Betting big on the
rising popularity of social media forums like Facebook and Twitter, India Inc is increasing their marketing spend on it to a whopping Rs 1,200 crore, says a recent survey by the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM).
"Companies in India have gauged the might of social networking and are currently spending over Rs 1,200 crore with 30 to 40 per cent of marketing budget on digital media," the Assocham report says. Goods and services worth about Rs 23,000 crore are traded currently through social networks across the world. And the figure is likely to swell to about Rs 1.35 lakh crore by 2015 with India's share likely to cross Rs 10,000 crore during the course of the next three to four years, D.S. Rawat, secretary general, Assocham, said in a statement.
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How social media promotes brands According to the survey, low costs, higher visibility and wide reach of social media forums are the main reasons for this surge in the number of companies cashing in on the inevitable social media platform to reach young customers. Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn, Orkut, Hi5, Friendster and BigAdda are some of the popular social networks used by companies.
The study, which surveyed about 1,400 people, including directors, chief executive officers (CEOs), chief financial officers (CFOs) and managing directors (MDs) observed that majority of start-ups as well as leading national and international companies operating in India are using social media sites to expand their business.
About 75 per cent of the participants said that they have doubled their spending on social media this year. Companies are taking advantage of social media to advertise, launch new products, study consumer behaviour patterns and interact directly with their customers, it says.
For majority of the respondents, their dependency on the traditional print media for advertisements has reduced drastically. Companies, both large and small, are turning to social media platforms as the percentage of Internet users on social networking sites continues to climb, the study says.
The study adds that brands cannot afford to ignore the significance of social media as a key medium to target their identified customers and connect with them.
Courtesy: Mail Today
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