitter tool. It can be used to create publicity streams and trends.

Housewives - Small and very small businesses

The section of the people who have most benefited from these social marketing have been the housewives with small and very small businesses. The number of housewives entering into home based initiatives are increasing day by day. They have businesses relating to clothes, accessories, food, gift items etc. You name it and they have it. This is a powerful means of providing the much needed financial independence to those who are unable to go out and work due personal and other reasons. With the help of these platforms they are able to create a client base spanning across cities, countries and even continents and this is not an exaggeration.

With the growing use of internet and its expanding user base, it is very likely to be the next big in thing in marketing and sales. In future also we should expect more such tools to come up which make the life of the marketing people easier and the competition more tough. And in the end as always the customer would be the real winner

References:

https://www.facebook.com/business/overview

https://www.searchenginejournal.com/the-ultimate-guide-to-whatsapp-marketing/161221/

http://www.cio.com/article/2380667/twitter/14-ways-to-use-twitter-to-market-your-business.html