Unilever Ambitious About Asian Market, Adopts Social Media

Looking at the rate at which social media is growing amongst small businesses across the world, corporate giants are making sure not to be left behind in experimenting the latest marketing medium. We’ve already seen companies like Ford, General Motors, Coca Cola, Southwest Airlines, etc. embrace social media and using it effectively to create a strong online presence. Now, its time for FMCG (Fast Moving Consumer Goods) companies to set the gear high and ride its benefits! According to Advertising Age, FMCG mogul Unilever is all set to whirl the social media wand in the Asian market.

Apparently, Asia is the biggest market for the FMCG companies to market their products, with demand escalating from fast-developing nations like China and India. Being aware of the growing competition, Unilever has decided to promote three of its popular brands, Pond’s, Lux and Comfort through social media. The aim is to target specific regions and engage users via certain social media platforms like blogs, video-sharing sites, etc.

Social Media Expands Horizon for Travel and Hotel Companies

There’s an explosion of social media sites that are ready to assist the travel and hospitality industry reach out to both, their existing as well as potential customers. As users increasingly use forums, review sites and social networking sites to share their experience, seek answers to their queries and assist others in need, the popularity of these social media platforms is certainly on the rise.

While Facebook and Twitter are still the favourites for most of the travel and hotel companies, other niche sites like WAYN, LonelyPlanet, Virtual Tourist, etc. are making their presence felt as well. They are soon becoming an online destination for users to share their travel pictures, likes and dislikes, views and knowledge about a particular place, etc.

Royal Challengers Bangalore Gear Up for Social Media Promotion

Though social media promotions are common in countries like the US and the UK, emerging economies like India too are accelerating into the new world of marketing. Not only businesses and the entertainment industry, but also the sports industry has started taking social media seriously – particularly Cricket, which is considered as a “religion” in India by many.

The Indian Premier League (IPL), a Twenty20 version of cricket, has earned tremendous popularity in India and several other cricketing nations. The format, which currently includes eight franchises in form of teams, comprises of professional players from different International cricket teams to compete for the tournament. Though these teams invest huge amount of money in offline promotions, some have turned up to online media since the last year after realizing its potential in connecting with the Cricket fans.

Using Social Media as an Extension of Traditional Advertising

The success of a brand depends a lot on how well people familiarize with it. An average consumer comes across hundreds of advertisements each day through television, radio, hoardings, newspapers and magazines, internet, text messages, etc. However, the ones that appeal his needs, interests, imagination, thinking, behavior, and/or lifestyle tend to win over others when it comes to brand recall. At the end of the day, an individual remembers only few advertisements out of the major chunk that he comes across on that particular day.

There are several businesses that consider social media as an expense rather than an investment. Conventional firms often stick to the traditional advertising vehicles and are reluctant to use social media tools, which is not a desirable move today. No doubt traditional mediums are important, but the growing significance of social media just cannot be ignored.

Using Corporate Blogs and Social Networks to Save Communication Costs

Every company in this world aims to cut down its costs and improve its bottom line. There are several costs that a company has to incur to perform its business, one of the most important being the communication cost. Communication costs refer to expenses made on internal and external communication. Internal communication takes place within the company, such as internal newsletters and brochures, employee engagement activities, group meetings, conferences, etc. External communication takes place outside the company with the public, consumers, local authorities, government agencies, etc.

One of the major benefits of social media is that it is open to all and is freely available. Social media applications such as social networks, blogs, video and photo sharing sites prove useful in sending across messages to any concerned person whom you wish to communicate with.

Organizations who wish to leverage social media and cut down their communication costs can take up the following two steps:

Sony Embraces Social Media

Japanese firm Sony, one of the world’s leading manufacturers of consumer electronics has embraced social media to market its latest innovation – the pocket style PC. With Sony Vaio P, Sony’s expansion into the relatively young notebook computer market is greatly being noticed across international boundaries already.

As part of its marketing initiative, Sony is using social media applications to spread awareness about its latest product for the global audience. It has adopted an integrated marketing approach, using traditional media as well as the contemporary social media to publicize its brand.

Why Marketers Get Scared of Social Media Marketing

The growing prominence of social media is a topic of debate across the world today. Since the past couple of years, social media has turned into a great phenomenon and is continuously gaining attention from businesses from various industries. Today, you will come across a host of brands being promoted through social media channels such as media sharing sites, social networking portals, online forums, corporate blogs, social bookmarks, etc.

However, critics point out that social media is not as effective when it comes to earning return on investment. Especially when it comes to social networks, users are not too keen to engage into trade as they use these sites purely for communication purposes. On the contrary, social media experts believe that social media is still underrated, and businesses will soon realize the tremendous potential that lies in using it as a marketing tool.