Topic: Social Networking Sites- A vehicle for Promotion Ms.

Tulika Sood Pursuing PHD (Management) - Jaipur National University, Jaipur Lecturer- School of Business and Management Jaipur National University, Jaipur Address: 91/126, Patel Marg, Mansarovar Jaipur-302020 Email Id: tulika.moni79@gmail.com Contact No: 9828551510 Ms. Suneeli Anand Pursuing PHD (Commerce) University of Rajasthan Lecturer- School of Business and Management Jaipur National University, Jaipur Address: 454/3, Raja Park, Jaipur-302004 Email Id: sunili.anand@gmail.com Contact No: 9828517032

Abstract In recent years, with the appearance of Social media, overwhelming, majority of the marketers, have started to use some form of social media for promotional purposes and the traditional print and broadcast media as main promotional tools have faced major challenges, as many newspapers and television channels have suffered audience reduction. The buzz surrounding social networks these days can indeed be great vehicles for business, it is important to know which networks are worth and how to take advantage of their various features. In addition, to understand how these social networks can be used as interactive promotion techniques. This research is Exploratory in nature and the data collected is qualitative. The research was conducted through an online questionnaire, which was posted on the FACE BOOK. The questionnaire was framed in such a manner to understand whether the applications and advertisement on the Social Media websites affected their decision of buying the product. The study also offers an attempt to examine the use of promotional content on a social networking site to understand how advertisers can use this new platform more effectively, and the merits and demerits of using Social Media as a promotional tool. Key Words: Marketing, Promotion, Social Media, Social Networking Sites. Introduction Social media has changed the way people interact amongst themselves and with their media and social networking truly is the new way of the world. With print on the decline and the number of book marking, sharing and blogging sites increasing every day, this is one medium that is demanding attention and it is either get in or be left in the dust. When used correctly and effectively, these sites have the power to deliver news to more people than one has ever dreamed possible .However, it is quality over quantity that matters. As the popularity of these social networking websites rose, it seemed that some have taken advantage of it by using them as a way of promoting themselves as a brand. Most famously, founder of Face book Mark Zuckerberg announced, "For the last hundred years media has been pushed out to people, but now marketers are going to be a part of the conversation." The entire concept of Marketing especially the

way of promotion has deliberately progressed with the new usage of Social Networking sites. Social Media is a means of Marketing communication where the Marketing mix PEOPLE is the epitome. A People strategy is at the center of todays dynamic and fluid social marketing mix. A people strategy is much broader, deeper and more profound than consumer targeting. It involves listening to and engaging with everyone who can touch or influence current and potential customers at all stages of brand interaction. The social media revolution is less about we the people and more about me the people, Pulver said. Its time to move past debates about traditional media co-existing with social media. Marketers are seeing social media as a wonderful, if not disruptive, gift. Therefore Social networking has now become an Interactive Promotion technique. Literature Review The significance of the study can be attributed to the fact that an overwhelming majority (88%) of marketers in a recent survey say they are now using some form of social media to market their business. The study, also set out to understand how and why marketers are using social media to grow and promote their businesses, and also found that Twitter, blogs, LinkedIn and Face book - in that order - are the top four social media tools used by marketers.1 Social media describes websites that allow users to share content, media, etc. Common examples are the popular social networking sites like Friendster, Face book, Photo bucket, You Tube, and other sites aimed at photo and also video sharing. News aggregation and online reference sources, examples of which are Digg and Wikipedia, are also counted in the social media bucket. Micro-blogging sites such as Twitter can also be included as social media. According to Palmer and Koenig-Lewis (2009), social media can best be defined as an online applications, platforms, and media which aim to facilitate interactions, collaborations and the sharing of content. They further point out that the importance of social network media lays in the interaction between the
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http://www.marketingcharts.com/interactive/marketers-top-social-media-twitter-blogs-linkedinfacebook-8692 (April 13, 2009)

consumers and the community, as well as in the facilitation of asynchronous, immediate, interactive, low-cost communications2. Social media marketing refers to marketing, advertising or public relations campaigns that use social media such as Twitter, Face book, and LinkedIn, RSS feeds or blogs to achieve their objectives. It is about the choice of media channels. Such campaigns may or may not also use traditional media such as television or print magazines and newspapers, or digital media such as websites and games. These websites allow people to not only get to know one another but to also share photos, music, view TV clips, messages and blogs. In this way Social networks are used by companies in order to promote their brands or products to the public or for general use and as a way of making friends. Over the past five years, social media marketing budgets have been on the rise and E-Marketer predicts that the social media are projected to grow at an annual rate of 34% to $3.1 billion in 2014, according to Forrester Research. In the last three quarters of 2009 mobile and Internet advertising grew by 18.1% and 2.9% respectively. Older media advertising saw declines: 10.1 %( TV), 11.7 %( Radio), 14.8% (magazines) and 18.7% (newspapers). Social networks have become a cultural phenomenon. Face book, one of the largest social networking sites in the U.S. was founded in 2004. By February 2009, it boasts more than 175 million active users and continues to grow rapidly. Worldwide these users spend 3.0 billion minutes each day on Face book. More than 850 million photos and 5 million videos are uploaded on the site each month. There are hundreds of other similar sites including Myspace, Friendster, Xanga and Bebo. This cultural and technological revolution is not limited to the United States. Myspace has already launched its international sites in Britain, Australia and France and plans to expand its services to nine other countries in Europe and Asia in the near future. More than 70% of Face book users are outside the U.S. and more than 35 translations are available on the Site. This growth has prompted many corporations to invest time and money in creating, purchasing, promoting, and advertising .The rise of SNSs3 indicates a shift in the organization of online communities. This more accurately mirrors
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http://publicrelationsapprentices.wordpress.com/2011/01/31/social-media-as-a-promotional-tool-acomparison-between-political-parties-and-companies/
3

Social Networking Sites

unmediated social structures, where "the world is composed of networks, not groups" (Wellman, 1988, p. 37). The introduction of SNS features has introduced a new organizational framework for online communities, and with it, a vibrant new research context. Some of the major SNSs is depicted below:

The 2011 Social Media Marketing Industry Report by Michael A. Stelzner gives the following findings: Marketers place high value on social media: A significant 90% of marketers indicate that social media is important for their business. Measurement and integration are top areas marketers want to master: One third of all social media marketers want to know how to monitor and measure the return on investment (ROI) of social media and integrate their social media activities. Marketers seek to learn more about Face book and blogging: 70% of marketers want to learn more about Face book and 69% want to learn more about blogging. The top benefits of social media marketing: The number-one advantage of social media marketing (by a long shot) is generating more business exposure, as indicated by 88% of marketers. Increased traffic (72%) and improved search rankings (62%) were also major advantages. The top social media tools: Face book, Twitter, LinkedIn and blogs were the top four social media tools used by marketers, in that order. Face book has eclipsed Twitter to take the top spot since the 2010 study. Social media outsourcing underutilized: Only 28% of businesses are outsourcing some portion of their social media marketing. More B2B companies have been using social media longer (52.6% reported 1 year or more) than their B2C counterparts (46.2% indicated 1 year or longer).In 2010, only 31% of marketers were using social media for 1 or more years. Now that number has grown to 50%. BIA/Kelsey Forecasts Social Media Ad Spending to reach $8.3 Billion in 2015. SOME CASES OF ROI USING SOCIAL MEDIA: Listed below are the name of some companies that have successfully used social media to better their business and connectivity to customers. At the end of the day, it is all about return on investment (ROI). 1. IBM: Decided to let company employees set up their own blog and Twitter accounts to service customers and reported the following stats: There was no

IBM corporate blog or Twitter account but there were 17,000 internal blogs, 100,000 employees using internal blogs and as many as 500,000 participants in company crowd-sourcing jams. Results showed: Crowd-sourcing identified 10 best incubator businesses, which IBM funded for $100 million and generated $100 billion in total revenue for a 10-to-1 ROI with a 44.1% gross profit margin 2. PIZZA HUT: iPhone app for ordering accounted for 50% of orders and generate $1,000,000 in revenues 3. PROCTER & GAMBLE: Launched social community for Tampax and Always with website, Beinggirl.com. The site focused on the shared interest of early teen girls. Social community outperformed traditional channels with ROI of 4-to-1. Beinggirl.com was expanded to 21 countries. 4. STARBUCKS (MyStarbucksIdea.com): Went to customers for new product ideas. We used to launch a new product and it cost millions of dollars. Now, when we launch a new product, we already have millions of fans, say Chris Bruzzo, Vice President Brand, Content and Online at Starbucks. 5. ADIDAS: Used social networks to do guerrilla marketing on mobile (e.g. Face book, Twitter, SMS) in and around NBA All-Star Game and increased retail sales 20X goal in Las Vegas (where All-Star Game occurred). 6. BARACK OBAMA: Social media campaign for the President on My.BarackObama.com raised $30,000,000 from over 70,000 personal fundraising pages, 400,000 blogs, 35,000 groups and 200,000 offline events. I sometime wonder when social media was so successful getting the President elected, why its not being used more strategically, now. Research Objective Social networks are an increasingly powerful force in mediated communication. However, research conducted to date has been primarily descriptive. Goldsborough (2009) examined several media trends that the JWT advertising agency reported in its annual forecast. One of the foremost conclusions is the predicted decline of e-mail usage, which JWT attributes to younger people's preference for text messaging and communicating through social networks. In addition, the agency cites the increasing number of social networking sites, introduction of professional social networking sites such as LinkedIn, and increase in micro-blogging using programs such as Twitter.

The evolution of social networks allows for personalized interactions between advertisers and consumers. Although social networks were first adopted by teenagers, a growing population of 25- to 34-year-olds and white collar professionals uses them, which demonstrates the applicability of social networks to everyday life (Kim 2008). This growing trend has vast implications for advertisers and executives. With the recent growth of consumer-generated media and the increasing popularity of social networking sites (Cheong and Morrison 2008), advertisers are seeking ways to exploit this new medium. Hence our Objective of the study can be summarized as follows: The study attempts to examine whether applications and advertisement on the Social Media websites influence the decision of buying the product. The study also offers an attempt to examine the use of promotional content on a social networking site to understand how advertisers can use this new platform more effectively. The study will also highlight the merits and demerits of using Social Media as a promotional tool. Research Methodology This research is Exploratory in nature and the data collected is qualitative. The research was conducted through an online questionnaire, which was posted on the FACE BOOK. The Universe of the study constituted of our friends, to whom the questionnaire were sent individually but only 33 respondents answered the questionnaire. Therefore, the sample size of our study is only 33, considering it to be a convenience sampling. Also only FACE BOOK was considered as the social media for posting our questionnaire.

Analysis and Interpretation Demographic Profile Sample Size - 33 Gender Male Female Age Less than 18 years 18 years -28 years 28 years- 38 years More than 38 years Student Housewife Salaried Businessman X th XII th Graduate Post Graduate Others Social Media accessed often Gender Male Female 63% accessed only Face book 21% accessed only Face book

79% 21% 0% 64% 24% 12% 45% 0% 51% 3% 0% 6% 42% 48% 3%

Occupation

Qualification

Remaining 16% used Google+, LinkedIn and Twitter besides Face book.

According to Age 48% of the male in the age group 18-28 years accessed only Face book. 12% of the male in the age group 28-38 years accessed only Face book. 12% of the female in the age group 18-28 years accessed only Face book. 6% of the female in the age group 28-38 years accessed only Face book. By Occupation 33 % were male students and 27 % were salaried male, who accessed only Face book.

6% were male student and 15 % were salaried female, who accessed only Face book. By time 33% male spend less than 1hr on FB, 27 % male spent between 1-3hr on Face book. 18% female spend less than 1hr on FB, 3 % spent between 1h -3hr on Face book. Only 18 % male who spent 1-3hr on face book accessed the online promotions done by various companies on these Social Networking sites (Here Face book). Social Medias influence to Purchase the Product: 12% of the male who accessed the online promotions done by various companies on these Social Networking sites (Here Face book) influenced their purchasing often, from the websites 99lables.com, Snapdeal.com, Myntra.com, Adidas and Nike. 12% of the male who accessed the online promotions done by various companies on these Social Networking sites (Here Face book) did not influenced their purchasing but liked or shared the links Snapdeal.com, Myntra.com and Nike. 9 % of the female accessed the online promotions done by various companies on these Social Networking sites (Here Face book) influenced their purchasing often from the links Yebhi.com and Bestylish.com. 6% of the female accessed the online promotions done by various companies on these Social Networking sites (Here Face book) did not influenced their purchasing but liked or shared the links Fashion &You. 21% respondents, who accessed the online promotions done by various companies on these Social Networking sites (Here Face book) influenced their purchasing often and agreed to Social Networking Sites as a Promotional Vehicle and gave the following reasons: Social Media helps the people to know about the products and their prices. People can purchase the products, less than the market price and can receive the products sitting at home only. Cost saving

It is the most convenient way to connect with people for promotion. Social networking sites have higher number of active customers. It helps in every way whether its about attracting customers or making it easier to publicize a product. Time saving and easy availability.

The study can be concluded that it is not necessary that people who access the social networking sites will always be influenced to purchase the products, but it can be the cheapest mode of promotion wherein the customers become aware of the products. FACE BOOK as a Promotional Tool The beauty of using Face book as a promotional tool comes from the endless ways in which one can advertise business for free. Once a free account is set, one can use ones creativity to maximize these features. 1. Profile Page: All Face book members get their own profile page when they sign up. One can use this as canvas to upload pictures, logos and other information about the company. 2. Groups: The site's Groups feature can be used to network with target audience. One can join existing groups or create one just for business to amp up the buzz about its services. 3. Face book Marketplace: College kids use the site's Marketplace to scout out used couches and find roommates, but a savvy business owner can advertise services and product sales, as well as search for new employees. 4. Events: Instead of printing out flyers and mailers companies can advertise an event, using the free Face book Events app to get the word out. 5. Share Partners: Publishing updates to the company blog or Web site, just add the link or a link and a photo to the Face book profile using the Share Partners app. .Tools and Applications of Face book Face book add-ons allows customizing profile pages and building up virtual relationships with clients and customers and boosting the marketing plan.

1. Face book Polls: Businesses can effectively find out what their target audiences are thinking by utilizing this polling service on Face book. 2. Face book Insights: Through charts and mapping devices, companies can accurately track their "presence and promotion on Face book." 3. Gydget: Small companies, bands, nonprofit groups and other organizations should try out Gydget, "a stand-alone viral-promotions tool" that one can add to the Face book page and also encourage others to integrate with their own pages Update fans and clients with details about upcoming events, networking opportunities, sales and product launches. 4. Jobster: Attract new talent from the Face book pool by integrating a Jobster button with your profile. Your company can build its own job network; submit a listing in the Jobster network and more. 5. QOOP: QOOP helps you create promotional items like T-shirts and mugs from digital photos. Face book users can use the QOOP app to share the items by letting friends view and purchase your marketing creations. 6. Oodle Classifieds: Organize your company's advertisements, job postings and classifieds on Face book with the Oodle app. The Advantages of Social networking as an Interactive Promotion technique One of the major benefits of advertising on a social networking site (Face book, Orkut, LinkedIn...and many others) is that advertisers can take advantage of the users demographic information and target their ads appropriately. Social networking websites such as MySpace is that it is free of charge to use and so many feel that there is less financial strain when trying to breakthrough into the entertainment industry. As it is free to set up an account and URL for themselves, it is a cheaper way of creating a name or a branding image, rather than having to spend thousands of pounds on promotion in mainstream media and advertising. It is an easy way of promotion by word of mouth. The internet is a vast and potentially powerful tool when dealing with the masses and creating a stir, especially when dealing with such well known websites and networks such as You Tube, and My Space. Therefore once a webpage has been set up with the aim to attract attention and enable people to view or sample persons talents, the word quickly spreads and fan bases are created.

Many people that choose to use social networks as a promotion tool begin as unsigned acts, therefore they have complete control over what they promote and the style or image that is created. This is important as they are not seen as commercial puppets, but rather are themselves who genuinely have a passion for whatever it is they are promoting. In essence their raw talent shines through. This can be said of the award winning band that started off in this way, "The Artic Monkeys."- They made sure that they had cut out the middle man who meant no corporate interference and more control over what they showcased and how they did it. The Disadvantages of Social networking as an interactive promotion technique It can be a risk to use social networks as an interactive promotion technique as word of mouth can also be viewed as a negative reason. Once something is added to a persons webpage or uploaded and negative perceptions are made, it can be very difficult to retract this negative image from the public. This is due to the speed and mass audience the webpage can be viewed. It has been noted that after a massive increase in the use of social networks such as My Space and Friendster, public images were being ruined. The new scientist online magazine has stated that; "The use of such social networks have led to the demise of reputations and even miscarriages of justice."
4

This can be very

damaging as it can hinder a persons future job prospects and uncover illegal facts concerning politics, drug abuse and references of a sexual nature. There are issues concerning privacy as a webpage on a social network is available to anyone at any time and therefore the target audience is not selective. Conclusion Social Media is an efficient Business Promotion Tool as it has surpassed all other means which are used as part of internet marketing and created for itself a strong place. It has gained such high value as a promotion tool that an online business cannot afford to avoid. Hence it can be concluded that:
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http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg19025556.200? DCMP=NLCnletter&nsref=samplemg19025556.200

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8.

Social Media allows a business to establish direct contact with its Enables targeting a large number of customers globally. Is quite efficient in creating back links. Can be effectively used to spread awareness about new products and Helps a business to collect information about its current and customers and to know their views on several topics. Involves minimum investment but ensures great results. An organization can create Goodwill among its target groups by Nothing can beat the efficiency of Social Media for Brand Building.

customers

services. prospective

actively taking part in Social Media platforms.

Never before has a social platform emerged that combines the authenticity of Face books culture with the raw power of Face books multitude of viral channels to offer such an unprecedented marketing opportunity. Face book offers brand marketers entirely new paradigms for designing immersive and persuasive brand experiences.

Recommendations Theres a lot of buzz surrounding social networks these days and companies have been quick to get in on the action by establishing profiles on these Web sites to promote their products and services. While social networks can indeed be great vehicles for business, its important to know which networks are worth your time and how to take advantage of their various features. 1. The first step is to identify the social networks that will give the proper tools and context for promoting business. 2. To start with business-centric sites such as LinkedIn, Spoke, and Ryze that have features especially designed for connecting with potential colleagues and clients. In general, business networking sites lets search for contacts in ones field, create online address books, and participate in forums.

3. While personal networking sites such as MySpace and Face book get a lot of attention, they arent really geared toward business promotion. It can be difficult to find business leads on personal networking sites because one can only search for contacts that are within two degrees of separation: your friends or their friends. Furthermore, people dont usually sign up to these sites to do business. Ones Friends friends may not be very happy to receive promotional messages from one through their Face book page. 4. A through secondary data analysis is suggested for the Success for Advertising in Social Media for those businesses who are eyeing Social Media for huge ROI as follows: To thoroughly explore all options: When selecting the sites to target in social media marketing efforts, its easy to fall into the trap of just going after big fish like Face book and Twitter, simply because theyre more popular. Firms can also think of smaller, lesser-known social media sites. They can be huge winners, especially if they cater to a very specific topic or niche audience. To vary messages and approach: Tailor efforts to each site. If the goal is to get peoples attention, the solution is to interact with users in a manner they can really relate to. To track efforts with custom URLs: Firms should include tracking into ones campaign. It does not require sophisticated web analytics or expensive social monitoring tools. One of the easiest ways to track ones efforts is to incorporate custom, shortened URLs into the campaigns. Remember to keep it real.Be genuine with all social media campaigns. Nobody likes shameless self-promotion. peoples intelligence. The future of Social Media and Advertising Theres a revolution in the air thats transforming society. Its social networking and its empowering the consumer; but the majority of agencies arent getting it. Avoid sounding like a trained parrot. Be honest, but dont insult

The ad industry must get to grips with this changing marketplace over the next decade or it could face growth of only 1.2% per year by 2016. This is according to the second future of advertising report published by the IPA and the Future Foundation (Jan 2009) As consumers will increasingly mediate messages between brands and other consumers in the social media arena, the power and influence of paid-for advertising could diminish. Nearly 95% of this same panel agreed that more brand messages would be passed on informally from one person to another by 2016, and 90% agreed with the statement: Some advertising campaigns will be built entirely on messages being passed from individual to individual. Companies like Google, Face book and Amazon are currently collecting information about each any every one of us: Our likes and dislikes, our interests and disdains. Soon in an age of Web 3.0, an age of Semantic Web, we will no longer need to search for information on the Web as information will find us based on all this data which companies are collecting. The right information will be served to the right people at the right time, saving us all a lot of time, effort and energy. Mobile technology will become more dominant and NFC technology will be developed further enabling it to offer us special promotions, coupons and tips based on our geographical location and the interest. In the 2007 Future of Advertising Report the consumer-dominated scenario predicted ad expenditure by 2016 to be only 36 billion and average growth rates of 1.2%. However this report explains how agencies can create new opportunities out of social media to counteract this. Of those agencies interviewed top growth opportunities in social media will be new forms of campaign and content creation with the industry predicting that client investment through agencies in this area would increase by more than 5%, followed by real time data gathering and analysis at just under 5%. Others include new forms of research and insight generation, using social networking for new product R&D, and the integration of public relations and word of mouth into planning and execution. In addition, in this new world, agencies could provide consultancy at board level more broadly than simply just advising the marketing department, could develop new forms of metrics and accountability to track the effectiveness of networked brand communications, and enter into e-commerce to generate further expenditure.

So while it is likely that expenditure on paid-for space will decline by 2016, if agencies and in turn clients can adapt to this changing marketplace as well as innovate, expenditure could increase by an additional 16bn. Says Moray Maclennan, IPA President, and CEO of M&C Saatchi Worldwide, Social media has been a phenomena for some time, but the industry is only beginning to come to terms with it as a medium. Its potential is undoubted, but the risks are equally clear. This report helps give a clear understanding of social Medias' impact.

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