ITV

Tag: social media

  • 88% of Indian internet users “share” social media content monthly: Ipsos Study

    MUMBAI: About nine in ten (88 per cent) online consumers in India indicate that in the past month, they have shared some type of content on social media sites compared to 71 globally. The findings reflect a new poll of 18,150 respondents conducted by Ipsos OTX – the global innovation center for Ipsos, the world’s third largest market and opinion research firm. About one in ten (12 per cent) indicate they ‘haven’t shared any content in the past month’. 

     

    The most popular shared item found in the poll is pictures, as about six in ten (58 per cent) indicate they have shared pictures online in the past month. Following next are: ‘my opinion’ (56 per cent), ‘links to articles’ (37 per cent), a ‘status update of what/how I’m doing’ (36 per cent), ‘news items’ (34 per cent), ‘something I like or recommend, such as a product, service, movie, book, etc.’ (32 per cent), ‘status update of what I’m feeling’ (29 per cent), ‘video clips’ (29 per cent), ‘links to other websites’ (27 per cent), ‘reposts from other people’s social media posts’ (25 per cent), ‘plans for future activities, trips, plans’ (17 per cent) and ‘other types of content’ (15 per cent). 

     

    Of the online consumers, those from Turkey (93 per cent) are most likely to indicate they have shared any content online in the past month, followed nine in ten in each of: Mexico (89 per cent), Brazil (88 per cent), India (88 per cent), Indonesia (88 per cent), Argentina (86 per cent), South Africa (86 per cent) and China (85 per cent). This group of highly engaged content-sharers is followed by Russia (79 per cent), Saudi Arabia (78 per cent), Spain (75 per cent), Hungary (83 per cent), South Korea (73 per cent), Italy (71 per cent), Poland (64 per cent) and Sweden (64 per cent) rounding out the middle of the pack. The lower groups of social media sharers begin with Australia (63 per cent), Belgium (62 per cent), the United States (60 per cent), Canada (59 per cent), Great Britain (58 per cent), France (49 per cent), Germany (44 per cent) and Japan (30 per cent). 

     

    As for demographics, Indian citizens indicated that those under the age of 35 (92 per cent) are most likely to share any type of content on social media sites, in particular when compared with those aged 35 to 49 (86 per cent) and those 50 to 64 (78 per cent). Women (88 per cent) appear somewhat more likely than men (89 per cent) to have shared some content in the past month.

  • LimeRoad.com emerges as top engagement platform in online commerce

    MUMBAI: One of India’s first social shopping platform LimeRoad.com claims to have over 26 million page views per month and 40,000 active daily engaged user base on Facebook, stating that it is a top engagement platform in Indian commerce. Registered users are growing at 200 per cent month on month it claims, of which 50 per cent are sign ups coming from facebook logins with rich social graphs.

     

    The 2100+ active scrap bookers have created 25,000+ unique looks, making Limeroad.com scrapbookers one of the largest online community in India; experimenting and expressing their creativity through online commerce.  The community along with LimeRoad.com’s growing vendor base posts nearly 2,000 new product options and looks on the site every week, 75 per cent of which are unique and not available anywhere else in the country as the platform claims.

    LimeRoad.com has announced the launch of its ‘Create & Earn’ initiative an innovative way to enable their unique and rapidly growing community of Scrapbookers to earn from the looks they create.

     

    LimeRoad.com founder and CEO Suchi Mukherjee said, “Our vision is to create the most extensive discovery platform for lifestyle products in India.  We are creating a highly disruptive user-generated content-led commerce model in India, and scrapbook looks are an intrinsic part of this disruption, and this is indeed how our users discover great product.”

     

    LimeRoad.com’s innovative scrapbook application allows people to select from a range of gorgeous products, create a unique look and share it with their friends. Taking community generated content several notches higher, LimeRoad.com is arming every aspiring stylist and fashionista to now sell their curated looks and earn.

     

    Scrapbookers will now get a percentage of the sale amount of all items sold through their scrapbook looks.  Top scrapbookers of the community typically make between 20-30 scrapbooks a month, and LimeRoad.com expects the most creative and active scrap-bookers to earn upto Rs.10, 000-20,000 per month!

     

    LimeRoad.com co-founder and CTO Prashant Malik says, “LimeRoad.com Co-Founder & CTO Prashant Malik says, “We are driven to build a scalable social and visual discovery platform at the core of our brand that will magnify the visualization and discovery of the rich merchandise. We are on a mission to build the most extensive discovery platform in South-East Asia, where consumers come because they get to discover simply great product at affordable prices.  And this discovery is best led through social channels and user generated content. The primary user generated content on LimeRoad is scrapbooks and attributing a product sale with this content is a key innovation, which is what we’re enabling with our newest initiative.”

  • Comedy Central streams James Franco Roast

    Comedy Central streams James Franco Roast

    MUMBAI: Comedy Central is taking one of its showcases and streaming it free across multiple platforms. The “Roast of James Franco” will be accessible via CC.com, mobile platforms and an Xbox app.

    A red carpet pre-show will also be available. The network is hoping to drum up considerable social media activity with the sharing of video clips and animated GIFs on its Web site, as well as on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Vine and Tumblr.

    The roast debuts Monday at 10:00 p.m. For a re-air later that night, Comedy Central is trying a “social version” with real-time tweets and Facebook posts on-screen.

    Among the social media activity the network has used to drum up interest in the special is allowing “super users” to take control of Comedy Central’s Vine account.

    Franco’s real-life grandmother will be co-hosting the “#FrancoRoast Red Carpet Pre-Show.” Grandma Mitzie Verne will interview celebrities on a couch. The 15-minute red carpet show will be produced by Comedy Central’s in-house digital studio.

    Seth Rogen serves as the roast master with Jonah Hill and Andy Samberg among those taking a turn at the mike.

  • Gozoop executes #BurgsMeetUp for food bloggers and Twitter influencers

    Gozoop executes #BurgsMeetUp for food bloggers and Twitter influencers

    MUMBAI: Gozoop, which recently acquired Red Digital and won the social media mandate of the gourmet burger chain, Burgs, carried out a successful bloggers meet for the brand. The bloggers meet was carried out at the Andheri outlet in Mumbai.

     

    Gozoop had invited 30 renowned food bloggers and Twitter influencers to come down at the outlet and make their own burgers. The bloggers were offered a variety of ingredients and sauces to make their own burgers. The primary objective behind the activity was to reach out to a wider audience through these influencers and to give them a one-of-a-kind chance to make their own burgers.

     

    The event was simultaneously promoted across social media too. The twitter campaign was carried out using the hashtag #BurgsMeetUp, where they posted live updates from the meet along with pictures of the delicious burgers they made.

     

    Commenting on the event, Gozoop MD and co-founder Ahmed Naqvi said, “Social media is rapidly growing and becoming an interactive medium across sectors. With Burgs recently entering in India, they wanted to create awareness about their outlets and give the food enthusiasts a firsthand experience of the burger. We received an overwhelming response from the bloggers and influencers who enjoyed participating in the bloggers meet and had a great time making awesome burgers.”

     

    Commenting on the same Burgs India CEO Subroto Mukherjee added, “A bloggers meet is something we are very keen on doing as we receive a lot of feedback on what is trending and what consumers love. This will really help in taking the brand Burgs to the evoked set and thus influence consumer preferences.”

     

    Overall the bloggers made 24 types of burgers and the winner of this blogger meet was @BhookaJanta whose, burger “Bhooka Janta Bomb” will be available at all Burgs outlet this week.

  • Life’s OK digitally

    When Harvard wizkid Mark Zuckerberg launched facebook in 2004, he never imagined it would ignite a revolution in terms of the way people communicate and share information.

    Indeed, social networks have emerged as the next big thing after email and the Internet, and not just individuals and communities but even our television channels are happily jumping onto them for bettering their ‘connect‘ with the audience.

    After demystifying the digital strategies of Sony Entertainment Television, Star Plus, Colorsand Zee TV, indiantelevision.com trains its lens on the endeavours of Life OK – Star India‘s sister channel – in this space.

    For starters, Life OK‘s Facebook page boasts 1,293,603 likes and more than 63,600 people talking about it simultaneously.

    We also have efficient partners that understand the nuances of social media engagement and help spread marketing ideas across digital and social platforms, says Ajit Thakur

    The page is kept up-to-speed with pictures, videos, polls and all the hot gossip, and shares links with the official pages of various shows aired on the channel.

    In a day and age when 140-character tweets more than news make headlines, the plots of Life OK‘s many soaps are also tweaked through fan tweets. The official twitter handle of the channel @LifeOKTV is abuzz with nearly 20,840 tweets from over 16,555 followers at the time of writing. With instant reactions and feedback the staple of twitter, Life OK makes the most of this platform with timely tweets and re-tweets.

    To cite an example, the channel created, #ThePerfectBachelor, for its upcoming reality show The Bachelorette India – Mere Khayalon Ki Mallika and garnered more than seven million impressions. So much so, the hash tag found its way to the numero uno spot on India trends, that too within half an hour of the beginning of the contest. It was only the second Indian show to trend for 21 hours.

    #ThePerfectBachelor hash tag garnered more than seven million impressions

    Life OK is aware that for a general entertainment channel, video uploads draw the most traffic. And so, it launched its official YouTube channel in December 2011, and has since uploaded 5,000-odd videos. Viewers can watch the latest episodes of top-rated properties like Mahadev, Shapath andSavdhaan among others.

    To top it all is Life OK‘s official website http://www.lifeok.com/. As the channel‘s mainstay, the website aims to use all its other platforms to draw more and more traffic.

    It is easily the hub of Life OK‘s online activities with web exclusive content including live streaming, picture gallery, video uploads, show trivia and a concert section. There‘s also the shows schedule for those who want to know what time their favourite show will be telecast during the day.

    Says Life OK general manager Ajit Thakur: “Social media platforms are a great place to directly engage and interact with consumers. The idea is to leverage the various platforms to drive engagement and increase affinity towards our content. We also provide additional content specific to digital platforms for users who have supported us, or in facebook terms, ‘liked‘ us.”

    The official Facebook page keeps its page up-to-date with pictures, videos, latest buzz and polls

    This is not to say Life OK‘s engagement with its audience stops at social platforms. “We are constantly trying to connect with our audiences, be it through dialogue on social media platforms or sneak previews of our content. With every show and channel marketing campaign, our digital spends supplement the print and TV mentions, thus creating a 360 degree surround across media,” provides Thakur.

    A shining example of the channel‘s 360-degree approach is the way it created the Laajo Ki Diary blog on four platforms including wordpress, blogspot, tumblr and Rediff before the launch of its show Gustakh Dil. The blog gets updated with new posts on a day-to-day basis, keeping viewers abreast of what‘s happening on it.

    The website is decked up with web exclusive content including live streaming, picture gallery, video uploads, show trivia and a concert section

    But how does the channel promote its online presence? “We have a dedicated digital content and marketing team, who focus their energies on creating interesting content for the digital audience. We also have efficient partners that understand the nuances of social media engagement and help spread marketing ideas across digital and social platforms,” replies Thakur.

    Just in case you‘re wondering which platform gets the most traction, Thakur isn‘t very helpful. “Each platform delivers a specific objective while facebook is a great place for fans to engage with us, consume rich media content and share with friends; twitter being much more time-sensitive, helps create buzz about relevant topics and shows at the right time. YouTube on the other hand is a great platform for users to sample our content (mostly short form content) and also drives digital monetisation,” he says.

    Well, talk about the channel being omnipresent in the digital space…

  • Anand Mahindra, Chairman, Mahindra Group, amongst ‘5 Non-Tech CEOs Using Social Media To Drive Business Results’

    Anand Mahindra, Chairman, Mahindra Group, amongst ‘5 Non-Tech CEOs Using Social Media To Drive Business Results’

    August 21, 2013, Mumbai: Hootsuite, the leading social media dashboard to manage and measure social networks, has included Anand Mahindra, Chairman, Mahindra Group, in its list of ‘5 Non-Tech CEOs Using Social Media to Drive Business Results’ (http://blog.hootsuite.com/ceos-using-social-media/).

    Hootsuite had the following to say about Mr. Mahindra’s Twitter handle (@anandmahindra), which has over 8,00,000 followers:

    “With over 844,000 Twitter followers, Anand Mahindra is undoubtedly influential in the social space. Mahindra’s Twitter feed is an engaging mix of business and pleasure, and of broadcasting and engagement. Yes, he posts about his company, but he also posts inspirational quotes, he posts about cinema, and he even posts about American politics. He shares his thoughts and passions, and retweets and shares the messages of those who engage with him on those topics. Mahindra is a great example for executives to follow as he is one of the rare CEOs that publicly shows his true colors. Followers love him for it.

    So how does Mahindra’s social media activity help drive business results? Mahindra is an Indian company that isn’t necessarily a household name in North America or even Western Europe. With each post, Mahindra is working to change that. He puts out content that is valuable or entertaining to people anywhere in the globe, and in doing so he has attracted a global audience. Those loyal followers are exposed to the Mahindra brand and business along with all the rest of the content, helping to boost the company’s international presence. Being personable helps Mahindra himself, as well as his business, have global appeal.”

    The Top 5 executives on the list include:
    1. Richard Branson, Founder and Chairman, Virgin Group 
    2. James Caan, CEO & Founder, Hamilton Bradshaw, a private equity firm in the UK
    3. Anand Mahindra, Chairman and Managing Director, Mahindra Group
    4. Doug Conant, Chairman of the Avon board of directors, former CEO of Campbell’s Soup
    5. Peter Aceto, CEO of ING Direct

  • Muslim Clerics globally feel posting photos of women on Facebook is un-Islamic

    Muslim Clerics globally feel posting photos of women on Facebook is un-Islamic

    NEW DELHI: A Pakistani website quotes Muslim clerics in India agreeing with their counterparts in Pakistan that posting pictures of girls on Facebook is un-Islamic.

    The website moremag.pk says ‘this problem is not just limited to Pakistan where social media has become subject of criticism but Muslim leaders all over the world are somehow trying to establish their writ on social networks where it is virtually impossible to ban anything permanently.’

    It says Muslim clerics in India have shown reservation on posting pictures of girls on Facebook. The viewpoint is divided and according to few, it is un-Islamic to post pictures of girls on Facebook since it becomes a cause of social evils and creates problems for girls.

    Abul Irfan Naimul Halim of Sunni sect said, “There are so many crimes taking place each day. The animal instincts of men are not sparing girls even within the four walls. In such a case posting pictures is extending an open invitation to such crimes.”

    A Shia cleric Maulana Saif Abbas Naqvi also endorses the thoughts of Abdul Irfan. He says that hundreds of Muslims call on helplines asking about if making an account on facebook and twitter is permitted in Islam or not.

    “There is no harm in making accounts on social networks as it is a practice to gain knowledge but posting a picture of women on internet for public without hijab is un-Islamic. Purdah should be practiced if it is important to post a picture”, Maulana Saif added.

    To some, it is better to maintain a physical relation than getting involved in virtual relation because the latter is more deceiving in case one of them is playing with a fake picture.

    But there are few like Ali Nasir Syeed who is of the view that the definition of Purdah should be clear and that there is nothing un-Islamic in posting a picture of facebook or other social networks without hijab.

    To him, coping up with the technological advancement is more important for Muslims today rather than getting lost in vague things.

  • Ministry of Information and Broadcasting introduces ‘New Media Wing’

    Ministry of Information and Broadcasting introduces ‘New Media Wing’

    NEW DELHI: Almost a year after guidelines were framed for the use of social media by government agencies and citizen engagement for e-governance projects, the proposal for establishing a ‘New Media Wing’ in the Information and Broadcasting Ministry for publicising its initiatives through multiple social media platforms has received the official nod.

     

    The move has come even as the government is gearing itself for the general elections next year. Both All India Radio and Doordarshan launched its new series yesterday to highlight the initiatives of the government.

     

    According to the proposal approved by the union cabinet, the new wing to be headed by a joint secretary level officer would address the communication and dissemination requirements of the government on social media platforms. The wing would integrate the communication tools horizontally and vertically through various social media platforms.

     

    The proposal for establishment of new media wing has been drawn on the basis of the experience of the initiative undertaken by the ministry recently, on a pilot basis to position itself on the social media platforms such as YouTube, Facebook and Twitter.

     

    The administrative and operational support will be provided by a unit under the ministry – the Research Reference and Training Division – which would be the new wing.

     

    The expenditure for establishing the wing and the recurring expenditure thereon would cost the exchequer an amount of Rs 22.5 crore during the 12th Five Year Plan (1012-17) which has been approved by the cabinet committee for economic affairs under the development communication and information dissemination plan scheme of the ministry.

     

    In August last year, the government had issued framework and guidelines to enable the various agencies to create and implement their own strategy for the use of social media. The document was to help them to make an informed choice about the objective, platforms, resources, etc. to meet the requirement of interaction with their varied stakeholders.

     

    The official statement had then said, “As more and more projects are getting implemented, an increasing need has been felt for wider and deeper participation of an engagement with all stakeholders to ensure that citizen centricity is maintained in all projects. There is now a consensus that citizen participation and civic engagement are the building blocks for good governance and e-governance is a critical component of good governance.

     

    It had added that, “Media is transforming the way in which people connect with each other and the manner in which information is shared and distributed. While at a personal level, the uptake and usage of social media is gaining rapid popularity, use and utility of such media for official purpose remain ambiguous. Many apprehensions remain including, but not limited to, issues related to authorisation to speak on behalf of department/ agency, technologies and platform to be used for communication, scope of engagement, creating synergies between different channels of communication, compliance with existing legislations etc.”

  • CogMat bags social media marketing duties for Plobal

    CogMat bags social media marketing duties for Plobal

    MUMBAI: CogMat, a digital media agency based in Mumbai, has been awarded the social media marketing duties for Plobal.

    Plobal is a fast-growing interactive mobile and web platform that helps locals ask questions, join discussions, get recommendations or simply be updated with what‘s happening around them.

    Plobal co-founder Atul Poharkar said, “The whole idea about building Plobal is to create a social network that helps people discover what is happening in their city in real time. People can see updates posted directly by their favourite brands or simply ask and get recommendations from people with similar interests in their city.”

    This mobile and web platform has reinvented the face of communication by uniting lifestyle business owners and users on a common, social media platform in real time.

    “We‘re very excited to work with Plobal. They are a young, dynamic team of professionals who‘ve created an application that gives users access to real-time and relevant information pertaining to local lifestyle needs. We look forward to do something creative, yet effective, in the social media space for them,” said CogMat co-founder Mitchelle Carvalho.

  • Samsonite and Lavie appoint Trinetra Focus to handle social media

    Samsonite and Lavie appoint Trinetra Focus to handle social media

    MUMBAI: Trinetra Focus, the digital arm of Focus, has won the digital and social media duties for Samsonite and Lavie. Innovations form the core of the campaign. The focus of the mandate is to take conversations on the social media platform to the next level by ensuring continuous engagement and interactions with the target audience through novel campaigns. This will enable the brand to become a constant companion of the customer, thereby increasing the social quotient to achieve the business objectives.

    Highlighting the core objective of the mandate, Focus Circle Brands president Upendra Welingkar said “Social media plays a pivotal role in ensuring continuous brand engagement especially for the fashion and retail segment. Recent facebook statistics suggests that among the next generation of consumers 96 per cent are using social media. Many of these also claim that their purchase decisions are influenced by the information gleaned on these platforms. Making it integral for brands like Samsonite and Lavie to be present on these platforms”

    Adding his thought, Samsonite south Asia CEO E P Suresh Menon said, “For us the key challenge as far as our social media platform is concerned was engaging with the audience on a continuous basis. We have realised that channelising our energies effectively on the social media would enable us to come closer to the customer and in the long run assist us in achieving our business objectives. We were looking at agencies that could provide us with ideal balance of engagement and impact. With their futuristic approach and in-depth understanding of the target audience Focus has been able to capture that effectively”

    Speaking on the mandate, Trinetra Focus VP Saumik Barua highlighted, “For B2C brands like Samsonite and Lavie audiences tend to create a perception on the basis of their online interactions and engagements. Our prime objective is to create content and applications that positions the brand to reach the masses who would either purchase the product or inadvertedly share the brands ethos”

    The key responsibilities of Trinetra Focus will involve online reputation management, SEO consultation and most importantly amplifying social presence. In the second phase, Trinetra Focus is likely to establish the concept of social shopping wherein they will integrate iframe – a shopping tab on the website – to the facebook page allowing users to shop directly from the platform. The initiatives undertaken will be aimed towards driving the customers towards ecommerce platform.