Social media and its impact on corporate & educational institutions

Social media has changed the way we socialize, network and stay in touch. We’ve been a part ofseveral huge social networks such as MySpace and Friendster that come and go, and other ones including Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare, and LinkedIn that totally transformed and reshaped our online trends.

It has changed from another passing trend to an extensive array of collection of indispensable communication tools over the couple of years.

At the initial stage, it was disregarded and ignored as just a hobby for early adopters but now, social media has taken over the stage and has come in the limelight. In fact, it has now become the key component of all organizations and they function accordingly today.

Almost all the businesses and brands use social media as the most significant channel to increase brand awareness on a global platform. Moreover, they also use this medium to improve customer support. There are various companies that have come up with ingenious uses to reinforce loyalty and improve donations.

Well, in this competitive era, colleges and universities are not holding the back seat. In fact, they are at the forefront too.According to a recent study, around 85% of college admissions offices do survey on social networks, and another 81% of schools that regularly blog believe that it has been "very successful" so far.

However, some educational institutions are still dipping a toe in to test the water, while others are diving in head first and achieving astounding things.

Social media is far more than liking a comment or re-tweeting a post. It is actually a new, cutting-edge marketing medium with unconstrained potential. Therefore, almost all the schools and colleges are interacting and engaging with their students through this great platform. It actually helps them to create a personal and strong bonding.

Gone are the days when students were restricted to participate and be a part of the social networking site. Today, they are motivated to get engaged through these channels.

Through this medium, universities and students can come together to create pioneering results that certainly impacts our world.

Follow us on Twitter for more news, tips and inspiration. Become our mate on Facebook, Google + and explore our Pinterest boards.

Digital Marketing Firm, enabling to boost your business online!

The internet has become an important part of our lives. Not only for communication but it has become a significant tool for businesses and merchandising as well. With the emergence and existence of various digital marketing firms, it has become easier to let people know what digital business is.

A digital marketing firm knows well how to make connections and how to turn the tables for a business house and reach the target audiences with minimum investments and time consumption.

With the advent of the internet, more and more people are becoming internet savvy and hence it has become really essential to market your business on the web alongside other traditional marketing channels like TV, print.

A digital marketing firm in India plays a vital role here and focuses more on the requirements of the clients rather than focusing on their profit. Through various strategies and digital promotional plans on different platforms, they actually help their clients to get more exposure globally.

These firms enable you to make your website more dynamic and by implementing various SEO activities, they let you become the industry leader. Through social networking too, they market the brand in the most formal yet engaging manner that grabs the attention of the netizens.

Follow us on Twitter for more news, tips and inspiration. Become our mate on Facebook, Google + and explore our Pinterest boards.

Digital Marketing Solutions to promote your business!

Reaching your target customers does not demands heavy expenditures on promotion today. Gone were the days when it was only limited to broadcasting and print media. The introduction of the internet and digital marketing solutions has changed the entire concept of marketing.

Through online marketing services, you can expand your business and get brand exposure globally. Thanks to this new technology that your online business can now catch the attention of market share in the huge virtual commerce of the World Wide Web.

Digital marketing solutions also make sure that your brand has an inspiring experience that engages the audiences in an incessant dialogue resulting in a stronger bond.

Its power to reach directly to the right person with the right information about the products and services is it's another great advantage. Opt for any of the online marketing solutions to promote your business online through different channels and there is no stopping you.

Follow us on Twitter for more news, tips and inspiration. Become our mate on Facebook, Google + and explore our Pinterest boards.

Brands OOPS moments on Social Media

Social Media blunders certainly do create a buzz and are often seen trending!

A number of times, these incidents give birth to long conversations, memes, jokes, criticisms and fun. If the brand has a huge fan base, it gets re-tweeted within seconds and screenshots are posted all over before the brand realizes what has happened and removes the post. Whether or not they harm the image of the brand depends on the severity of the situation. It might end as a harmless fun coverage of the “oops” moment or counter apologies from the brand in the public domain.

There might be many reasons for this. The Social Media Manager/admin could log into a wrong account or the account might be hacked. Here are some of such instances of thwarting social media posts:

The latest among all is the Star Sports India apologizing for the abusive tweet made recently. The most esteemed sports channel shared tweets accepting the mistake that had been made from the Twitter account of the brand.

This happened when an abusive tweet was shared on the brand's Twitter account having more than 143k followers. Although it was deleted immediately but till that time it had already got 104 re-tweets and 25 favorites.

The mobile phone giant, Nokia was forced to apologize soon after an offensive post was tweeted from its New Zealand Twitter account. Although the tweet stayed on the account for 13 minutes but within that short span viewed and re-tweeted by many worldwide.

It was then deleted and replaced with an apology.

Microsoft, the leading software development company of the world too is on the list. A Twitter Manager here mistakenly didn't check the account from which he had logged in and tweeted to an individual.

Definitely, this is not the comprehensive list but for sure you would not like to create such awkward situations on your brand page.

Would you like to share any other social media mistakes? Feel free to share with us.


Follow us on Twitter for more news, tips and inspiration. Become our mate on Facebook, Google + and explore our Pinterest boards.

Digital Media Marketing, Ensuring Success & Growth!

With the advent of technology, the marketing industry is undergoing an elementary transformation. Customers as well as the business houses, both are increasingly shifting their interests from traditional media marketing platforms to digital media marketing through Internet using various platforms.

To achieve the goals and grow higher, most of the businesses are these days approaching their customers through different digital channels. The companies get connected with them through these platforms and adjust their marketing mix.

According to a survey, digital media marketing budgets are rising noticeably, and various digital media campaigns are gradually becoming a pivotal part of successful marketing strategies. Since it is growing at a much faster pace, the marketers are facing new challenges as well as opportunities within this digital world.

It is now important for the marketers to understand the trend and come up with impeccable strategies so as to attract large number of customers in a go. All other businesses are following the trend in order to survive in this digital world.

Follow us on Twitter for more news, tips and inspiration. Become our mate on Facebook, Google + and explore our Pinterest boards.

Expand your reach through Digital Marketing Services!

Internet technology has completely changed the way people buy or sells products. It has digitized everything including the marketing process. Digital marketing services have widened its arena and transformed the way of branding.

Digital marketing services are basically comprised of internet marketing which cover all the social media channels and let your brand reach the target audience on a go. Starting from a social media page and the website to search engine and banner ads all comes under digital marketing.

 Through this novel approach, you can reach to the audience of all ages and social status instantly. You can very easily and at a low cost engage with the tech savvy users of this era who always keep connected to the internet.

Though traditional advertising still prevails in the modern market, digital marketing services are taking over the trend at a faster pace and more and looking at the great benefits, more businesses are turning towards it.

Follow us on Twitter for more news, tips and inspiration. Become our mate on Facebook, Google + and explore our Pinterest boards.

Digital Media Agency solving all your marketing and advertising needs!

If you are seeking for services to make your website perform well and target high value customers then a digital media agency can assist you with its best possible services. It's been years now the influence of the digital arena is rising steadily in stature through technologies and different widgets.

 A digital media agency with specialization in all web related solutions has a very influential portfolio of skills and proficiency. From a website designing to its online marketing along with social networking all are performed by it with efficiency. Businesses that opt for such services knows very well that they will get the best value for their money by employing an agency having the knowledge and proficiency to deliver a complete online digital campaign that includes all their marketing and advertising needs.

So, if you really wish to follow the trend and get exposure globally then digital media agency is the right choice. You can get several benefits out of it including increased customer retention through user experience, conversion and traffic evaluation service.

Follow us on Twitter for more news, tips and inspiration. Become our mate on Facebook, Google + and explore our Pinterest boards.

7 Best Practices to Market Your Brand on Twitter!

Did you know that on an average, each day 400 million tweets are sent!

Yes, Twitter is now a marvelous social media platform to embark upon.

Just to have a Twitter profile is not enough. A profile does not make you a social media master but it is an incredible tool for conversations, building community and searching for the most up-to-dated industry news. This is the reason sportsperson are on Twitter, actor & actresses are on Twitter, your competitors are on Twitter and expectantly you are on Twitter as well.

However, brands have an art and technique of using Twitter. There are few important Twitter practices to follow:

Set organizational goals 

It is not necessary that all the brands will use Twitter the same way. There are few brands that sell their products through this platform again, there are many who provide customer with support through it.

Therefore, it is always important to have a definite goal. You must plan first that what you want to do and then devote your time for better results.

Be authentic & believable

 Authenticity is one of the most significant aspects of social media. It is important for the brand to be believable. For this, you need to spend some time with your community, analyzing it, and learning about the dynamics of that community.

Must research before engaging customers 

You must research about your customers know how they use Twitter. Within few seconds you will get to know if any conversation is taking place about your brand, product, service or industry through the Twitter Search. The tool helps you to know what they are saying about you.

Create equity and credibility 

To gain success on this platform, you need to build credibility and equity both irrespective of the number of followers, tweets, or re-tweets. Though these factors are important but to have a good reputation along with a trusted source of information plays more vital role.

Track different conversation trends 

Rather than investing huge amount on paid tracking service, track Twitter conversations, spot trends, evaluate sentiment, and get an irrefutable picture of the happenings on the social web. You can check out how much you have saved through Twitter, how many issues have been solved, how many leads have been generated and lots more.

Create branded or personal profile 

You can either create a profile with your brand name and logo or else opt to create a personal profile that combines your personal brand with that of the company.

Must listen and observe before engaging 

Before tweeting, spend some time listening and observing the behavior those you talk about you and your brand. Understand what is accepted and what is not by the customers as assuming that they will accept everything you tweet with arms wide open is not actually right. You need to adjust according to your customer's and potential customer's behavior.

Twitter can be a strong and great platform to engage in. Abide by the above mentioned best Twitter practices and you will have an efficient and successful Twitter marketing strategy on your hands that will lead you towards success and growth with more exposure globally.

What other Twitter tips would you add to this list?

Follow us on Twitter for more news, tips and inspiration. Become our mate on Facebook, Google + and explore our Pinterest boards.

Digital Marketing Company Enables Your Business To Get More Exposure!

Looking at the growth and development of the online business and also at the rising competition, most of the companies are considering digital marketing practices to reach their target audiences globally. Currently, this is one of the best marketing approaches to promote business and its products & services on a wider platform. The thriving technology at present offers a range of digital tools and techniques which form an outstanding marketing strategy that are beneficial to modern businesses. You can hire a digital marketing company for the services that has a complete knowledge about the practices being followed to promote the type of business you have.

These digital marketing companies help you to get better and greater exposure globally. They know all the tactics to generate more web traffic by using search engine optimization features and various other techniques. An efficient digital marketing company makes better strategy and enables an organization to reach the heights of success.

Follow us on Twitter for more news, tips and inspiration. Become our mate on Facebook, Google + and explore our Pinterest boards.

How to Market Yourself on LinkedIn

LinkedIn is actually more than your online resume. Of course, it does not guarantee any opportunity but yes it enables you to create one. It is one of the most rapidly growing professional networks these days. Your LinkedIn profile includes all your work experience but you can make it much more. You can treat it as your online portfolio to showcase your accomplishments. First and foremost you need to make an excellent profile and then let others know who you are, what you do and why you are special.

Just think about the big brands such as Coke, Ford etc., the websites and commercials of these big names include customer testimonials, product demo and visual proof of their products. With the advent of the internet, it has become easier for these brands to promote their products and services. Apart from advertising now, they are now doing more activities with the power of the web. It just takes a little creativity and your dedication.

Media to be added:

 As per LinkedIn, it supports images, video, audio, presentations and documents by definite providers, but others also work just perfectly. While including any media to your profile, make sure that it has been published to the web (it needs a URL).

Now, you must be thinking where to put these nifty clips? Well, you can make it the part of your summary integrated into each position listed in your experience section and education section. Do not forget to check out the little blue box while editing your profile.

What& how to showcase: 

Come out of your boring job responsibilities and think differently. Rather than thinking about what issues you have solved at work, mention what makes you unique and different from thousands of other people having the same job title as yours. Do not forget to mention if you have received any award, have given a presentation or have spoken at a conference, written articles and most importantly what would you want someone to find if they were looking for you on the internet.

These are the things that you can create and publish yourself on this online platform. Rather than having an online resume treat your LinkedIn profile as brag book and start assembling screen shots and links.

Follow us on Twitter for more news, tips and inspiration. Become our mate on Facebook, Google + and explore our Pinterest boards.

Show Your Creativity by Adding Special Effects on Vine and Instagram Videos!

Yes, you can become "Insta famous" just by adding a filter or hashtags to a selfie. The actual pros live on video.

Vine and Instagram both have offered great platforms for the users to display their creativity. Just by using the cameras of their mobile phones, users continue to surprise these social networking channels with their exceptional and smart approaches.

The special effect videos these days available on these social networking communities are the most impressive ones currently. Cloning, reflections etc. are few of the most liked and shared ones on Vine and Instagram. These are the videos that generates numbers of “Whoa, how did you do that?” comments from others who are eager to learn the tricks.

The following three are the most popular video effects these days on these networking platforms. Let's see how special effects can be added to a simple video captured:

1. Hands Free 

A hand free is the simplest trick to add effects and for this, you just need your cell phone with you. The app for both Vine and Instagram needed is to touch the screen to record the video. You can also do a hands-free video through the touch feature in your cell phone.

Well, iPhone users must be glad as Apple has already provided this smart feature in the devices but if you are an Android user then sorry as the assistive touch apps do not provide the feature yet.

Go to Settings > General > Accessibility and scroll down. Under “Triple Click,” option, change the setting. It will let the device to triple click of the home button on Assistive Touch. Now, go back one screen and tap “Assistive Touch” under “Physical and Motor,” to check that your assistive touch is turned on or not.

As soon as it gets activated, you’ll need to set up three gestures: a six second, one second, and instant touch. Now, you need to tap “Create New Gesture” to create them. For the last six second touch, touch and hold on the screen till the bar gets filled up. Save it then as "6 Seconds". For the one second touch, you need to move your finger in order to make your device recognizable for a second. Save this as "1 Second". For the instant touch, touch the screen for a second and save it as "Instant".

 Open the Vine or Instagram app, turn on assistive touch and select one of the gestures and record. Do not forget to turn off the assistive touch after recording.

2. Alien Abduction and Other Spatial Tricks 

For all walkers and abductees, this effect is the simplest one. You need to flip the room on its side. In this Vine video, the room is set up that lets the bed incline against the wall and not on the floor.

Therefore, the table is flush up beside the dresser so that it gets a support. When the “abduction” takes place, he just needs to walk and act as if he was being beamed up.

The entire effect and video is simple to create but the only toughest part is to get creative with the setting. You can use a curb as a shelf and hang from it. Flip a room on its side and walk on the walls. Just add to your creativity and do it.

3. Reflection, Cloning and Freezing Time 

One more interesting effect includes reflections that do not follow the real life aspects anymore. Have a look on the video below:

Just phone settings do not work here as these types of effects involves more than that. You need to have a regular camera with you to capture the visuals. Set up in a manner so that it is not visible in the mirror, in addition to video editing software.

The actual idea is to record both parts of the video, the real you and the cloned one. Now, by using the video editing software, merge the two videos together.

 After editing or merging the videos, you need to download two programs, Handbrake and I-Funbox that enable you to upload it on the Vine and Instagram.

 NOTE: The video must not be more than 7 seconds in length.

What special effects are you using or have seen on the Vine and Instagram? Share your creativity with us if you are also a video wizard.

Source: www.mashable.com/2013/09/04/vine-instagram-special-effects/

Follow us on Twitter for more news, tips and inspiration. Become our mate on Facebook, Google + and explore our Pinterest boards.

Social Media Influence on Politicians

Just one move and let the whole world know about it in seconds. Yes, this is our internet! Not just that, all will have a view or suggestion about it and this is all possible through different social media platforms available.

With everyone using social media at present for promotional purposes in our nation, our politicians are not that far behind in the race and are highly active on various social media platforms. As per a recent study, it has been revealed that social media and online presence of the politicians and their parties will influence the result of 2014 general elections. So, who are our social media friendly politicians?

The population of India is majorly comprised of youths. Therefore, the political parties currently are incorporating it by making well-known individuals a part of their political party, the most common and prime examples being, Rahul Gandhi from Congress, Milind Deora from Indian National Congress etc. Being from the same generation, they easily connect with the youth and express their thoughts and opinions through different online channels along with other mediums.

However, apart from these young politicians others too are actively taking part in it. Congress leaders Ashok Gehlot and Ajay Maken are completely different from each others. The former is from the old guard while the latter is from the youth brigade. Although one is rooted in Rajasthan and the other takes a bigger role on the Indian politics, both of them have one thing in common. Both have a huge fan following in Turkey.

Maken, the general secretary in charge of Congress' high profile communications cell is one of the handful politicians of our nation with a verified Facebook page which ensures that the page is managed by him and not others. The page has 99,154 'likes', or virtual endorsements. However, just 3.1% out of the total likes is from India and the remaining 33.9%, 24.9%, 12.5% and 9.5%) are from Turkey, Russia, Ukraine and the US respectively as per analytics tool.

He is really an exception among all Indian politicians to have such a huge number of fans following globally on Facebook. From India, Narendra Modi and Akhilesh Yadav, both have verified pages and with more than 90% followers from India itself.

Other than Maken, another exception is the Congress General Secretary Digvijaya Singh with 4,636 likes on an unverified page on Facebook. Turkey accounts for 53% of his total fan followers and rest from India.

These days, almost all the politicians are trying to be social. These include Sonia Gandhi (86.5%), Rahul Gandhi (92.1%), Nitish Kumar (94.2%) and Mamata Banerjee (93.4%).

Recently, on being asked in an interview about the power of social media, one of the leading political icons, Narendra Modi said that, "To me it is not just about Twitter and Facebook. For instance, I am amazed at how YouTube as a medium of video sharing has made e-Learning accessible to so many people. Or when I look at an application like WhatsApp and how simple it is to use. Often the first reports when a disaster strikes or an unfortunate incident happens are received via one of these Social Media channels. I see the real power of Social Media come through, during such moments of crisis. Recently during the Uttarakhand disaster I was pleasantly surprised at the positive role played by Social Media in bringing home news of the missing to their loved ones."

As per the tech savvy Human Resource Misinter, Shashi Tharoor, social media should not be ignored. He added that, "No politician wants to turn away from an audience of even 100 people, so who is going to turn away from an audience that has numbers in millions. You should seize that audience."

He thinks that it will take an exciting turn soon after the introduction of 4G service. Faster technology will let the users to get connected more easily than ever.

Social media provides all the up-dates and also outshine the latest news that reaches millions in seconds. It has become the fastest coverage source of any news or event. It lets the politicians interact with the common people and know their opinions which are really a great way to reach them and to increase their popularity.

Source: http://mediapoliticsinperspective.wordpress.com/2013/07/29/india-narendra-modi-reveals-secrets-of-social-media-success/

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/tech/social-media/We-should-not-ignore-social-media-Tharoor/articleshow/22001389.cms

http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2013-08-22/news/41437245_1_facebook-page-iris-knowledge-foundation-facebook-account

Follow us on Twitter for more news, tips and inspiration. Become our mate on Facebook, Google + and explore our Pinterest boards.

Chennai Express’s Marketing Express – Did you see the Train? Oh, the movie?

Let us take you to the journey towards 100 crores! 

Flying cars’ expert– Rohit Shetty and very famous King Khan– SRK, proved themselves the champions of marketing when it comes to film promotion. When they joined hands for 'Chennai Express', it was expected that the movie will be the houseful in the first week but to everybody’s surprise it has broken all the records and became the first film to cross Rs 100 crores in just four days in the history of Indian cinema.

Kudos to the marketing team and their strategy that has let the film become a record breaking blockbuster! Unlikely the Ra.One’s promotion, when huge money was spent during marketing, movie proved to be a fuss bomb. This time SRK team has decided to go and promote with the real time audience wherever they are– Facebook, watching daily soap, watching video on Smartphone, doing shopping…Everywhere!

Let's have a look at the innovative ways through which they have publicized 'Chennai Express'.

Game Development: Who doesn’t like playing games on their Smartphone? Well, everybody does from a toddler to teenager to senior generation. The promoters of the movie have launched a game based on Chennai Express. This move was taken to hit the cyber game users as it covers a large number of audiences with the introduction of Smartphones. The game is available on both Android as well as Java based mobile phones. To score points, the users have to fight with the roadside goons. You can see the app here: http://bit.ly/185vUvR

Lungi Dance: South Indian’s all time favourite dress– Lungi! Correct? Composed & produced just for the promotional drive, 'Lungi Dance' has become the main attraction of the movie. It has taken over television, radio and all other social media platforms currently and hence is one of the most important parts of the promotional activities. Even the Punjabi rapper & singer - YoYo Honey Singh too has come up with a beguiling tune (listen to it, you will stress your mind to believe that it was sung by him) and as expected, it has fetched up benefits too for 'Chennai Express' at the box-office. Watch it here: http://bit.ly/18LRIyY

Promotion on TV: The TRP of any channel rises high when superstar appears. ShahRukh has given interviews and talked about the movie while appearing on several shows with his charisma and trademark smile. You must have seen him on – Comedy Nights with Kapil (he appeared there twice), Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah, Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa, Indian Idol, Madhubala and Diya aur Baati Hum.

Posters in different languages: Since the movie has been released in ten different languages including English, French, Spanish, Arabic, German, Hebrew, Dutch, Turkish and Malay, the promoters created posters of the respective languages. These posters added a sense of belongingness and worked as a great marketing tool.

Tie-up with products: When it comes to marketing and promotion, SRK is one of the leading actors. He is associated with numerous products and many of them have been featured in the film as well.

The 'Rajni' brand: 'Lungi dance' is a very well planned marketing move. The movie is based in South India where Rajnikanth still rules and his name matters a lot. A similar trick was applied by ShahRukh in Ra-One as well, however, the strategy worked outstandingly in Chennai Express.

Interactive movie channel: Recently a media house is going to launch its channel with 'Chennai Express'. It is indeed one of the greatest achievements ever for a film. ShahRukh is known for his enduring spirit and elegance. Hence, this film will assist the movie channel to become a successful brand.

Fashion shows: Recently, SRK was spotted at a fashion show walking the ramp. Although it was completely an alien territory for King Khan but it is known to all that everything is fair in love, war and movie promotion.

Introduction of a new range of Sarees: The star-cast of the movies has launched a new series of Chennai Express sarees. The designs of the sarees are as similar to the ones worn by Deepika in the movie. As per reports these are in huge demand in the market at present.

Social Media Express:

Social media channels were used to create pre-buzz for the movie. Apart from other promotions on Facebook and YouTube, UTV Motion Pictures created a special hashtag #ChennaiExpressArrives for the movie to give the opportunity to watch the trailer of the film earlier than scheduled. Fans just needed to tweet on #ChennaiExpressArrives and get linked to a virtual train reaching Chennai, where the trailer was revealed.

Facebook: You have seen many fans wait in line for one glimpse of SRK. But guess what happened when he invited his fans to do live chat on Facebook with him and Mr. Shetty. It was decided to take place on Tuesday, August 14th at 9 PM (IST). This was the first time when any actor hosted a Facebook live chat to connect with millions of fans in India and globally on his page. To chat with Shahrukh Khan fans had logged on to – facebook.com/iamsrk.

Twitter: With a fast moving stream on Twitter it is likely that anyone can miss anything in the conversation express. He made an intelligent move by sending Tweets via SMS. Now Anyone with a mobile phone in India can follow @iamsrk. They just need to dial the number 09015500555 and register themselves to get his tweets via SMS. See how the promotion went viral with #09015500555Express. (Note: Sorry ladies and gentlemen, unfortunately it’s not SRK’s personal phone number).

Instagram: We didn’t get to see official SRK’s Instagram. But Rohit Shetty seems to be highly active on it. Check out his photos - http://statigr.am/tag/rohitshetty

All the above promotional tactics were enough to popularize the movie to become the talk of the town. From internet users, to households, to gamers the CE team reached everybody (read with a capital E). Also, as they say, oldest and evergreen marketing tactic is – ‘Word of Mouth’. Those who are left out to get in touch with the promotion, their friends must have dragged him/her to the theaters. Honestly I was the one. I had no intention to watch the movie, but unfortunately was dragged to the theater. Anyways, leave my story here. I am not going to rate the movie, let's leave it on Movie Critiques.

Nevertheless, whatever said and done, we all know the fan following of SRK. Until the movie was released, all the theaters were houseful already! Everybody wanted to have a ‘first day first show’. So you can imagine the multiplying profit and the journey towards 100 crores. Still the numbers are growing.

All the best SRK & Team!

Note: Images used are the intellectual property of the owners. It does not belong to us. In case it is an infringement of your policy, please let us know we will remove it.

Follow us on Twitter for more news, tips and inspiration. Become our mate on Facebook, Google + and explore our Pinterest boards.

5 Tips for Using Instagram for Business

Instagram, the image based social network is there on all iPhone and Android smartphones that boasts more than 100 million users. Currently, this most popular networking site is the talk of the town and brands like Starbucks, NASA, MTV, and NBC News are few of the most successful Instagrammers.

Instagram, the photo sharing community is growing at a much faster pace as it can enhance your business’s exposure, boost brand recognition and generate demand for your products and services. Most of the top brands are turning to Instagram to engage customers and increase their brand identity in the global market.

Instagram for business was started by the Instagram team itself where you can easily find best-practices for enterprises, latest offerings of interest to brands and a number of methods to make yourself an Insta-success.

There are few tips for using Instagram for business:

1. Promote your products

Promote mobile window-shopping to showcase your products. Take a snapshot of your latest product and upload it to create a buzz. You can also zoom in the product and ask users to guess what it is. As we all know that pictures are something that attracts the most and if there is some conversation then it enables to engage as well. On the other hand, if you are a service provider then show off the supplies and tools that are necessary to the services you offer.

2. Interact directly with users

To get response or to engage users through the pictures posted by you, caption them with questions and reply to their comments. You can also invite them for local Instagram meet ups and can continue with the conversations.

3. Introduce your staff

Introduce your employees through this platform. Cast the Instagram spotlight on special employees and caption their image with a small detail. Continue with this campaign as it let you feature your staff and also let you put a human face on your brand.

4. Show what your products can do

Through Instagram showcase how your products can be used in the most unique style. Engage users by generating captivating content. Compel or challenge them to share images showcasing innovative use of your products. If you are a service provider then show the impact of your services offered. You can also showcase the before and after consequences of the service offered by you.

 5. Expand your users

By using relevant hashtags, connect your Instagram account with all other social networking sites. It makes it easier for the user to find your account.

There are several ways to use Instagram for business. You need to make the strategy first and then execute it for better exposure and more engagement.

All the best. In case you have idea, do let us know in comment section.

Follow us on Twitter for more news, tips and inspiration. Become our mate on Facebook, Google + and explore our Pinterest boards.

The latest Google Maps Web App: Open to All

The amendments to Google Maps that Google confirmed at its I/O conference last month is not in the preview stage anymore. The latest version of the maps is now available for all to use without any invitation. Visual tweaks, customized results and more transportation selections are yours for the taking.

In one of its tweets, @Google Maps stated users are just needed to "sign up" to use this latest app. Just hit the blue button and explore this new version.

This latest one has a few improvements and to run this you need to have the latest browser as well as a bit of horsepower to take benefit of them. You can also switch to a 3-D Google Earth view instantly along with pop-up showcasing 3-D buildings. The maps themselves have been amended and elucidated as well.

Transit data trouble free through the slick little interface. It showcases and informs you about where and when to catch the next bus or train. Restaurant reviews, street views or previews are also available on this smart Maps app.

Although it is currently available on the Android platform but very soon you will explore it on your Apple device too. Apple already has a map of its own but it will also feature this latest app on its gizmo soon after approval.



Follow us on Twitter for more news, tips and inspiration. Become our mate on Facebook, Google + and explore our Pinterest boards.

What are the Uses and Benefits of Hashtags!

Although hashtags are typically associated with Twitter, these are now nothing new for other social media networks. Tumblr, Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, Google+, Pinterest and many other social media sites are already using it.

The # symbol is generally used to denote or highlight keywords or any specific topic. This small cross hatch symbol is a very powerful tool that enables the user to navigate the social media landscape. It has now become an essential part of the digital space as they are so frequently used in creative styles to promote events, ideas and products.

Twitter: The Twitter hashtag is a great way to follow any conversation which is of your interest. Moreover, it is also a good way to start off with a Twitter conversation. The hashtags on Twitter simply collect all the tweets and organizes them in a streamline so that a person can understand and follow it. One can follow the streamed conversation by clicking on the hashtag link.

Instagram: For photo enthusiasts, Instagram is a great platform which is available on iOS and Android devices. With the introduction of hashtags in this app, it has become much easier to find and make pictures available. One can caption the image with a hashtag or can comment with a hashtag. Now, anyone can see all the photos with the same tag just by tapping on the tag. One can also hashtag any contest or event so that it reaches to a large number of users whenever they search with the same tag.

Facebook: The web is buzzing with the latest launch of hashtag by Facebook. This self-indexing tool that searches anything and highlights any topic is now an indispensable tool on this most popular social network site. This new functionality on this site is grabbing the attention of the users currently. Though it has not reached to all the users yet but users will soon follow it to find out specific topic or to get engaged in certain conversation.

LinkedIn: LinkedIn, the most popular professional network site has added the hashtag feature too that enables the job seekers to increase their chances to search an ideal position or profession. It works exactly in the similar way it does on Twitter and makes it easier for potential employees to get connected to key companies that they are eyeing.

Benefits of using hashtags for brands:

• It helps you to create awareness for your brand.

• It makes it easy to track what others are talking about your brand.

• You can keep track of your online reputation in the market.

• It lets you monitor and measure your reach.

• It makes your posts easier to search.

• It lets you keep an eye on all the conversations around your chosen keywords/topics so that you can understand where your company is being mentioned.

Several other networking sites are adding this feature currently. The adoption of hashtag by all the most popular social networking sites is also a response to three major aspects: their use by major advertisers, customers and the necessity to provide ways to sieve through mountains of social chatter and swiftly cut through the clutter.

Follow us on Twitter for more news, tips and inspiration. Become our mate on Facebook, Google + and explore our Pinterest boards.

Top 10 Mobile Chat Apps That Beat SMS

In the recent time, the number of messages being sent on various apps has taken over SMS for the first time ever. According to a survey, till 2012, around 19 billion instant messages were sent using chat apps, compared to 17.6 billion SMS texts.

The top ten apps being used these days beating the text messages are:

1) WhatsApp:  WhatsApp Messenger is a cross-platform mobile messaging app that let the user to exchange messages without any charge. It runs on iPhone, BlackBerry, Android and Nokia. It is said to be the granddaddy of the mobile messaging app space. Even with the continuous entry of the myriad messaging newcomers, this stupendous app appears to be continuing to build usage momentum.

 2) WeChat: This smart app generally offers multimedia messaging options, with support for emoji/stickers and video. The app runs smoothly on Android, iPhone, BlackBerry, Windows Phone, and Symbian platforms and supports English, Chinese, Indonesian, Portuguese, Thai, Vietnamese, and Russian languages.

 3) Line: Call and message as much as you want with this latest app, Line. It is a new communication tool that let you make free voice calls and messages whenever and wherever you are. Around 190 million users worldwide across 231 countries are using this app to communicate.

4) Nimbuzz Messenger: Another great app ever invented is the Nimbuzz Messenger that combines the power of web and smartphone both into one. It enables you to make affordable international calls, send messages, share files on any other handset. It is available on all the popular platforms including Android, iOS, Blackberry, Symbian, Java, Windows and Mac.

 5) Skype: Now with this advanced app, Skype talk with your fingers. No matter in which part of the world you are, by maintaining your privacy it connects you with your friends and family with free instant messaging. Millions of users are now using it to get in touch with their loved ones.

 6) ChatOn: Stay connected with your buddies or group of buddies through this advanced app ChatOn. It is well supported on most of the platforms. In most of the Samsung mobile phones, you get this impeccable app preloaded. You can post messages and check out your buddy's comments.

7) BBM: To exchange between BlackBerry users only, BBM is one of the best inventions. It will soon be available on the iOS platform too. However, you can carry on a real-time conversation with friends and colleagues in several different locations or carry on numerous conversations simultaneously.

 8) Facebook Messenger: Facebook Messenger mobile app is as similar as the Facebook chat on a desktop. It allows the user to chat either one to one or in groups. You can share pictures, texts or voice recordings and also emoji to make your conversation interesting.

9) Viber: Viber is a VoIP app that is becoming more popular with each passing day. You can not only message through it but also communicate using VoIP for free bypassing your mobile network. You can make unlimited calls and text messages to other Viber users. Registration via your mobile number is not required to make calls.

10) GTalk: A number of apps have come in the market in the current time but GTalk is one of the oldest and most excellent communication tools. This instant messaging service allows both texts as well as voice communication. You can stay connected with your friends and family anytime and can see the actual availability and status of friends online.

All these latest apps have taken over the market and changed the way of communication. Mobile texts have lost somewhere with the introduction of these apps which are much cheaper and easy to access. No matter in which part of the world you are, you can easily connect with your loved ones and can interact and see them which is not possible via SMS.

---

Follow us on Twitter for more news, tips and inspiration. Become our mate on Facebook, Google + and explore our Pinterest boards.

Mobile Applications for Hotels: Significant Need of the Hour!

According to a survey, 38% users use their handsets to organize a trip. Almost 60% admitted that they have downloaded travel apps on their gizmos, 62% of the travelers said that they have used their widgets to search restaurants while traveling, 51% used it to know about the flight status, 46% searched for the attractions and 28% have checked into a restaurant, hotel or attraction using their cell phones while on a tour.

As per another survey, it has been revealed that regular business travelers who make trips minimum five times in a year possess a Smartphone. Almost 50% of regular leisure travelers have Smartphones that they use for various activities such as searching restaurants, check in hotels and other places etc.

There are enough reasons for the industry to use mobile applications. In fact, there are many who are using it and gaining huge success out of it.

These days, the most important and a must have thing for a hotel is to have a dynamic website from where one can know about it in detail and access all the required information within minimum clicks. Next is the mobile app that let the hotel to connect with the guests more closely. The good thing is, the cost of developing these apps has decreased as compared to previous years. Now even if you do not own a luxury hotel or a chain of luxury hotels, you can create your app for the growth and development.

As they say – ‘What is visible, sells'. After app development, you need to promote it wisely on each platform so that people get to know about it. Having a mobile app also increase the brand value of the hotel. Customers understand that the hotel is up-to-dated with the latest technology and hence must be offering high quality services too.

 Now, the important question - which platform you should choose to develop the app? Android or iOS? Well, nothing to worry about it as the answer is in your website analytics. Go through it and find out that how many people from which platforms are coming to your website and start with the one having the most number of users and then move to the rest of the platforms.

---

Follow us on Twitter for more news, tips and inspiration. Become our mate on Facebook, Google + and explore our Pinterest boards.

The Evolution of Mobile Phones!

The evolution of Mobile Phones! If someone asks you when was the last time you checked your mobile phone or browsed the web on your tablet then most likely the answer would be just a few minutes back (or probably you are reading this blog on your phone itself). In fact, most people keep it within their arm's reach. These devices are running rampant nowadays and have opened the doors to reach the target audiences in a very unique and more interactive way.

Much has been changed since the time it was invented and now.

Then	Now
·         It was invented just to make voice calls. ·        Text communication was introduced. ·         Normal black & white display with a small screen.	·         Mobile internet that connects you globally. ·         Mobile searches ·         Videos, music, games ·         Variety of apps ·         3G and 4G networks ·         Touchscreen display ·         Camera ·         And many more…

 Hi-tech operating systems have turned these devices into mini computers. Need and demand of the users are changing at a much faster pace with the extension of 3G and 4G networks. Majority of users now connect to the web through this smart piece of technology to get interesting and relevant information or to connect with the social media sites.

---

Follow us on Twitter for more news, tips and inspiration. Become our mate on Facebook, Google + and explore our Pinterest boards.