Interesting excerpts from 'Social Media Marketing - An Hour a Day' by Dave Evans

Below are points from the book that I found most remarkable, some what focus areas for traditional Marketeers and the young tech savy Agencies handling online marketing. .. 

Will keep updating the post as and when I get around to completing the book. 

• "Your customers are already talking about you. The fact that you aren’t participating is yourimplicit endorsement of whatever it is that they are saying."
• social media is driving interconnectedness to a whole new level!
• Trust is essential to any form of conversation on the Social Web.
• It is the democratization of information on the internet space; by the people, of the people and for the people
• So how do you influence a crowd? Well, given that you can’t tell “it” what tothink, going the direct control route is probably a loser. Instead, listen to it. Tap it.Learn from it. And then “do that.” One of the characteristics of social media is thatyou can listen to it, measure it, and track it over time. You can use what you learn tomodify and improve what you offer, and in so doing influence the online conversation.
• It is Participatory in nature
• Recent studieshave shown that of the estimated 3.5 billion word-of-mouth conversations that occuraround the world each day, about 2.3 billion of them — roughly two out of three —make a reference to a brand, product, or service. Word of mouth is increasingly manifestingitself through digital social media, where it spreads both farther and faster. Thisuse of the Social Web is increasingly important to marketers.
• Communities — whether formallybuilt around a specific interest or cause, or informally built through more casualconnections — sit at the center of the Social Web.
• Step back and look at most traditional forms of media: They are “push” and“tell” oriented. They place the marketer in control of the message and dictate for theconsumer a subservient role. Social media tips this balance: On the Social Web, boththe consumer and the marketer have an equal voice in terms of permission to speak.This not the same as implied trust, which is something else altogether, but it does serveto support the notion that as a marketer you need to participate in the communities ofwhich your audience is a part in order to gain trust.
• Your existing customers are — orshould be — among your strongest evangelists. After all, they are buying your productTip: The addition of consideration-phase marketing bridges a critical gap for marketers between awarenessand purchase while opening the channel for effective word-of-mouth.85■ C ons ideration and the Pur chase Funn elagain and again...they must like it! Your objective should be to get them to talk abouttheir positive experiences. This gives you the double benefit of making the currentsale — to them — and a future sale to the new customer that they create for you.
• These twodevelopments — the realization of a global network and the digitization of content —multiplied each other, driving the growth in the use of the Web as an information andfulfillment platform.

A very special Holi & Women's Day at Shepherd Old Age Home

The first time we ever visited a social home was during our college days back in 2007. That one time the same group of friends had gone to an orphanage home to celebrate Holi Festival with children from the age group of 2 yrs - 16 yrs. That year Holi was such a wonderful time, to be able to celebrate it with children who were so excited to have us over, little angels flaunting their toys and little possessions; seeking attention and love from the bunch of us who had visited them. That Holi truly made our day festive and memorable and we knew we had to do this again soon.

I admire and am proud of my group of friends; for we have have managed to tick off Some of the many items on our Friends Wish list. One of them being visiting an Old Age Home this year on Holi. Nikita & Me had planned this activity a week prior to the day; we managed to get donations from our dear friends Saroj, Gunjan, Prakshal, Sanket & Ronak and decided to visit Shepherd Old Age Home for Widows. We bought the ladies shawls, hand towels and snacks. On the day we realized the pleasant coincidence that 8th March was also Women's Day :)

Upon reaching the home, I must admit initially we were pretty lost on how to go about making the day fun and memorable for them. So we decided to play games and keep it short. During the game session it amazed us to see the elderly lot; some of whom couldn't even speak, managed to sing songs and recite prayers with such enthusiasm! They were very supportive and encouraging of our presence and eventually we were glad to know they liked the gifts we bought them. When we were leaving the administrator informed us that there was a shortage of basic medicines that they are unable to provide to the ladies with the current donations. We decided to pool together and inform our social circles  about this requirement. The plan is to either collect money or the mentioned medicines; buy the balance items and send it to the home by beginning of each month.

Your contribution either in the funds or in sending medicines will be appreciated :)
Cheers to another meaningful day and beautiful experience!

Reference :
Shepherd Windows Home
15/A, Shepherd Road, Off Clare Road, Nagpada, Near Byculla Station, Byculla (W) Mumbai- 400 008

What love has seen

You could see love but you could not see the pain with it,
You saw the smile but didn't see the efforts to put it on.
You saw the ocean but didn't know of the storms within.

The mind wanders far into the unknown,
A land-so beautiful
Shores so calm, relations so simple.
We lived in serenity, in the beauty of love's simplicity,
Where our eyes were blinded from reality and the mind is oblivious to practicality.

Then with distance, creeps in prudence
And the senses come back to life.
They ask, "Why was the love so blinding?
Why did everything come to a stand still?
How is it that we reached a fairy land and not able to differentiate reality from it?"

Much later as years passed by,
The lesser of the loves' does realize
Selfishness and materials bring a phony smile,
Prudence brings stability and security.

But there was and never will be a greater joy
than to see your beloved calm,
at ease and with a smile.
And no amount of wealth can earn the love for you,
That you once saw in His eyes.

Let it be - written by a dear friend

"A Life less lived, a prayer half said
Waiting at the end to let it begin.

They call Him God, the one they never see
They built Him palaces to be guilt free.

I spoke to Him, he is my imagination
He cried and said - let it be
People die of hunger - let it be
Children without a future - let it be

They are the one He said, they are the one
I am just a concept to keep them going.

I am just a reason to make you smile to make you cry, and for everything

I don't need palaces I don't need anything
All I ask is You .. so let it be
A place in your heart, cause I am a part of you
But they will not understand that
So let it be..."


(The writer of this poem does not wish his name to be disclosed)

Memories and more

When you look back at all those memories
best friends, colleagues, lovers and acquaintances,
And as time flies by; from months that turn into years,
There comes a point when you realize
that it took nothing much to erase some memories,
That It took very little for them to fade;
yet it took eons to work on and build these relations
And a lot to get get them there...


There.. where it left a mark on your mind
there; where it drove your heart for the longest time,
With many smiles and mostly joy; you celebrated outings with dear friends
With love and passion; you cherished with your lover every moment of togetherness


And while these memories kept your mind preoccupied for the longest time,
It took a few rude moments and ego to stampede,
all that you once thought was life!


Yet as we walk ahead; some carrying the weight of these memories on their mind
while the others who constantly move on,
They lie ahead of us
and yet somehow 
not many have successfully predicted them


- Memories memories and more memories!

Saurashtra... to be precise Gujarat - a humble experience

A travel list always existed and there are the fixed top 20 destinations to cover, but I never really planned Saurashtra - the south west region of Gujarat which comprises of the famous Rajkot, Jamnagar, Daman & Diu, Gir forest, Palitana (the center for Jain Pilgrimage) and few more attractions. Its not a destination one would usually plan unless your a Gujarathi or Jain headed there to touch base with your roots, for your yearly temple visits, meeting relatives etc or if your like my elder sister strictly hunting  down non commercial places for touring.

In the heart of Saurashtra; admits the cotton and corn farms you will find Amreli. Now I have visited quite a few tier II and tier III cities in India mainly based in Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra but there is something else about this land, the fresh air, docile people, scanty population and yet the town is hustling with movement during the morning and evenings. With afternoon sleep as a daily ritual and fancy flavoured Sodas for desserts; what caught my attention is the simple life, innocence of thought and action. Nope I am not going to crib and discuss the fast pace of life because that is the charm of metros and makes life worthwhile in cities like Mumbai but yes I would love to talk about the difference in mindset, innocence and lack of exposure which is peculiar to Amreli and similar cities which could convert any one whose lived here for over a month; into a full time family man.

And coming to the second most striking experience of Saurashtra is the Gujarati experience I was blessed with!

This trip was possible and full credit going to my dear friend Nikita; whose home town is Amreli. Nikita is one of the most non Gujju people I have ever come across. But her attachment and connection, stories and description of Amreli (her "so called backward Village" though its actually a Tier III) convinced me instantly to accompany her and given the fact I was going to burst out with stress in general, it made perfect sense to head to Amreli with her if I had to continue existing in Mumbai.

I was fortunate to stay with her close knit joint family, live the local experience, do immense traveling and meet some of the nicest people - her family in Amreli. Her Mama and Mami who removed four days to take us to Palitana, Somnath, Gir and the local farms on the out skirts of Amreli. Our Trip began with the fixed route trains Mumbai - Rajkot - Mumbai; an overnight journey. From Dhoda station in Gujarat; we drove down 180 kms to arrive at her hometown. We knew the trip was going to be a bumper when a snake crossed our path while driving (which is considered a highly auspicious sign in the land of Nagnath).Her home was in the heart of Amreli; in front of which was their family built temple; the finest and biggest there. Trying to keep it light and easy on day one, we decided to cover their farms and meet the farmers. Our actual discovery began with Palinata; having heard of this pilgrimage site from practically all my Jain friends I was certain on instantly liking this place. Unfortunately the town was closed the day we visited; nonetheless we covered the base temple. Subsequently we went to Somnath (one of the biggest Jyotilings in India). Legend has it that this natural Jyotiling emerged from the sea and the biggest discovered in India back then, thus the magnificent temple was constructed to house the Lord Shiva lingam. After a night's stay at Somnath we headed to Diu (with another snake crossing our road) and straight to Gangeshwar. And I am glad we did. One of my favourite places in the world now; Gangeshwar hosts 5 Shivlings under the hill and worshiped by the Arabian Sea! It is a small, quite and highly attractive place, one of a kind temple; not accessible in monsoons and during high tides. The waves hitting the Shivling, washing away all the offerings or perhaps accepting them on behalf of Lord Shiva lingers in the mind for a while. On our way back to Amreli we traversed through Gir Forest. Perfect timing as the early monsoons advent bringing with them a cool evening wind, lush greens and fuller streams! Fortunate as we had been so far; there it was, a gorgeous Lioness wandering along the narrow roads staring at our vehicle, almost as though she was acknowledging our presence yet ignoring us. Ahead were Deers, Jackals, Rabbits and a variety of birds. The forest would resemble a green canopy almost completely blocking the night sky creating a perfect arch effect as we drove slowly through it.

From the farmers to the Temples, small towns to the gigantic Diu Fort, the forest and fresh air... Saurashtra resembles the better parts of Rural India. With Balaji having over 70% of market share in the FMCG industry in Gujarat, the region is a playground for competitors wanting to penetrate the rural market. Needless to say the cotton farms flourishing here explain why Gujarat is the Textile capital of India.

Been thinking hard on the one line that best describes Gujarat... but with so much to offer, the state is a power in the making, a wonder yet to be fully discovered.

Natasha Bedingfield - an Artist, Inspiration and Way of Life

She was nominated for Grammy, Brit and MTV awards with her first album itself for the hit single 'These Words". Though my favorite from her first remains 'I bruise easily'. So while she was an instant hit with her first solo album, its interesting to know she has been into music for years with her two siblings. Daniel Bedingfield was already successful when she launched her solo career.
Back then around 2008 when she launched her second album 'Pocket Full of Sunshine' I though to myself, most of her songs or rather her hit numbers are typical commercial american pop kinds, targeting teenagers, beaming with life, positiveness and up paced beats. They were some great tracks like 'Love like this' and the title track 'Pocket full of shine' that got me interested in her music.

And the reason I am writing about her is her latest album 'Strip Me'. And its shockingly amazing, all the tracks and the title song and above all - to see this huge transformation in her both as an artist and individual. I fell  i love with 'Strip me' instantly, its one of the rare songs that hit the soul and make you question the ways of the world versus who you are and what you should be. The lyrics are powerful and captivating, as though she has figured it all out and its time to share it with the world through her music. The video is simple yet beautifully correlated to the meaning behind the song. And I love how she is constantly changing her look from nude (no make Up) to 10 different looks (with all the glamorous make up) and she looks fabulous in each frame.

Post this song, I you tubed her other latest songs 'Run run run', 'Touch', 'Who knows' (this I discovered while watching the movie 27 dresses), 'Soulmate'. Though 'Strip me' tops the charts for me, I am as much in love with 'Run run run' and 'Who knows'! Lets just say I listen to each of these songs atleast 3 times a day.

Soon I started tracking her latest interviews, blogs and site; searching for what ever information I could get my hands on. And I am glad I did.
Her journey was just like any struggling British Pop singer trying to make it big in America at the young age of 23. She was a workaholic and her passion for music kept her going. Apparently although she is know for her positive vibrant songs; she has written more sad slow songs only that they were never produced. And when success finally came her way with the second & third albums; she knows she has finally found her path in life to travel the world and collaborate with artists and cultures in diverse countries; only to expand her horizon in music and offer more insightful tracks to her fans.

Natasha Bedingfield is unlike your regular R&B or Hip hop artist who create/duplicate music that is one track with baseless lyrics. Her lyrics are what one would feel in their inmost desires and thoughts, only that she manages to put it correctly add to that excellent tunes.

I hope someday to meet and thank her for givings us such brilliant all inspiring songs, daring and different from most pop music which is a commercial hit in the west. Artists like her, Corine Bay Railey, Leona Lewis (I figure most British artists) have a depth to their songs which keeps the other half of the world listening.
Also just seeing her transform and finally discover her self, her music and path for life; boosts a certain confidence in me that there are people who are achieving what I aimed to do... living your dreams, life to the fullest.


Must watch - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vnhDIGTldho&ob=av2e
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xwwLLT120vk