PROJECT REPORT ON “SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING”

submitted in fulfillment of the requirement of the degree of

MASTER OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION

Manav Rachna International Institute of Research and Studies

(Deemed to be University), Faridabad

by

Rahul Sorout

Under The Supervision Of

Ms. Niharika
(Faculty of FMS)

Faculty of Management Studies

Manav Rachna International Institute of Research and Studies
(Deemed to be University), Faridabad
Sector-43, Faridabad, Haryana, India

Date:16/09/2022
Roll Number: 21/FMS/MBA/065
 CERTIFICATE

This is to certify that the project titled “SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING” submitted for partial fulfillment of the
MBA program (Faculty of Management Studies, Manav Rachna International Institute of Research and
Studies), embodies original work done by me. It has been conducted during Summer Internship Program in
6 July 2022 - 6 August 2022

Signature of the Student Name (in Capitals):

RAHUL SOROUT

Roll Number: 21/FMS/MBA/065

Signature of the Faculty Guide:

Name (in Capitals):

Designation:
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I wish to thank all those with whom I have worked, interacted and whose thoughts and
insights helped me in furthering my knowledge and understanding of my project.

This project was an insightful experience of my internship at Talentserve Private Limited. I

would like to thank Ms. Meghhaa Woraahh for not only giving me the opportunity to work
on this project, but also provide me with sound guidance and the necessary facilities to
carry out the project. I thank her for giving me numerous assignments beyond my project
and expose me to the entire gamut of activities and made me to learn beyond my project.
 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The project titled “A Study on Social Media as a Tool of Marketing” deals with the study of
an influential social media presence for a company on all major and niche platforms that
benefit a business’s bottom line.
Many have fallen into the business social media marketing trap at one point or another.
Pouring energy into growing a social presence and posting the polls, pictures, and videos to
entice fans into ‘Liking’ and retweeting your posts.
Social networking sites and blogs allow individual followers to “retweet” or “repost”
comments made by the product being promoted. By repeating the message, all of the user
connections are able to see the message, therefore reaching more people. Social
networking sites act as word of mouth. Because the information about the product is being
put out there and is getting repeated, more traffic is brought to the product/company.
This project involves the study of social networking sites which plays a vital role in social
media marketing. It includes the history of social networking sites and how they help in
marketing.
Internet is the main source by which social media marketing is done.
Social networking websites allow individuals to interact with one another and build
relationships. When companies join the social channels, consumers can interact with them.
That interaction feels personal to users because of their previous experiences with social
networking site interaction.
 TABLE OF CONTENT

S.NO. CONTENTS
1. INTRODUCTION
 COMPANY PROFILE
 ABOUT
 SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING TOOLS
 DIFFERENT METHODS
 IMPLICATION ON TRADITIONAL
ADEVERTISING
 ROLE IN BUSSINESS
 SCOPE IN INDIA
 SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS

2. LITERATURE REVIEW
 WHAT IS SOCIAL MEDIA?
 SOCIAL MEDIA AS PUBLIC UTILITY
 INDIVIDUAL LEVEL
 SOCIAL MEDIA TRENDS

3. RESEACH METHODOLOGY
 OBJECTIVE OF STUDY
 COLLECTION METHOD
 SAMPLE
 DATA COLLECTION INSTRUMENTS

4. RESEARCH AND FINDINGS

 QUESTIONNAIRE

5. CONCLUSION AND RECOMENDATION

6. BIBLIOGRAPHY
 INTRODUCTION

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talent serve use social media marketing tools for promotion through their own Bogs, YouTube Channel,
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About Social media Marketing: -

Social media marketing refers to the process of gaining website traffic or attention through social media
sites. Social media marketing programs usually center on efforts to create content that attracts attention
and encourages readers to share it with their social networks. The resulting electronic word of mouth
(eWoM) refers to any statement consumers share via the Internet (e. g, web sites, social networks, instant
messages, news feeds) about an event, product, service, brand or company. When the underlying message
spreads from user to user and presumably resonates because it appears to come from a trusted, third-
party source, as opposed to the brand or company itself, this form of marketing results in ‘earned media’
rather than ‘paid media’.

Social networking websites allow individuals to interact with one another and build relationships. When
companies join the social channels, consumers can interact with them. That interaction feels personal to
users because of their previous experiences with social networking site interactions.

Social networking sites and blogs allow individual followers to “retweet” or “repost” comments made by
the product being promoted. By repeating the message, all of the user’s connections are able to see the
message, therefore reaching more people. Social networking sites act as word of mouth. Because the
information about the product is being put out there and is getting repeated, more traffic is brought to the
product/company.

In 2009, bloggers had an enormous impact on fashion, affecting everything from print publishing to how
brands market themselves online. There are thousands of style-related blogs on the web these days, and
those dedicated to their craft have earned industry recognition. A number of unknowns earned recognition
from Dolce & Gabbana, Burberry, Alexander McQueen and leading publications such as Vogue. They
participated in fashion design collection collaborations and received front-row, international Fashion Week
seats.

A recent Financial Times article notes that being a style blogger is a perfectly respectable career for
someone in the fashion industry. The social web has removed the gatekeepers of an industry that was
notoriously hard to penetrate and build a name in. These sites have succeeded because of the quality of
their content. While each is unique, they’ve built a cult following around their areas of expertise and
passion.

Through social networking sites, companies can interact with individual followers. This personal interaction
can instill a feeling of loyalty into followers and potential customers. Also, by choosing whom to follow on
these sites, products can reach a very narrow target audience. Social networking sites also include a vast
amount of information about what products and services prospective clients might be interested in.
Through the use of new Semantic Analysis technologies, marketers can detect buying signals, such as
content shared by people and questions posted online. Understanding of buying signals can help sales
people target relevant prospects and marketers run micro-targeted campaigns.

In today’s rapidly-evolving media landscape, social media has not only become a fundamental tool for
communication, but a must-have skill in a multitude of industries. With the right amount of practice and
social media education, students and professionals are empowered with a competitive edge in their
studies, careers and communications.

This course will teach marketing students how to create and maintain asocial media presence for business,
including Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Tumblr, LinkedIn, YouTube, Instagram, etc. Students will learn to use
social media and content marketing to grow their business and engage with customers. Social media has
changed the way we communicate and the way we do business. Word of mouth marketing is being
replaced by tweeting recommendations to friends, and more and more customers are researching
products online before purchasing.

Social media marketing tools:

Besides research tools, various companies provide specialized platforms and tools for social media
marketing:

 Social media measurement

 Social network aggregation
 Social bookmarking
 Social analytics
 Automation
 Social media
 Blog marketing
 Validation

Different Methods of Social Media Marketing

Social network marketing is popularly called as Internet marketing. Today you can find many ways
for internet marketing. Many people who enter this online marketing are less worried because of its
guaranteed success. If you see in Internet totally all types of products has been marketed online
without much effort. Internet attracts many business people to promote their business online. Social
network marketing is grown to such a height that today many people can't earn without it.

Some of the most recognized network marketing tools are Face book, My Space and LinkedIn.
Twitter became regular place for people who have newly entered the field of social network
marketing.

1. Blogging: When you start Blogging or posting your data about any product, you can see less
response from clients. Later it will become big business via blog. Websites and blogs are most
powerful tools for social network marketing when matched with other networking tools. Blog is an
amazing tool which provides many other facilities in addition to just marketing your business. It also
helps you to communicate with other clients in case if you have any problems.

2. Personal website or blog: It is important to have private website if you are a freelancer. Your
website will help your clients to know about you and it will make them clear that you are a serious
freelance marketer and help to make huge revenue via online marketing.

3. Article selling: It is also best and cheap internet marketing method. It is a mode of advertising
our trade just by writing articles and attracting endless number of users across world. We usually
sell our articles to different article database websites and article directories. Today it provided free
business to many advertisers and publishers and they are really benefited through their articles.
 4. Email sending: Electronic mail sending is the best way to marketing. Collect list of email
addresses through portfolio websites and email about your business to all internet users. Your
Email should be attractive in such a way that your recipient will be impressed to get back to you.
5. Use social networking websites: Social networking websites like Twitter, face book can be
used to promote your sales. These provide best platform for all who are thinking of online
marketing.

6. Video promotion: Use several video distribution websites for your marketing. These websites
upload your service to the whole world. All that you need to do is film a video about marketing and
send it to video uploading sites like You Tube. It seems it is the easiest way of marketing than any
other modes since many people will be interested in view videos rather than word form of
advertisement.

7. Press Release or media release: It attracts several public clients and increases relationship
among them.

8. Search Engine Optimization: It improves the traffic to your website by providing quality web
content. It uses RSS feeds and many SEO techniques.

Social networking websites and blogs:

Social networking websites allow individuals to interact with one another and build relationships.
When products or companies join those sites, people can interact with the product or company. That
interaction feels personal to users because of their previous experiences with social networking site
interaction

Social networking sites and blogs allow individual followers to ―retweet‖ or―repost‖ comments made
by the product being promoted. By repeating the message, all of the user ‘s connections are able to see
the message, therefore reaching more people. Social networking sites act as word of mouth. Because the
information about the product is being put out there and is getting repeated, more traffic is brought to
the product/company.
Through social networking sites, products/companies can have conversations and interactions with
individual followers. This personal interaction can instill a feeling of loyalty into followers and
potential customers. Also, by choosing whom to follow on these sites, products can reach a very
narrow target audience.
Implications on traditional advertising:

Minimizing use

Traditional advertising techniques include print and television advertising. The Internet had already
overtaken television as the largest advertising market. Websites often include banner or pop-up ads.
Social networking sites don‘t always have ads. In exchange, products have entire pages and are able
to interact with users. Television commercials often end with a spokesperson asking viewers to
check out the product website for more information. Print ads are also starting to include barcodes
on them. These barcodes can be scanned by cell phones and computers, sending viewers to the
product website. Advertising is beginning to move viewers from the traditional outlets to the
electronic ones.

Leaks

Internet and social networking leaks are one of the issues facing traditional advertising. Video and print ads
are often leaked to the world via the Internet earlier than they are scheduled to premiere. Social
networking sites allow those leaks to go viral, and be seen by many users more quickly. Time difference is
also a problem facing traditional advertisers. When social events occur and are broadcast on television,
there is often a time delay between airings on the east coast and west coast of the United States. Social
networking sites have become a hub of comment and interaction concerning the event. This allows
individuals watching the event on the west coast (time-delayed) to know the outcome before it airs.

Role of Social Media Marketing in Business:

Creating and developing a website is important for any business. Along with having a website, you
need to expand your online outreach to social media platforms. Social networking sites such as
Twitter and Facebook are essential for maintaining a competitive edge. Companies that do not have
active social media accounts risk missing out on numerous marketing opportunities.

Interaction with Target Market:

One of the key advantages of social media for businesses is that it enables you to interact with your
customers. Going through the tweets and Facebook updates that are posted by your customer base
gives you insight into what they need. This is useful for helping your company formulate marketing
strategies that address their needs.
Improve Responsiveness:

Social media eases the process of providing and receiving feedback. If your customers have concerns or
problems with what your business offers, they can let you know in a timely manner. Social media gives
customers a convenient and accessible way to express what they feel and gives companies a chance to
respond. With such platforms, businesses are able to view complaints and assure their customers that their
problems will be dealt with.

Competition:

If your competitors are already using social media accounts for marketing and engaging their customers,
you need to ensure that you are keeping up with the digital marketing strategies that are being
implemented.

In the competitive world of business, more and more companies are capitalizing on the benefits of social
media. In order for you to be able to boost online traffic to your site and increase sales, you need to stay
ahead of the competition while providing your customers with the best products and services.

Effective Marketing:

The social networking nature of platforms such as LinkedIn and Twitter generate interest among
followers who are more responsive to them than a blatant marketing approach. You can use social
media creatively to advertise your products and services without making your customers feel like they
are overwhelmed by your marketing campaigns.
Advertisements strategically placed within informative posts are an effective way to spread the
word about your business. Social media spreads awareness about your business while giving you the
chance to constantly remind them about the products and services that you offer.

Find Customers:

Hashtags and keywords are useful for helping you identify potential customers who are interested in
what you are selling. After finding prospective customers, you can simply direct them to your account
where they fill out more about your business.

Affordability:

Managing your social media accounts is a cost-effective way to promote your business by using
affordable social media marketing campaigns that strengthen your company's online visibility. Social
media does not require an extensive budget, which makes it fair for small businesses that are
competing with well-known brands.
Database:

DBA services provide service delivery solutions that are flexible enough to meet the diverse needs of
different companies. Emphasis is placed on the management and support of databases from remote
locations while catering to the specified needs of various customers. Services are available for
different database environments to provide a dependable, secure and expert approach to database
management.

Social Environment:

A social networking forum efficiently creates a social environment for you and your customers. Such
a forum enables you to acquire important feedback regarding your business. Social media serves the
purpose of making it easier for consumers to find out and distribute information about different
brands, products and services.

A significant percentage of customers that relies on the internet to search for products have
discovered specific companies through social media. If the opinions and reactions of your consumers
matter to you, going social is necessary.

Informative:

Social media is informative and gives you access to what your competition is up to as well as what
customers are posting online about products and services. This gives you better insight into the
market and various factors that affect your industry.

Online Presence:

Social media has gradually evolved into an integral aspect of people's daily lives. From sharing details
about lunch to ranting about bad service, people discuss virtually everything about their lives.
Several people visit social networking sites each day and businesses need to maximize on their
online presence.

Statistics indicate that the way people utilize social media and interact online influences their
purchasing decisions. With more consumers choosing to make their purchases online, their approach
to shopping has drastically changed. This makes it necessary for retailers to incorporate social media
and adapt to the changes that have affected advertising and marketing in general.
Importance of Getting Social:

Social media sites let you know what is popular. They also provide a platform for people to talk
about pertinent issues and what they prefer. Social media was initially personal but has extended to
the business realm. It plays an essential role in marketing strategies by increasing traffic and serving
as a part of your SEO strategy.

Businesses need to work on their social skills and how they interact with their customers online for
the best results. Success in social media marketing involves being strategic and innovative. Social
media drives traffic with referrals and the additional advantage of taking up a considerable amount
of time spent online. Marketers are becoming increasingly aware of the need to allocate time and
resources to social media sites.

Communication and Branding:

 Communication is vital for the success of any business and engaging your customers regularly
helps to enhance your image. Social networks allow you to interact and deal with your
customers on a personal level.
 When your brand gets involved in conversations, customers view it as approachable,
responsive and accessible. This type of exposure positively influences how you are perceived
and makes customers more receptive to the information that you share.
 Both social profiles and websites can help improve your branding efforts. Your existing and
prospective customer base will be able to identify your brands' characteristics based on how
you interact on social media.

Social Media for Business Growth:

A significant amount of social media activity is carried out through mobile devices. Make sure that
your social media strategy is compatible with mobile devices to guarantee a worthwhile user
experience. Social media sites continue to gain popularity at a rapid rate and it is important for small
and growing businesses to use them to advertise and market what they offer.

What is the Scope of Social Media in India?

The scope of social media in India is immense and increasing rapidly. It is the 10th biggest economy
and also has the 2nd largest population in the world. A survey in 2019, which includes the top
businesses admitted that 15-20% of their marketing budget is allocated for social media advertising.
From that, it is understood the importance of social media in brand advertising.

There will not be any person who doesn’t know what social media is. Isn’t it? But many individuals
may not know how it is important in digital marketing and how social media marketing can enhance
career growth. Based on the Statista analysis it is been found that the number of users of the social
network in India will be 258.27 million. It is a drastic rise from approximately 168 million users in
2016.

India is encountering development in the number of mobile users; regardless it contains just 16
percent of the nation’s aggregate populace with access to the web. In addition, it is assessed that
India’s web clients will end up noticeably the world’s biggest web base, after China and the US.

As smartphones and internet develop in the nation, more organizations will concentrate on giving a
consistent shopper involvement with promo offers, mobile updates, events and contents based on
the conduct and interests. Moreover, with the ascent of WhatsApp and Facebook for organizations,
brands will concentrate on additionally improving their advertising efforts to speak with clients
specifically where they are destined to be discovered
i.e. on their smartphones.

The normal Indian spends over 28 hours of the week online, which is a cause of immediate access to
a world of data and media readily available. For utilizing the web for different purposes in life,
Indians will keep on relying more on Digital mediums to search for items and associate with brands
on the web. With the developing requirement for visual information, brands will keep on relying on
recordings and pictures which attract the population.

Social Media Marketing uses Apps, Smartphones, Email, Computers, and Social Networks to
associate and market a message to their potential or existing clients. As more Indians interface with
each other through social stages, brands will use these stages to recount stories, catch

consideration and at last, pitch their products or services to individuals. From culture and decisions
to gender and orientation, the key parts of marketing a brand or a business will keep on evolving
digitally in lieu of the present circumstances and future industry trends.

There is no lack of TV, Radio, Outdoor and Print Marketing and Advertising in India and it is more
improbable that these customary mediums will go terminated at any point in the near future. The
scope of social media marketing in India will keep on benefitting from the innovative, financial and
social changes in the nation and Indian organizations should have a strong marketing methodology
set up to receive maximum benefits.
Why is Social Media Marketing a Must for Every Company?

 Internet, Internet Everywhere!!

As per statistics for the years starting from 1993 till 2015, internet usage by the world population has
been tremendously increased and now 40% of the population is using the internet. i.e., 3.42 billion
users.

It was less than 2% of the world population in 1995. Thus, based on these statistics, it is a compelling
statement that the scope of social media marketing India will have a bright future in the coming years.

 Audience Targeting
Traditional marketing was not able to target a specific audience with demographics and details. Do
you agree with this? Definitely, yes. The marketing of any product aimed at mass marketing earlier.
But today with the emerging trends of digital marketing, there are so many personalized methods to
target the audience.

 Smartphones Era
Every day, mobile phone users are increasing and as per the report by 2019, the number of mobile
phone users will be 5.07 billion. This year it is 4.77 billion users worldwide. Check the difference within
two years!! And most of the mobile phones now are smartphones that allow customers to get
connected with the business anywhere and anytime.

High ROI with Less Cost

Social media marketing is a platform that provides high ROI with very less investment. This is why
many small and medium scale organizations rely on social media for their marketing methods.

“Social Media Marketing (SMM) refers to processes that focus social networks and applications to
publicize brand awareness or to promote specific products”, states Techopedia.

Social Media Platforms:

What comes to mind when you talk about social media platforms? Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp,
Google+, LinkedIn, YouTube and Instagram. Correct?
 The ascent of social media is another important pattern that has been a standout amongst the most
persevering medium of Digital Marketing far and wide. From Facebook and Instagram to Snapchat
and YouTube, the advertisers have begun making and distributing customized content, stories and
channels for entertainment as part of their marketing system.

With the brands having their own app and website which is not mobile-friendly specific, there arises
an overlap with those that have mobile-friendly sites and apps. This is because the brand which has
mobile-friendly sites indicates that they are specifically looking for a separate channel of
engagement. All the marketing channels of social media are popular but different from each other in
marketing through their unique models.

At present, India is the second-biggest client of Facebook and YouTube on the earth and if this
pattern is to be accepted, traditional marketing mediums like TV, Print will soon initiate social media
marketing as being each brand’s pack of marketing cards.

1. Facebook
Facebook has more than 2 billion active users per month and is one of the best media to connect with friends
and family through videos, posts, chats, etc.
1. Marketing through Facebook builds trust and it motivates the users to site sign up
instead of selling directly.
2. The model of marketing through Facebook includes sharing videos, posts on a page,
promotion of page, location, interest and demography based targeting and paid model for
boosting pages and ads.
2. WhatsApp

3. Months active users on WhatsApp exceeds 1300 million as it allows free instant
messaging (personal and group) with more privacy.

4. It is suitable for E-commerce, banks, individual service providers, travel and tourism
companies.

5. It maps users’ behavioral data by using it as a data repository by Facebook. These are then
used by businesses to focus on relevant products to leads.
Partnerships with various businesses are allowed to communicate directly with users.

3. LinkedIn

6. LinkedIn is a business networking site that has approximately 500 million users monthly and
includes professionals and corporate to connect with each other through job postings and
professional knowledge intimating.

7. This platform is apt for corporate clients, B2B and small to medium-sized companies to
MNCs.
8. Marketing models include boosting the post and top menu bar ads.

4. Twitter

9. Twitter is a micro-blogging site to connect with the world through tweets below 140 words
and videos. It allows freedom of expression of reviews on present issues and has
approximately 328 million active users per month.

10. This platform is good for skilled B2C and B2B professionals.
11. Brand image can be boosted with conversation and posts can be targeted using
hashtags.

5. Instagram

12. Instagram has more than 700 million active users per month and it is used for photo
sharing and is linked with Twitter, FB, and Flickr.

13. This is accurate for local businesses, B2C, travel companies, lifestyle brands for visual
contents, and showcasing the company’s picture through pictures.
6. YouTube

14. This is one of the best video sharing platforms for local business, entertainment
business, and B2C companies which have 1.5 billion monthly active users.

15. Marketing models include entertaining and educative videos to enhance engagement and
if the view is more, you will get more money.

7. Quora

16. It is a social forum to ask questions and exchange answers for that with 100-200 active
users monthly.

17. This will fit for education institutes, skilled professionals, teachers and professors as it can
establish authority over a subject through knowledge sharing.

8. Google+
 18. 440 million active users. It helps to post and share blogs, follows a community and
connects with friends.

19. This is quite good for local businesses, B2B, B2C, and SMEs.

20. Marketing models on Google+ include sharing content to drive more traffic,
networking through Google hangouts.

LITERATURE REVIEW

What is Social Media?

Social Media is defined as "a group of Internet-based applications that build on the ideological and
technological foundations of Web 2.0, and that allow the creation and exchange of User Generated
Content." Furthermore, the New Zealand Government of Internal Affairs describes it as "a set of online
technologies, sites and practices which are used to share opinions, experiences and perspectives.
Fundamentally it is about conversation. In contrast with traditional media, the nature of social media is to
be highly interactive."

Moreover, the term social media is described an online tools that let people to interact and communicate
with each other. This has become a standard word for online and cultural and it has a dominant ways for
individuals to engage on the internet. By using social media individuals became more closely and strongly
connected than ever before.

Social Media as a Public Utility

Applying the term public utility to social media implies that social media websites are public necessities,
and, consequently, should be regulated by the government. While social media is not as essential for
survival as traditional public utilities such as electricity, water, and natural gas, many people believe it has
become vital for living in an interconnected world and without it, living a successful life would be difficult.
Therefore, many people believe that social media has reached utility status and should be treated as a
public utility. However, others believe that this is not true because social media is constantly
revolutionizing and giving such platforms "utility status" would result in government regulation, which
would consequently hinder innovation. Over the past decade many have debated and questioned whether
or not "Internet service providers should be considered essential facilities or natural monopolies and
regulated as public utilities."

Individual Level

On the individual level, advocates of social media as a public utility believe that Internet presence using
social media websites is imperative in order to adequately take part in the 21st century as an individual,
and consequently, these sites are public utilities and need to be regulated. Specifically, social media
researcher Danah Boyd has argued that the social media site Facebook is obtaining public utility
characteristics, and due to such characteristics she concludes that regulation will eventually take place in
the future. She asserts "Facebook may not be at the scale of the Internet (or the Internet at the scale of
electricity), but that doesn’t mean that it’s not angling to be a utility or quickly becoming one,"

Additionally, Boyd points out that just like water, power, and sewage, most people will not give up
Facebook regardless of how much they hate it. She argues that Facebook is becoming a public utility, and
regulation is imminent. Specifically she states, "we can argue about whether or not regulation makes
things cheaper or more expensive, but we can’t argue about whether or not regulators are involved with
utilities: they are always watching them because they matter to the people."

Furthermore, an assistant professor at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, ZeynepTufeci
expresses that social media is a public utility and is optional in the same sense that electricity, telephone,
and modern medicine are optional. Tufeci claims websites such as Facebook act as a "phone directory" in
the lives of young people. Additionally, she expresses that maintaining a social media profile is not an easy
endeavor and users are highly unlikely to duplicate this effort across multiple services. She claims this is
"the same way multiple electric companies don’t put down parallel cables to each neighbor to compete
with each other."

The research done by both Tufekci and Boyd illustrate the way advocates of social media as a public utility
feel about social media websites. Specifically, these advocates claim that such websites are the equivalent
of "social utilities" or "social commons," and are essential to one’s social existence.
Social Media Trends

Opponents of this theory claim that social media websites are not public utilities because new social media
websites continually come into existence and replace the old. Such evolution does not happen with
common public utilities like water, electricity, and natural gas. To illustrate this argument, the following
lists popular social media websites. Many were very popular in the past, and have been displaced by
similar websites of the present.

CompuServe, Prodigy &The WELL: popular social networking websites sites 25 years ago.

America Online: popular online service in the 90’s, which charged a monthly fee and offered many tools
including its own browser, search engine, content, chat rooms, and email system.

GeoCities, Tripod.com &Yahoo! Groups: common websites of the mid-nineties. GeoCities and Tripod
offered tools that allowed users to publish web pages that others could discover. Yahoo! offered a free ad-
supported alternative to America Online

Google: Search engine which beat out Yahoo! by its uncluttered website design and relevant search results.

Google+, in addition to providing the profiles and features of Facebook, is also able to integrate with
the Google search engine. Other Google products are also integrated, such as Google Ad words and Google
Maps. With the development of Google Personalized Search and other location-based search services,
Google+ allows for targeted advertising methods, navigation services, and other forms of location-based
marketing and promotion.

Blogger, Type Pad, WordPress.com: common blogging websites.

Flickr, Photobucket, Image Shack: general websites where users can share photos.

YouTube: video sharing website that was eventually bought out by Google and thus is still prevalent today.

YouTube is another popular avenue; advertisements are done in a way to suit the target audience. The
type of language used in the commercials and the ideas used to promote the product reflect the audience's
style and taste.

Also, the ads on this platform are usually in sync with the content of the video requested; this is another
advantage YouTube brings for advertisers. Certain ads are presented with certain videos since the content
is relevant. Promotional opportunities such as sponsoring a video is also possible on YouTube, “for
example, a user who searches for a YouTube video on dog training may be presented with a sponsored
video from a dog toy company in results along with other videos.”Youtube also enable publishers to earn
money through Youtube Partner Program.
MySpace: began in 2003 and became the most popular social network site that allowed users to interact,
share photos, and videos.

Facebook: after one year, in 2004, this social media website beat out MySpace by nearly doubling the
amount of users and is currently the most popular online social network.

Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users
as friends, exchange messages, and receive automatic notifications when they update their profile.

Facebook profiles are far more detailed than Twitter accounts. They allow a product to provide videos,
photos, and longer descriptions. Videos can show when a product can be used as well as how to use it.
These also can include testimonials as other followers can comment on the product pages for others to
see. Facebook can link back to the product’s Twitter page as well as send out event reminders. Facebook
promotes a product in real-time and brings customers in.

As marketers see more value in social media marketing, advertisers continue to increase sequential ad
spend in social by 25%. Strategies to extend the reach with Sponsored Stories and acquire new fans with
Facebook ads contribute to an uptick in spending across the site. The study attributes 84% of
"engagement" or clicks to Likes that link back to Facebook advertising. Today, brands increase fan counts
on average of 9% monthly, increasing their fan base by two-times the amount annually

LinkedIn: launched in 2003, business and professional networking site, popular site of today.

A professional business-related networking site, allows companies to create professional profiles for
themselves as well as their business to network and meet others. Through the use of widgets, members
can promote their various social networking activities, such as Twitter stream or blog entries of their
product pages, onto their LinkedIn profile page. LinkedIn provides its members the opportunity to
generate sales leads and business partners. Members can use “Company Pages” similar to Facebook pages
to create an area that will allow business owners to promote their products or services and be able to
interact with their customers. Due to spread of spam mail sent to job seeker, leading companies prefer to
use LinkedIn for employee's recruitment instead using different job portals. Additionally, companies have
voiced a preference for the amount of information that can be gleaned from LinkedIn profile, versus a
limited email.
Instagram: Instagram is a free photo and video-sharing program and social network that was launched in
October 2010. The service enables users to take a photo or video, apply a digital filter to it, and then share
it with other Instagram users they are connected to on the social network as well as on a variety of social
networking services.

Twitter: launched in 2006, social networking and microblogging service that allows users to post updates
that are up to 140 characters long.

Twitter allows companies to promote their products on an individual level. The use of a product can be
explained in short messages that followers are more likely to read. These messages appear on
followers’ home pages. Messages can link to the product’s website, Facebook profile, photos, videos, etc.
This link provides followers the opportunity to spend more time interacting with the product online. This
interaction can create a loyal connection between product and individual and can also lead to larger
advertising opportunities. Twitter promotes a product in real-time and brings customers in.

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Research Methodology is the systematic, theoretical analysis of the methods applied to a field of study, or
the theoretical analysis of the body of methods and principles associated with a branch of knowledge. It,
typically, encompasses concepts such as paradigm, theoretical model, phases and quantitative or
qualitative techniques.

OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY:-

The objectives of the study of social media marketing are-

 To understand the social media fundamental concepts and social media etiquettes. It refers that
how to use the concepts and etiquette of social media in marketing. These concepts are helpful in
 effective marketing as they direct path in which social media marketing has to be done.

 Another objective of the study is to understand the social media strategy which is used in
marketing. It helps to know the various ideas and techniques used in social media marketing. The
strategy helps in understanding the market more effectively.

We also understand how to advertise by using social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter, etc.Case
study analysis helps in understanding how to advertise through social media. Advertising is the most
important part in marketing i.e., to sell any product or organize any event the main part is to advertise it.
So social media marketing plays a major role in advertisement.
Case studies such as “America’s Got Talent Youtube submissions”, “Nike Make It count”, “Clip In Touch”
are done to understand the marketing strategies and its concepts. Various techniques are used by these
companies to promote their products and events. These companies have used various social networking
sites as a source for marketing.
The study of Social Media Marketing, since not being a related to particular company, has been conducted
through secondary data.

Secondary data, is data collected by someone other than the user. Common sources of secondary data for
social science includes
 Censuses
 Organizational records
 Data collected through qualitative methodologies or qualitative research.

Secondary data analysis saves time that would otherwise be spent collecting data and, particularly in the
case of quantitative data, provides larger and higher-quality databases that would be unfeasible for any
individual researcher to collect on their own. In addition, analysts of social and economic change consider
secondary data essential, since it is impossible to conduct a new survey that can adequately capture past
change and/or developments.
The data collected by a person is already been collected and used by some other individual. It can be said
as the re-usage of the data being collected. No questionnaires, etc. are involved in this as the person seeks
the information which is already present to him/her.
Secondary data refers to the data, which is not newly generated but rather obtained from.
• Published sources.
• Unpublished sources i.e., information about the performance of the company.
Secondary research uses outside information assembled by government agencies, industry and trade
associations, labor unions, media sources, chambers of commerce, and so on.
I have collected information from various sources like:-
1. Pamphlets

2. Newsletters
3. Trade publications

4. Magazines
5. Newspapers

Collection Method
The data collection method used in this research is survey method. Here the data
are systematically recorded from the respondents.. Questionnaire is been used as
form of research instrument and it is the interviewer Administered.

Sample
Our sample is collected from friends & family circle. We have conducted a survey of almost 100
samples to know the awareness and perception of Social Media Marketing.

Data Collection Instrument

For the collection of data, we have used Structured Questionnaire.
 DATA ANALYSIS AND FINDINGS:-

RESPONSES

1. Do you think social media is the most sought after method adopted by entrepreneurs’
young and old in the field of marketing, advertising, brand building, promotions?

Options Numbe of responses Percentage

r
Yes 81 90%
No 9 10%

Social media has taken over the world in every sense. In the field of marketing, advertising, brand
building, promotions social media is the most sought after method adopted by entrepreneurs’
young and old. 90% people agree with it but 10% of them still believe in the traditional way of
marketing.

2. Which is the most effective solution for brand promotion?

Options Numbe of responses Percentage
r
Social Media 66 73%
Print Media 24 27%

Marie Swift suggests that placing an advertisement in the print media is not the best solution for
brand promotion. The problem with traditional mass advertising according to Marie is that,
these media appeal to a wide range of people who may not even be interested to know who we
are. 73% of the people agree with it while rest is still thinking print media has its own
significances. Someone said “print media is the only media which has the highest reach as it is read
by the old and young population.”

3. Do you think social media marketing will help the firms to find their potential
customers?

Maybe

Options Numbe of responses Percentage

r
Yes 63 70%
No 9 10%
Maybe 18 20%

Promotions and brand building must be done with people whom we think are potential customers
for our business. This can be achieved by channelizing a greater part of promotion and advertising
budget for activities such as networking, volunteering, hosting events and so on. Out of these
methods, networking is the best that suits the need of the time. With the technological
advancements in today’s world, it is fairly easy to be connected with the outside world with the
help of social networking sites. Yes, most of the people agree with it.

4. Which social networking site are you most familiar with?

Numbe of responses Percentage

r
LinkedIn 18 20%
Facebook 24 27%
Twitter 6 7%
YouTube 15 17%
My Space 3 3%
Most of above 24 27%
the
 In today’s world there are many social networking sites which are helpful for the mass marketing.
The objective of this question was to find the website which is the most popular one. Most of
the people are familiar with Facebook, LinkedIn then YouTube. Many of them are familiar with
most of the social networking sites.

5. Do you think the relative cost is much lesser as compared with traditional advertising?’

Options Numbe of responses Percentage

r
Yes 51 57%
No 24 27%
Depends 15 17%

More than 50% people think relative cost is much lesser as compared with traditional advertising while
more less than 30% think it is not. The studies say that the relative cost is lesser as compared the social
media marketing with traditional advertising.

6. Is social media helpful for B2B firms in generating new sales/clients?

Options Numbe of responses Percentage
r
Yes 57 63%
No 15 17%
It depends repute the 18 20%
how d
firm is.

Social media helpful for both B2B and B2C firms in generating new sales/clients. 63% of the
people agree with it. While others think in B2B everything is taken place in a formal way so it’s
not possible to generate new sales through the social media.

7. “Social media can be effectively used for various B2C clients to increase sales.”
Do you agree?

Partiall
y

Options Numbe of responses Percentage

r
Yes 63 70%
No 9 10%
Partially 18 20%

70% of the people agree with this because most of the people are familiar with social
networking sites and they frequently visit these sites.

8. Which one do you think is the most effective social networking site for online
marketing?

LinkedI n

Twitte r

Faceboo
k

9. Do you follow your favourite brands on social networking sites like

Facebook, twitter and LinkedIn?
 26%

74%

Options Numbe of responses Percentage

r
Yes 78 87%
No 12 13%

Most of the people do follow their favourite brands in Facebook and twitter to know about their
offerings and all.

10. If yes, why do you follow them?

 Number

15
24

51

Just because you like those brands You’re very keen to know about
their new offerings. To know how well they are in marketing.

Options Numbe of responses Percentage

r
Just because you like those brands 24 27%
You’re very keen to know about 51 57%
their new offerings.
To know how well they are in 15 17%
marketing.

27% of people follow their favourite brands just because you like those brands. 57% are very keen
to know about their new offerings while 17% follow to know how well they are in marketing.

CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Conclusions

Marketers have been confronted with the fact that their dominance in the marketplace is fading; push
marketing, based on mass-media communication is becoming less efficient while substantial changes in the
marketplace and developments in the area of Information and Communication Technologies have put the
customer in control of the communication and marketing process. Increasing customer power goes hand-
in-hand with decreasing trust in traditional marketing, and in the diminishing effectiveness of long-
established marketing approaches.

The present evolutionary stage of the Internet, widely known as Web 2.0, has boosted customer power by
presenting individuals with a new generation of online applications, tools, and networking opportunities,
commonly referred to as the Social Media.

Social media has changed the way we communicate and the way we do business. Word of mouth
marketing is being replaced by tweeting recommendations to friends, and more and more customers are
researching products online before purchasing.
So social media marketing plays a vital role in selling or advertising the products and events.
But on other hand it has various drawbacks too such as it is time consuming process, hacker’s threat is
always there, risk of negative comments, etc.

In comparison with traditional advertisements, social media marketing caters to a more focussed
group of people and thus can yield better results. This does not mean that companies should stop
using traditional media and start using online and social media alone for advertisements. This may
result in disastrous results. An important thing to be kept in mind is that when we say one in every
seven people are on Facebook, there can be millions of duplicate accounts and almost half of the
total number of accounts is not being accessed every day. This limits the chances of meeting new
prospects and thereby causes a hindrance for generating new business leads. Also still the
remaining people of the world are relying on traditional media which means that we can’t ignore
them. Therefore the best solution is to combine both traditional and social media for marketing
(Wakolbinger, ). This will bridge the gap between those people who are active on social media
sites and those who are still relying on traditional media. Companies must be careful in selecting
particular adverts for particular media. A company which sells clothes may have to rely on social
media for advertising their clothes for people of the age group 15-50 whereas they still have to
depend upon traditional advertisements like TV, radio and print media for the rest of the age group
population. Thus effective combination of social media adverts and traditional adverts will result in
better results.

Social media marketing can be done through various social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter,
Orkut, etc.
Case Studies help in understanding detailed information, strategies, and concepts about the topic. In this
project various case studies have been used to know more about social media marketing. This helped to
understand the concepts and strategies which companies uses to promote there products. Case study of
LG, Nike, MTV have been done in this project which helped to know more about social media marketing.

Recommendations

Social media marketing success doesn’t take place over night. It’s a cumulative process that produces
success with persistent and consistent execution. Once you've developed your social media marketing
strategy, the success of your efforts is dependent on your execution.

1. Spend time every day executing your social media strategy If you’re not investing, at a minimum, the
equivalent of 25% of a full-time employee daily to execute your social media marketing strategy, you likely
will not get the results you need and expect.

2. Develop a 3-Month Editorial Calendar Now that you know who you want to reach and where you plan to
find them, you need to develop an editorial calendar that identifies the content and message you want to
communicate over a 3-month period

3. Use the 10-4-1 Rule Your audience will quickly tune you out if all you talk about is YOU! While it’s
entirely appropriate to share your blog posts and landing pages on social media, you need to be helpful
above all else. Post interesting content from other sources (trade journals, business press, etc.) that your
ideal customers would find valuable.

4. Involve your sales team in your social media marketing While you’re focused on optimizing your
company’s social media marketing channels, have your sales and management team amplify your efforts
with their personal accounts.

5.Make it easy to share your content and follow your company on social media Social media is all about
sharing. Make sure you have "follow" buttons on your website, email signatures and marketing collateral.
Make sure to include “share” buttons on your email marketing, landing pages and blog articles.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Books
  Kothari CR, Research Methodology, New Age International Publishers, Second Edition.13
 Kotler, KoshiJha, (2009), Marketing Management, edition, Pearson Education.
 Saxena, Rajan, (2008), Marketing Management, 3rd edition, McGraw Hill Education.

Weblinks
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_media_marketing

http://socialmediatoday.com/pamdyer/1478771/7-facebook-marketing-case-studies

http://www.imediaconnection.com/content/33265.asp

http://www.businessinsider.in/The-Top-Facebook-Marketing-Companies-And-The-5-Strategies-Theyve-
Used-To-Help-Clients-Succeed/articleshow/25457480.cms

http://www.businessinsider.in/The-Top-Facebook-Marketing-Companies-And-The-5-Strategies-Theyve-
Used-To-Help-Clients-Succeed/articleshow/25457480.cms

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Instagram

http://www.globalcommunities.info/limitations-of-social-media-marketing-strategy.php

http://www.wisitech.com/blog/social-media-marketing-tool/