On the occasion of Social Media Day 2022, Chetan Asher, Co-founder & CEO, Tonic Worldwide, in an exclusive interaction with MediaBrief, speaks about how Social Media empowers marketing and how brands have modified their communication approach to leverage the medium. He underlines the role of Social in Tonic Worldwide’s media mix and highlights how its celebrating the day. Read on.
So how has Social Media impacted your business and your communication approach?
Social Media has surely transformed not the way businesses communicate but has brought them closer to the consumers, have enabled them to have ear to the ground and create category influence at pace and scale that was not always possible.
For businesses that invest in building a strong social media presence these opportunities are not available on other platforms. Today a brand with a sizable social community can do a quick dipstick, research a new product or communication and also offer easy query resolution on a platform that consumers spend most of their time on.
How are you celebrating the Day? What are your thoughts on moment marketing of commemorative days?
The best way to celebrate the day would be to use the medium to its full potential and revisit their current social strategy. Social media like the overall digital ecosystem is ever evolving and hence social media strategy also needs to be evolved constantly.
Moment marketing has always been there, for example the Amul ads have been a form of moment marketing. What social allows is the speed at which the brand can leverage news and pop culture to their advantage. At the same time brands need not come under pressure to ride every moment and day. As long as one does not dilute what brand stands for and the tonality and if the communication seems authentic, moment marketing can be a great catalyst to reach new audiences.
List three strong ways Social Media empowers marketing. What role does it play in your Media mix?
Social Media opened new avenues for brands to have a one on one conversation with the consumer. The only way to celebrate this day is to commit to creating compelling and engaging content.
Social media today offers an effective mix of content and commerce opportunities, making it effective as a full funnel platform. Like I mentioned earlier it can serve as an effective channel depending on whatever your objective is, be it influence and amplification, research and customer service or as an official news and updates channel, social media fits like a glove in not just one part of the media mix but serves multiple purposes.
What should small businesses know about Social Media marketing?
The beauty of social media is that ‘Content is King’, which creates tremendous opportunity for new and upcoming brands. Small businesses can drive high ROI from the platform by defining and chasing bull’s eye audience and curating relevant and relatable content.
Social can also be a good driver for e-commerce and there are numerous small businesses who have effectively used social commerce to drive business. During the pandemic it further underlined the role that social media can play in generating and fulfilling orders directly from consumers.
How important is it for every marketing and brand and other vertical teams to be given L&D help on learning digital marketing (and social media as a part of it, of course)? What initiatives does your company undertake on this count?
Digital and Social Marketing is not a choice anymore, and most brands / marketers have realized its importance and impact. We’re constantly working with our brand partners to ensure there is understanding of both popular and new/ upcoming platforms. Social platforms too constantly engage with our teams to help us understand the platform changes and best practices.
Why do Influencers matter today? How can Influencers help with the last-mile delivery of a Brand campaign? Along with focused reach, what other strengths do they bring to the marketing?
Along with effective reach, creators today have the power to introduce and educate consumers. With powerful and unique storytelling, they can induce action through compelling CTAs.
Brands need to have a ‘always on’ influencer strategy to maximise the strength of influencer marketing. Building long term partnerships with creators and influencers will lead to them being brand ambassadors and create top of mind recall among their followers for the brand.
