Remember the days when a brands salesman knocked on your door to hard sell their products. Remember the advertising days when brand visibility meant gigantic hoardings hanging outside railway stations screaming for consumer attention. Back in the days, the consumer voice was muffled as advertising was a one-way road jammed by brands. TVCs, print ads, and hoardings were the means for brands to reach out to its audience. Then came the evolution of Social Media – you may call it the voice of the consumer. Platforms like Facebook and Twitter have given consumers an opportunity to raise their concerns, provide feedback and engage with brands. Advertising is no longer a one-way street.
Brands are not alien to this evolution. Social Media marketing has been a vital part of the overall brand marketing strategy. Around 90% of Indian brands invest 15% of their annual marketing budget on Social Media. Social Media is a business necessity. And why not? Today, Facebook is a global cultural and commercial phenomenon. With an enormous user database of over 1.4 billion monthly active users and hyper-targeted advertising opportunities, Facebook is in its own league. According to Social Baker’s analysis, the 10 most liked Indian brands on Facebook are:
Let us look at the top four Indian brands from different sectors that are making the best use of Facebook Marketing.
- Telecom Sector: TATA Docomo
Total Fans: 1310096
TATA Docomo came into existence a few years ago and changed the face of Indian Telecom market with its 1 paisa per second plan. An extensive focus on online campaigns has made the TATA Docomo one of the most popular brands on Facebook in India.
Content: “Internet” is the common theme for all posts on their Facebook Page. Whether it is to promote a service or to crack a pun, TATA Docomo finds a creative way to get the message across. Through a blend of attractive images, GIFs and funny videos, TATA Docomo manages a decent monthly engagement of approximately 29000. Here are some wisecracks:
As someone in the service industry, TATA Docomo’s main objective on Facebook should be Online Response Management. The page receives several queries throughout the day. Each query is looked at and resolved appropriately within an impressive turnaround time.
2. Product (Mobile): Samsung Mobile India
Total Fans: 12168366
Samsung’s Facebook page is all about their products. And why should it not be? After all, they are one of the best-selling smartphones in the world. The page focuses on promoting high-end smartphones, showcasing features and providing live demos. Interestingly, the brand page has an engagement of 200,000 per month, which is achievable for fun and interactive content. The fact that Samsung Mobile India’s page has managed to touch these numbers through hard promotion, speaks volume of their understanding of consumers.
Where Samsung Mobile India loses out on engagement through fun content, it makes up for it with contests. Some well-known campaigns include Incredible Art campaign, the Galaxy Y Duos Lite Hunt and Touch Style Calculator that are a value-add to the community.
Samsung’s reputation is defined by its quality and service. It is evident from the hundreds of queries received throughout the day. As a product, every query is a potential lead and every query unresolved is a lead lost. The page’s online reputation management is commendable.
Our next post will talk about two other brands and their strategies for successful Facebook marketing ideas.
