Social Media is democratising the market place with the power shifting from the brand owner to the consumer of the brand. In the present times, one dissatisfied customer can group other dissatisfied customers on a social networking site and cause considerable damage to a brands reputation. A customer service problem is no longer a case to be dealt with in isolation; it can snowball into a brand reputation issue.
In the era of mass communication, the brand manager decided the brands positioning. In a world powered by Social Media, consumers will decide the brands positioning. Brand managers will need to be attentive to consumer chatter and use that information to ascertain how the consumer is thinking of his brand. He will have the choice of accepting that positioning, or going back and modifying the product, to try to establish another positioning. Sheer money power will not be enough to establish a brands positioning.
Social Media will bring consumers closer to the product creation cycle and products will actually be made (either by choice or perforce) which are closer to consumer expectations.
The Brand Manager has to be closely watching the currents created on account of brand activities (ATL, BTL, Digital marketing, Social Media Marketing) as well customer service issues, PR crises etc, happening across the geographical spread of the brand. And it will be his job to guide the brand carefully through these problems. This role will require 24×7 vigilance and ability to take very sharp calls.
Popularity of Social networking sites
Social networking is the talk of the day. We see it being mentioned with every strike of the key. Social networking websites connect people with others who share similar interests. People can have their profiles online and share media files such as videos, photos as well as music with friends. These sites are great for advertisers as they can reach millions of people. These networking sites have come up with a targeted ad solution where the advertiser reaches people going by the user profiles and interests. This is what makes social networking sites a haven for advertisers too. If you have a product on “music” you wish to promote, all you need to do is to join one of these social networking sites and promote it to music lovers.
Use of Google Analytics
Google Analytics provides powerful tracking for anyone with a web presen
ce. The product is aimed at marketers as opposed to webmasters and technologists from which the industry of web analytics originally grew.
Integrated with AdWords, users can review online campaigns by tracking landing page quality and goals. Goals might include sales, lead generation, viewing a specific page, or downloading a particular file. These can also be monetized. By using GA, marketers can determine which ads are performing, and which are not, providing the information to optimise or cull campaigns.
