Get in the social swing !

The traditional way of dealing – Business to Business or Business to Customer has shifted in the background while the current big thing – internet, is ruling the business world today. It doesn’t matter if you are a blogger, a small business, or a huge corporation – you have a brand. And social media platforms can help you boost up your brand visibility.

Let us know about the other benefits of social media in details:

It’s free: Unlike traditional business where initial investment is high, starting an online store is absolutely free. If you have good knowledge of different social sites, you do not require an expert to handle your page.

Create brand visibility: Online shopping has become popular and customers are always looking for more options. By connecting with your customers on various media platforms, you’re more likely to increase your sales, customer retention (existing and new) and brand loyalty.

Share your content faster and easier: Content is an important part of your website or online page which helps you communicate well with the customers. Online communication is easy and inexpensive; all you need to do is share your content on your brand’s social media accounts.

Provide rich customer experiences: Having an online presence can help you provide your customers a 24X7 feedback response and other support services. A study shows that companies engaging in social customer service see much bigger annual financial gains than others.

Generate higher converting leads: Now that you have established your brand’s presence online, it’s time to convert potential viewers into buyers. With every blog post, image, video, or comment you share; you can engage customer reaction, more site visit, and eventually a conversion.

Gain valuable customer insights: Getting feedback from customers – positive or negative – is necessary for any business. Through daily active engagement and social listening, you can gather relevant customer data and use that information to make smarter business decisions.

Increase website traffic and search ranking: To expand your business and grab the maximum attention, it is essential to do effective marketing. The more social media shares you receive, the higher your search ranking will be and will increase inbound traffic to your page.

Find out what your competitors are doing: Competitive analysis is an integral part of your business, whether offline or online. Keeping an eye on your competitors will inspire you to make strategic business decisions to stay ahead of them.

Targeted ads: Social ads are an inexpensive way to promote your business and distribute content. They also offer powerful targeting options so that you can reach the right audience. You can track and measure the performance of your social ads in real time.

Build relationships: Social platforms are the best two-way channels that help you enrich your relationships with customers and stay in constant touch.

Missed Call Marketing

Whether you have calling balance in your phone or no balance at all, most people are into the habit of giving missed calls. It is a widespread behavior in India where users dial a family member’s or a friend’s number and then quickly disconnect on purpose in order to signal something such as “call me back” or “I’ve reached home safely”, etc.

On observing this behavior, few companies like ZipDial, VivaConnect and others have spotted an opportunity to utilize it as a strategy for consumer engagement.

What exactly is Missed Call Marketing (MCM)?

When consumers opt into ads by dialling a number and hanging up before the call connects, a service is provided where they receive text messages and calls with ads, deals, coupons or offers in them. More importantly, the customer preferences and loyalties are recorded as to what they’re interested in and what they ask for information about. This is known as MCM.

Now you must be wondering if people really give miss calls to get some advertisement or promotional offers. Well, yes! Bangalore-based company ‘ZipDial’ started in 2010 asked the cricket fans to send a missed call and get the score of the day. The day India played Pakistan; the company got 4 million calls.  Just imagine!  With initial success in India, it expanded globally and was recently bought by Twitter.

Soon, big brands like Hindustan Unilever, RedBus, State Bank of India (SBI), TaxiForSure, etc; started to opt for the same marketing strategy to grab the attention of the customers and provide easy services.

Will it be a success in India?

In a country like India, where everybody cannot afford a smart phone or internet services, giving missed calls (free of cost) is the simplest thing anyone can do to get some service and so this type of marketing service has got a good scope.

“The wide use of missed calls in developing countries can be attributed to a multitude of factors, including: there is no cost associated with making a missed call; it’s easy and fast; it’s the simplest call to action; it’s universally understood and accepted; there is no app to install, no account to create; and, above all, it is a human-powered ecosystem that’s already in place,” says Salman Jamali, founder and CTO of the Karachi-based Flashcall Inc., Pakistan’s first MCM platform.

Here are five things you can do in India by ringing a number and hanging up.

Banking: Some banks like SBI, Federal Bank and others, let customers check their bank balance or get a mini statement on their cell phones by giving a missed call on the bank’s number. The information comes via a text message.

Voting: People can now vote for their favourite contestants in Indian reality dance shows by giving a missed call on the number associated with the contestant flashed on their screens.

Job hunting: Do not have internet access? Just give a missed call to Quikr.com on +91 1800 1033 331, and hang up. They will call back and prepare an on-the-spot resume for you. Details of jobs available, including a number to call to apply for the position is also provided.

Entertainment: Give missed calls to listen to songs, advertisements, chit-chat between anchors, etc.

Connect with the PM: Give a missed call on +91 8190 881 908, and get a call back on which you can hear a recording of PM Narendra Modi’s monthly radio talk - “Mann ki Baat”.

Why choose digital marketing for your business?

Whether you run a small or an already established business, everybody needs the best marketing and branding strategies to reach out to the customers faster and better. The all new favorite and the most effective tool in today’s time to achieve this goal, is what we call as ‘digital marketing’.

But what exactly is digital marketing?  

The term first used in the 1990s, in simple words mean, promotion of a company’s products or brands through one or more forms of electronic media. It is all about effort – the more you put in, the better the results will be. Hence, ensuring the survival for your business!  

Now, let us know why you should choose digital marketing for your business or how is it helpful for the growth of your brand? To get a clear idea, let us first read an example of how Mc Donald’s, the largest food chain of Hamburger restaurants, effectively used the digital platform and what the outcome was.

A third of McDonald’s outlets (abroad) had their hours extended and so it needed to raise awareness and drive footfall.

With a majority of its late night customers being shift workers and travellers, it targeted them with ads at cash points and petrol stations encouraging them to download a new Restaurant Finder app.

McDonald’s also bought mobile banner ads to promote the app on websites it knew customers frequented at night. 

The result? Over 500,000 visits and a return on investment (ROI) of over 100%.

Impressive! Right? Any business can benefit with the services offered by a digital media company by many ways, 5 major benefits are:

• SEO content: Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) is arguably one of the most cost-effective digital marketing techniques, which helps the company achieve high positions in the search lists, thus attracting more visitors and making the company popular.

• Increased brand exposure and recognition: Your business can be seen anywhere in the world from one marketing campaign, hence making your product or service easily accessible to your customers, both existing and potential ones.

• Interaction: Email, blogs, applications, social media platforms, and video campaigns, etc; are some aspects of digital marketing which helps you communicate with the customers, efficiently.

• Economical: Unlike traditional marketing strategies, digital marketing is simpler, less expensive and easy on the skills. You can begin with just a basic web design or a page on any social media website and you are good to go.

• Levels the online playing field: Small companies, without a call centre and physical stores or branches, can also perform sales and marketing processes and engage with multiple customers.

So, Its important for your business. lets know more! 

Downfall of Yahoo: The story behind

Yahoo!

In early age of internet usage yahoo was the prime platform for search and email. But over time yahoo slowly lost its popularity and finally on July 22^nd 2016 the mammoth business #yahoo was taken over by #Verizon for $4.83 billion.

But the point is where they go wrong. 

 Yahoo statistics: Financial drop:

The brand started the journey in 1994. And its manage to accumulate 200 million unique visitors per month and it became the second most popular multi – web platform. Headquarter situated Sunnyvale, California, Yahoo has offices in 25 countries with more than 12000 full time employee. 

26.07.2016 Facts

The company’s operating expenses of all its facilities and services totaled 4.4 billion U.S. dollars in the 2014 fiscal year. Also in 2014, Yahoo!'s net income reached 7.5 billion U.S. dollars, having sky-rocketed from previous year’s value of 1.3 billion, while its revenue was a reported 4.6 billion U.S. dollars, a decrease in comparison to 2008 numbers, when the company registered an all-time high of 7.2 billion and had just finished the prior year with $1.9 billion in profits on $5.3 billion in revenue.

Yahoo as well as all web-companies faced financial trouble due to Google domination of search engine market. But yahoo considered giving competition. Statistics says only 4% of internet users are using yahoo’s services and 88% uses the Google. As result revenue soared from $717 million in 2001 to nearly $7 billion by 2007.

Google

Google just grab the eye:

Yahoo made the big mistake to not recognize the trend which easily acquire by google platform. Google just made a boom to its users by expanded beyond search to establish successful smart phone applications. 

Other Social Media Analysis

Opportunity with flicker:  Flicker announced a photo sharing platform before instagram or facebook, then also yahoo missed the opportunity followed by GeoCities, Delicious and, most recently, Tumblr. 

Hand with Facebook:

Mark Zuckerberg turned the offer down, from yahoo in 2006 with an amount of $1 billion.

Rejecting Microsoft:

Yahoo received an offer from Microsoft of $44.6 billion but denied as they found it “too low” for them. But in the following year they signed with “Microsoft Bing” as they gave up the efforts of creating their own search engine. 

Lack of strong leadership:

Every company must have a strong backbone like Apple under Steve Jobs, Microsoft under Satya Nadella, and Google under Eric Schmidt as examples. But yahoo failed to hire such strong chief officer to execute their strategies. CEO Semel one of the drawback, while the co-founder Yang stepped away from the company in 2012.

Lacking of clear business:

One of most prominent weakness is the lacking of clear target. Where google and facebook produce a giant stage for the users yahoo failed to work together its own search engine, and struggled to capitalise on the social potential of Flickr and Tumblr. 

The larger picture behind all this:

Verizon, bought AOL last year, has announced a $4.8bn (£3.7bn) takeover of Yahoo on Monday. They are taking the core business including the web service, mail, home page. Shareholder are leaving to Alibaba and yahoo japan. Yahoo was formed as a company which provide the email service, photo sharing, and news like sports, entertainments, finance and many others. Later surpassed by other search engines and social media channels.  Current chief Ms Mayer tried hard to grow with this business but failed to bring back the spark. 

Buying Smart Phone with a smart way!

SmartPhone

We need air to breath, but now we need “Smartphone” to live. The present generation is very much keen to know everything. They want to be updated with the fast growing world. But the bitter truth is Smartphone revolution isn’t cheap. To get a device which will perform according to your wish is important. But technology offers us the array of Smartphone, which can perform all the activities. Here we try to focus on few upcoming and ongoing factors for choosing a Smartphone that suits your personality as well as your pocket.

 Asus Zenfone Max: As the name implies ausu offers Max with the massive    battery which is  5000MAH. Within this estimate you can only expect from Asus  zenfone max to give such a huge factor. With  this factor you can get other          feature like:

•  Duel Sim

  

  Asus Zenfone Max

• Quad core 1GZ Processor
• 2GB RAM , 16GB Inbuilt
• 5000mAH battery
• 5.5 inches, 720 x 1280 px display
• 13 MP Camera with flash
• Memory Card Supported, upto 128 GB
• Android, v5.0
• Gorilla Glass 4 protection
• Good camera hardware with laser AF
• Capacious battery

Oppo f1:  If you are thinking about some unique features especially camera then you must think about this device. This Oppo F1 is for perfect selfie as it own wide aperture and some software tricks in front camera. Another appealing attribute is its metal body with the weight of just 134g. Fits extremely comfortable in your palm. Other features are:

Oppo F1 

• Dual Sim, 4G, 3G, Wi-Fi
• Octa Core, 1.7 GHz Processor
• 3 GB RAM, 16 GB inbuilt
• 2500 mAH Battery
• 5 inches, 720 x 1280 px display
• 13 MP Camera with flash
• Memory Card Supported, upto 128 GB
• Android, v5.1
• Slim, part-metal frame
• Decent camera
• Very good for selfies
• Good CPU/RAM combo

Lenovo A700: The first ever smartphone with Dolby Atmos Sound which offers an immersive sound quality. Watching video or listening to music with this device is something every music lover wants. Others specifications are:

Lenovo A700

• Dual Sim, 4G, 3G, Wi-Fi
• Octa Core, 1.5 GHz Processor
• 2 GB RAM, 8 GB inbuilt
• 2900 mAH Battery
• 5.5 inches, 720 x 1280 px display
• 8 MP Camera with flash
• Memory Card Supported, upto 32 GB
• Android, v5.0
•  Dolby Atmos sound
• Swift performance with octa-core processor
• Wide angle view display
• High resolution camera

Le Eco Le 2: The very new in the basket of smartphone launched in April 2016 with 3GB RAM. This device also possess 3000mAH battery power. Other key factors are:

Le Eco 2

•    Dual Sim, 4G, 3G, Wi-Fi
•    Octa Core, 1.8 GHz Processor
•   3 GB RAM, 32 GB inbuilt
•   3000 mAH Battery
•   5.5 inches, 1080 x 1920 px display
•   16 MP Camera with flash
•    Memory Card Not Supported
•    Android, v6.0.1
•    Powerful chipset
•   Capable camera hardware
•   Fast charging support
•   Android Marshmallow based software

So...now time to think, which one you should buy to satisfy you pocket and also your need. And also keep reading for more updates on smartphones. 

Basics Regarding Brand Building For Neophytes

Amateur entrepreneurs who wants their business to be firmly established in the market, for them brand building is an essential part to look upon. If your trade has impoverished brand avowal, or if you are promoting an irreconcilable brand, you might alienate or even lose some of your best commuters. Given below are some basic steps to assist you to get your brand off to a start if you’re initiating from a scratch.

What is a brand?

Putting it in a simple way, a brand is an abstruse idea that delineates what the company stands for. This idea embodies itself in the actions of business that are taken by you and are revealed in the way in which you take those actions. Consider for an instance, two globally famous brands in markets of similar kind, The Rolling Stones and The Beatles. When you think of The Rolling Stones, the picture that comes to your mind is band of dangerous, rude, unwashed delinquents. However, when you think about The Beatles, a picture of four guys with goofy haircuts comes to your mind that is usually safe, warm and lovable. Two bands having completely different brands. 

Where to start?

Focusing on the company’s strength is an aspect that most of the successful brands begin with. Initiate by pondering about what you are capable at, related to your rival along with those things you believe in also your core values. For example, does your merchandise emphasize a better design? Is your procedure more eco-friendly than your completion? The whole branding concept is about finding those extricating factors in your commodity or services which really make a divergence to your commuters.

Constructing the Brand

After having a nice idea of what brings disparity to your business from your rival in the marketplace, it is the time to start persistently promoting it. For this, you require to fixate on serving something that is most desirable for your commuters and assuring your capability to convey what benefit them. On the other hand, promoting an unpredictable brand at times can be worse than not having a brand at all. Every time you are connecting to your customers via phone calls, letters, in-store visits and even e-mails, you need to continue promoting your brand consistently.

This may also mean designing ad copies and graphics for a various number of media like- radio, television, mobile and online. Although, it should also consist of building elevator patches for your sales personnel and preparing the whole organization in regular brand promotion and basic public relations.

Admonishing the brand

After your brand has been rigidly established, your work doesn’t end here. Regularly monitoring your branding strategies or  appointing a professional branding agency to do it has a number of benefits. Firstly, you’ll be assured of not having any transgression in your brand. Secondly, engaging a reputed branding agency can assist you to stay ahead of developments, trends and current events that ascribe to your business, permitting you to exploit on each as a convenience to further strengthen and promote your brand.

So, you are starting with a new business, remember branding is very important to establish your brand strongly in the market. Branding is as important as the product quality. So after your brand is established don’t think your work is over. Consistently promoting the brand is very much essential to retain the goodwill. You can also outsource this work to a professional branding agency by hiring them as this process is really complicated and requires a lot of attention and hard work.

70TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE MAMMOTH TOMATO SKIRMISH

La Tomatina commemoration

Tomato is an essential ingredient in several dishes all over the world, for its resourceful nutritious value as a fruit. Spain is the country where this juicy red fruit is loved incredibly. So, it isn’t unforeseen that in Bunol, a Spanish town, the most substantial tomato feud of the world is being celebrated on a yearly basis.

Celebrated annually on the concluding Wednesday of the month of august, La Tomatina festival is a divergent food bout occasion. It intrigues thousands of Spanish tourists as well as tourists from several other nationalities. The township of Bunol is situated near the Spanish province of Valencia. The boulevards within the venerable town proximity are the prime venues for the lively tomato-throwing ceremony. Nearly 50,000 people engage themselves in this prodigious confrontation, making Bunol’s systematic small populace to surge up during this one week -long celebration. If you are uptight about dissipating tomatoes at this event, do not worry. The largest food feud in the world uses marginally over 100 metric tonnes of over-ripe tomatoes.

Shop-owners of various shops neighbouring the food-feud venue uses plastic covers to protect their store veneer ahead of the tomato fight. The centre of the town is known as Plaza del Pueblo where numerous trucks hauling loads of tomatoes drive in. The La Tomatina festival initiates at about 11 a.m. and firing of the water cannons mark the beginning of the battle, where each of the individual is responsible for himself. The water cannons are fired again after an hour to mark the end of the feud.

Taking part in the La Tomatina Festival may be the most delightful and sloppiest ordeal of your will ever have in your life. Since the event have high chances of getting rambunctious, so the ones participating are asked to follow some rules. It is highly suggested that you slip into protective gloves and goggles during the tomato fight. There are high chances of some revealers will try to off your clothes, though it is prohibited to do so. One must always squash the tomatoes before throwing them, glass bottles and hard objects are also restricted during the feud. It is advised to wear closed shoes which can be thrown away as slipping into flip-flops can easily get you hurt. Don’t forget to bring a waterproof or a covered camera if you’re planning to click snaps of the festivities.

La Tomatina doesn’t only comprise of the big tomato-feud. One can expect a lot of firework displays, dancing, parades and even cooking contests on the famous dish local to Spain called paella. The local government has introduced a ticketing policy to check the number of people who are participating in the food feud. Make sure you have booked your tickets well in advance.

There are a number of Spanish tour companies that provides one with entry tickets which also include food, accommodation and transport packages during the celebration. Since, the reconciliation options can be defined in the town itself, many tourists prefer to stay in Bunol’s neighbour town Valencia, which is nearly 38 kilometres away. If you are lodged in Valencia during the la Tomatina Festival you can reach Bunol easily by driving yourself or by a public transport like the bus or the train. Fire Away!