SOCIAL MEDIA : GREAT ASSET TO ONLINE BUSINESS

This One is one of my articles, which I was going to submit for my college magazine hadn't it been for my perenially gay computer and its weird and mysterious way of behaving when i need it the most. Nevertheless, now I am posting it just because I want to preserve few of my written articles.

Disclaimer: The statistical part and few of the expert analysis is not made by me. I have just collected them from few sources online and otherwise.

Social networks are vibrant and constantly evolving. Yet the fact today is that Social media is beyond adding friends and sharing status. More and more people are getting involved in this area to perk up their business.But social media doesn’t stop with sharing information and interests with other people. By gathering people who you build relationships with, you also build possible business ventures and of course build more traffic for your online business. According to Jody Nimetz, author of Marketing Jive, there are five major uses for businesses and social media: to create brand awareness, as an online reputation management tool, for recruiting, to learn about new technologies and competitors, and as a lead gen tool to intercept potential prospects.
The following are the top ten company's which made a huge revenue and ofcourse customer relationship out of social media used by them. Facebook being the premier one.

1. Coca-Cola


Coco-Cola social media case study is one of the best examples available out there. The company was also named by Slate’s The Big Money as the brand “making the best use of Facebook,” and their well-publicized Expedition 206 campaign is billed as the company’s largest social media project ever. Coco-Cola has used several ways such as blogging, sharing photos/videos, tweets, social media apps to promote their brand and achieves huge success.

2. X-Men

During the movie release of the X-Men-3, “Last Stand”, it used the social networking site to promote itself. It added that all the users who will add the X-Men profile as a peer can use certain exclusive functionality. As a result of this media plan, almost 3 million members of the myspace.com community added X-Men as peer in just 1 month. The movie got a huge opening and it became the fourth-biggest movie in box office history.

3. British Airways

The airways launched the program Open skies. This program used social media and community marketing to promote itself. It created a corporate blog to influence the globe trotters. Managing Director Dale Moss even shared a blog with the common people so that they get to know about OpenSkies development. Then he discussed about the meal service and showed people the cabin classes.

4. Dell

Dell is usually known for its cost-effective methods that it uses and so it jumped in social media to reach people. Back in December, Dell reported that offers from its Dell Outlet Twitter account has booked more than $3 million in revenue attributable to its Twitter posts. It might sound like a small percentage for a company that books $16B in revenue annually–but a nice number however, especially in a dreary economy.
5. SAP

This third largest software company in the world faced a challenge in the year 2002. It wanted to become a platform company using NetWeaver. The company had to open its platform and allow the other developers to use the platform in order to solve their business problems. The company had to interact with several developers across the globe. As a result of which, the company gained global collaboration and adoption of new SAP products increased.
6. SeaWorld

The main aim of the Journey to Atlantis social media program was to develop contact with the coaster community and bring about alertness regarding Journey to Atlantis. Influential people said that social media will give a chance for SeaWorld to make inroads. So, 22 coaster enthusiast blogs and forums were recognized during its beginning period.
7. British Telecom

Corporate intranets use social media tools to promote their interests. Unlike other companies, BT has completed web liberalization project. The company wanted all its employees to excess social media sites. According to the company, these networking sites, gives a chance to change the way our employees relate with one another, with the customers, partners and also with the suppliers.

8. Starbucks

Mystarbucks.com got to know about the company and their customers through various social sites. They also used social media in order to promote their ideas. Moreover, the company has forums where the customers can directly interact with Starbucks representatives.
9. HP

HP social media case study is another good example, HP social media managers engaged experts who work daily with customers to develop relevant marketing content grounded in true client need and real-life business issues. By combining podcasting with blogging and traditional tech-media syndication, HP now validates its messaging via an extensive buyer audience review process that yields vetted, relevant content that HP marketing can deploy in its ongoing sales and marketing efforts.

10. StackSafe

Marketing professionals use social Computing technology in order to startup a community conversation platform. It resulted in better understanding between the company and its customers.


Every other product seen on televison now a days comes with a facebook page. This shows that this social media has gained momentum by getting used as one of the major tools for marketing, advertising, research, development there on, polling, etc. it's easy to use. Just create a business page and promote it ethically. so what are you waiting for? If you are one of the business person reading this and are still unaware of such a hype going on around you; you need to log in to one of the social networking sites and join the crazy carnival out there...!

Things to do when it's raining...

1. Breathe with joy, experience it

2. Take a walk... alone

3. Go for a bike ride

4. Make pakodas

5. Switch off the fans, feel the cool breeze

6. Sip hot coffee

7. Go for a long drive with a friend

8. Stand at a highest point and sense the gushing wind

9. Lie back on the lawn

10. Play with your dog

11. Throw mud-balls

12. Go swimming

13. Sit and stare at the nature…just stare

14. Write a poem

15. If you are on the beach…run with the wild waves

16. Harvest rain water

17. Think of someone

18. Call your friend and have a chat

19. Dance like a duck gone wild

20. Sing like a frog gone wilder even than the duck

21. Stand in your college ground and get wet

22. Cry…

23. Listen to the rain drops

24. Wash up yourself if you haven’t had a bath :D

25. Watch the earth changing…

26. Go trekking

27. A cutting chai from the dhaba

28. Play music on loud

29. Louder even on your headphones

30.Do a bollywood song

31. Smell the sand

32. Appreciate the azure

33. Stop that leakage from your terrace :p

34. Enjoy the day out with your family

35.Eat ice creams and chicken

36. Scream out your heart

37.Go for a walk with your sister in a park

38. Fight with your brother in the rain

39. Play in puddles

40. Run…

41. Kiss your lover

42. Plant a sapling

43. Have a candlelit dinner when no electricity

44. Get scared

45. Be aware from the lose electric wires

46. Play a sport

47. Get bored of wearing a raincoat every time you go out

 

48. Sit wet in your lectures

49. Make paper boats :-)

50.. Last but not the least for sure; thank God for such a wonderful season…

The last exam ...

Auditing and taxation Gone for a toss,
the investor in investments suffering a loss,
business laws are by-laws for laws,
oh my gosh, the financial statements have major flaws!!!
how does the privatisation affect the market;
why is the 5 years plan not achieving its target?!
will I get a margin of safety or break-even marks,
I better do otherwise I Will have to work in my college library as a plutarch !!!

Wildheartbeats

How to become a Sachin Tendulkar of your business

 Master blaster Sachin Tendulkar's  glorious 200* is the record in itself  in the world of cricket. Sachin, who made a striking entry into cricket as a teenager, is now the highest scorer in International cricket. His passion, commitment, perseverance and the winning streak match that of an entrepreneur who takes risks, tries, and falls and again rises with the strength of sea waves.

         India is a blossoming nation with the enterprising spirit growing wings and beginning to attempt mainstream level.  It is no uncommon to see young professionals stepping out of their shoes and chasing their dreams and setup their own enterprise.  At age as young as 12, Adora Svitak has transformed her writing success into speaking and teaching success. She has spoken at over 400 schools and presented at the annual TED conference. She’s also planning a conference of her own, for kids and by kids, called TEDx Redmond. She has been featured on Good Morning America and on CNN. Adora started writing when she was four years old. She hasn’t stopped since. At six, Adora received a laptop computer from her mother, on which she quickly amassed a collection of hundreds of short stories and hundreds of thousands of words – typing at 70 words per minute. At the age of seven, Adora achieved her dream of becoming a published author with the release of Flying Fingers: Master the Tools of Learning through the Joy of Writing. The book featured several of Adora’s short stories, along with her writing tips, typing tips, and advice from her mother. At age 11, Adora published a second book, Dancing Fingers, with her older sister, Adrianna.  King Sidharth, 18 The Outlaw Entrepreneur King is a speaker, author, magazine publisher, dude, and he’s organizing a conference for teenagers called Createens. It will give young people an opportunity to learn about entrepreneurship, blogging, and more from world-wide experts. Mark Bao is a 17-year-old high school senior and he has already launched 11 web-based companies (and sold three of them) along with three non-profit foundations. Some of his projects include TickrTalk, the Ramamia Foundation, Class leaf, and Avecora – a technology network launching sometime in 2013. There is no scarcity of success stories around us. What needs to be done is look out for the opportunities right in-front of us with new dimensions each time.

       The journey of miles begins with the first step with certain things to learn. The start-up and an enterprise in its beginning stages could well define the divergence between its thriving and defeat. Patience and endurance would be high on the ladder to learn. The new age has taught us to be demanding and to live in “real-time” mentality; but when entrepreneurial feature is yet burgeoning to support such pressures, what one lives on with are feelings of frustration, angst and eventually giving up. When out of form, sachin handles criticism and failure with poise, only to bounce back, one must learn to face dark nights in his ventures and handle criticism with optimism. Vandana Luthra, Founder of VLCC group voices the same “critics are your best friends, as long as it does not stem from jealousy. Objective criticism helps you to raise the bar on product and service delivery”. I personally believe that for stating up an enterprise you don’t need to know know-how’s of it, or you need not be a guru in that stream. Just start. Every idea is like a child that is born in this world and raised with the grand vision. If you are a first time entrepreneur driven by lot of passion, then the first step is simple; success begets success. Take a problem, even if small, and solve it. Sanjeev Bikhchandani, Founder, Info edge (naukri.com) says, “When you are not working for money but for a cause that gives meaning to your life you find the energy”. There is enough inspiration to catch hold of and get started. Be a job giver and not a job seeker.

        To start with, one needs to know that he has picked up a venture he can handle and has a liking towards it. This helps in making the enterprise a going concern from your desires. Be it anything ranging from a manufacturing unit, retailing or as weird as a shoe laundry! You just have to know that you are passionate about what you are pursuing. This is the first step to ensure that your enterprise won’t be a failure. The next step comes in where you have to put your efforts, divert your attention towards the business and make out few plans of action which will give you a clear understanding of where you are going to head. You don’t need to have any assistants or managers to do that. Every body has ability to know what he wants and to an extent how to achieve that. Your family members and your friends can act as your first hand guide and philosopher for you. Grass root interactions and work experience is the best to know what is to be done and what is needed in the society.

       I was lucky enough to go to Tata Jagriti Yatra, a Jagriti sewa sansthan’s initiative towards enterprise led development. 18 days on board we used to get delicious food every single day. Tata’s had sponsored catering for us. Once, I got a chance to speak to the head of the catering group which was serving us. Surprised to know that this manager was all of 20 years and heading the group of men as elder to him as 45 years, I couldn’t control my curiosity. I asked him how he got into this and how he became the manager. Apparently, this Alam bhaiyya (we used to call him that) was a street’s person and has a small place behind Kalupur station in Ahmadabad. Now this guy used to work at some hotel and slowly he took over the position at counter as his Seth sometimes was not available. He told me he wishes to set up his own business once he earns enough to get a place. He now works in Mumbai also and gave me his visiting card and has a facebook account too. I mean leaving a job at Tata’s which is as secured as mother’s care; this boy wants to sweat it out himself. I tell you now, that boy is going to run some mean joint one day. Sabirul Islam had once tweeted “I don’t want to look too far ahead. The journey is what’s happening right now, not what’s on the finishing line.”  

       In a seminar which I attended a few days before, our very own principal Dr. C.N Rawal told that experience matters and not only learning. Credit experiences to your hats, may it be small or big. The anecdote is that one in ten investments is successful. The numbers say that one in ten is big and three in ten are moderate. Another three just return capital and the rest fail. Sandeep Gajakas started his unconventional business of washing, cleaning and repairing shoes on a shoestring budget. He turned his bedroom into a shoe cleaning workshop and now calls it as the shoe laundry.  With employees just as less as 15, he earns revenues touching 80 Lakh a year.

       That is THE point! For starting and flourishing your enterprise, you don’t need that MBA or sitting in a classroom with 350 others, waiting to be yet another perfect specimen rolling off the degree production line. The Dabbawallahs are the best example of this.  With an average academic qualification of 8^th grade and an 85% of them being illiterate, they make 4, 00,000 transactions every single day with only one error per 1.6 Million transactions and are six sigma and ISO 9001 certified.

All you need to be a Sachin Tendulkar in your business is to learn a few tricks and treats of it.

1.      Before setting up an enterprise, weigh its social viability and the benefit you can derive from it. Have a vision and a mission which help you get going and gives you a definite path to follow and give turns to your business. Align your need by passion and discipline from yourself.

2.      Choose your love: Make a conscious choice to do what you love. That is the fuel which will keep you going even if the sky falls.

3.      Crucial to the success of an enterprise is solving the whole problems and not only the components of it.

4.      Growing your business through optimal and optimum use of resources, may lead to sustainable enterprise.

5.      Have a collaborative attitude which will help you build local capacity and your enterprise within.

6.      Organize your critical tasks into processes.

7.      Government has programmes as well as resources that provide ample opportunity for enterprises.

8.      People matter and this is essential crux of all decision-making.

9.      There are many venture capitalists, Incubators available for your start-ups if you wish to take help from them in the initial days of your enterprise.

10.  Last but not the least, DARE, because entrepreneurs do!

The rasmus- livin' in a world without you