TITLE: DEMOGRAPHIC IMPLICATIONS OF SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING

NAME OF THE AUTHORS:

B.Suganya, Research scholar, Bharathiyar University. Associate professor, MBA Department Panimalar Engineering College.

Dr. .Mahala!shmi, Dean, MBA Department Panimalar Engineering College.

AFFILIATION ADDRESS:

Panimalar Engineering College Bangalore trun! roa", varathara#apuram, na$arethpet, Poonamallee, Chennai%&''()*

E-MAIL: MOBILE:

suganya+a+um+a,gmail.com !arunamaha,yahoo.co.in -.*./)*.//%Ms. B. Suganya .--0)1(1&0% Dr.v.Mahala!shmi

DEMOGRAPHIC IMPLICATIONS OF SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING ABSTRACT

Social me"ia mar!eting is the fast sprea"ing virus in to"ay2s 3orl"..4n recent years there has +een a tremen"ous increase in the gro3th an" popularity of social me"ia 5et3or!s. A significant ma#ority of people 3ith access to the 4nternet are active participants in these sites. 6here is gro3ing evi"ence that users of social net3or!ing sites no3 inclu"e people of various age groups 3ith a significant num+er of active users 0' years or ol"er 3ith 3omen outnum+ering men in popular sites such as 7ace+oo!.. Mar!eting in social me"ia channels, ho3ever, presents its uni8ue set of challenges. 6he "ynamic an" interactive nature of the social me"ia "eman"s that mar!eters have to +e constantly engage" 3ith the target mar!et .So apart from money9 successful social me"ia mar!eting re8uires significant investment in time an" creative input. 6he ne3 me"ia have force" organi$ations to constantly thin! outsi"e the +o: an" in the process have re"efine" the very concept of mar!eting. Social me"ia loosely refers to a 3i"e spectrum of 3e+ +ase" an" mo+ile applications that ena+le social interaction across geographical +oun"aries mainly through user generate" content. 4n recent years, particularly in the last couple of years, there has +een an e:ponential gro3th not only in the num+er of social me"ia net3or!s +ut also in the socio%"emographic attri+utes of their user +ase. Unli!e in previous years, social net3or!ing sites are no longer the e:clusive preserve of the younger generation. 4n fact the num+er of social me"ia users age" &1 years or ol"er has almost "ou+le" in )'('9 currently a+out a 8uarter of people in that age group actively participates in a social net3or!ing site. 6ra"itional mo"es of mar!eting 3ith its emphasis on controlle" communication +y professionals are fast +eing replace" +y online user content an" users2 opinion.. 6he empo3erment of consumers ma!es it necessary for companies not only to listen +ut also to +e proactive. Key words: Social me"ia , virtual e:plosion ,socio%"emographic, proactive.

REVIEW OF LITERATURE 4n to"ay2s technology "riven 3orl", social net3or!ing sites have +ecome an avenue 3here retailers can e:ten" their mar!eting campaigns to a 3i"er range of consumers. Chi ;)'((, 0&< "efines social me"ia mar!eting as a =connection +et3een +ran"s an" consumers, 3hile> ?ffering a personal channel an" currency for user centere" net3or!ing an" social interaction.@ Ae+ ).'B a term that "escri+es a ne3 3ay in 3hich en" users use the Aorl" Ai"e Ae+, a place 3here content is continuously altere" +y all operators in a sharing an" colla+orative 3ay ;Caplan an" Daenlein )'('<. =4t is much more to "o 3ith 3hat people are "oing 3ith the technology than the technology itself, for rather than merely retrieving information, users are no3 creating an" consuming it, an" hence a""ing value to the 3e+sites that permit them to "o so@ ;Camp+ell et al. )'((, -/<. Ae+ ).' has evolve" from simple information retrieval to interactivity, interopera+ility, an" colla+oration ;Camp+ell et al. )'((<. 6he phrase social net3or!ing sites2 is often use" interchangea+ly 3ith social me"ia.Do3ever, social me"ia is "ifferent +ecause it allo3s participants to unite +y generating personal information profiles an" inviting frien"s an" colleagues to have access to those profiles ;Caplan an" Daenlein )'(', &*<. 6hus, social me"ia is the environment in 3hich social net3or!ing ta!es place an" has altere" the 3ay in 3hich consumers gather information an" ma!e +uying "ecisions. THE RISE OF SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING can +e attri+ute" to the gro3ing popularity of social me"ia among the ur+an, tech%savvy population. As the num+er of people fre8uenting +logs, 3i!is, online communities, social%net3or!ing sites continues to increase, +usinesses are a"opting social me"ia to reach out to their consumers an" promote their pro"ucts an" services. Social me"ia is re"efining the 3ay +usinesses are implementing mar!eting campaigns. 6his virtual e:plosion in social me"ia has naturally attracte" the attention of mar!eters an" there has +een a continuous effort to leverage the reach an" access of social net3or!s for +ran" promotion in terms of actual sales an" customer service.

DIGITAL INDIA- ! M ONLINE USERS AND GROWING FAST 4n"ia is the thir" +iggest country in terms of internet users in the 3orl", 3ith a highly social an" mo+ile au"ience. 6his snapshot ta!es a closer loo! at 4n"ia2s "igital consumer, an" the !ey tren"s "riving the country to3ar"s a "igital future. 4tEs estimate" as many as ()( million 4n"ians are logge" onto the internet. 4t is a si$ea+le num+er, +ut still a relatively small proportion of the countryEs (.) +illion population. INTERNET USE IN INDIA AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE INDIAN ONLINE MARKETS 4 n 4n"ia the 3e+ is no3 esta+lishe" as a mass mar!et me"ia channel for the 3ealthy. Email has +ecome a mass mar!et me"ia channel for office 3or!ers an" professional classes. Mo+ile ;for SMS< is a mass mar!et me"ia channel across many "emographics, +ut 3hile mo+ile use is very high, mo+ile "evices an" the 3e+ 3ill not properly converge until late )'('. 6he main changes in internet access have happene" in the last five years an" the internet has +ecome an essential part of office life, an" plays a !ey role in many homes. 6he num+er of people 3ith access continues to rise, +ut so too "oes the time they spen" online. CULTURE"S IMPACT ON SOCIAL MARKETING is one of the largest components of ho3 3e communicateB not #ust ho3 3e say something +ut ho3 3e choose the tools 3e use to get a message across. 6his is as true for social me"ia as it 3as for the telegraph. Many of the num+ers associate" 3ith race an" social me"ia F or internet usage in general F +lur 3hen you start consi"ering ho3 groups of the same socio%economic levels +ut of "ifferent races compare..6here are also cultural factors that go much "eeper than ho3 a particular group accesses the 3e+ an" 3hich social me"ia tools they choose. Ahen you plan a campaign, you nee" to ta!e as much "emographic information into consi"eration as possi+le. OPPOURTUNITIES AND CHALLENGES Social me"ia is to"ay not an option +ut a necessity for every in"ustry. 7or entrepreneurial start% ups, social me"ia offers a competitive a"vantage +ecause of its lo3 cost an" lo3 +arrier to entry.

Moreover, start%ups have fle:i+le policies that help them to a"opt social me"ia easily. Aith social me"ia an" a little creativity, start%ups can easily reach out to their customers an" +uil" a successful +ran". Social me"ia is all a+out +uil"ing relationships. 4 feel that health%care an" travel in"ustries 3ill 3itness proliferation of social me"ia mar!eting initiatives in the future. 6here is huge opportunity for the e"ucation sector also in this ne3 me"ia. 6he mo+ile penetration in 4n"ia, inclu"ing the rural areas, is 8uite high. So 4 see social me"ia mar!eting go mo+ile. Social me"ia is all a+out +uil"ing relationships. 7or any social me"ia mar!eting to +e re3ar"ing in the long run, companies nee" to continuously fin" creative 3ays to engage 3ith the customers. CONCLUSION Although social me"ia mar!eting is a relatively recent concept in 4n"ia, it has re"efine" the 3ay +usinesses are implementing mar!eting campaigns. Aith the online me"ium provi"ing mass reach an" lo3 cost +enefits, social me"ia mar!eting is a po3erful tool not #ust for +ig companies +ut also for small entrepreneurial start%ups. Businesses must creatively use social me"ia mar!eting an" come up 3ith innovative campaigns to reach out to customers an" +uil" a successful +ran". 4n recent years, particularly in the last couple of years, there has +een an e:ponential gro3th not only in the num+er of social me"ia net3or!s +ut also in the socio%"emographic attri+utes of their user +ase.thus "emographic is to +e consi"ere" for social me"ia mar!eting.