According to Pernille Bruun-Jensen (leader in marketing efforts for NetBase) both digital marketing and customer care have moved beyond the Web to social media. Marketers have advanced technologies at their disposal. Social data is providing the higher returns on investment that business leaders are asking for. Similarly, emergencies can be detected and prevented before it is too late. To successfully lead in social media and henceforth in digital marketing, marketers need a strategy based on accuracy and speed using real-time tools. Next-generation social analytics reveals not just who is engaging with your brand and what they are engaging with, but why they are engaging. To know more about what next-generation social analytics can do for a brand go to: http://www.adweek.com/brandshare/next-gen-social-analytics-are-transforming-digital-marketing-160064

According to Laura Cole (marketer and researcher based in the UK) content marketing has emerged as effective method for promoting products, sharing information and motivating brand recognition. It differentiates between Public Relation and social media. Social media offers an advantage in case of online brands as it is entirely free to access and enables you to share and promote your content easily. One can reach a larger audience through social media platform. It also allows messages to be tailored and therefore real-time interactions can be generated with customers. This is a huge boon for business owners, traders and entrepreneurs. Read more at: http://www.business2community.com/public-relations/social-media-marketing-represents-new-face-pr-01003698

Social, Mobile, Analytic, and Cloud (SMAC) based business models are trending nowadays in digital marketing. SMAC gives you a complete solution in transforming your business as a highly functional and productive entity and also helps in managing future business challenges. Every digital marketer should take into account some key points when designing their own SMAC business model. They are: 1. every business should consider their business objectives and resources. 2. Organizations should implement a more realistic initiative to drive their business marketing strategies. 3. Companies should discover their business capability in using SMAC and explore every aspect of benefits that can be derived from each. 4. Organizations should link with technology partners that can help them manage their SMAC based marketing campaigns. To know more about SMAC, please follow Jason Bowden (Chief Consultant at Digital-Warriors Internet Marketing)’s article link: : http://www.socialmediatoday.com/content/how-smac-social-mobile-analytic-cloud-your-business-model-1

According to Ajay Kulkarni (the development leader of Social Business and Digital Experience portfolio at IBM India Software Labs) there are numerous challenges in reforming the Retail sector even though it is currently going through an incredible change technology-wise. The first one is FDI in Multi-Brand Retail. The main argument against Retail FDI is loss of jobs. The second is the co-existence of global supermarkets and small Kirana shops. Traders in Kirana stores, vegetable shops and even consumers use easy Social Media tools like Skype and WhatsApp. However, they need to be more equipped to face competition. The e-retail business in India is still nascent but is growing at a fast pace with the help social media platforms. Read more at: http://www.indiaonward.com/social-business-will-transform-the-indian-retail-industry/

63% of IT pros said that they would not consider a candidate for employment if they saw one to five social media comments about that company and 68% IT leaders said they would not consider a candidate if they saw a single negative social media post about his or her current employer, as seen by the TEKsystems survey. Social media plays a very important role in IT hiring. 68% IT leaders use social media to search for candidates and 82 percent use it to screen them. LinkedIn was rated as the top source for finding prospective employees. Facebook was second with 9%. 75% of IT pros rely on social media with 67% citing LinkedIn as the best source for finding jobs. Facebook came in second at 12%, followed by Google Plus at 7%. Read more at:

http://www.informationweek.in/informationweek/news-analysis/297739/social-media-matters-hiring

Social Media Analytics has become important nowadays. But, what is Social media analytics? It collects data from social media platforms and blogs, and do an analysis of the collected data to extract information which in turn will help any organization to take the right step. It also facilitates marketers with a detailed understanding of the consumer and also helps to analyze the sentiment of customers to augment marketing, branding, and customer service. MarketsandMarkets (a global market research and consulting company based in the U.S), have recently published a report about GLOBAL SOCIAL MEDIA ANALYTICS MARKET - MARKET FORECASTS AND ANALYSIS (2014-2019) which will help the market leaders or new entrants in many ways. To know more about this, follow: http://www.fastmr.com/prod/871700_global_social_media_analytics_market_market.aspx?afid=302

 A number of companies are creating new avenues for revenue generation by thinking out of the box and encouraging amateur-made catchy videos on social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter. This approach helps to nurture talent. Famebox, a company supported by Malaysia's Astro Group, is on a project where it aims to create "webstars" and make profits in an unconventional way, by making videos go viral so that they bring in at least a million hits. Revenue can also be generated by sharing with YouTube but it depends on the sponsorships from brands that are looking to advertise on social media. According to Kunal Rao, co-creator of The East India Comedy, the shift to online media for satire and commentary is due to the rising censorship on TV channels. To know more, read at: http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2014-08-16/news/52873607_1_video-online-social-media-viral

The genuine number of likes measures the success of a brand. Most of the time users are forced to like pages for getting access to apps and games. So it is important that when someone likes a page he does that genuinely so that facebook gets a “quality connection”. Thus brands no longer would be able to force users to like their pages and thus this would be a positive change for brands and agencies as well. As users are shifting towards mobile facebook the “like gate” strategy of making users like pages forcefully won’t work anymore and now brand need to provide stronger reasons to users for liking their page. Thus a genuine relationship is created. Now it should be more important to reach out to customers that count than counting customers.

This strategy would provide grace period for adjusting and affects local marketers mostly. Brands should pamper their customers than just feeding them up with incentives. They should have a long term strategy than a tactical one. Marketers should not only cherish the number of fans but also engage more with each piece of content.

read more at: http://www.marketing-interactive.com/facebook-initiates-new-policy-for-genuine-fans/

Social media addiction is quiet similar to any other addition. Disclosing information through social media generates similar sensation as eating or drinking and it can be as addicting as drug. Social media helps you contact with people without any risk. You can control what you show, you look, voice, emotions are not exposed. Little kids should be controlled on the time and extent of usage of internet and parents should have all the information about what they are doing on the web. Kids should not have any secrets. Adults along with children also get addicted to social media. When someone posts in the middle of a crisis or ignores the person next to him for posting on social media he is believed to be addicted. read m http://detroit.cbslocal.com/2014/07/26/study-social-media-my-be-just-as-addicting-as-other-vices-drugs-and-drinking/ore

Social media defines an array of Internet sites that enable people from all over the world to interact. We all have our own reasons for using social media. What is interesting is that the researchers found that people who are more anxious and socially insecure are more likely to use the social networking site. In 2012, Anxiety UK found that 53% of participants said social media sites had changed their behavior, while 51% of these said the change had been negative. Many people using social networking sites make comparisons with others, which can lead to negative emotions. Furthermore, the survey revealed that two thirds of participants reported difficulty relaxing and sleeping after they used the sites, while 55% said they felt "worried or uncomfortable" when they were unable to log onto their social media accounts. Although many studies point to the negative impacts of social media on mental health and well-being, some researchers say they could have the opposite effect. Social networking sites could be a useful tool in identifying individuals with mental health issues. A study, from the University of California San Diego, suggests that using social media may even spread happiness. They found that happy status updates encourage other users to post happy status updates themselves. Overall, it appears that the exact effects of social media on our mental health and well-being remain to be seen. Read more at:

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/275361.php</a

Growth in social media networking with increased logging into Facebook and twitter accounts has been accounted to be about 37 % in 2013 according to trends in digital marketing, media and commerce. Though the global rate might be less the growth rate in India of social networking has been high especially in urban areas. India has recorded the second highest number of Facebook users and is likely to become the largest number of Facebook users in 2016. A survey by Internet and Mobile Association of India found that there has been a 50% increase after 2012 in Facebook use, 33 million in Twitter and 20 million on LinkedIn. Social media being the next being frontier is definitely unavoidable and has become an imperative part of a holistic marketing strategy benefiting businesses reducing costs and improving customer services. Corporate and B-schools give latest promoting strategies and marketing strategies through social media. Read more at: http://www.hindustantimes.com/technology/socialmedia-updates/india-records-highest-social-networking-growth-study/article1-1244761.aspx 

Social media is an ever changing scenario where social media marketers are increasingly using predictive analysis to ensure longevity. Various brands are using predictive analysis technologies to trawl through social media chatter to identify upcoming trends. It will also ensure that your brand be one of the first few to take advantage of the trend and gain maximum exposure. Your social media campaigns will also be much more refined compared to those of brands that don’t use predictive analysis. With predictive analysis, your brand will be able to pick out the right news, items, etc. that could become the next big thing on social media landscape, giving you ample time to prepare. Now smart brands are realizing that predictive analysis can be used in social media marketing to understand what consumers are looking for. Predictive analysis tools ensure that brands understand consumer behavior on social media.

Read more about this article at:

http://www.simafore.com/blog/bid/205332/How-Predictive-Analytics-Can-Boost-Your-Social-Media-Campaigns

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There are many parts to a customer service strategy. The benefits of social media is overlooked. In today's world, an existence on social media is as important as having a toll-free phone number. Here are just a few of the reasons why. The benefits of two-way brand engagement. Customers like it when commerce shares information, instructions, thoughts, and humor across social media.  Social media an addition of contact data: clients remain for  reply to their comments or distress fast. Pinch complaints in the sprout with ease: ignoring  social media won't discontinue clients from talking on Twitter or Facebook.  Spot trends as -- or before -- they occur: Responsive brands pay close notice to what consumers are discussing about in order to mark movement before it's too late. have additional admission to customers: Social media conduit shouldn't be measured an publicity prospect. . Read more at:

http://www.socialmediatoday.com/content/how-social-media-impacts-customer-service

Realizing the rising importance of social media in any business every brand needs fourteen tools to make things simpler. They are: 1. Visual Google analytics report: this app creates a custom infographic of the company’s website activity and performances from complicated Google data. It delivers straight to the company’s inbox- the reasons for its win so that it can improve next time. 2. TweetDeck: it is a twitter based management tool gives one an overall aspect of their profile and also customizes the display and reduces navigation problems.

3. HootSuite: this app allows to manage multiple social media profiles at the same time. It allows to delegate between responses to fans and followers and responses coordination of responses and potentially overlooking fans is not required. But it has a backdrop of not being able to make images appear.

4. Sprout Social: it cleans interface and a dashboard built around six tabs, namely home, messages, feeds, publishing, discovery and reports. It suggests people to follow and schedules updates in advance.

5. Crowdbooster: it streamlines and schedules posts for twitter and Facebook, reminds followers one has not responded to and lists recent influential followers. It also directs growth and engagement metrics.

6. Twitter showdown: it compares twitter accounts of two industries and compares two competitors by finding the follower to following ratio, level of tweet engagement, mentions per tweet, tweet timing etc.

7. Edgerank Checker: it helps to understand how followers interact with each post by assigning a score and makes recommendations to assist future posts. 8. Buffer: A useful tool for small businesses with less time and resource. It helps to schedule posts and makes sharing easier but is not applicable for monitoring discussions. 

9. SocialBro: it provides insight to analytics, suggestions for targeting and engagement and highlights the key influencers and competitors. 10. Postling: it tracks responses, brands and people. Every mention of one’s brand is tracked easily. 11. Tailwind: it tracks your company, product and competitors and most profitable activities.

12. Social Mention: it scrapes user generated content across internet, and recent relevant results and metrics.

13. Shoutlet: it helps companies to understand its market, grow on social database and supplies all customers and fans need. 14. Argyle Social: it establishes the most valuable content ensuring efforts and value to marketing strategies. Read more at: http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/231851

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Social media changes and news are annoying, customs to conquer them. Here’s how:1. expand an incorporated marketing plan. Social media shouldn’t be our only online promotion conduit.  Balance our merge with actions such as electronic mail marketing, guest blogging or search engine marketing. Along with digital marketing, leverage conventional advertising approaches such as networking, product demos ,seminars, and tradeshows. 2. employ it as a produce catalogue. Utilize communal media to give clients an appropriate guide. As per  to  marketer, 37% of US buyers use societal media to explore brands or services that they're trading. This regards that clients be going on companies’ Facebook, Pinterest, or LinkedIn pages to study about the profit and features of their gifts and balance them with opposing brand. 3. Leverage to stay in regulars remind sets. 44% of Twitter users not at all tweet or most LinkedIn users don’t interrelate with brand on LinkedIn.

Read more at:http://www.socialmediatoday.com/content/how-overcome-social-media%E2%80%99s-most-frustrating-challenges-1

Big data has a vital application in healthcare industry. Social media will increase communication between providers, patients and communities. This will not only work to globalize and democratize healthcare, but it is also a potentially important source of big data.  It will impact how these players engage with the healthcare ecosystem, especially when globalization, external data, regionalization, mobility and social networking are involved. The problem in healthcare isn't the lack of data but the lack of information that can be used to support decision-making, planning and strategy. In healthcare, big data challenges are compounded by the fragmentation and dispersion of data among the various stakeholders, including payers, data vendors, standards organizations, providers, labs, ancillary vendors, financial institutions and regulatory agencies. The entire healthcare system can realize benefits from democratizing big data access. Big data can make decision support simpler, faster and ultimately more accurate because rational decisions are based on higher volumes of data that are more current and relevant. Read more at:

First leverage prospects' social media profile information. Second, get to know leads with landing page form data- Marketing collects all that information when they're generating leads for a reason -- it gives them insight into leads that lets them target, segment communications, and route leads to the appropriate salesperson. Third, track social media mentions- Social media monitoring is often looked at as a marketing function, but sales teams miss huge opportunities when they aren't actively tracking social media mentions. Fourth, use the best performing offers when prospecting and selling- It's not every business that can close a sale after just one conversion event; it's more common that a prospect reconverts time and again as their relationship with your company grows and they move further along in the sales process. Fifth, build an arsenal of your most powerful content- People buy from people they trust, so it's crucial that every salesperson establish them as a trusted resource when speaking with prospects. Sixth, jump on leads right when they come in- Quick lead follow-up is crucial for sales success. Seventh, prospect smarter, not harder- Collecting site information like company name, location, name, number of visits, and length of visit lets prospecting salespeople do some serious recon work before hopping on a call with a new prospect. Read more at: 

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Both data collection and use of social media API can help  the business in making elegant marketing imminent. An API is a program interface used by hunt engine optimization specialist to assess and arrest vital data applicable and hence improves their marketing strategies in the digital industry. As an application, the API helps digital marketers form their own web requests that will be well-suited to a certain website that will let for the faultless flow of data collection on these sites. A social media API permits commerce to simply collect social data across the social sites.Read more at:

http://www.socialmediatoday.com/content/data-collection-strategy-expand-digital-marketing-insights

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 Social media marketers have invested a huge contract of time, force and attempt in creating completely crafted tweets to followers -to spread knowledge and share substance related to their brand. Recently, however, a Gallup Poll revealed that a majority of Americans believe social media have no effect at all on their purchasing decisions. According to a survey, 62% of public in the U.S. e.g.Facebook and Twitter, do not have any influence on their choice to buy goods and services. Only 30% said social media have some influence and a much smaller 5% said they have a great deal of influence. Nielsen data showed that 92% of people trust recommendations from their networks, posts shared after associations with a brand in the form of social word of mouth. This doesn't mean that these people are easily control and falling victim to marketer's "set-ups.Read more at:

https://www.socialmediatoday.com/content/grea Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 t-debate-how-does-social-word-mouth-influence-purchasing-decisions

The blend of social media and customer relationship management referred to as social CRM enhances traditional CRM and engages it with social media which tracks new leads from Twitter and Facebook into the sales funnel. According to Jon Ferrara, CEO of Nimble, realizing the importance of authentic and relevant human connections in business customer relationship management has become an integral part of our lives. Customers nowadays want to connect with the real people they do business with and get delighted and empowered resulting in a renaissance of customer management. Nowadays marketing has gone beyond just driving customers to get the order. Today customers have moved beyond commercials, glossy stick marketing materials and “Slick Willy” sales people. They now can have converse online and expect relevant conversations. Instead of pushing customers to just buy their products social businesses should become a part of the marketing and buyer funnel adding value to those conversations to become trust worthy. Markets are utilizing the new technology today where conversations happen already in public, private and in others various mediums. Companies instead of controlling conversations and employees they should educate and empower both employees and customers. Companies now empower their customer-facing team members to share content and engage on a worldwide basis, and they understand that they are selling to a community comprising influencers, editors, analysts, tech partners, third party developers, value-added resellers etc. empowering, educating and adding value results in success which breeds success.

read more at: http://www.exacttarget.com/blog/how-social-media-and-crm-work-together-successfully/