Archive for the ‘Social Media Marketing’ Category

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React using Your Favourite Emojis on WhatsApp Message Threads

Tuesday, July 12th, 2022

Do you want to react with your favourite emojis on WhatsApp message threads? In that case, WhatsApp has something for you in its kitty. 

The social media platform has expanded its offerings while reacting to the messaging threads. Users can now select any emoji of their choice as a Reaction option within their messaging threads using the full emoji keyboard of WhatsApp. 

Sounds great right! 

What will this feature do? 

With this feature, you do not need to send an emoji reaction as a separate message. You can react to the message thread directly. In May this year, the platform launched its Reactions on messaging threads feature in groups. Later on, with limited feature options, it also enabled this feature with limited emoji options in personal chats. 

Users instantly took a liking to it and within a few days, Reactions became a habitual response pattern for many. 

How to use it?

To get the full emoji keyboard you need to follow the below process:

  • Press a little longer on the message in the thread you want to react to 
  • Emojis will appear on the screen. 
  • A + sign will appear at the end of the row
  • Click on the + sign and get your full emoji keyboard. 
  • Click on the emoji you want to use and share your reaction in the message thread. 

Though this is a minor update, its instant acceptance makes this as important as any other feature launched by the social media platform. All whats app users can avail of this service from 11 July 2022. 

We at Windchimes Communications, promise services par excellence. We are a digital experiential agency committed to keeping you updated with the latest trends in digital trends. We believe in finding a simpler way of doing things. 

Posted in Social Media, Social Media Marketing, Social Media Research | 1 Comment »

Television Commercials or Ads on YouTube-What do you choose?

Tuesday, August 4th, 2015

Are brands relying more on YouTube for their advertisements than stereotyped television commercials for their branding?

clip_image002[6]When was the last time you watched a television commercial without cursing the show you are watching for making you go through it? Cannot recall? We guessed so. Now, let’s take YouTube. For short videos on YouTube, it is easier to anticipate when exactly an ad is getting over and whether or not it would pop up again. Things like this influence people’s choice of the platform they want to watch your ads at. The platform of broadcasting your video advertisements is important, but a perfect combination of timing and content is the key here.

Sometimes, the ads are better watched on YouTube first when multiple viewers have already watched it, liked it and shared it. You may even watch an advertisement intentionally, thinking it’s an interesting short video. Deepika Padukone’s Mother’s Day special video for Tanishq was a hit on YouTube before it was telecasted on television. Alia-Siddharth’s Coke advertisement gained enough loyal viewers through YouTube before the ad hit the television.

Can you recall Google’s ‘Help your mother get online’ advertisement that got viral on social media? Given that people have mastered in skipping channels to avoid the television commercials, sharing and circulation of advertisements across social media platforms by them is a revolution in itself.

Blog Image (in the content) (1)It all comes down to the timing and content of the advertisements. Once you have uploaded your advertisement on YouTube, you can sit back and relax to see it getting circulated. It’s all about building a beautiful and strong story, and giving people sufficient time, not too much, not too less, to watch and appreciate it. When you force your advertisements on the viewers, you force them to repel it. Online shopping websites, which bank a lot on social media, are also focusing on online ads. The ad titled as ‘The Visit’, by Myntra gained more than 2 Lakh hits within 10 days.

The media industry is now shifting from the television commercials to online advertisements. The platform is interactive and viewers can have fun with various ad formats. It also gives them the liberty to share their thoughts about the videos. The cost is also quite less as compared to television commercials, as Google Adwords relies on Pay Per Click and Pay per View themes. Technology is taking over the traditional media and hence, video ads have an average click-through rate (CTR) of 1.84%, the highest click-through rate of all digital ad formats.

The ‘Skip Ad’ option could be a minor hiccup in this, but the overall demand for online video is too high, and it has increased the number of video advertisements that are being uploaded on YouTube.

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Posted in Blog Content, Blog Visibility, Blogs, Brand Promotion, Digital Media, Online Videos, Social Media Marketing, Traditional Media, Windchimes Comm | No Comments »

Supercharge Your Brands With Videos

Friday, October 17th, 2014

imageWe have landed into the generation where everything is transforming into digital; even the experiences! And in this experiential era, videos can do miracles for your inbound marketing. Videos, particularly YouTube provides referral traffic in terms of user engagement, retention and referrals. Videos can be tremendously beneficial for your inbound marketing attempts. In this time of digitalization and experiences, videos certainly dominate the marketing strategies. What you need to know are the steps towards charging all your marketing efforts with videos and connect with your consumers by appealing to their interests.

Videos nowadays are the most powerful tools for any brand. They are, sort of considered to bring along superpowers. Well, let’s check out why so!

There are millions of users who watch online videos everyday. According to a study, image

  • – 45% of internet users view atleast one online video a month
  • – 90% of online shoppers state that videos on a retailer’s website influence better and quick purchasing decisions
  • – 75% of executives view work related videos atleast once a week
  • – 59% of senior executives prefer to watch a video than read text
  • – Integrating a video in an e-mail can increase the click through rates as well

Now, the question is what makes the videos so powerful? What are the three most important traits of videos?

Well, Videos are said to improve:

  • imageVisitor experience – an average user will prefer to spend more time on a web page with a video compared to the one without it
  • Brand perception – Through body language, expressions, eye contact, voice, tone and appearance more information can be expressed through a video
  •  
  • Search Engine Optimization – Videos are more likely to receive an organic first page ranking than normal text pages

The next question is; how popular are videos?

YouTube, the most popular video sharing and viewing platform reaches more people than the regular television networks. Every minute, millions of videos are uploaded.

With million videos being uploaded everyday, Instagram is next. The engagement level of Instagram videos is also on the rise and surprisingly, it is more viewed than Instagram photos.

Vine is next in the queue with millions of videos being uploaded everyday. Also, it is estimated that every second atleast five Vine videos are tweeted by people.

It is believed that by the year 2017, two-thirds of the World’s mobile data traffic will be video.

Now, you must be wondering how to take that first step towards creating video. Here you go:image

Firstly, define your audience & goal, which means define your message and the target audience it should reach

  • Repurpose a previously successful topic and explain it in a completely new way
  •  
  • Brand your video with your logo and branding
  •  
  • Keep it short; keep it simple & sweet, because most users click away from a video in the first few seconds, if the video is not engaging. Therefore, the optimal length for a video is considered to be 60-90 seconds
  •  
  • Content is key because any video which is just about flash and no message or substance is of no use
  •  
  • Title tips, there has to be something written that makes people watch the videos. proper keywords need to be integrated in the video title to optimize it for search engines.
  •  
  • Optimize your video for search engines. The video has to be uploaded to right platforms, with right keywords and URLs.
  •  
  • Go beyond YouTube. Yes, there’s more to explore, such as Instagram, Facebook, website, blog etc.

Encourage sharing and including an html embed code as embedded video views will be added to your ‘views’ tally on YouTube which is an important metric in Google’s search algorithm.
 Source: www.bixamedia.com

So, are you set to integrate videos to your marketing strategy? if yes, then do ensure you make it brief, branded, relevant, targeted and also pay attention on carefully curate the meta data. What are your thoughts on the importance of videos? Do share your thoughts in the comments below.

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Posted in Blog Content, Blog Visibility, Blogs, Digital Media, Experiential Marketing, Social Media, Social Media Marketing | No Comments »

Branding & Marketing: The Online-Offline Blend!

Tuesday, August 5th, 2014

Blog ImageIn this constantly changing world of marketing, advertising and branding, a very simple Google search has the potential to reveal all trends that the industry can experience in times ahead. Few trends are already in the process of shaping up the route of marketing & branding and few are emerging gradually. The first quarter of this year has already witnessed few of the major developments in the social and digital landscape; one of these innovations being; the fusion of online and offline techniques. The time is here when businesses are striving to create an integrated marketing strategy because of the rising association between the corporeal and virtual worlds.

Digital Marketing is the leading edge, and everybody knows that. Therefore, with digital marketing or simply calling online marketing, it has become very easy for brands, brand managers and marketers to connect with their target audiences.

Now the question is, do you think this is just enough? The answer is, ‘No’!bi

Simply because, by just having an online marketing campaign does not mean one can leave offline marketing aside. What one should not do is, having two stand-alone marketing strategies and actually work towards having both the offline and online strategies work in synchronization.

Moving on, this type of marketing blend requires more than just integrating the marketing techniques. It requires integrating the mindsets of the marketers as this online and offline fusion is just like the two sides of the same coin. Consumers and audiences today are already living in this reality.

just think about it, how we print our movie tickets after booking it online, we research things online and pick it up from the related store, we buy something in the store and get information about it online. Still, marketers are not able to make out much on how and when to integrate both the channels.

If you are still wondering on how to begin with bringing your online and offline strategies together, below are a few things you can start with:

– Using Social Media platforms to spread the word about some brand event offline

– Adding a QR Code to a direct mail will lead to users visiting your website, subscribe to your other channels and interact with your brand on social media channels

– Encouraging offline decisions with SEO can provide valuable information about the target audience. Once the keywords that customers are using are understood, what inspires them to buy the product or brand can be defined and further, offline & online strategies can be planned around that

Integrating Offline and Online Marketing into your branding strategies can very much empower your Business. Let us see how:

imageHaving a great user base on social media channels and a considerable amount of traffic is not enough nowadays. As it has now become important to personalize the social media output unique to the brand. This not only helps in distinguishing the brand in the industry but in also evolving as a thought leader. Therefore, it becomes essential to select social media mediums that offer the best access to the target market, while also inculcating the character emotion into the content as a way of engaging an audience in conversation.

Keeping the brand’s identity alive across all channels is very important. The brand thought needs to be carried across business. So, while integrating the online and offline, one must ensure spreading the brand awareness. One must ensure that a fluid and cohesive brand is established across all outbound materials and publications. A cohesive approach needs to be adopted while marketing any venture.

Marketers and brand managers this year have seen, implemented and come to a conclusion that one of the best ways to market a brand is through an interactive campaign; a campaign that engages consumers through both corporeal and virtual marketing. While technology, social media platforms and mobile media might be used for organizing and facilitating an innovative idea or event, it will also need people to interact with it physically.

Online strategies like: Search Engine Marketing (SEM), Mobile Advertising and Social Media Marketing and Offline strategies like: Corporate Gifts and Promotional Products, Mainstream Media, Business Cards followed by Networking with members of the community are few such techniques to start with and help your brand excel with this fusion!

As they say, with great popularity come great challenges, how do you plan to fuse your next marketing strategies between the offline and online so that the consumer experience is not only good, but an extremely relevant one? How do you think one can leverage their knowledge about each prospect on one channel to turn them into a better customer on the other? Finally, how do you think it can be measured, analyzed and improved? Do share your thoughts with us!

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Posted in Blog Content, Blog Visibility, Blogs, Digital Media, Social Media, Social Media Marketing | No Comments »

Brands and Digital Media Campaign

Monday, June 2nd, 2014

Blog ImageBy 2016, it is believed that there will be 10 billion mobile connected devices which will exceed the global population of 7.3 billion people on earth. But, reaching these many number of consumes is convoluted. The reason for this is that 20% of all the web traffic is already on mobile (majorly via iphone, ipad or android). As a result of which, we see a lot of apps being developed by brands for engaging with their consumers.

 

Even consumers spend more time using apps than mobile web. Flash, another element for video playback compatibility is found only on laptops and desktops, not on mobile devices or iphone and ipad for that matter. A lot of mobile devices infact have HTML5. And if you check out, maximum reach always requires Flash, HTML5, Mobile Web and mobile Apps for android and iOS.

Moving on, what was noticed eventually was that viewing videos on social networks grew. As the reach through these various mediums is increasing, now the time is for brands and businesses to monetize it. Yes, we mean generating revenue. It is expected that the number of users watching pay-per-view video on mobile phones and tablets will increase in the coming years. Even television is estimated to add billions of revenue due to digitalization followed by online video advertising.

What we intend to bring to light is the importance of a digital media campaign for brands. This would prove to be the fuel for brands to drive into the minds of their consumers by engaging them through the right path.

Let us see what a framework of a complete digital media campaign holds:

  • The Communication Strategy: This is the blue print of a digital media campaign which focuses or brings to light the specifics methods and mediums that can be used to reach a brand’s target demographic.
  • The Visual Identity: This is the face of any digital campaign, basically it is the visual representation of the campaign message which conveys and also supports that campaign message, visually.
  • Message: It is the heart of a brand’s digital media campaign. It fuels every interaction throughout the campaign and is at the forefront of any digital media campaign.
  • Outreach: Reaching out to the target consumers through communication to convey the campaign message.
  • The next thing is,
    Media Buying: This includes getting the best for your marketing budget when it comes to media based ad purchase.
  • Interactive Media: A successful content management system allows websites to become the centre zone for communications rather than just a static webpage.
  • Interactive Web Portals would also require unique functionality.
  • Social Media: Last but not the least, a successful social media presence is that in which all profiles are kept on brand through custom design profiles and messaging.

Hence, the success of your brand’s digital media campaign will depend on all the above factors combined together to communicate a campaign message, advertising, design, videos and publishing that not only reaches the target audience but creates a lasting impression too!

Digital-Media

Have you planned a digital media campaign for your brand yet? What were the most important factors that were a part of your campaign? Do share in your thoughts with us in the comments below!

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Posted in Blog Content, Blog Visibility, Blogs, Social Media, Social Media Marketing | 2 Comments »

How Can Brands Leverage Snapchat

Thursday, May 15th, 2014

imageMarketers and brand managers are constantly looking out for new ways to connect with their customers & consequently social and digital media have introduced a variety of communication channels that help them do just that. When we talk about digital media, it goes without saying that digital content needs to be relevant and catchy enough to gain viewer’s attention. Constant experimentation is being done to find out the exclusivity that they can provide with their content. Meaningful, short, unique yet relevant and watchable content is the latest trend and brands are optimistic on experimenting with digital only content in the future as well. Digital content is really a way to go!

With tools like Instagram and Snapchat, will the brands be able to offer this exclusivity to their audiences? Moving on, Snapchat is the latest social media phenomenon. The promptly growing mobile app lets users communicate by sending photos that automatically disappear after a few seconds. But then, can brands overcome the creative challenges and turn disappearing content to their advantage?

The worry underneath lies for brands is that viewers have only one chance to view a Snap which is said to take away the excitement. But, there are times when these Snaps can be replayed during a day which could be useful for brands using the app. Snap

Advantages of using Snapchat:
· It allows drawing or writing on photos and videos
· Space is not an issue
· Image is temporary
· User-friendly
· Attention grabbing

Limitations or challenges of using Snapchat:
· Snapchat does not allow marketers to improve the quality of image before they send out as it lacks editing capabilities
· It does not provide space for marketers to add text to their messages as its visually driven
· Fans and audiences won’t be able to find you on Snapchat until they add you as a friend
· Metrics, yes, Snapchat offers zero metrics due to the lack of in-app metrics. this does not allow you to track the credibility of your campaign

Well, depending on your brand’s demographics, it is indeed a great challenge to evolve with Snapchat. And guess what, brands are into it already snapping to glory! Though, brands which are majorly looking to target younger audience are using this app.

Few Examples of Brands in the Snapchat Bandwagon are:

Taco Bell used Snapchat to announce the release of it ‘Beefy Crunch Burrito’. All the users who had added Taco Bell as a friend were sent a ‘Snap’ of Burrito along with the release date of the new product.

Tbell1   Tbell2

Taco Bell also used its presence on other social media platforms effectively to spread the word about its Snapchat profile. Taco Bell was the first brand to use Snapchat’s stories feature through which it released a series of eight photos and videos. With Snapchat Stories feature brands can merge multiple snaps to create a story that remains visible for 24 hours.

See what Mc Donalds is doing on Snapchat

Also, Mashable mentions the top 8 brands rocking Snapchat. Have a look!

Ways brands can use Snapchat

imageThough there are not many a brands doing much on Snapchat but, a selected few are taking this app by storm and using it in their digital strategy to reach the masses. A couple of things that they are doing through Snapchat are:

  • · Introducing new products
  • · Asking immediate action or reaction
  • · Hosting Games/Contests
  • · Inviting fans to participate
  • · Share candid or behind the scene moments
  • · Show something rare like, limited edition offers, coupons & discounts
  • · Get creative with targeted videos (share a unique story by linking two-three videos in succession)
  • · Use celebs
  • · Incorporate other channels
  • · Use the Snapchat features like draw, type, time, temperature etc. and also add filters
  • · Share Snapchat stories
  • · Give a sneak peek into exclusive brand content
  • · Use it do some fun
  • · Introducing new team member or employee

ROI: Brands need to be prepared to measure the brand lift with the use of Snapchat. What needs to be kept track of is impressions, awareness and demographics. Snapchat like most of the social media platforms is based on relationship building.

See how Snapchat has added a few new features and how brands can capitalize on the same. Even thenextweb.com also mentions this news from Snapchat.

While Snapchat is still trying to add more features and monetize this platform, brands have an immense opportunity to establish themselves as ‘ahead of the game’ and reach their demographics. In order to do a Snapchat campaign brands just need a creative strategy as it is both cost effective and easy to implement. One has to be creative on Snapchat, always and persistently and push the limits of creativity. Getting results though is not going to be a one day affair as relationships take time. One has to plan, measure and then work towards lifting their brand through Snapchat. What do you think? Can brands pull off Snapchatting Successfully? Do share your thoughts in the comments below.

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Posted in Blog Content, Blog Visibility, Blogs, Brand Promotion, Social Media, Social Media Marketing | No Comments »

Mobile Marketing Strategies & Brands – The Big Connection!

Friday, May 2nd, 2014

smartphone-with-icons-and-handPeople are nowadays spending a larger fraction of their time on mobile phones. The new world of marketing now stands on the terms like SEO, smartphones, geo-location, mobile sites, digital and social marketing. Also, as the attention span of people is decreasing and their need of getting everything with a click of button is escalating, marketers and brand managers are also testing new tactics to reach their customers. Technologies emerging in the mobile space are sure to help brands leverage their identity by reaching out to a much larger audience and that too across the globe.

Of the World’s 4 billion mobile phones in use, 1.08 billion are smartphones and around 3.05 billion are SMS enabled. It is believed that this year mobile internet should take over desktop internet usage. Mobile revolution is here!

As the use of mobiles is increasing, their adaptability is also growing. From search to research, everything is happening on this device.

What is the state of social and mobile media marketing?

In a report by Microsoft tag,

  • · 1/3rd of Facebook’s 600 plus users use Facebook Mobile
  • · 50% of Twitters 165 million users use twitter mobile
  • · YouTube has over 200 million users and YouTube views occur on mobiles everyday
  • · 30% of smartphone owners accessed social networks through mobiles
  • · Women between the age group of 35-54 are the most active when it comes to socializing via mobile

Many brands and businesses have already entered the mobile development and many are still thinking. What they need to understand is that mobile is the new territory of business. Brands are already planning their strategies well keeping in mind the mobile marketing tactics.

What about you? Have you started doing it yet? If not, then maybe you are late as it is where your customers are these days. This is indeed the year of mobile!

  • · Most brands and businesses are new to mobile marketing and those using it have not been in for more than a year
  • · Many are not aware whether a mobile marketing strategy will benefit their brand and business
  • · A lot of them do not know if they can measure the ROI on mobile marketing
  • · In most cases, time, money and knowledge about mobile marketing is what they are lacking
  • · Step one to mobile marketing is a mobile website and many brands and businesses do have their websites optimized for mobile visitors though

The big fact is that if your customers are not confined to their homes, then why should your marketing be? The time to break the silence and refresh your marketing mix with mobile marketing is here.

Moving on, there are a few types of mobile marketing that you need to keep in mind while crafting a mobile marketing strategy. They are:

Mobile Website Design

imageMobile devices, like smartphones & tablet computers have smaller screens. Hence, many regular websites are not readable on mobile devices. Mobile website specially designed to display on a mobile device is vital for reaching mobile customers.

App-Based Mobile Marketing

imageMobile apps have mushroomed lately and are extensively used in marketing. the ads are hosted within the  application design and consist of virtual machines, widgets and applications enhancing the user experiences.

Mobile Image/Banner Ads

imageThese are just like the standard banner ads for web pages but are small enough to fit the mobile screen sizes.

Mobile Surveys

imageJust like online surveys help marketers improve their marketing efforts. Mobile surreys can also be done for those on the go. This helps in getting instant responses from customers at anytime from anywhere.

SMS (text messaging)image

This involves sending a text messages for marketing to the customers using mobile phones. These marketing messages can include an offer, link to your website, promotional code, discounts etc. For SMS marketing it is very essential to have a mobile website which is responsive in design.

QR Codes (quick responsive barcodes) image

These are those patterned squares that have been quite visible since quite some time now at various places and mediums. QR Codes can be easily scanned by any mobile device with a camera or a QR code reader application. The customer can get all the information on promotions, business information, and so on. This gives businesses a powerful way to drive traffic to stores and mobile websites. QR Codes can be incorporated in business cards, flyers, ads and in your email signature

Voice Marketing image

This is the type of marketing in which the voice broadcasting calls numbers from a computerized list and plays a recorded message to the customer

Mobile Videoimage

Mobile videos are the most powerful types of this form of marketing adding a personal touch to the marketing messages. The video created should be mobile optimized.

Pay-Per-Call or Click-to-Call

imageIn this type of marketing, the user can directly click or tap the number on the mobile ad for which he will not be charged. After this, the customer will be lead to an automated pre-recorded message, a customer care representative or the location for which the number was given.

Bluetooth

imageBluetooth marketing is the one in which the mobile device links into a hotspot with an access to a high transfer speed. It is normally, free of charge and can be used in shops/exhibitions in order to promote the products/services.

Moving on, brands can also:

  • imageEncourage Check-ins amongst their customers by persuading them to use Foursquare, Google+ location sharing and offer incentives to them for checking in, including discounts, special recognition and gifts.
  • Grow their e-mail list through a mobile device by texting people and asking people to join an app that directly integrates with your brand’s e-mail marketing program, business card scanning app, QR Code etc.
  • Join a few Mobile Directories and directory listings should include a simple description of your services, phone number, hours of operation, address and a link to your website.

Hence, the mobile landscape will continue to grow with the reforms in the content marketing in the coming days. There’s something interesting you need to know, we are sure you know that already but, the six elements of mass media print, cinema, radio, television, recordings and television are followed by the seventh element which is ‘Mobile’. All these are called mass media elements as they reach masses.

Then what is about the Mobile? Well, its capability of doing everything that the other elements could do make it stand out and accurate.

Not only mobile marketing is the fastest growing marketing method, but it also has a potential to help brands implement the same strategies as used in internet marketing techniques. Therefore, businesses and brands should consider this medium in times to come! So, what are your thoughts on this blooming marketing technique? Have you gone mobile yet? Do share your comments with us!

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Posted in Blog Content, Blog Visibility, Blogs, Social Media, Social Media Marketing | No Comments »

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