Monday, October 17, 2011

Patience

Patience is a virtue that only time can pay rewards for.
One day, it shall all cease to matter and what will matter is the karma.

Everything we do, won't matter.
Everything we dream, won't matter.
Everything we get, won't matter.

Everything we did, would pay.

That, is a truth and a phase nobody escapes.
Even God couldn't.

Monday, October 3, 2011

Social Media - The Truth

All of us, at least the one's who are reading this, are a part of a large pool of people, probably the largest sample size ever, and we form what the society today calls the Social Media. Social Media is therefor, probably, a medium for the society to interact with the society. The medium of interactions are the Social Networking sites, Social Info-Sharing sites, Social Entertainment sites, etc. Probably, all the sites you've already thought of, are the one's that are already a part of you but a large chunk of those domains of which you are a part of provide the businesses the perfect platform to INTERACT with the society.

Social Media is not a marketing platform, it is an interaction platform. That is one way of looking at it. However, for businesses and marketing professionals who make a living out of this platform, I am sure a lot would not run after me with knives if I were to say it is an HONEST MARKETING platform. The difference, as my marketing friends would agree, is substantial. After all, you don't want your family members to buy substandard products which are marketed well, do you? As far as businesses are concerned, Social Media is a community building activity and any smart brand manager should stick to it.

These days, for most branding managers, Social Media is just another customer service centre. The world is on Social Media and hence their brand should be on Social Media. That is the first step that the manager would take towards a) finding another brand to fuck with and b) fucking his own brand. Social Media is not only about getting customer interaction but also about putting your brand on test. If you don't believe a cent percent in your brand, DO NOT INVEST IN SOCIAL MEDIA. This is the place where the best of the brands are shredded into pieces. Do you see Apple investing in Social Media as heavily as a Coca Cola? Both are leaders in their respective industries and yet have different approaches. (Those who say technology don't need Social Media must check out what Dell, Intel etc have done for themselves. No, I do not post links because I am lazy)

I believe that Social Media is one of the biggest sources of criticism. The community has a) paid for the product or b) planning to part with their money for your product and hence have all the rights to dissect your product/brand. If you don't have the balls to stand up to take abuses on your brand, you must not think social. The only takeaway for a Brand Manager from Social Media, who believes in his/her brand, is how to take the negative feedback and turn the brand around to address them.

Social Media, apart from being a community building hence communication promoting exercise, is also the easiest way for the brand to communicate to the community. For the brand to amass the crowd, they must be liked by the crowd. Leveraging Social Media to speak about the product, the industry, the technology and finally the brand is one of the many ways a business can connect to its customers.

Most of this is too commonplace for anyone who is working in the Social Media sector, but it plays with the ego of the purists who are heading the brand. After all, Social Media is not just another Media, it is the new-age media. If the brand can turn around the feedback and provide a better product, they automatically become the leaders of their segment. If a leader cannot address the negativity that this medium attracts, the brand goes from being the front runner to one of those who ran as well in a matter of days. All this effects the entire business in a big manner.

In today's age, Social Media is the centre block of the arc between the pillars on which the businesses rest. If you cannot afford to lose the arc, change the design and make the business less attractive. Any damage to the arc and the business comes tumbling down.

Do not believe in numbers that Social Media throw, believe in the psychoanalysis that it provides for your brand, for nobody,, who cannot take criticism, progresses.



Disclaimer : This is a simple, brief first time effort to attempt an article. Please discuss and share your views on this medium. If you find the tone of the article to hurt your sentiments, I would not apologise. However, you may chose not to feel offended.