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Myth Buster: You Don't Need A Big Budget To Make Your Mark On Social Media.

Everyone wants to be the next BIG thing on social media. Talk to a teenager, he wants to probably get the highest number of likes on his picture amongst his friends; talk to brands, they too want to get the highest number of likes on their fan pages than its competitors. In the end, everyone is simply put - fighting for the top slot. 

With News Feed algorithms changing every other day, many are being pushed to sign up for ad campaigns that cost a bomb. The question here is, do you really have to spend so much money to make an impact?

Now, if you are just starting off your business on social media, you'd want to save that buck for something more productive. Not that social media isn't, I just meant offline marketing. 

Social media is a free platform and by that I mean, you really don't need to pump in money right away to market yourself. How about letting it build without the ad campaigns and focusing more on your offline business setup? 

Here's how you can create a successful social media campaign with no budget (or little maybe!) at all: 

1. Create a buzz! 

Controversies. If you know what I mean! 

To make your brand popular on social media, you just have to become a part of the conversations trending in your circles (or simply, spark one off!). 

Adopt a persona that best fits as a representative of your brand or someone who recommends it. You know what to do next - create a big fuss! (wink)

Tip: Don't forget to give sneak peeks into your upcoming products/ services! 

2. Interact with your followers.  

Social media is nothing if you don't 'socialize'. Social media marketers, the world over are now playing around on the common plane between the physical and the virtual (social media) world. 

Engage your followers with a content flow on your profile. Be it contests, free giveaways, or Q&A rounds. The more you 'talk', the better; it helps build your reputation for being customer centric. (That's good BTW.)

Tip: Make them feel like they are talking to a human and not a robot. Relate-ability plays a vital role in making interactions.

3. Ride on high tides (of gossip, et all!)

Stay updated on what's trending in your circles in terms of the types of content that people are interacting with. Then focus on offering similar content that is unique to your brand to encourage the same level of interaction! 

You can try Grumpy Cat BTW. 

Tip: Please don't ever sound irrelevant or I'd be the first one to unfollow! 

4. Be honest PLZ! 

One of the most popular tried and tested method of not just offline marketing, but online as well is being honest about all your dealings. A little honesty can go a long way in terms of loyalist communities and word of mouth (especially on social media). 

If you want to know more about going viral, read on.   

Got tips to share? Feel free to do so. Everyone here is looking for ways to save on some cash! 

Yes, Twitter Looks Like Facebook.

With Twitter bringing in a number of changes including its very popular #music app, the company seems to have taken the idea of 'overhauling' too far!

The latest change on Facebook that was rolled out recently is their timeline look for profiles, that undeniably looks pretty familiar. Yes, it looks much the same as Facebook now. 

The comments on Facebook's new looks weren't too positive and if Twitter though they could master the look, they were wrong!People are complaining about the look and how Twitter has now lost its touch. Well, I am not surprised. Are you?

Here's a look at what we'd rather see on Twitter - Twitter's Latest Changes Are Pissing People Off.  

Which Social Platform Is For You?

Social media. A platform that started with the intention of communicating with near and dear ones across the ‘seven seas’ has now become the norm of marketing.

You see the best of the best brands struggling on social media to maintain their brand image. They have their marketers running from pillar to post looking for ideas to carry out a successful content marketing campaign. But what if they are exhausting all their resources on the wrong platform? They aren’t going to get the returns they expect. Period.

But with the plethora of options for social media today, this mistake doesn’t come across as a surprise. It is something that is bound to happen. Brands have a really tough time determining where to allocate their resources.

So how do you make smarter social media decisions? By understanding the psychology of each of those social media platforms out there. Simple, isn’t it? No!

Unlike what most people think of social media, it isn’t just about Facebook. There are a lot of platforms out there that a brand needs to be visible on and Facebook doesn’t cater to all types of audience.

If you are looking for personal networking – one to one communication with your customers, you are probably doing it right. But if you are looking for professional networking, you are going terribly wrong!

Like there is a difference between our personal and professional lives, there is a very fine line between personal and professional networking that you need to understand. And to give you a head start, here are a few elements that will help you differentiate between the two; so that your brand gets the returns it deserves from social media.  

What’s Your Focus On?

People have a different approach to brands on personal networking sites and professional networking sites. Thinking that their reaction to your content strategy on either is going to be the same, would be WRONG. In that very ‘capital – bold manner’. In short, personal networking sites (like Facebook) are good for establishing a connection with your users; but professional networking sites are what brands should focus on for growth.

Time Is Money.  

Personal networking sites attract a lot of casual interaction between the brand and its users. But people as click happy as me, might just get distracted with other alluring posts from other brands. But when it comes to professional networking sites, you won’t see anyone wandering about with no agenda at all.

Content Is The New Black!

Seen anyone post pictures of food on professional networking sites like LinkedIn? Well, they do upload such pictures on platforms like Facebook.  This means that content posted by people on various social media outlets is a big differentiator between the two types of sites. Most professional sites are about brand updates, economy news and of course, job opportunities!

The News That Matters.

Personal networking sites focus on entertainment – whether worldly news or sheer humor, the content that goes viral on these platforms is far from what would go viral on the professional networking sites. The professional sites cater to diversified topics that are in sync with current affairs, business and economy updates.

While fan pages on personal networking sites are talk about the brand’s products and customer reviews, the professional sites would rather talk about the strategies they adopt.

Playing With Emotions!

We all know that unless we strike a chord with our audience on an emotional level, our social media profiles aren’t going to get us the returns we expect. The only way to make your content go viral is to have it shared; and that takes some emotional play.  

On personal networking sites, people are more expressive and hence, it’s easier for brands to figure which posts will do well and which won’t. But playing with emotions on a professional network is a totally different ball game. People are less expressive here and seek only one thing - purpose.

Each social media platform has a distinct purpose to it and as a ground rule; it should not be messed around with. It is vital for brands to analyze the types of posts that do well on various platforms and decide which platform is for them. 

When you know what your brand’s purpose is and what audience you are going to be catering to, create your social media marketing strategy.

Isn’t it always better to take stock of the situation before the leap of faith?