Irect Arketing Ocial Media

DIRECT MARKETING-
SOCIAL MEDIA
NAME ROLL NO.
VINEET BANGERA 06
JITTO GEORGE 68
PRATEEK PATHAK 89
SUVIDH RELE 91
SUSHANT SHETTY 102

INTRODUCTION
The development of social media has created an online environment

conducive to creating connections and fostering relationships. As new
social media sites are being introduced, researchers in every field of study
are attempting to determine the most effective ways for organizations to
use them. By using these findings and implementing social media
campaigns into their communication strategies, non-profit organizations
now have the ability to inform their respective publics about upcoming
events, increase donation requests and create a community around their
designated cause. A content analysis was conducted to examine how the
Various Cancer Society has implemented the use of social media sites into
their marketing and public relations strategies. This study examines the
Society’s use of blogs, Facebook, YouTube,Twitter, MySpace, Linked In,
the Cancer Action Network, the Cancer Survivors Network and internal
social networking sites. The results indicate that these Cancer Society has
established a strong online presence by taking advantage individual social
networking sites’distinct features. As a result, the organization has brought
additional attention to their cause,created a stronger network of supporters
and increased donations.
Over the past several years, there has been a drastic change in the way
our society receives and perceives information. What was once a
commodity has now become a necessity. The Internet has opened doors
for a whole new realm of information gathering and sharing and has
become one of the most prominent ways of not only obtaining information
but also as a means of social communication. As new technologies are
being developed and introduced, we are forced to familiarize ourselves with
and take advantage of the new capabilities that were not available before.
However, these changes to the way we obtain information are causing both
individuals and organizations to adjust their ways of communicating.
New opportunities for communications campaigns and advertising have
been established through the development of the Internet. Traditional
advertising strategies may not be the most effective, and the way people
receive and react to information may also be different based on the media
through which it is received. Furthermore, advertising has begun to shift
from one-way communication from an organization to its intended public to
two-way communication that is interactive. Research has found that one of
the most prevalent and effective ways of this new strategy for reaching a
public through the Internet is through social media sites.Social media sites
provide a place for individuals and organizations to directly communicate
with each other and foster relationships. Organizations are able to use
social media sites in a plethora of ways to reach their targeted
demographic. As new social media sites are being introduced, researchers
in every field of study are attempting to determine the most effective ways
for organizations to use them.
One of the primary goals of non-profit organizations is to gain the support

of targeted audiences. They attempt to accomplish this by developing
messages regarding their cause and distributing such messages to a wide
demographic. The development of the Internet has enabled many non-
profit organizations to inform these audiences of their cause for nominal
costs, which was not an option prior to the Internet. They are now able to
effectively reach specific audiences by channeling different messages
through various social media sites, such as Facebook, Myspace, YouTube,
LinkedIn and Twitter. By implementing social media campaigns into their
communication strategies, non-profit organizations now have the ability to
inform their respective publics about upcoming events, increase donation
requests and create a community around their designated cause.
Social Media
In order to understand social media, we must first establish a
comprehensive definition as it relates to the Cancer Society of India and
its targeted audience. Although the term social media has not been a part
of mainstream culture until recent, it has been around for several decades.
Using digital media to network, socialize and gather information began in
the 1950’s with phone phreaking, in which individuals generated tones that
could get access into the back end of telephone systems. Social media was
then introduced to the Internet through programs like Prodigy and
Compuserve, which brought social online experience to the masses.
Today, social media has grown exponentially and has become a new
method for communicating. Social media has become so popular that
individuals have altered their routines in order to incorporate it
into their daily lives. As a result of its increasing popularity, there has been
a wealth of new ideas and products that promote and assist in the
development and use of social media.
Social media can be defined as web-based services that allow individuals to
construct a public image or semi-public profile within a bounded system. It also
allows individuals and organizations to articulate a list of other users with whom
they may share a connection and view and traverse their list of connections.
Furthermore, social media develops communities that allow individuals and
businesses alike to share experiences, gather information and develop relationships
with like-minded people through the use of text, videos and files. Social media
sites an individual or company’s connections and networks, which enables viewers
to browse others’ connections. This significantly influences the impact and
persuasiveness of social media.
Two-way communication is becoming increasingly more popular among non-
profit
organizations. This type of communication uses various methods to negotiate with
its publics and promote mutual understanding and respect between the organization
and that public and is the backbone of social media. With this type of
communication, organizations are forced to develop new ways of reaching their
target audiences. Previous strategies used to meet an organization’s publics may no
longer be effective, and the importance of implementing social media campaigns is
necessary if not critical. Many organizations are taking advantage of the benefits
associated with social media. For example, they are now able to communicate
directly with their audience rather than through an alternate media outlet.
Furthermore, organizations can easily direct these specific messages to a target
market for minimal costs. In order to develop and distribute messages through
social media sites, we must first understand the audience being addressed. Over the
past few years, the public’s use of social media sites has increased exponentially
and has undeniably become a large part of the lives of
many people. In fact, the use of social media sites as a way of obtaining
information has become so popular that many are using it as an additional source
of news.
When developing marketing and advertising campaigns involving social media, an
organization must recognize the six demographics of social media users in order to
effectively target specific audiences. These users are grouped into distinct
categories based on the activities they pursue in social media.
Category 1: Producers are those online consumers who create online content.
This includes writing articles and blogs and podcasting on a regular basis. This
group makes up approximately 18 percent of social media users.
Category 2: Commentators react, comment and critique posted information and
account for about 25 percent of social media users. They also post reviews and
ratings on various social media sites.
Category 3: Gatherers are the smallest group of social media users (12 percent).
These users collect and organize content for others to search for on the Internet.
Category 4: Joiners are less involved than the previous three demographics but
make up 25 percent of users. This group joins social media sites and maintains
their personal pages but does not produce any content for others to consume.
Category 5: Observers are the largest and most difficult group to monitor.
Although they consume what the producers and commentators supply, they do not
actively participate. In fact, some may not even be joiners. Their online presence
often goes unfelt, but it is crucial to recognize them as an audience as they are still
receiving and processing information available over the Internet.
Category 6: Inactives, who do not create or consume any information on social
media
sites, are the final and least important group. By categorizing users of social media
and
understanding their purposes and trends, organizations are able to better craft their
messages.
Two-way communication and social media also give these users a platform to
discuss
their positive and negative feelings toward an organization for others to see and be
persuaded by.
Therefore, it is important for organizations to be aware of what is being said in
order to take advantage of positive feedback or to attempt to reverse or change the
public’s perception of negative feedback. In connection with the development of
two-way communication, many organizations find themselves responding to their
supporters’ posts on these individual social media sites. Each social media site
offers unique capabilities and features that allow organizations of any kind to
create specific messages targeted to specific publics.
Benefits of Using Social Media

Social networking sites have proven to have measurable positive impacts on non-
profit organizations. Social media’s focus on building connections has enhanced
the success of these organizations.
Individuals are able to create and join groups related to a specific cause associated
with the organization without its direct control. This proves to be extremely
beneficial in that discussion and promotion of the organization is occurring without
the use of its resources.
As more people become engaged, the messages continue to spread with little effort
by the nonprofit Organization. Non-profit organizations are using social media to
not only tell their story but also to encourage donations to their causes, build
communities and expand their reach. They are now able to distribute their
messages to a large audience in the shortest amount of time on a budget of limited
funds and human capital. This is an area that many organizations have struggled
with in the past. By understanding how social media fits into the purpose and goals
of a specific organization, messages can be tailored to accurately meet the needs
and expectations of the group. The wide array of social networking sites further
allows this to be possible.As new social media is developed, organizations are
beginning to determine which channels are the most effective for delivering certain
types of messages. Similarly, they are able to specify which sites are most useful to
use to satisfy their organization’s purpose. For example, some organizations may
use social media solely to share information with the public rather than attempting
to raise money whereas others may focus their attention on gaining more
volunteers.The newly developed features of these social networking sites have also
been influential in creating new forms of campaigns and messages. Now, non-
profit organizations can use social media to develop campaigns that include
interactive contests, creative video clips and real-time information. This
significantly affects an individual’s likelihood to become part of an online
community, to participate and to donate, as it becomes less of an obligation and
more of an experienceIf used effectively, social networking sites have the ability to
increase awareness, support and donations for a non-profit organization. However,
if used carelessly or without a strategic plan, social media can be extremely
detrimental to an organization’s public image
Drawbacks of Using Social Media
Social media sites are relatively new to the greater public and are constantly
evolving.
New sites are frequently being introduced and additional features and applications
are being developed for existing sites. These constant changes make it difficult to
manage and track the outcomes and effectiveness of specific social media
outreach. This uncertainty is often difficult to overcome when an organization’s
resources are limited.
While social media sites have the ability to create and maintain connections
between a
non-profit organization and its publics, they also have several drawbacks that
prohibit them from reaching their goals. Most non-profit organizations have not
been able to cultivate high dollar donations. A study performed by the Society of
New Communications Research on the likelihood of social media users to donate
to charitable causes revealed that the group of social media users is younger than
the traditional composition of donors. Forty-seven percent of social media users
were aged 30-49, 40 percent were under the age of 30 and 13 percent were 50 or
older. Furthermore, only 15 percent of those under age 30 donated more than
$1000 to a
charitable cause.21 This is not to say that it is not possible, but rather it is not a
high revenue generator at this time.

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DIRECT MARKETING-

NAME ROLL NO.

SUSHANT SHETTY 102

The development of social media has created an online environment

One of the primary goals of non-profit organizations is to gain the support

Benefits of Using Social Media

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