Author: Shabbir Chunawalla

These days the applications such as Snapchat and WhatsApp have made SMSs outdated. However, organizations engaged in trade and commerce still use the cloud messaging platform. E-commerce companies use messages right from the acquisition of the customer to the completion of the transaction. There are players in the market who offer cloud messaging services, e.g. Google, mGape, Value first and Webaroo( Gup-  shup ). Industry in India spends Rs.75-100 crore per month on messaging. Cloud messages are extensively used in promotion too. The offers are targeted to the relevant customers. Webaroos Gunshup is used by e-commerce companies and banks. Apart from SMS, there are other services such as voice, email messaging, promotional messaging, two-way messaging, 10-digit missed call number, toll free number and call forwarding facilities.

There are one issues here — data security and the customer’s willingness to receive the messages. They use encrypting to ensure data safety. Customers are given the option of DND — do not disturb which restrict promotional messaging.

Facebook intends to test six new emotional icons to express a different emotion. A thumbs-up icon has already been made famous. Various expressions such as an open mouth to express surprise to a scowling  red face for anger — this is the way the icons would be designed. Other four emotions are love, laughter, sadness and a supportive cheer. By the mid-October, 2015, new icons would be available to Facebook users in Spain and Ireland. The reactions would be assessed. They would be refined in the light of the feedback  before they are rolled out worldwide. Angry and sad buttons express negative emotions. Facebook users would like to have a quick way to express opinion about a post beyond liking it. The reaction buttons are also handy for smart phone users. Facebook has been guided in the design of theses buttons by observing the use of stickers.

Twitter is too confusing. Moments, a new feature attempts to alter Twitter’s chaotic timeline into a series of narratives. These are easy to navigate. Moments would be seen alongside the timeline. On tapping it, you reach prominent headlines highlighting big events. Tap on any one such event, and a ‘moment’ would open — it is a story  in full screen arranged by the editors. This story is a selection of tweets. Each moment can be shared and viewed by any user. Moments tab listing several daily moments is now exclusively for the US users; and will be rolled out later elsewere. It establishes Twitter’s utility even for a non-celebrity user. It gives Twitter its purpose — a reason for being. Here you can find out what is happing in the world. It is a timelier and broader view of the world. In comparison, Facebook is hyper-personalized and friend-based. Twitter gives an expansive view.

Moments may fetch casual users. Twitter’s main timeline shows tweets in reverse chronological order. There is no filtering keeping in mind the user’s interests. Moments, by contrast, is a curated view. Here the editorial judgment counts. Within each moment tweets are arranged in such a way that they make sense as a story. It is not the chronological typing order. It contextualizes the main timeline. It is in a sense a newspaper — comprehensible to all.

Facebook user filters and filters out stuff in which you are not interested. Twitter does not use filters  on main timeline. If you follow someone, you see all the tweets. It is a bigger commitment as a follower than that of a friend on Facebook. Moments will select followable content.

Moments are laidback. On Twitter timeline older things disappear as there is a flood of new tweets. Moments in comparison is slow. You are likely to see a headline of an event lasting 3-4 hours . In the regular Twitter, this is a huge time gap.

Editorial  selection  may raise the question of bias. Twitter will have to shield the editors from the marketing influence. Editors will avoid Moments that smack of marketing.

The BARC wants to make the measurement of  viewership transparent. If a broadcaster claims leadership position in a particular genre, time-slot or geographical territory, the BARC guidelines must be followed. A leader is not created overnight. At a given moment, or in a given day someone might be ahead or behind. This temporary phase cannot constitute leadership. It is a momentary blip, and is a weak foundation on which a leadership claim can be built.

The Council has specified that there should be comparision which must cover at least four consecutive weeks of data and at least four consecutive hours of data.

The Council expects that only data from e-direct outputs of BMW or Broadcast Media Work station should be used. If there is extrapolation or interpolation such outputs should not be used in the public domain.

BMW is the rating software which the subscribers to BARC ratings get for analysis. This software takes care while churning out data that the sample size is not less than 200.

Marketers these days consider both the social media and the digital media in their marketing and promotional strategy. When Maggi noodles are being re-launched, they have designed a campaign for the digital and social media. Six short films are being shown. They reflect the spontaneous engagement with and affection for the product. The campaign has already garnered 7 million views on digital and social media platforms. Social media can make or mar a product. When Maggi was assaulted on the social media, it disappeared within days. Social media is considered highly suitable for Gen Next brands, say a smart watch or radio cab service. These are the millennial brands run by the millennials and catering  to the millennials  — such brands are created with the digital consumer in the mind.

Brands which use social media use them for building reputation, acquiring new business and creating buzz and advocacy. Customers can give feedback and can have their grievances redressed directly. Social media thus can be used for customer relations. New customers are acquired by inducing free trials. Interesting content is made to generate interest in the existing as well as new customers.

FMCG financial brands in banking, insurance and credit and automobiles too are turning to social media and are making applications that integrate with such platforms.

Established organisations continue their traditional marketing, and are making further forays into social media by creating compelling stories.

Bankers have created applications such as Ping Pay ( Axis ), icici bankpay ( ICICI ), Kay Pay (Kotak), Pockets (ICICI). Insurance brands like HDFC Life asked people to participate in world cup #My Team-MyPride campaign to identify Sar Utha Ke Jiyo moments. Pepsi asked contestants to make a 30-second commercial for IPL matches. The best commercials were to be aired during the matches. YouTube users and content creators were motivated to spread the word. Sonam Kapoor advises people on relationships and the break ups. Actually these break ups are related to styling products. After such break ups, you can think of L’Oréal, since you are worth it. It is an attempt to sync the message beautifully.

Advertising campaigns these days are comprehensive — they include social media. Agencies design the message accordingly. The elements in the message are rearranged. Gillette Women against Lazy  Stubble used this strategy.

Social media have sheer power of reach. To begin with, communities were built, but they just complained about their grievances. The relationships were transactional. There was no attempt to build on emotions. YouTube broadcast long and boring commercials. All this made Internet a passive broadcasting entity.

All this was bound to change. Since 2014, Internet has emerged as a powerful media. Facebook promoted Xiaomi, which has become the fastest growing brand. Vodafone and Airtel too used social media. Reliance used Twitter. This is because our understanding of the social media and the behavior of people there has improved.

Instead of brand stories, social media circulated stories of the people. All stories must be woven around people. How to do this? Here you have got to be selfless. That then satisfies your selfish motives. Brands have to identify common values, which can be shared with people. Social media is live story-telling, and not the recorded version of a TV commercial. Certain Facebook pages command millions of likes, thus demonstrating the power of Facebook presence. Brands have to make people heroes.

The flow of information in pre-Internet days was unidirectional — from the  company to the consumers. These days it is from consumers to consumers, and from consumers to companies. Most consumers do their buying search online, and they buy the product offline ( this is called RoBo ). Yaa, certain transactions are closed online also. Brands generate leads through various efforts, e.g. QR codes. This leads to online promotions.

Digital advertising must be explored in all its dimensions — search engine optimization ( SEO ), search engine marketing, emailers, display advertising across portals, verticals, in-mail boxes, ad networks and social platforms. Each must be evaluated separately to learn about the response generation.

A company must support the online efforts by setting up retail and direct sales structure offline.