Page 60 - MYM 2016

How Social Media Will Shape the Future of Marketing
connectivity and other growing technological and communications infrastructure, any individual today is empowered to put his or her message out to a larger audience. In fact, one has the ability to create his or her own channel rather than depend on traditional media such as newspaper, radio,
or television to transmit their message. One has the ability to take control of the entire process of production and dissemination in their own hands. Over the years we have seen the rise of bloggers, the “twitterati” and other social in uencers who have emerged as celebrities in their own right. You- Tube has clearly demonstrated this; it is very easy to create and manage one’s own YouTube channel, as is evident by the presence of celebrities, athletes, religious leaders like Pope Francis and political leaders like U.S. President Barack Obama and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
is democratization of media has also enabled citizen activism. On January 25, 2011, Egyptians started organizing protests against their govern- ment and their long-standing leader, President Hosni Mubarak, through Facebook and Twitter. On a global level, not only has media been democra- tized by social media but, conversely, social media is also used as a tool for democratization. Be it
the Filipino demonstration against their President Joseph Estrada in 2001 or the Jan Lokpal Bill strug- gle in India, social media is helping change the political scenario worldwide. It has the potential to encourage public policy intervention, as demon- strated by the Maggi quality issues in India and the recent Volkswagen scandal regarding fuel e ciency.
is has been made possible due to the easy accessibility of a platform where people can raise their voices. ere was a time when people used to wait for the morning newspaper to know what’s happening in the world, but today, in an instant, YouTube videos, in nite tweets and Facebook updates start “trending” way before the news even makes its way to the newspaper editor’s desk.
➤ users as Producers and Promoters
Co-creation is a very simple idea: it brings together independent parties, such as a company and its consumers, in order to jointly produce,
or add value. For example, Nike provides online tools to the customer to design their own sneakers. Co-creation is not just limited to product design but expands to the creation of marketing cam- paigns as well. Recently, Converse persuaded a large number of loyal customers to come up with their own video advertisements for the brand. Frito-Lay has also successfully crowd-sourced advertising for their Doritos brand from consumers for the Super Bowl commercials. In doing this, companies try to tap consumer creativity at the right point in inno- vation process.
Co-creation enables brands to leverage con- sumers to do things for free both to promote as well as to produce, and, yet, the product ownership remains intact. Brands have also started engag-
ing consumers in brand promotions. Consumers are becoming part of content creation and brand promotion, similar to the functions provided by advertising agencies or product design compa- nies. e voice of the customer today is being recognized, appreciated and leveraged by brands to deliver better products and services, and to pro- mote them.
➤ The rise of Media deviancy
While social media has placed much power in the hands of users for positive purposes, such as social activism and fandom, it has also given rise to media deviancy. Every technology has its pros and cons, and social media is no di erent. When there is too much freedom, as there is on the Internet, security is at risk especially when there is no one to manage it. Government and lawmakers have been the late adopters of technology and the legal system is slow to adapt to the new technological environ- ment. All this makes the system and people more vulnerable to risk. For instance, recently there have been multiple cases of fraud and crimes erupting out of social media.
conclusion
e rise and widespread adoption of social media has changed society dramatically. In just a few years, social media has gone from a platform
60 | MINd YOUr MarkETING OCTOBEr 2016