It”s important to understand how social media marketing is gaining ground in today”s times. By following four basic principles, social media marketing positively impacts the consumers on behalf of the brand. Let me start by listing down the basic principles of social media:

1.    Seeking User Participation,

2.    Building Value for the community

3.    Allowing User Generated Content (UGC) and

4.    Listening to people’s point of view

Traditional media is re-inventing itself by adopting these principles for itself. Let’s take each principle and explain it in context to our emerging social scenario:

1. Seeking User Participation:

Most General Entertainment Channels (GECs) of India and elsewhere have begun to involve their viewers with their shows. They are realizing that unless you don’t make people actively engage with the content, they will switch to another channel. Hence, most reality shows insist on viewer voting. It’s frequent to see them asking viewers to SMS XYZ to 1234 to vote for their favourite participant. By making people participate by voting, the show producers are hoping that the viewer will stay with them to see the results – thereby not losing their TRPs (Television Rating Points)

Polls are another example. Most news stations ask viewers to sms their point of view on a particular event or story as it unfolds. They then tabulate the results and air them with their comments. These quick polls are then used to gauge public opinion on social matters

2. Building value for the community:

By participating with people, traditional media is also creating a lot of value for them. There have been several instances in India where in a criminal has about to go scot free. The news channels invited people to share their views through emails, dedicated phone lines and SMS-es. That put pressure on the government to act i.e. reopen the case and hold the guilty accountable for their crime.

Jessica Lall murder case is a classic example and so is that of Nitin Katara’s. It is interesting to note that in both cases, social media platforms (wiki and blogs) have been leveraged to create public awareness and protest towards injustice done.

I am sure that each of us can recount several instances where the media has played a proactive role that benefited the citizens and the community at large towards a positive change.

3. Allowing User Generated Content:

Most news channels have started involving citizens to cover a story for them. CNN IBN, a leading Indian news channel has in fact dedicated an entire show called Citizen Journalism. Just recently, I saw an event where citizens were being awarded for the journalistic work that they had carried out. This arrangement works wonderfully for the news channel. Today, the only way to retain eye balls is to either break the story first or have exclusivity rights over it.

Let’s take a scenario. Assume a newsworthy event occurs suddenly in Lonavala, a small town 100 kms from Mumbai – where the news stations and reporters are based. It will take some time for a reporter to get there, cover it and send back edited legalized version of it for airing. However, the people residing there can capture the event as it is unfolding on their cell phone or handy cam and send it to the news channels for airing. So that channel receiving that footage is the first one to break that story!!

For the viewer, he or she will definitely watch the news channel to see their coverage getting aired. Chances are that they would have told their family and friends also to switch on that channel at that particular hour to watch their story. Further, having seen their story aired, there would be an unconscious loyalty that would get built towards that channel.

There are also other examples of how citizens are using this opportunity to create social awakening of sorts and get attention and justice towards their cause. By allowing users to generate content, media companies have empowered citizens to make a difference to the place they are living in!

4. Listening to people’s point of view:

Here again, all TV channels seek feedback regularly for each episode or section aired. Internet and Mobile are mostly the mediums used to seeking feedback. This definitely allows them to edit their content accordingly. The feedback acts as a dipstick to record what people love to watch and what scores low on ratings.

One leading GEC carried out an interesting marketing tactic to interact with its viewers. For one of their most watched daily soap opera they invited viewers to submit entries on how according to them should the story unfold further. The prize: The person whose story would be selected will get a mention and basically earn his or her 15 minutes of fame. Needless to say, the channel was flooded with snail mails and emails.

It’s heartening to see that traditional media is willing to adopt and change as per the newer social fabric that is getting developed. However, the two way interaction will get restricted to these activities as that is the limitation of the medium. At this point several social media platforms like blogs, wikis, discussion forums, social networking sites will take over and start providing value. So, it’s important for marketers who wish to interact with their audience incorporate social media marketing as part of their annual marketing spends.

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