EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Social Media
Marketing is a relatively new addition to personal, small
business, corporate, and non-profit organizations’ integrated marketing
communications plans.
Social media marketing programs usually center on
efforts to create content that attracts attention and encourages readers to
share it with their social networks. A message spreads from user to user and
presumably resonates because it is coming from a trusted, third-party source,
as opposed to the brand or company itself.
Social media has
become a platform that is easily accessible to anyone with internet access.
Increased communication for organizations fosters brand awareness and often,
improved customer service. Additionally, social media serves as a relatively
inexpensive platform for organizations to implement marketing campaigns. With
emergence of channels like Facebook, Twitter, the barrier to entry
in social media is greatly reduced.
Social media marketing is
known as SMO or Social Media Optimization and benefits
organizations and individuals by providing an additional channel for customer
support, a means to gain customer and competitive insight, recruitment and
retention of new customers/business partners, and a method of managing
reputation online. Key factors that ensure its success are its relevance to the
customer, the value it provides them with and the strength of the foundation on
which it is built. A strong foundation serves as a platform in which the
organization can centralize its information and direct customers on its recent
developments via other social media channels, such as article and press release
publications.
Top 14 Benefits of Social Media Marketing for Businesses:
Establish
a Brand and Raise Awareness
Since the
majority of the population is already visiting social media sites like
Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, getting your brand name all over those networks
can help let people know that you’re around. If you have yet to create a
company image online, social networks are the place to do it.
Create a fun
YouTube video that entertains and informs. Funny videos tend to make their way
around the Internet a lot faster than any other kind, so when making a video,
keep in mind that you want it to be interesting enough for your target audience
to want to share. Using Facebook and Twitter to create a fun online community
that your customers will want to visit will boost brand loyalty and drive
traffic to your Website, allowing you the chance to make more online sales.
Spy on the Competition
Follow your
competitors on Twitter and Facebook and you’ll be able to see what they have up
their sleeve. Just make sure to provide a better deal than whatever they have
going on.
Pitch
Products in a More Human, Interactive Way
Since people
visit social media sites to get personal rather than be bombarded with ads,
discuss your business in a fun way and engage your customers with questions.
Ask their opinions and entice them to respond back. This way you’re making a
valuable connection that will help grow your number of return customers.
Bring
Attention to Your Products
Featuring a
product on a social media site is one of the fastest ways to bring attention to
it. Offer a promotion along with it for your online community members and watch
your sales skyrocket.
Increase
Customer Loyalty And Trust
Speaking to
your customers in a personal way will make them feel like they are talking to a
friend, not a company. This will help build their trust in you, which will make
them do business with you rather than your competition. It will also improve
the chances of customer recommendations.
Listen to
Your Customer’s Opinion
Social media
sites are an awesome way to see what your target audience is saying about your
company or your products. Take their constructive criticism and use it to
enhance your product to better meet their needs.
Conduct
Market Research
Listen to
what your customers say about your products and track what links they click on
and you’ll begin to see what your customers like and respond to. People love to
express their opinions on social media sites, which will allow you to hear the
truth. Then you can use your new-found information to tweak your product or
service to please them as well as continue to post more information and links that
they will enjoy.
Strengthen
Customer Service
Social media
networks allow your company to answer your customers’ questions and concerns
directly in a timely manner. This will improve customer satisfaction and also
save you money on long distance customer service phone calls.
For You:
Build Your
Personal Reputation
Social
networks allow you to get your name out to the world and talk about things that
matter to you. This will help you build a good online reputation, which is
critical nowadays if you’re looking for a job or even a new business contact.
Display
Your Resume
LinkedIn
allows you to display your full resume online for any future employers or
recruiters to see. This will help bring you new opportunities that never would
have existed otherwise.
Find a Job
Jobs are
posted every minute on social networks like LinkedIn and Twitter along with the
links or information you need to apply for them.
Showcase
Your Talents And Establish Yourself as an Expert
If you’re
passionate about a certain subject, whether it’s work-related or a hobby, the
Internet is a great place to show off your knowledge. Soon people will be
coming to you for the breaking information on that topic, and talking about you
to friends.
Enhance
Your Business Contacts and Enhance Personal Relationships
Through
professional sites like LinkedIn, you can build your number of business
contacts and enhance your reputation as an expert in your industry. You can
also connect with those long-lost high school and college classmates, old colleagues,
and out-of-town family members.
Share
Information with Like-Minded People
Connect with
other professionals in your field to share information. Where else would you be
able to connect with industry professionals across the globe to swap stories
and advice?
SOCIAL MEDIA IN INDIA
Tech-savvy Indian youths in major
cities are spending at least two hours a day to connect themselves with others
through social networking websites like Facebook, Twitter and Orkut, a new
survey has found.
The "Social Media" survey by Indiabiz News & Research Services (INRS) also found that about 30 per cent of the youths access networking sites from their mobile phones rather than sitting before computers, an indication of how the generation next is taking advantage of the ever-converging technology and communication space.
Among the popular social networking sites, Facebook emerged as the most sought-after website for the youths, while LinkedIn is the second most popular site, according to the survey conducted in major cities such as Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai and Bangalore.
When asked about their favourite networking site, majority of the youths preferred Facebook while about 45.8 per cent voted in favour of LinkedIn, over 36 per cent voted for video-sharing website YouTube and 29.6 per cent said they liked Twitter.
The study attributed the growing popularity of LinkedIn to business networking.
It found that about 37 per cent of the respondents fall in the age group of 26-30 years and almost 35 per cent of them are professionals with mid-level jobs.
"Perhaps, that explains the importance of LinkedIn, a business networking platform that helps its users in establishing contacts and connections related to jobs and business opportunity." the INRS survey said.
However, the popularity of micro-blogging site Twitter seems to be limited to celebrities -- mostly from the film and entertainment industry.
According to a recent study by audience traffic and demographics research
firm Vizisense, Facebook has around eight million users in India, while
professional networking site LinkedIn boasts a subscriber base of six million
in the country.
Another similar study by research firm Nielsen had claimed that about 70 per cent of social media users in India identify Orkut as their preferred social media site although Facebook and Twitter are experiencing exponential growth in India.
While social networking sites are blamed for bullying and online abuse of teenage users, the INRS survey found that most of the users seem to decide things on their own and do not follow trends per se.
Another similar study by research firm Nielsen had claimed that about 70 per cent of social media users in India identify Orkut as their preferred social media site although Facebook and Twitter are experiencing exponential growth in India.
While social networking sites are blamed for bullying and online abuse of teenage users, the INRS survey found that most of the users seem to decide things on their own and do not follow trends per se.
The report said: "About 63 per cent of those who took the poll have never engaged with Communities, Groups and Fan pages on networking sites.
"Among these, more than half join on their own will and a minuscule (11 per cent) would only follow brand endorsements by their friends and only 15 per cent said they trust the information provided.
"Despite the efforts of companies trying to push their brands in the social media space, nearly half of the respondents do not associate themselves with any brand or product."
Even as more and more people are joining the online networking space for professional reasons, the most dominant reason to join the club is to stay in touch with friends.
Almost 90 per cent of the users join such sites to follow or stay in touch
with their friends, while nearly 80 per cent follow their friends for their
pictures.
A large number of users (45 per cent) are reading or writing blogs to express ideas and opinions.
A large number of users (45 per cent) are reading or writing blogs to express ideas and opinions.
The study found that almost 70 per cent of bloggers spend at least half-an-hour daily -- mostly for gaining information.
The top five categories of blogs are entertainment, current affairs, personal, fashion & technology.
COMPANY PROFILE
Career Building Bloc
The company
is registered in Aberdeen, United Kingdom and has recently opened a branch in
Pune. The brainchild of an International Graduate, it aims to help one
understand his hidden talents and true callings.
CareerBuildingBloc is an upcoming Career consultancy, specializing in professional Career Counseling for students from all walks of life and CV Building and Interview coaching for graduates and professionals.
Their Career Advices are truly personal and not generalized as they believe each individual has some true calling and if found he can excel in whatever he decides to do.
The CVs are carefully crafted rather than being just an uninspiring typed summary of an individual's basic information. And their interview coaching service is designed to help their clients truly excel at interview.
The company is now pleased to introduce their new service to students planning to study abroad. They help them make a smooth transition from India to UK, taking care from helping them with their visa, to getting them their first part-time job in the UK, all this for a very competitive price.
Mission : (as taken from the website of the
company)
1. To help our clients find their true calling through various International testing methods.
2. To help our clients to prepare winning professional CVs, to get that one chance to present themselves as true professionals.
3. To prepare our clients to excel at interview and to consequently achieve the jobs they want, the jobs they deserve.
4. To maintain the highest standards of service and to ensure total 100% client satisfaction.
5. To listen to our clients, to respond, adapt to and accommodate their changing needs.
Products Turnaround Time:
Once
received, we aim to turn round an order within an average of 24 hours,
including, if necessary, a quick phone call or email from our consultant, just
to make sure that we've fully understood your requirements and what you expect
from the service. If you're on a really tight deadline, you can even opt for
one of our express services with turnaround times as fast as 4 hours.
The Founders – Career Building Bloc
Aditya Singh
Shaktawat- CEO and Founder
Aditya is a
graduate from the prestigious Institute "Indian School of Mines" and
is a Petroleum Engineer by qualification. Aditya heads the Technical aspects of
CBB and ensures a quick, convenient and instinctive experience for
our clients. Aditya has been involved with the Marketing department of CBB and
he ensures that CBB reaches out to the maximum number of clients through
Facebook, Twitter etc.
If not found engrossed in his laptop and Face(ing the)Book, Aditya is an A-level NCC Certificate holder and a keen sportsman, who enjoys playing squash during weekends.
Aditya can be contacted at: adityashaktawat@careerbuildingbloc.com or aditya.shaktawat@gmail.com
If not found engrossed in his laptop and Face(ing the)Book, Aditya is an A-level NCC Certificate holder and a keen sportsman, who enjoys playing squash during weekends.
Aditya can be contacted at: adityashaktawat@careerbuildingbloc.com or aditya.shaktawat@gmail.com
Aakanksha
Sadekar- Co-Founder
Born in
Mumbai, India and raised pretty much all over the World, Aakanksha Sadekar, the
co-founder of CareerBuildingBloc, is an avid believer in second chances- a
concept that is the very foundation behind the initiation of this company. She
is a Engineer and a keen social entrepreneur. She choose to follow the
unconventional path to success and choosing the difficult way to making a
living and Combining this with one of her other role model, Steve Jobs' words -
"You've got to find what you love... if you haven't found it yet, don't
settle and keep looking", Aakanksha Sadekar has planted a seed of thought
(nay just started a business venture) whose roots will touch, move and inspire
many-a-generation today and tomorrow.
When not engrossed in CBB, Aakanksha is a keen writer, dance and a travel enthusiast (due to her early childhood experiences).
Aakanksha can be contacted at: aakankshasadekar@careerbuildingbloc.com
FAQS
Q. What is a Careers Guidance session
Careers
Guidance session is an
appointment with one of our friendly, professional and qualified advisors
focused on your career and any training options that may be available to you.
The session is centred on you and your goals and using an action plan, we can
help set you simple tasks and milestones that will set you on the right track
and give you a clear idea of what you need to do to achieve your goals. The
Careers Guidance service at is part of the Next Step Adult Careers Service.
Q. What does the Careers
Guidance session include?
As the
session is centred around the individual, no two sessions are ever exactly the
same. However, there are key areas we will cover, including:
Advice and guidance on opportunities available to you using up to date Labour Market Information
Access
to job coaching and job matching services
Access
to skills for working life
Access
to an extensive Library where you can browse a wide range of courses
available
Depending on
your circumstances, up to three sessions may be available to you for ongoing
support
Q: Will you tell me what job I should do?
No one knows
you better than you know yourself and therefore no one can tell you what is the
right career choice for you – only you know that. What we can do is assist you
in this process to find out what it is that you enjoy doing and what type of
role will fulfill you.
Q: How does counselling work?
Career Counselling
‘works’ in a number of different ways and everyone’s experience is very
different. Essentially, the more you are prepared to put into the process the
more you will get out of it.
Q. I haven’t had to compile a CV before – How do i do
it now?
In today’s
employment market your CV is your initial sales pitch to a prospective client.
Think of it as your ‘product brochure’ and the product is you. It is important
that this is presented in the best possible way. Our Complete CV writing
service is not just we re-writing what you have already put down on paper in a
different format (unless you wish to use the ‘basic’ service). We will sit and
talk to you about each of your roles in detail to make sure that all of the
information is correct.
Q. I'm thinking of changing my job but I don't want
anyone to know I'm getting career
advice Will you be contacting my trainer?
The provision
of career guidance for any individual with a career dilemma is an entirely
confidential service. If the action plan suggests it might be helpful to get
advice from a third party then the individual doctor concerned must explicitly
agree.
Q. How do I book a Careers Guidance appointment?
You just need
to drop a mail including your basic details to book an appointment for a
guidance session at Careerbuildingbloc.If you would like to speak to someone
about our guidance service or to make an appointment with one of our guidance
workers please phone on +91-7387995130
OBJECTIVE
AND SCOPE
The core
objective of the project was to start spreading awareness about the company and
its services though social media. The project aimed at interacting with the
youths directly, without incurring any cost & thereby determining their
career related immediate needs.
The task was
as fresh as the company was. Being a start-up, things had to be done from
scratch without any work profile boundaries. A suitable website was created
which was the stepping stone to enter the social media. The content of the
website was written in order to be understood simply yet with an impact.
The company
id’s had to be formed on Twitter & Facebook to interact with the youths.
Once, the ids were blocked, the message to be spread was worked upon, with step
by step strategies to deliver messages in a smooth regular flow. The word was
spread and people started joining in. The interactivity of the Facebook and
Twitter was kept simple yet immediate. The pages were used for researching
about the current mindset of the youths and understanding their dilemma.
A series of
interactions, responses called for the company’s first workshop for career
counseling. On 2nd July, a career guidance session was held in Pune. As per the
expected turnaround of 80 students, the workshop got an overwhelming response
which forced the company to arrange for another session the very next day
guiding another 80 students. These 160, strengthened the database for the
company.
Within two
months of its inception, Career Building Bloc has near about 1000 followers
both on FB & Twitter.
The research done
in the light of this project brings out the importance of the fast growing
social media marketing for companies to continuously interact with its audience
and add value to its service. It indicates the fact that, social media
marketing, if implemented in a strategic, responsible and interactive manner,
can really spread brand awareness & service by one on one interaction with
the target audience.
The Social Media Marketing Methodology
1. Social Media
Overviews: To create a presentation on the social media platform
2. Competitive
Analysis: To build a full social media profile analysis of a competitor. This
included what platforms they use, how they participate and some analysis do
determine how they are successful
3. Account
creation/customization: To create a social media profile that will attract
attention. Selecting a user name, fill in the bio, create a custom background
and begin following relevant people in the
company’s field.
4. (Social) Media
Research: Research on which social media platforms are your main target
audience using?
5. Template
creation: To create customized templates for the firm’s FB page & a
logo/avatar
.
6. RSS building: RSS
feed is one of the most important tools for communication. But it couldn’t give
enough time to set up an RSS reader to monitor social media activity around our
brand, our client or the competitor.
7. Blog monitoring:
To conduct some research and report back about the most important blogs related
to the organization and its associates
.
8. Blogging: To
create a company blog & invite people to post about their worries &
experiences on it. It showcase another side to the company, as not only as a
friend, but it also provides important feedback
Tactics
Twitter allows companies to promote 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.
Facebook profiles are more detailed than Twitter. 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. It 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.
Blogs
Blogs allow a product or company to provide longer descriptions
of products or services. The longer description can include reasoning and uses.
It can include testimonials and can link to and from Facebook and Twitter
pages. Blogs can be updated frequently and are promotional techniques for
keeping customers.
Recommendations
From the
marketing activities carried out and the analysis of the result obtained from
them, the following suggestion and recommendation can help the firm to improve
upon their service :
•
Concentrate on students who would be appearing for
their 12th exams.
•
Limit the service to Pune only as the city offers
enough students to cater to.
•
Increase the daily activities to be kept published on
Social media networks.
•
Give more job related guidance for the college pass
outs.
•
Improve on the quality of counselors.
•
Come up with new scope of guidance for new vocations.
•
Build proper positioning in the minds of the target
mass.
•
Collaborate
with similar thinking NGO’s and coaching centers. Also, collaborate with
colleges offering them special offers and make it shout on social networks.
•
Service check calls at regular intervals have to be
made.
•
Publish more of
success stories.
•
Show presence in various events happening around the
city regarding counseling.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
•
AC Neilsen
•
Zee News
•
Wikipedia
•
Moksh Juneja. Com
•
Google.com
•
Pen-olson.com
•
101 social media marketing strategies – Times Group
SOME
SNAPSHOTS
CareerBuildingBloc
· RECENT ACTIVITY
o CareerBuildingBloc edited their Phone, Website and Email.
CareerBuildingBloc
sites.google.com
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CareerBuildingBloc
· RECENT ACTIVITY
o CareerBuildingBloc changed their Website.
· RECENT ACTIVITY
§ CareerBuildingBloc edited their Email and About.
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Kusum Udawat
· 
Sanjana Shetty
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CareerBuildingBloc
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Narendaran Sridhar
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CareerBuildingBloc
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CareerBuildingBloc
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CareerBuildingBloc
· RECENT ACTIVITY
o CareerBuildingBloc edited their Phone and Description.
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Tarun Sharma
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