Unplugged: A Day Without Internet....!!!

Unplugged: A Day without Internet

Stuff happens! Have you ever thought how life can be for a day if there is no internet around you? Yes, an entire day! Just imagine 24 hours or 1440 minutes or 86400 seconds of a day without internet on your laptops, iPads, Smartphones. Could you do it?  Is it even possible? Terrifying right? A day without being able to use the Internet was a major wake up call for me. 

It goes without saying that we live in a world where Internet is everywhere. Everyone is connected to the internet, some more than others. A lot of us, I dare say, can't be disconnected with the internet without being anxious even a little bit.

What happens when the power goes out, when the WiFi doesn't work, or (God forbid) you're in the no 3G zone for your phone?

Does it make you a little anxious? Suddenly feel like there's nothing to do? Can't wait to go back online and check who liked your Facebook status you posted 3 seconds ago?

That's a problem, and I think I am not immune to it.

“I feel like most people these days are in a similar situation, for between having a Smartphone, a laptop, a television, and an iPod, people have become unable to shed their media skin.”

We had never realized how dependent we are on the internet. Practically today our major business is conducted over the internet. We are on social media several times a day, pay bill on the Internet, book tickets, shop online & correspond with clients via email all day.

Lessons we could learn from the thought of lack of Internet experience

• ·         Don’t wait on until the last minute to do what needs to get done.
• ·         Plan ahead for the stuff that happens in life.
• ·         Have a Plan B if your Plan A is derailed

We have become so habituated to this limited interaction that we seem to have forgotten what it was like to be human. It’s not that I’m saying we should leave technology it does improve our lives. In spite of looking at our blank computer screen & thinking what next to do we can still make use of our computer to compose emails, blog posts, organize old mails etc.  

If you take anything from this little thing, than let it be this: It is important to stay connected to the things that drive your life, but don’t let them rule it. Don’t just be aware of your surroundings, but be attentive and observative. Strive to learn something new every day. Try something different. 

Online Buying Trends

Online Buying Trends India

Online shopping is just about ease of shopping, better discounts, speedy delivery of goods and the ability to pay cash on delivery  and money back guarantee are key drivers which have reinvented the wheel of shopping altogether with a new potential only to bring about a progressive change in the field of shopping. However though there is more of a positive quotient to it, the cons could not be overlooked altogether.

Just a thought of standing in a long queue for your turn at a store’s cash counter, when you could buy the same goods from the comfort of your home at competitive prices of different websites and have the goods delivered to your doorstep isn’t it enough that you rush to your PC to shop online!

It’s like you would get a far better deal shopping online whether you buy groceries or the latest smartphones. Consumers in India are aware of this and are no longer distrust of shopping online as they were some years ago.  While maybe online shopping is still a myth to citizens in underdeveloped countries, it’s finding new admirers and users every day.

Online merchants are on the optimistic fragment that there will be more sales in terms of volume this year based on the recent report by Google India that says online shopping in India registered an impressive growth of 128 percent as compared to 40 percent.

A Look at few online buying trends:

1.    Use of Mobile Phones and tablets will be more to make online purchases than before.

2.    Books are the most popular online purchase, followed by clothing/accessories/shoes, videos/DVDs/games, airline tickets and electronic equipment.

3.    Among variety of categories, emerging categories like baby products, health and nutrition & also Apparels and accessories witnessed the most growth and it will surpass even electronics.

4.    63 percent of people who shop online are women.

5.    The world’s most avid Internet shoppers are South Koreans, with 99 percent of Internet users in that country having shopped online.

6.    German, UK and Japanese consumers come in a close second, with U.S. consumers trailing in eighth place.

7.    Top drivers of online shopping growth are faster delivery, Cash on Delivery facility, discounted rates, access to branded products and cash-back guarantee on faulty goods.

8.    Top reasons that prevented online buyers from making purchases online were inability to touch and feel, inability to return goods, longer delivery times, need for posting financial details and inability to bargain.

9.    Customers prefer to contact sales or customer service via online chats, as opposed to phone contact.

10. Gaining consumer trust remains one of the most important drivers for online shopping growth in India

However, Indian e-commerce industry faces a number of challenges; they include lack of robust network especially in the region of product delivery i.e it is sometimes challenging to reach remote areas owing to the vast geography of India.

In a young nation like India where 54 percent of population is under the age of 25 who will increasingly prefer E-shopping, it seems that the best is yet to be, for online shopping!

Facebook vs Twitter

Facebook v/s Twitter

Any business being small or big uses social media channels to market their brand to the public online. But how do you go about choosing the right social media channels for your business? The internet today has been flushed with different kinds of social media channels, with Facebook and Twitter as the two most widely used social media networks in the world.

Between the two how do you identify which one is doing its job as a social media channel to direct clients to your brand? Perhaps what you should be asking first is what kind of brand you are.

It is because Twitter and Facebook are different and work in different ways. You must put in efforts into your social media channels whatever may be the result. This isn't just about updating your status; it's about your brand making promises to your client and ultimately a consumer relationship. Also must identify your target audience. Establish quickly what your brand means and who is interested in it. What motivates your client to use Facebook or Twitter or both?

Your brand is unique and will benefit from the social media channel. Facebook has the Pages option where you can create a company profile that looks neat, identical to your website if any and you can embed images and branding unlike Twitter. According to Mikal E. Belicove, social media strategist, messages embedded with images or also called as info graphics receive more attention. Facebook also provides the 'Like Button'. This tool helps create engagements with user with your company by sending updates from the page the client has liked, and broadcasts pages what friends have liked too.

Facebook also provides options of ads which your company can pay for and watch them work through analytics. With over 500 million users, an advert on Facebook is a powerful thing isn’t it?

If your business is time sensitive, than Twitter is a great option. Twitter deals in real time, with live updates that go out to all your followers instantly. Twitter also provides Promoted Tweets. This social tool is paid for on a Cost per Engagement (CPE) basis by companies who want their status to be boosted up a notch so that they become keywords that can be searched by search engines.

Choosing social media channels for a company is about who the brand is and who the client is. Respond to your followers and your Likes. Let clients know that you aren't a faceless brand but an interactive company that will listen and deliver. It's all about being a consistent user of social media channels in order to earn the benefits.

As the more widely known name, Facebook has opted for a traditional layout is a comfortable platform which most internet users find familiar. Facebook does have a live chat feature, but most user activity is done in a standard send and then wait for a reply fashion.

Twitter on the other hand has a more unique approach to messaging between members, you still get a static profile page, but where Twitter wins over Face book is in its active delivery of people's messages it is almost like a texting service.

• Twitter is not as well-known as Facebook, although this is changing. More people are familiar with Facebook and are already engaging with friends and family.

• Twitter has more outbound links than Facebook. Almost every Tweet (140 words character on Twitter) contains a link to a blog or website. People are tweeting about what they find interesting online. This makes it great for driving traffic to your landing pages.

• Twitter is an immediate response. You can post a question and get an immediate answer. By using hash tags (#), you can track responses to your inquiry. You are literally "tapping into collective notifications."

By using Twitter search tools, you can find current posts on any given topic. This is more difficult with Facebook, where you can post a question and people can comment on your question. This will keep all the responses together with the original question.

As a small business owner, I don't think it is one or the other, but both. There is a place for both social media sites. Twitter will help you keep a pulse on what is being said in your industry and Facebook will help you with that all important connection with your customers. Just set a schedule and stick to it. Don't get sucked into spending large chunks of time that could be better devoted to other areas of your business.

Mobile Marketing Importance & Advantages

Mobile Marketing Advantages

Today, Marketers in the digital world are constantly trying to find most opportunistic ways of marketing to their target audiences, searching for innovative ways to market their products & services. 

Mobile Marketing is very much the thing for all marketers. Offering various benefits, it has practically changed the face of conventional marketing as well as bringing in a lot more connectivity, Mobile Marketing is going far beyond e-Marketing and the way companies view this aspect of business. 

Mobile is no longer something you can afford to ignore. As customers adoption of mobile grows, you need to find ways to leverage mobile marketing tools to optimize their experience, no matter what device they’ re on, whether you’ve already been experimenting with mobile marketing or just getting started.

Mobile marketing works to promote a brand's awareness and drive positive consumer actions. Mobile Marketing is the platform that helps to maintain a connection with your target audience in a much faster & cost effective way.

In principle there are some very distinct advantages of mobile phone marketing. These benefits are what make this type of advertising strategy both profitable and interesting for big business in the modern era.

Advantages include:

·         Instant Results - Users always carry their mobile phones with them & this means he or she receives the message at the very moment it is sent. Even if it is in standby mode, the message is received as soon as the user turns on his mobile device. Hence, mobile marketing techniques are always almost instant.

·         Very easy to employ – Creating out content for mobile devices, such as text, images or video is simpler as compared with the same for desktops or laptops. The user can keep the virtual information with him and carry it around till the time he needs to use it.

• Convenient to use – A small screen size of a mobile phone, limits the scope of content that can be displayed. This makes it convenient for the creators of the content, who can keep it basic and simple.

• Direct Interactive marketing - The mobile platform interacts directly with users on their mobile phones. This allows for personalized interaction to a large extent. Using this benefit, marketers can even start a direct dialogue with the user, getting instant feedback via SMS.
• Reduced targeting errors and improved data management - In comparison to other personalized messaging channels, having a unique ID – phone number – will dramatically improve CRM integrity for marketers.

·         Improved time relevance - The always-on and always-aware nature of mobile devices provides more timely communications than any other channel. In addition, the use of mobile SMS/MMS and mobile micro-blogging tools enable informality. The average response time for SMS messages is dramatically less than that of email or postal mail. This improved time relevancy is likely to enhance the quality of marketing conversations.

These are only the primary and obvious advantages to using mobile phone marketing today. In time, as the numbers of mobile devices exceeds even current statistics, it may amaze the world even more. The access to direct communication with users is a tool that is to the advantage in both sides of the transaction. Users benefit by the convenience and getting personalized marketing tailored to their lifestyle. The advertisers benefit from the quickness and cost effective aspects in the turnaround for completion of their sales. Business and personal worlds are actually synchronized in a way that has never been seen in human history. As technology advances, it will be interesting to see what other advantages are awaiting.

Mobile Trends 2013

Bright Future Lies Ahead…

Mobile continues to be a key and growing strategy for many companies as browsing information, shopping and networking all go mobile. The growing percentage of internet traffic from various devices by itself should be convincing for marketers to increase their mobile marketing budget.

As the technology becomes more and more advanced, marketing will become more integrated and real-time and marketers have much to look forward to in 2013 and beyond. So there is no doubt that 2013 will be another booming year for the players in mobile system.

The marketing expression has changed with the introduction of innovative digital marketing techniques. With great presence of smartphone utility businesses have made smartphones & tablets as their core business branding and marketing strategy.

People are increasingly choosing to surf the web, not with a laptop or desktop, but via their smartphones or tablets, or both. Consumers are spending more media time on mobile web and apps than any other traditional mediums. This signifies that brands have to embrace mobile & 2013 will see more smartphones and more tablets with exciting innovations.

As mentioned in the statistics of 2013 edition of the TomiAhonen Almanac, the revenue generated by mobile industry in 2012 was more than $1000 billion alone from the services like voice calls, messaging and data services. These statistics show that mobile industry has become one of the largest revenue generating industries.

With an optimistic eye towards the future, here are few key mobile trends for marketers to grab opportunities in the coming year:

• Emergence of new mobile Oss like Ubuntu is said to launch its mobile OS and Mozilla will be launching another smartphone OS later this year.
• With the rise of Smartphone utility, businesses have made mobile ads as their core business branding and marketing strategy by offering special discounts, mobile coupons, mobile shopping etc. with targeted advertising. This trend will further grow in 2013 with retailers looking at new ways to attract and retain customers.
• Social media integration also assists in converting prospects to leads.
• Consumers are increasingly & more commonly using smartphones to access local information such as restaurant searches, ATMs, Fuel stations etc. This trend will continue to expand to other services as well.
• Most of the devices have a GPS transmitter and can track where users are when they post online. This offers huge opportunity for targeted marketing based on their travel and location patterns.

We are shifting to a mobile first world i.e. always connected and never before have advertisers been this close to so many consumers who reach for their mobile device first and last order of the day – we sleep with our phones close by, and keep them on and in our pockets throughout the day, 7 days a week.

2013 is time to test and learn and to embrace mobile strategies throughout the purchase funnel. Target, engage, showroom, drive action, convert, improve, repeat!

Engagement of mass to their smart phones especially teenagers: http://ijustdid.org/2013/09/understanding-the-millenials/#!