First let’s talk about what social media is. Social media represents certain tools that are used to combine technology and social interaction with the use of words. These tools are typically internet or mobile based – A few that you have probably heard of include Twitter, Facebook, MySpace and YouTube.
And now let’s know the role of Social media to the marketers. Social media gives marketers a voice and a way to communicate with peers, customers and potential consumers. Social media marketing is also an engagement with online communities to generate exposure, opportunity and sales. It seems that many marketers see the social media frontier as the next marketing gold rush. It personalize the “brand” and helps you to spread your message in a relaxed and conversational way
With the Limit of SMS, promotions have more marketers in India using email and social media to reach customers. According to Octane Research report of January 2012 “Gearing Up For Growth: India e-Marketers Outlook 2012”, marketers n India expect to increase the use of social media and email to reach their customers in 2012. Almost 69% of marketers said they planned to adopt social media marketing in the coming year, and 53.1% plan to invest in email marketing. 46% of marketers also plan to pay more attention to developing company websites.
Interestingly, its not only social media that is registering astounding growth in India. With the revolution in social media, many supporting channels like Email, Websites etc are also trending in Indian market. However, social media is leading among all and this trend will be continued in 2012. Social media has taken a lead with significant margin with all its possible closest competitors. In India, Email marketing is going ot be the only one that could be count anywhere close to social media for various promotional channels in India.
The biggest surprise comes with interactive form of promotional channels. Ins spite of improved infrastructure and high-speed internet connectivity, marketers seems to be losing faith in Video and Webcasts. These promotional channels are the only ones expected to witness decline in 2012.
If you think that social media is only for the small business owners that are trying out an experiment, I have to correct you. Online Social Networking is a rapidly growing cultural phenomenon. Around 2010 and 2011, social networking websites have sparked tons of media stories and blog posts — including lots of buzz within these social networking websites themselves about social networking.
Many marketers are shifting strategies, as a recent Telecom Regulatory Authority of India ruling limits the number of promotional SMS messages marketers can send per day. It is estimated that internet penetration in India will remain in the single digits, but marketers are steadily increasing their attention to digital media as online usage grows. Even with low penetration, 103.6 million people will go online in 2012, and the number of users is expected to more than double to 221.6 million by 2015.
