“New media has to be integrated at every level”

Integrated and effective use of new media is required to grow and survive in the current scenario. While entrepreneurs work on integrating their business with digital, they need to look at specific elements involved in digital to ensure smooth functioning.

Aaron Kahlow, Founder and CEO, Online Marketing Institute, is of the view that industrialists need to educate themselves in terms of social media. They need to look at amplification, iteration, attribution and research. Entrepreneurs need to have a view of the content generated at the local level along with the global statistics and data.

Social media is a dynamic field and its trends change constantly. In recent times, videos have emerged as a successful medium to engage with TG. An average Facebook user spends 20 per cent of his time watching videos on the website. Thus, it has become imperative to make the best out of this medium.

In a bid to explain the growing reach of social networking, Anusha Shetty, CEO, Autumn Worldwide, gave a detailed view of the reach of social analytics. “You can learn a lot from what people are Tweeting or posting on social media. Every conversation matters, every post and tweet can influence a brand’s image and thus brands need to be very careful,” said Shetty.

Companies need to look beyond their brands, while looking at the content on social networks. They need to know the personality of the ‘influencer’ for insights on social network are unbiased and give the brand a true image of where they stand.

Digital ecosystem is rapidly evolving with continuous growth in internet penetration and mobile device access. Better user interface, affordable pricing and availability of internet have led to a spurt of smartphones and tablet market in India. Online consumption of content through mobile devices has increased in the last few years, thus giving rise to a completely new app economy.

“Digitisation has been a game changer across all major media segments in the country. India saw the development of digital TV and digital music. Internet has affected advertisement business of newspapers,” said Jehil Thakkar, Partner and Head, Media and Entertainment, KPMG (India), commenting on the impact digitisation has created in the last few years.

Mobile is now the device of choice. According to statistics, smartphone users read 21 per cent less printed books and watch 22 per cent less TV. Thus, businesses have to integrate digital with traditional platforms to give the consumers a complete experience.

Commenting on the evolution of e-commerce as an integral part of multi-channel retailing, Rajiv Prakash, Founder, Next In Partners said, “E-commerce is like multi-channel retailing and not just online retailing.”

In an attempt to explain the role of e-commerce in multi-channel retail, Prakash said that digital should be a part of all the other mediums to enhance consumer experience. As a part of the larger ecosystem, digital presence should complement the offline services provided by brands.
According to him, new media has to be integrated in the functioning of a business at every stage. For instance, entrepreneurs should give their website details in all the print, television and out of home advertisements. They should pay attention to SEO and SEM management and make their online services easily accessible.

The industry leaders shared their views at Technology for Marketing and Advertising Conference, held in Mumbai on October 10, 2012.