A 'quickie' guide which is essentially a collection of pointers to any brand that intends to increase engagement with consumers on the internet.

1. The no-nonsense guide to extending
fan base and improving engagement
on the Internet
By Aswin M. Sahadevan
@aswinms
7/4/2012 http://about.me/aswinms

2. Targeting the right audience groups
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3. Target groups
• Vital to identify active target groups to
interact, provide information and actively
participate in discussions
• Platforms; Linkedin groups, Facebook pages +
groups, Twitter (hashtags)
• Post useful/quirky content as videos, images and
text. Think Youtube, Flickr and blogs
• Also important to tag posted content appropriately
7/4/2012 http://about.me/aswinms

4. Content is King
7/4/2012
Content is King http://about.me/aswinms

5. Good content and it’s potential
• Content needs to be driven by need of the hour of
the target audience
• Needs to be dynamic and extremely informative
• Needs to be easily consumable =>
cartoons, animated images, videos etc.
• Should not be too serious, humour brings about a
more approachable outlook
• Good content will ensure regular readers
7/4/2012 http://about.me/aswinms

6. Online presence + Offline participation =
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7. Offline via Online
• Drive offline activity via online platforms
• Organise and encourage tweetups, informal
meetings
• Blog it, click it, capture it on video and maybe even
webcast it. Think Wordpress, Flickr, Youtube and
Qik (or similar platforms)
• Encourage location based social check-ins like
Foursquare, Facebook check-ins.
• E.g, Kingisher’s Tweetups
7/4/2012 http://about.me/aswinms

8. 7/4/2012 http://about.me/aswinms

9. • Swag can be in any form; it could be stickers, tee
shirts, badges, games, whitepapers etc.
• Swag brings about pride and builds a loyal, close
knit community
• Social/mobile games/apps will also encourage more
participants
• Psst.. Stickers and badges come at unbelievably low
prices when ordered in bulk
• E.g, Mozilla’s marketing strategy in the late 2000’s.
7/4/2012 http://about.me/aswinms

10. 7/4/2012 http://about.me/aswinms

11. Press Release – Offline & Online
• Imperative to have good relationships with the press
• Encourages offline users to go online and check for
themselves
• Exponentially increases credibility
• Endorses the quality of the product
• Traditional media is sometimes more powerful than
social/online media in some industries
7/4/2012 http://about.me/aswinms

12. Tie Tie up with aa cause
up with cause
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13. A Cause and it’s benefits
• A social cause that will appeal to the consumers
• Shows your human side, shows you care
• The consumer will be aware of your brand without
being openly advertised
• E.g, Aircel’s Save the Tiger campaign with NDTV
7/4/2012 http://about.me/aswinms

14. 7/4/2012
Influential ‘Social’ites
http://about.me/aswinms

15. The Influentials
• Get influential social media users and/or socially
active celebrities to talk about your brand
• Preferably good publicity, but good or bad is
publicity nevertheless
• A social cause is the most ethical way to get celebs
to mention it on the social spheres
• E.g, PETA campaign publicized by Bollywood
actress Mallika Sherawat
7/4/2012 http://about.me/aswinms

16. Build Strategic Partnerships
7/4/2012

17. • Reach out, partner with individuals/firms dealing
with relevant subjects
• Win-win situation for both, translates to more reach
and increased engagement
• An unmanageable large clientele may spill over to
your organisation as recommendations
• Displays accepting and open nature of your brand
7/4/2012 http://about.me/aswinms

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19. A more traditional approach
• Target specific Facebook and Google ads work best
• Online advertising on websites
• Although not very popular, it continues to drive
traffic to your website
Cons:
-Can be blocked by using add-ons
-Can land up as spam, thereby destroying credibility
7/4/2012 http://about.me/aswinms

20. Additional Notes
• Needless to say, a combination of two or more of
these strategies will produce a greater impact
• I do not own copy rights to any of the
images, they’re taken from various users/sources on
Flickr and Google image search
• The pointers in this presentation were compiled by
me based on my insights and after doing my bit of
digging around on the internet
7/4/2012 http://about.me/aswinms

21. http://about.me/aswinms
7/4/2012

22. Thank You
http://about.me/aswinms
7/4/2012