Meghana Kumari : A logo is a graphic mark or emblem commonly used by commercial enterprises,

WHAT IS A LOGO ?

A logo is a graphic mark or emblem commonly used by commercial enterprises, organizations and even individuals to aid and promote instant public recognition. Logos are either purely graphic (symbols/icons) or are composed of the name of the organization (a logotype or wordmark).

In the days of hot metal typesetting, a logotype was a uniquely set and arranged typeface or colophon. At the level of mass communication and in common usage a company's logo is today often

synonymous with its trademark or brand.

WHAT IS IMAGE OPTIMIZATION IN SEO ?

Image optimization is a process where you can optimize your image by the using image alt tag. It is the process of on-page optimization and promotion. Image can be an successful SEO source.

properly optimizing images involves using the "Alt" attribute when adding images to your site. Basically Google Crawlers cannot read images, so you add the "Alt" attribute to tell these crawlers

what it is. What you place here also is what is shown in the event the image doesn't load (say someone is using a web browser that is not compatible for some reason).

in other words Image Optimization is the preparation of an image for use on the internet. Includes reducing file size for quick download while maintaining good quality for viewing at different

screen resolutions.

TECHNIQUES:

* Image Relevance :

Image relevancy is important when it comes to image optimization for SEO. An image of a train on a page related to Ferrari will do you no good. I know its common sense

but this step is so important that I just can’t miss it out.

*Alt Tag :

The Alt tag is probably the most important image optimization factor. Alt stands for alternate. The text in the alt tag is displayed in place of the image if the image can not be shown or

is taking too long to load. Most of the major search engines are text-based, i.e they can not read images and videos. The location of your images appears as an empty space to the search

engines. These empty spaces are not in any way good for your overall SEO. The alt tag not only tells the search engines that there is an image placed here but also informs it about the

topic of your image.

A good practice for the ALT tag is to keep your alt tags short but descriptive. Fill your alt tags with search engine friendly information but don’t try to go too far. For example, the alt tag

for a picture of a birthday party should be something like this: alt=”my son ronin second birthday party”

* Image Size and hosting :

Image size is a very crutial factor for your overall user experience. Images can make your page heavy. Put up a webpage that takes more than 10 seconds to load, and your users

will escape faster than you can say “back button”. After the recent Panda update, the loading time of pages has become a vital part for your SEO ranking as the total time of

visit has become more important as a SEO algorithm. So its important to keep your images low in bytes. Yahoo Smushit is a great tool to wipe out the excess bytes from your

images making them lighter.

Image hosting is another important factor specially when it comes to driving traffic from Google Image Search. The factors on which the images for Google Image Search are

chosen is kept hidden but some say that image hosting is one of the important factors for the choice. It is said that images hosted on the same domain as the text are given

more value than the images hosted at another domain like a free image hosting site. Another important algorithm for Google Image Search is how the images are blended with

the text on the page.

*File name :

Just as keywords are important in url, the same goes for images. Keyword rich file names can help a SE determine relevancy. Avoid using default image file names like,

“DSC0019.jpg” as it does not give much information about the image. Use descriptive filenames with keywords separated by “-” (hyphen). For example, “steve-jobs-on-the-

launching-of-iphone.jpg”. Specially if you are using SEO friendly images plugin for WordPress, it’s very useful as it converts image file name into ALT tag.

*Title Tag and image linking :

Images are eye-catching so are perfect for linking. But proper image linking techniques can offer even better results. One of the basic tips for image linking is to avoid linking

your images directly.

Always use relevant anchor texts whenever linking your images. This is even more effective for your SEO when embedding images in a guest post or other pages intended to

get a link back to your site.

Remember to use a title tag whenever linking your images. Title tag provides a tool tip when you hover your cursor over a link. Use relevant keywords and SEO friendly

description and your title tags will rock.

WHAT IS BRANDING ?

Brand is the "name, term, design, symbol, or any other feature that identifies one seller's good or service as distinct from those of other sellers."Initially, Branding was adopted to differentiate one

person's cattle from another's by means of a distinctive symbol burned into the animal's skin with a hot iron stamp, and was subsequently used in business, marketing and advertising. A modern

example of a brand is Coca Cola which belongs to the Coca-Cola Company. A brand is the most valuable fixed asset of a Corporation.

Marque or make are often used to denote a brand of motor vehicle, which may be distinguished from a car model. A concept brand is a brand that is associated with an abstract concept, like breast

cancer awareness or environmentalism, rather than a specific product, service, or business. A commodity brand is a brand associated with a commodity. Got milk? is an example of a commodity

brand.

Concepts

Proper branding can result in higher sales of not only one product, but on other products associated with that brand. For example, if a customer loves Pillsbury biscuits and trusts the brand, he or

she is more likely to try other products offered by the company such as chocolate chip cookies. Brand is the personality that identifies a product, service or company (name, term, sign, symbol, or

design, or combination of them) and how it relates to key constituencies: customers, staff, partners, investors etc.

Some people distinguish the psychological aspect, brand associations like thoughts, feelings, perceptions, images, experiences, beliefs, attitudes, and so on that become linked to the brand, of a

brand from the experiential aspect. The experiential aspect consists of the sum of all points of contact with the brand and is known as the brand experience. The brand experience is a brand's action

perceived by a person. The psychological aspect, sometimes referred to as the brand image, is a symbolic construct created within the minds of people, consisting of all the information and

expectations associated with a product, service or the company(ies) providing them.

People engaged in branding seek to develop or align the expectations behind the brand experience, creating the impression that a brand associated with a product or service has certain qualities or

characteristics that make it special or unique. A brand is therefore one of the most valuable elements in an advertising theme, as it demonstrates what the brand owner is able to offer in the

marketplace. The art of creating and maintaining a brand is called brand management. Orientation of the whole organization towards its brand is called brand orientation. The brand orientation is

developed in responsiveness to market intelligence.

Careful brand management seeks to make the product or services relevant to the target audience. Brands should be seen as more than the difference between the actual cost of a product and its

selling price - they represent the sum of all valuable qualities of a product to the consumer.

A brand which is widely known in the marketplace acquires brand recognition. When brand recognition builds up to a point where a brand enjoys a critical mass of positive sentiment in the

marketplace, it is said to have achieved brand franchise. Brand recognition is most successful when people can state a brand without being explicitly exposed to the company's name, but rather

through visual signifiers like logos, slogans, and colors. For example, Disney has been successful at branding with their particular script font (originally created for Walt Disney's "signature" logo),

which it used in the logo for go.com.

Consumers may look on branding as an aspect of products or services, as it often serves to denote a certain attractive quality or characteristic (see also brand promise). From the perspective of

brand owners, branded products or services also command higher prices. Where two products resemble each other, but one of the products has no associated branding (such as a generic, store-

branded product), people may often select the more expensive branded product on the basis of the quality of the brand or the reputation of the brand owner.

BRAND AWARENESS

Brand awareness refers to customers' ability to recall and recognize the brand under different conditions and link to the brand name, logo, jingles and so on to certain associations in memory. It

consists of both brand recognition and brand recall. It helps the customers to understand to which product or service category the particular brand belongs and what products and services are sold

under the brand name. It also ensures that customers know which of their needs are satisfied by the brand through its products (Keller). Brand awareness is of critical importance since customers

will not consider your brand if they are not aware of it.

There are various levels of brand awareness that require different levels and combinations of brand recognition and recall. Top-of-Mind is the goal of most companies. Top-of-mind awareness

occurs when your brand is what pops into a consumers mind when asked to name brands in a product category. For example, when someone is asked to name a type of facial tissue, the common

answer is “Kleenex,” which is a top-of-mind brand. Aided Awareness occurs when a consumer is shown or reads a list of brands, and expresses familiarity with your brand only after they hear or

see it as a type of memory aide. Strategic Awareness occurs when your brand is not only top-of-mind to consumers, but also has distinctive qualities that stick out to consumers as making it better

than the other brands in your market. The distinctions that set your product apart from the competition is also known as the Unique Selling Point or USP.

BRAND ELEMENTS

Brands typically are made up of various elements, such as:

*Name: The word or words used to identify a company, product, service, or concept.

*Logo: The visual trademark that identifies the brand.

*Tagline or Catchphrase: "The Quicker Picker Upper" is associated with Bounty paper towels. "Can you hear me now" is an important part of the Verizon brand.

*Graphics: The dynamic ribbon is a trademarked part of Coca-Cola's brand.

*Shapes: The distinctive shapes of the Coca-Cola bottle and of the Volkswagen Beetle are trademarked elements of those brands.

*Colors: Owens-Corning is the only brand of fiberglass insulation that can be pink.

*Sounds: A unique tune or set of notes can denote a brand. NBC's chimes are a famous example.

*Scents: The rose-jasmine-musk scent of Chanel No. 5 is trademarked.

*Tastes: Kentucky Fried Chicken has trademarked its special recipe of eleven herbs and spices for fried chicken.

*Movements: Lamborghini has trademarked the upward motion of its car doors.

*Customer relationship management

CLOBAL BRAND VARIABLES

#Brand name

Relationship between trade marks and brand .The brand name is quite often used interchangeably with "brand", although it is more correctly used to specifically denote written or spoken linguistic

elements of any product. In this context a "brand name" constitutes a type of trademark, if the brand name exclusively identifies the brand owner as the commercial source of products or services.

A brand owner may seek to protect proprietary rights in relation to a brand name through trademark registration and such trademarks are called "Registered Trademarks". Advertising

spokespersons have also become part of some brands, for example: Mr. Whipple of Charmin toilet tissue and Tony the Tiger of Kellogg's Frosted Flakes.

#Types of brand names

Brand names come in many styles.A few include:

Initialism: A name made of initials such, as UPS or IBM

Descriptive: Names that describe a product benefit or function, such as Whole Foods or Airbus

Alliteration and rhyme: Names that are fun to say and stick in the mind, such as Reese's Pieces or Dunkin' Donuts

Evocative: Names that evoke a relevant vivid image, such as Amazon or Crest

Neologisms: Completely made-up words, such as Wii or Kodak

Foreign word: Adoption of a word from another language, such as Volvo or Samsung

Founders' names: Using the names of real people, (especially a founder's name), such as Hewlett-Packard, Dell or Disney

Geography: Many brands are named for regions and landmarks, such as Cisco and Fuji Film

Personification: Many brands take their names from myths, such as Nike; or from the minds of ad execs, such as Betty Crocker

The act of associating a product or service with a brand has become part of pop culture. Most products have some kind of brand identity, from common table salt to designer jeans. A brandnomer

is a brand name that has colloquially become a generic term for a product or service, such as Band-Aid, Nylon, or Kleenex—which are often used to describe any brand of adhesive bandage; any

type of hosiery; or any brand of facial tissue respectively. Xerox, for example, has become synonymous with the word "copy".

#Brand identity

The outward expression of a brand – including its name, trademark, communications, and visual appearance – is brand identity.[16] Because the identity is assembled by the brand owner, it reflects

how the owner wants the consumer to perceive the brand – and by extension the branded company, organization, product or service. This is in contrast to the brand image, which is a customer's

mental picture of a brand.The brand owner will seek to bridge the gap between the brand image and the brand identity.

Effective brand names build a connection between the brand personality as it is perceived by the target audience and the actual product/service. The brand name should be conceptually on target

with the product/service (what the company stands for). Furthermore, the brand name should be on target with the brand demographic. Typically, sustainable brand names are easy to remember,

transcend trends and have positive connotations. Brand identity is fundamental to consumer recognition and symbolizes the brand's differentiation from competitors.

Brand identity is what the owner wants to communicate to its potential consumers. However, over time, a product's brand identity may acquire (evolve), gaining new attributes from consumer

perspective but not necessarily from the marketing communications an owner percolates to targeted consumers. Therefore, brand associations become handy to check the consumer's perception of

the brand.

Brand identity needs to focus on authentic qualities – real characteristics of the value and brand promise being provided and sustained by organizational and/or production characteristics.

#Visual brand identity

The visual brand identity manual for Mobil Oil (developed by Chermayeff & Geismar), one of the first visual identities to integrate logotype, icon, alphabet, color palette, and station architecture.

The recognition and perception of a brand is highly influenced by its visual presentation. A brand’s visual identity is the overall look of its communications. Effective visual brand identity is

achieved by the consistent use of particular visual elements to create distinction, such as specific fonts, colors, and graphic elements. At the core of every brand identity is a brand mark, or logo. In

the United States, brand identity and logo design naturally grew out of the Modernist movement in the 1950s and greatly drew on the principles of that movement – simplicity (Mies van der

Rohe’s principle of "Less is more") and geometric abstraction. These principles can be observed in the work of the pioneers of the practice of visual brand identity design, such as Paul Rand,

Chermayeff & Geismar and Saul Bass.

Color is a particularly important element of visual brand identity and color mapping provides an effective way of ensuring color contributes to differentiation in a visually cluttered marketplace

(O'Connor, 2011).[20]

#Brand trust

Brand trust is the intrinsic 'believability' that any entity evokes. In the commercial world, the intangible aspect of Brand trust impacts the behavior and performance of its business stakeholders in

many intriguing ways. It creates the foundation of a strong brand connect with all stakeholders, converting simple awareness to strong commitment. This, in turn, metamorphoses normal people

who have an indirect or direct stake in the organization into devoted ambassadors, leading to concomitant advantages like easier acceptability of brand extensions, perception of premium, and

acceptance of temporary quality deficiencies.

The Brand Trust Report is a syndicated primary research that has elaborated on this metric of brand trust. It is a result of action, behavior, communication and attitude of an entity, with the most

Trust results emerging from its action component. Action of the entity is most important in creating trust in all those audiences who directly engage with the brand, the primary experience

carrying primary audiences. However, the tools of communications play a vital role in the transferring the trust experience to audiences which have never experienced the brand, the all important

secondary audience.

#Brand parity

Brand parity is the perception of the customers that some brands are equivalent.This means that shoppers will purchase within a group of accepted brands rather than choosing one specific brand.

When brand parity is present, quality is often not a major concern because consumers believe that only minor quality differences exist.

EXPANDING ROLE OF A BRAND

It was meant to make identifying and differentiating a product easier, while also providing the benefit of letting the name sell a second rate product. Over time, brands came to embrace a

performance or benefit promise, for the product, certainly, but eventually also for the company behind the brand. Today, brand plays a much bigger role. Brands have been co-opted as powerful

symbols in larger debates about economics, social issues, and politics. The power of brands to communicate a complex message quickly and with emotional impact and the ability of brands to

attract media attention, make them ideal tools in the hands of activists. Cultural conflict over a brand's meaning have also been shown to influence the diffusion of an innovation.

BRANDING STRATEGIES

1.Company name

Often, especially in the industrial sector, it is just the company's name which is promoted (leading to[citation needed] one of the most powerful statements of branding: saying just before the

company's downgrading, "No one ever got fired for buying IBM"). This approach has not worked as well for General Motors, which recently overhauled how its corporate brand relates to the

product brands. Exactly how the company name relates to product and services names is known as brand architecture. Decisions about company names and product names and their relationship

depends on more than a dozen strategic considerations.

In this case a strong brand name (or company name) is made the vehicle for a range of products (for example, Mercedes-Benz or Black & Decker) or a range of subsidiary brands (such as

Cadbury Dairy Milk, Cadbury Flake or Cadbury Fingers in the United States).

2.Individual branding

Each brand has a separate name (such as Seven-Up, Kool-Aid or Nivea Sun (Beiersdorf)), which may compete against other brands from the same company (for example, Persil, Omo, Surf and

Lynx are all owned by Unilever).

3.Attitude branding and iconic brands

Attitude branding is the choice to represent a larger feeling, which is not necessarily connected with the product or consumption of the product at all. Marketing labeled as attitude branding

include that of Nike, Starbucks, The Body Shop, Safeway, and Apple Inc.. In the 2000 book No Logo,Naomi Klein describes attitude branding as a "fetish strategy".

"A great brand raises the bar -- it adds a greater sense of purpose to the experience, whether it's the challenge to do your best in sports and fitness, or the affirmation that the cup of coffee you're

drinking really matters." - Howard Schultz (president, CEO, and chairman of Starbucks)

The color, letter font and style of the Coca-Cola and Diet Coca-Cola logos in English were copied into matching Hebrew logos to maintain brand identity in Israel.

Iconic brands are defined as having aspects that contribute to consumer's self-expression and personal identity. Brands whose value to consumers comes primarily from having identity value are

said to be "identity brands". Some of these brands have such a strong identity that they become more or less cultural icons which makes them "iconic brands". Examples are: Apple, Nike and

Harley Davidson. Many iconic brands include almost ritual-like behaviour in purchasing or consuming the products.

There are four key elements to creating iconic brands (Holt 2004):

"Necessary conditions" - The performance of the product must at least be acceptable, preferably with a reputation of having good quality.

"Myth-making" - A meaningful storytelling fabricated by cultural insiders. These must be seen as legitimate and respected by consumers for stories to be accepted.

"Cultural contradictions" - Some kind of mismatch between prevailing ideology and emergent undercurrents in society. In other words a difference with the way consumers are and how they wish

they were.

"The cultural brand management process" - Actively engaging in the myth-making process in making sure the brand maintains its position as an icon.

4."No-brand" branding

Recently a number of companies have successfully pursued "no-brand" strategies by creating packaging that imitates generic brand simplicity. Examples include the Japanese company Muji,

which means "No label" in English (from ???? – "Mujirushi Ryohin" – literally, "No brand quality goods"), and the Florida company No-Ad Sunscreen. Although there is a distinct Muji brand,

Muji products are not branded. This no-brand strategy means that little is spent on advertisement or classical marketing and Muji's success is attributed to the word-of-mouth, a simple shopping

experience and the anti-brand movement.[26][27][28] "No brand" branding may be construed as a type of branding as the product is made conspicuous through the absence of a brand name.

"Tapa Amarilla" or "Yellow Cap" in Venezuela during the 1980s is another good example of no-brand strategy. It was simply recognized by the color of the cap of this cleaning products company.

5. Derived brands

In this case the supplier of a key component, used by a number of suppliers of the end-product, may wish to guarantee its own position by promoting that component as a brand in its own right.

The most frequently quoted example is Intel, which positions itself in the PC market with the slogan (and sticker) "Intel Inside".

6.Brand extension and brand dilution

The existing strong brand name can be used as a vehicle for new or modified products; for example, many fashion and designer companies extended brands into fragrances, shoes and accessories,

home textile, home decor, luggage, (sun-) glasses, furniture, hotels, etc.

Mars extended its brand to ice cream, Caterpillar to shoes and watches, Michelin to a restaurant guide, Adidas and Puma to personal hygiene. Dunlop extended its brand from tires to other rubber

products such as shoes, golf balls, tennis racquets and adhesives. Frequently, the product is no different than what else is on the market, except a brand name marking.

There is a difference between brand extension and line extension. A line extension is when a current brand name is used to enter a new market segment in the existing product class, with new

varieties or flavors or sizes. When Coca-Cola launched "Diet Coke" and "Cherry Coke" they stayed within the originating product category: non-alcoholic carbonated beverages. Procter &

Gamble (P&G) did likewise extending its strong lines (such as Fairy Soap) into neighboring products (Fairy Liquid and Fairy Automatic) within the same category, dish washing detergents.

The risk of over-extension is brand dilution where the brand loses its brand associations with a market segment, product area, or quality, price or cachet.

7.Multi-brands

Alternatively, in a market that is fragmented amongst a number of brands a supplier can choose deliberately to launch totally new brands in apparent competition with its own existing strong

brand (and often with identical product characteristics); simply to soak up some of the share of the market which will in any case go to minor brands. The rationale is that having 3 out of 12

brands in such a market will give a greater overall share than having 1 out of 10 (even if much of the share of these new brands is taken from the existing one). In its most extreme manifestation, a

supplier pioneering a new market which it believes will be particularly attractive may choose immediately to launch a second brand in competition with its first, in order to pre-empt others entering

the market. This strategy is widely known as Multi Brand Strategy.

Individual brand names naturally allow greater flexibility by permitting a variety of different products, of differing quality, to be sold without confusing the consumer's perception of what business

the company is in or diluting higher quality products.

Once again, Procter & Gamble is a leading exponent of this philosophy, running as many as ten detergent brands in the US market. This also increases the total number of "facings" it receives on

supermarket shelves. Sara Lee, on the other hand, uses it to keep the very different parts of the business separate — from Sara Lee cakes through Kiwi polishes to L'Eggs pantyhose. In the hotel

business, Marriott uses the name Fairfield Inns for its budget chain (and Ramada uses Rodeway for its own cheaper hotels).

Cannibalization is a particular problem of a Multi Brand Strategy approach, in which the new brand takes business away from an established one which the organization also owns. This may be

acceptable (indeed to be expected) if there is a net gain overall. Alternatively, it may be the price the organization is willing to pay for shifting its position in the market; the new product being one

stage in this process.

7.Private labels

Private label brands, also called own brands, or store brands have become popular. Where the retailer has a particularly strong identity (such as Marks & Spencer in the UK clothing sector) this

"own brand" may be able to compete against even the strongest brand leaders, and may outperform those products that are not otherwise strongly branded.

8.Individual and organizational brands

There are kinds of branding that treat individuals and organizations as the products to be branded. Personal branding treats persons and their careers as brands. The term is thought to have been

first used in a 1997 article by Tom Peters. Faith branding treats religious figures and organizations as brands. Religious media expert Phil Cooke has written that faith branding handles the

question of how to express faith in a media-dominated culture. Nation branding works with the perception and reputation of countries as brands.

9.Crowd sourcing branding

These are brands that are created by the people for the business, which is opposite to the traditional method where the business create a brand. This type of method minimizes the risk of brand

failure, since the people that might reject the brand in the traditional method are the ones who are participating in the branding process.

10.Nation branding (place branding and public diplomacy)

Nation branding is a field of theory and practice which aims to measure, build and manage the reputation of countries (closely related to place branding). Some approaches applied, such as an

increasing importance on the symbolic value of products, have led countries to emphasise their distinctive characteristics. The branding and image of a nation-state "and the successful transference

of this image to its exports - is just as important as what they actually produce and sell."

DEFINATION OF BRANDING ?

Brand is the "name, term, design, symbol, or any other feature that identifies one seller's good or service as distinct from those of other sellers." Initially, Branding was adopted to differentiate one

person's cattle from another's by means of a distinctive symbol burned into the animal's skin with a hot iron stamp, and was subsequently used in business, marketing and advertising. A modern

example of a brand is Coca Cola which belongs to the Coca-Cola Company. A brand is the most valuable fixed asset of a Corporation.

WHAT IS SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING ?

Social media marketing refers to the process of gaining website traffic or attention through social media sites.Social media marketing programs usually center on efforts to create content that

attracts attention and encourages readers to share it with their social networks. A corporate message spreads from user to user and presumably resonates because it appears to come from a trusted,

third-party source, as opposed to the brand or company itself. Hence, this form of marketing is driven by word-of-mouth, meaning it results in earned media rather than paid media.

Social media has become a platform that is easily accessible to anyone with internet access. Increased communication for organizations fosters brand awareness and often, improved customer

service. Additionally, social media serves as a relatively inexpensive platform for organizations to implement marketing campaigns.

SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS

1.Social networking websites and blogs

Social networking websites allow individuals to interact with one another and build relationships. When products or companies join those sites, people can interact with the product or company.

That interaction feels personal to users because of their previous experiences with social networking site interactions.

Social networking sites and blogs allow individual followers to “retweet” or “repost” comments made by the product being promoted. By repeating the message, all of the users connections are able

to see the message, therefore reaching more people. Social networking sites act as word of mouth. Because the information about the product is being put out there and is getting repeated, more

traffic is brought to the product/company.

Through social networking sites, products/companies can have conversations and interactions with individual followers. This personal interaction can instill a feeling of loyalty into followers and

potential customers. Also, by choosing whom to follow on these sites, products can reach a very narrow target audience.

Social networking sites also include a vast amount of information about what products and services prospective clients might be interested in. Through the use of new Semantic Analysis

technologies, marketers can detect buying signals, such as content shared by people and questions posted online. Understanding of buying signals can help sales people target relevant prospects

and marketers run micro-targeted campaigns.

2.Mobile phones

Mobile phone usage has also become beneficial for social media marketing. Today, many cell phones have social networking capabilities: individuals are notified of any happenings on social

networking sites through their cell phones, in real-time. This constant connection to social networking sites means products and companies can constantly remind and update followers about their

capabilities, uses, importance, etc. Because cell phones are connected to social networking sites, advertisements are always in sight. Also many companies are now putting QR codes along with

products for individuals to access the company website or online services with their smart-phones.

TACTICS

1.Twitter

Twitter allows companies to promote their products on an individual level. The use of a product can be explained in short messages that followers are more likely to read. These messages appear on

followers’ home pages. Messages can link to the product’s website, Facebook profile, photos, videos, etc. This link provides followers the opportunity to spend more time interacting with the

product online. This interaction can create a loyal connection between product and individual and can also lead to larger advertising opportunities. Twitter promotes a product in real-time and

brings customers in.

2.Facebook

Facebook profiles are far more detailed than Twitter accounts. They allow a product to provide videos, photos, and longer descriptions. Videos can show when a product can be used as well as how

to use it. These also can include testimonials as other followers can comment on the product pages for others to see. Facebook can link back to the product’s Twitter page as well as send out event

reminders. Facebook promotes a product in real-time and brings customers in.

As marketers see more value in social media marketing, advertisers continue to increase sequential ad spend in social by 25%. Strategies to extend the reach with Sponsored Stories and acquire

new fans with Facebook ads contribute to an uptick in spending across the site. The study attributes 84% of "engagement" or clicks to Likes that link back to Facebook advertising. Today, brands

increase fan counts on average of 9% monthly, increasing their fan base by two-times the amount annually.

3.Foursquare

Foursquare is a location based social networking website, where users can check into locations via their smartphones. Foursquare allows businesses to create a page or create a new/claim an

existing venue. A good marketing strategy for businesses to increase footfall or retain loyal customers includes offering incentives such as discounts or free food/beverages for people checking into

their location or special privileges for the mayor of that location.

4.Google+

Google+, in addition to providing the profiles and features of Facebook, is also able to integrate with the Google search engine. Other Google products are also integrated, such as Google

Adwords and Google Maps. With the development of Google Personalized Search and other location-based search services, Google+ allows for targeted advertising methods, navigation services,

and other forms of location-based marketing and promotion.

5.Instagram

Instagram is a free photo-sharing program and social network that was launched in October 2010. The service enables users to take a photo, apply a digital filter to it, and then share it with other

Instagram users they are connected to on the social network as well as on a variety of social networking services.As of September 2012, Instagram had 100 million registered users.

6.Blogs

Everyday there are more reasons for companies to use blogging platforms for their social media repertoire. Platforms like LinkedIn creates an environment for companies and clients to connect

online. Companies that recognize the need for information, originality, and accessibility employ blogs to make their products popular and unique, and ultimately reach out to consumers who are

privy to social media.

Blogs allow a product or company to provide longer descriptions of products or services. The longer description can include reasoning and uses. It can also include testimonials and can link to and

from Facebook, Twitter and many social network and blog pages. Blogs can be updated frequently and are promotional techniques for keeping customers. Other promotional uses are acquiring

followers and subscribers and direct them to your social network pages.

In a similar fashion, online communities benefit businesses because the online communities enable the businesses to reach the clients of other businesses using the platform. These online

environments can be accessed by virtually anyone; therefore consumers are invited to be a part of the creative process. To allow firms to measure their standing in the corporate world, Glassdoor is

a site where employees can place evaluations of their companies.

Some businesses opt out of integrating social media platforms into their traditional marketing regimen because their employees dislike such isolated online environments. There are also specific

corporate standards that apply when interacting online. Other corporations fear that the general public have too much power over how their marketing is perceived, due to the accessibility of

Internet-retrieved information. To ensure having the advantage in a business-consumer relationship, businesses have to be aware of four key assets that consumers maintain: information,

involvement, community, and control.

7.LinkedIn

LinkedIn, a professional business-related networking site, allows companies to create professional profiles for themselves as well as their business to network and meet others. Through the use of

widgets, members can promote their various social networking activities, such as Twitter stream or blog entries of their product pages, onto their LinkedIn profile page. LinkedIn provides its

members the opportunity to generate sales leads and business partners. Members can use “Company Pages” similar to Facebook pages to create an area that will allow business owners to promote

their products or services and be able to interact with their customers.

8.Yelp

Yelp consists of a comprehensive online index of business profiles. Businesses are searchable by location, similar to Yellow Pages. The website is operational in seven different countries, including

the United States and Canada. Business account holders are allowed to create, share, and edit business profiles. They may post information such as the business location, contact information,

pictures, and service information. The website further allows individuals to write, post reviews about businesses and rate them on a five-point scale. Messaging and talk features are further made

available for general members of the website, serving to guide thoughts and opinions.

9.YouTube

YouTube is another popular avenue; advertisements are done in a way to suit the target audience. The type of language used in the commercials and the ideas used to promote the product reflect

the audience's style and taste. Also, the ads on this platform are usually in sync with the content of the video requested, this is another advantage YouTube brings for advertisers. Certain ads are

presented with certain videos since the content is relevant. Promotional opportunities such as sponsoring a video is also possible on YouTube, “for example, a user who searches for a YouTube

video on dog training may be presented with a sponsored video from a dog toy company in results along with other videos.”Youtube also enable publishers to earn money through Youtube Partner

Program.

MARKETING TECHNIQUES

*Targeting,

* COBRAs, and

*eWOM

Social media marketing involves the use of social networks, COBRAs and eWOM to successfully advertise online. Social networks such as Facebook and Twitter provide advertisers with

information about the likes and dislikes of their consumers.This technique is crucial, as it provides the businesses with a “target audience”.With social networks, information relevant to the user’s

likes is available to businesses; who then advertise accordingly.

Consumer’s online brand related activities (COBRAs) is another method used by advertisers to promote their products. Activities such as uploading a picture of your “new Converse sneakers to

Facebook” is an example of a COBRA.\ Another technique for social media marketing is electronic word of mouth (eWOM). Electronic recommendations and appraisals are a convenient

manner to have a product promoted via “consumer-to-consumer interactions ". An example of eWOM would be an online hotel review; the hotel company can have two possible outcomes based

on their service. A good service would result in a positive review which gets the hotel free advertisement via social media, however a poor service will result in a negative consumer review which

can potentially ruin the company's reputation.

SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING TOOLS

Besides research tools, various companies provide specialized platforms and tools for social media marketing:

*Social media measurement

*Social network aggregation,

*Social bookmarking,

*Social analytics,

*Automation,

*Social media,

*Blog marketing,

*Validation,

Regards,