Use of Social Media in Wedding Planning

Wedding planning usually requires a lot of time and efforts. It is not easy to organize the party, the guests and all the other wedding “affairs”. That is why it is a good to get some help. No, we are not talking about expensive wedding agents or planners. We will suggest a free solution that will help you organize and arrange almost everything connected to your wedding. We have found
the answer to your prayers and its name is… social media!


Social media is widely used by companies for marketing and advertising. But how can it help you and your wedding? Have you even thought of your Big Day as a publicity campaign? It very much resembles one: you want more people to know about the event, you want to stay in touch with your guests and inform them, you want to connect with vendors and to look for advices… So what is the best way to promote a publicity campaign? Social media, of course! Here are some areas in which social websites can enhance your wedding planning activities and experience:

Inform Your Guests

When you start organizing your Big Day you will see that your schedule and plans will constantly change. You may have to move the date or your wedding location, for example. If that happens you must quickly inform your family and friends. However, letters and phone calls will take you a lot of time and they will cost you a lot of money. That is why it is better to use some of the advantages of social websites.

Create a profile or a page on some social network. Then connect with all your guests and start posting info and updates about the upcoming event. Another thing you can do is develop a website or a blog dedicated to your wedding. In that way you will reach even those of your guest who are not fond of social networks. You can also upload your registry in your site/blog so that guests can easily access it and browse it.Look for Ideas and Inspiration

Look for Ideas and Inspiration

Social websites are the prefect source for ideas and inspiration. There you can take a look at the social pages of different wedding planners. Many of them regularly update their profiles with thematic photo albums. Moreover, some of them even post wedding tips and advices. Through social media you can use the experience of wedding experts for free. Also, you can connect with other wedding enthusiasts and exchange knowledge with them.

Find, Research

For your wedding you will need to find bridal shops, caterers, photographers and etc. You can do that in three ways: go out and do the impossible to search the whole town, leave it to someone else or use social websites. We recommend you take the last option. In that way you will feel in control of the situation and you will also spend less money and time. Use the search functions of social platforms to find the best stores and professionals in your area. Then research them by looking at
their page. Also, make sure you read some comments and reviews made by people who have used their services. After you make your choice, contact them and arrange a meeting.

Share Your Best Moments

Take the social websites to share pictures and videos from your wedding. You can also publish snaps of your wedding planning activities like choosing your cake, dress fittings or invitations signing. Most social websites support media sharing so you won’t have a problem with that. In addition, there are special social platforms developed only for media sharing and storing. Some of them even offer editing tools with which you can fix some more inappropriate photos or create a slide show for your family and friends.


If you use social media and all these ideas, you will certainly organize your Big Day faster, cheaper and easier.

Top 10 Search Terms In The UAE in 2012

With the year drawing to a close, Google has once again released its annual zeitgeist report, highlighting the most searched terms around the world in 2012.

Globally, US singer Whitney Houston who tragically died in February 2012, was the top ‘trending’ search of the year. Korean rap singer Psy’s ‘Gangnam Style’ music video, which is close to reaching one billion hits this year on YouTube, came second on the list. It was followed by Hurricane Sandy, the superstorm that hit the US and Carribean coast earlier this year.
The top ‘trending searches’ were the terms that saw the highest amount of traffic over a sustained period in 2012, said Google.
Psy’s Gangnam Style, which now holds the record for the most watched and most ‘liked” video on YouTube, was the most searched term in the UAE, followed by Apple’s iPad 3.

The UAE’s top trending search terms in 2012

1. Gangnam Style
2. iPad 3
3. Olympics 2012
4. Samsung Galaxy S3
5. The Avengers
6. Skyfall
7. Hurricane Sandy
8. مسلسلات رمضان ٢٠١٢ (Ramadan Series 2012)
9. KONY 2012
10. الثورة السورية (Syrian Revolution)

The UAE’s top trending people in 2012

1. Whitney Houston
2. شما حمدان (Shamma Hamdan- the first Emirati woman to reach the finals of Arabs Got Talent)
3. Kate Middelton
4. يوسف القرضاوي (Al Qaradawi- Islamic scholar)
5. فيليكس بومجارتنر (Felix Baumgartner)
6. Usain Bolt
7. Karina Kapoor
8. محمد مرسي (Mohammed Mursi)
9. Adele
10. إبراهيم الفقي (‎Ibrahim al-Fiqi)

Renault launches its first brand campaign for GCC region

'Milestones' is the first Renault Brand campaign in the GCC, highlighting its four pillar models: Renault Duster, Renault Safrane, Renault Fluence and Renault Megane Hatch. Since 2009, Renault sales in the region have shown a fantastic growth momentum of 323% to date.

The new fully localised campaign represents a new step in Brand development and reflects Renault's long term commitment towards consumers in the GCC.

'Milestones' is a 360 degree communication campaign promoted through TV, print and digital media across the GCC. The TV commercial is directed by an Emirati film director. In this film, Renault clearly articulates its people-centric values through highlighting key milestones in people's life such as marriage, graduation, work promotion or having a baby - events that Renault is always part of.

Renault's 'Milestones' campaign will run until 20 December 2012, offering retail customers a free-of-charge service package for two years or 40,000 kilometres (whichever comes first, in line with Renault's service maintenance book). The offer is available on the purchase of any of the car models featured in the promotion.

Renault GCC has created a digital platform on www.renault-milestones.com to provide information on all the cars and allow potential buyers to register for test drives. The entire campaign is also supported through social media activity on the Renault GCC Facebook page, Renault GCC YouTube channel and Renault GCC Twitter.

Mustansir Lakdawala, Managing Director of Renault GCC, said, "We have registered strong sales momentum since 2009. This year marks record sales for Renault since its establishment in the GCC. At the end of October 2012, Renault GGC has sold more units than we did during the 12-months of 2011. We are confident that 'Milestones' will further drive this momentum and firmly boost our Brand awareness."

Benoit Turibe, Marketing Director of Renault GCC, said, "Renault is a 'people centric' Brand. The 'Milestones' TV commercial delivers with emotion and simplicity our Brand's philosophy. Renault offers excellent quality / price ratio with models that suit the needs of the cosmopolitan population living in the region and this is why there's a Renault for every 'Milestones' in life. In this direction, it was obvious and necessary for us to localize this campaign at all levels; from the selection of a local director to the local casts and to the shooting of the film in the region. This campaign is also a 'Milestone' for us in our Brand development strategy for the GCC. The Renault Brand potential is massive and we are here to stay."

Kuwait To Regulate Social Media

The country is planning to pass laws this year to control the use of social networking sites.

Kuwait plans to pass laws this year to regulate the use of social networking sites such as Twitter, the information minister said on Tuesday, in the wake of cases of alleged blasphemy and sectarianism that have prompted protests.

Twitter is extremely popular in Kuwait and many public figures use the messaging site to debate politics, share gossip and advertise events. Unlike print media, television and books, the state does not have the ability to censor electronic media and lacks specific laws for prosecution.

“The government is now in the process of establishing laws that will allow government entities to regulate the use of the different new media outlets such as Twitter in order to safeguard the cohesiveness of the population and society,” Information Minister Sheikh Mohammad al-Mubarak Al-Sabah said.

While the Kuwaiti press enjoys greater freedom than media outlets in some other Gulf states, it is under government surveillance and there are certain “red lines” local journalists know they must not cross.

The government also clamps down on comments deemed to incite sectarian tension.

Kuwait has so far used its criminal code to bring charges against individuals for slander or libel.
A court sentenced a Kuwaiti writer to seven years in jail earlier this month and ordered that he pay nearly $18,000 in compensation after ruling that his comments on Twitter had caused sectarian divisions.

Police arrested another man last month, charging him of blasphemy on Twitter. He denied this, saying his account had been hacked, according to his lawyer.

Both cases triggered small street protests.

Kuwaiti MPs from across the political spectrum have voiced concern about sectarian tensions.

Sheikh Mohammad said laws regulating social media needed to be passed as soon as possible.

“I have been asking the parliamentarians to give this priority,” he said on the sidelines of a parliament session, adding he hoped the measures would be implemented this year.

Islamist Member of Parliament Mohammad al-Dallal, who specialises in legal matters related to the media, said he thought the legislation could be passed as early as June given strong support among fellow deputies.

“Twitter is an open area … everyone can speak. But it is not always being used as social media in Kuwait – not about friendship or personal matters but it is being used politically, to attack. This is a bad thing,” he said.

Source - Reuters

What is the trick to handle the most loyal consumer?

Loyalty towards a brand is all what marketers demand from the new age consumers. With them getting spoiled for choices every day, dreadfully less are the chances of mastering the way to make that happen. But consumers of MENA region think and act differently from the rest of the world they have shown extreme devotion towards a brand making them the most trusty brand shoppers.

According to Ernst & Young's 2012 MENA Customer Barometer, MENA consumers are among the most brand loyal consumers in the world. 25% of respondents in the UK and the US stated that brand influences their purchasing decision compared to 29% in Saudi Arabia, 31% in the UAE, 33% in Bahrain, 34% in Jordan and 35% in Oman.

The report also reveals that consumers are now harder to define, understand, and please than ever before and that MENA brands are facing challenges to adapt to 'Chameleon Consumers'.

Five broad trends emerged from the survey, covering ten different products and services:

1. Traditional market segmentation no longer holds true. The 'chameleon' consumer has conflicting preferences and facets, which need to be accommodated.

2. Brands are increasingly likely to influence purchasing decisions within emerging markets, unlike the mature markets where lower loyalty is challenging companies.

3. Personalized communication and service is a priority. There are huge opportunities for organizations that can harness digital consumers through closer 'community' vehicles, such as social media and other digital channels.

4. Consumers are now equipped with all possible product, price and stock information and can simply bypass retailers that don't engage consumers with relevant information and a compelling purchase pitch.

5. These new empowered customers want a greater say in how they experience service and to be active 'co-creators', not passive consumers.

Defying categorization: the chameleon consumer

Ross Maclean, Customer Advisory Leader, Ernst & Young MENA, says: "The survey finds that in recent years, customer behavior has changed beyond recognition. In becoming a 'chameleon', the consumer has undergone a radical 'metamorphosis' and this change has significant consequences for all customer-centric organizations."

The challenge of categorizing consumers is demonstrated by differences in consumer behaviour between regions. The survey reveals, for example in Jordan, 74% of consumers want to pay by cash, while in the UAE the figure is just 39%. In Bahrain, 21% prefer to shop online, while in Lebanon and Jordan the figure is half that, at 10%, and in Kuwait it is 12%. Adding to the complexity is the very large number of transient expat workers in MENA countries, all with different habits and preferences.

Brand loyalty - products commanding greater affinity compared to services

Despite MENA's high numbers, the survey uncovers a regional split in brand loyalty. In MENA and other emerging markets, brands are increasingly likely to influence purchasing decisions, while brand loyalty is on the wane in the West.

Within MENA, the areas where brand affinity is highest are the more "product-driven" environments (food, clothing). Within the typically more "service-driven" environments (banking and insurance), emotional connection with brands is lagging. Consumers demonstrate an average of just 54% loyalty level to these service-driven sectors, compared with 66% to industries where the focus is more product-led.

"While brand loyalty in MENA is much stronger than in other global geographies, there is still an anomaly between loyalty to products and loyalty to services. This highlights the need for organizations to recognize the importance of customer experience in driving customer acquisition, growth and retention. Customer experience is the new brand." says Ross.

Consumer communication gets personal

Customers have turned their backs on established media channels and are electing their own spokespeople. The survey identifies a divide between mature and less mature markets' perceptions of the value of social media. When asked to rate the medium's worth as an objective tool for finding and validating information, globally, consumers gave it an unexceptional 5.4 out of 10; however, the more positive consumers of the MENA region responded with 6.3, as did China.

Ross adds: "MENA consumers have a new voice, they are amongst the most digitally engaged on the planet and their expectations are higher than they have ever been. Through social media, blogs, brand communities and other online forums, consumers are sharing their views, preferences, likes and dislikes with anyone who cares to listen."

Knowing it all, having it all

The report reveals that the web has inverted the global power relationship. It has given consumers the means to have it all their own way. In the MENA region, 65% go online at least once during the shopping process — above the global average of 62%, and above India (64%), though slightly behind China (68%). Within the MENA region however, there are some interesting country variations in willingness to shop online: in Jordan, 43% buy predominantly in-store, while just 10% shop mainly online. However, in the UAE, 38% say they shop mainly in-store and 21% online.

From consumer to co-creator

Consumers now want bespoke attention whenever they deal with a product or service provider, all the way through the shopping experience — from innovations they help shape, to immediate rewards for loyalty. Payment is one area where consumers want it their way. According to the survey, 39% of consumers globally prefer to pay by cash, whereas in MENA, 60% opt for cash, much higher than the global average of 39%.

"The trends identified in our survey have urgent implications for businesses in MENA. An understanding of these implications, supported by the solid principles of effective marketing, will help organizations navigate the new consumer environment. Engaging in dialogue with consumers, making service personal and providing an end-to-end brand experience are essential for the success of any business," concludes Ross.

Will television ever die?

Is Network television dying the same slow death that record stores did? It will take a little longer - because, unlike the music industry, television didn't change formats requiring you to re-buy all your favorite content on a different media.

Our children and grandchildren will never know a time when television consisted of Zee TV, Star Plus, Sony television, with a few local stations thrown in for good measure.
The actual impact of an individual television ad depends on the kind of product being advertised. Some product categories are just naturally more interesting than others. More important is the creativity of the message itself.

A generation gap has opened up between parents, who still regard TV as the most important medium, than people under 25.

Internet television allows the users to choose the content or the television show they want to watch from an archive of content or from a channel directory. The two forms of viewing Internet television are streaming the content directly to a media player or simply downloading the media to the user's computer. With the "TV on Demand" market growing, these on-demand websites or applications are essential for major television broadcasters. For example, the BBC iPlayer brings in users which stream more than one million videos per week, with one of the BBC's headline shows The Apprentice taking over three percent to five percent of the UK's internet traffic due to people watching the first episode on the BBC iPlayer. Availability of online TV content continues to grow. As an example, in Canada as of May 2011 there were more than 600 TV shows available for free streaming, including several major titles like Survivor and The Daily Show with Jon Stewart.

It has become clear that marketers aren't always envisioning the TV set when they figure out how to use motion-and-sound video to hawk their wares. TV's biggest strength, the transmission of moving video to a national audience, has been usurped.

As a result, never before has the road to the upfront -- that annual spring ritual in which the broadcast networks and their cable counterparts attempt to sell most of their ad inventory -- been so crowded with interlopers. Recently, word broke that Big Digital (that's Microsoft, Hulu, Google's YouTube, AOL and Yahoo) would attempt to stage its own confab with advertiser’s just weeks before the biggest TV networks do.

Research from Nielsen reveals that higher web video viewing leads to less television watching.
Both streaming and TV-viewing have risen. But as trends go, both cannot continue to surge concurrently forever, so at some point, one will have to emerge as the dominant medium. Since the trend is so strong with the younger set, online videos are expected to overtake the television platform, particularly as older viewers fall off the chart.

18 to 24 year olds make up the bulk of those who stream content online, and adults aged 50 to 64 make up 25%-the largest segment-of the traditional TV audience.
It was also found that more women are glued to the television while more men turn on to online videos.
With the exception of Internet-connectivity costs many online-television channels or sites are free. These sites maintain this free-television policy through the use of video advertising, short commercials and banner advertisements may show up before a video is played. An example of this is on the abc.com catch-up website; in place of the advertisement breaks on normal television, a short thirty-second advertisement is played. This short advertising time means that the user does not get fed up and money can be made on advertising, to allow web designers to offer quality content which would otherwise cost. This is how online television makes a profit.

How Can Branding Improve Business

We've all grown up with branding surrounding us; this is because large successful corporations have been using it to their benefit for generations now. You see it on storefronts when you're out shopping, on their shopping bags when you walk out the store with the merchandise you purchased and in their advertisements for their products on the Internet, television, magazines, newspapers.

Finally small business owners and managers are starting to catch on to the branding concept, they're discovering that even though they're small they can still reap the benefits that come from branding and use it to improve their businesses. So then just what can it you do for your business and how can you get started creating and promoting your own brand?

The first thing that branding can do for your business is give it a personality, before you chuckle here, keep on reading because this is important and once you understand it you'll see how important it is. The fact is you've been dealing with companies and corporations personalities for years now without even knowing it. An example of this is; if you have a security company it would be beneficial if people equated your company with “being tough” and vigilant. So the last thing you would need is a logo and personality that depicted perhaps a lamb grazing in a pasture or a small child playing with a skipping rope. You want your company to have the tough personality, you want people think of your company as vigilant, so your brand should depict that and broadcast that tough message.

You've been watching political candidates do it for years with slogans. While one candidate spends and hours and hours discussing issues and giving speeches, the other candidate will communicate all that by way of a slogan connected to their branding, they do this because it has been proven to work.

Another way it can improve your business is to use the branding to connect yourself to positive things in your community. Look around you because environmentalism is huge now, so you may want people to think of your business as being environmentally friendly. Or another example is if you are operating in a resort community where fishing or maybe winter sports like skiing are big money makers you can use branding to connect your business to these other business sectors and reap the benefits from that.

A whole new area you may not have even considered is the use of search engines on the Internet. By branding you can incorporate words and key phrases in your advertising campaigns to reap financial benefits that you otherwise wouldn't be able to. Take a portable outhouse operator as a fine example, if you go ahead and do keyword research and you'll probably find that not very many people are looking for portable outhouses these days. However if that outhouse company incorporated a popular, relevant keyword into their company brand and then used that and other popular related keywords to promote their brand on the Internet it can be a huge game changer.

Microsoft launches Windows 8 in Qatar

Microsoft announced the availability of Windows 8 for its customers in Qatarand around the world. Beginning October 26, consumers and businesses worldwide will be able to experience all that Windows 8 has to offer: a beautiful new UI, a wide range of apps with the grand opening of the Windows Store, available on more than 1000 Windows 8 certified PCs and tablets.

Windows 8 will be available for download to upgrade existing PCs in over 140marketsand 37 languages at windows.microsoft.comandat retail locations around the world, including Qatar.

"With the launch of Windows 8, Microsoft is unveiling a re-imagined Windows to the world," said Naim Yazbeck, Microsoft's Country Manager in Qatar.

"Whether you want a tablet or a PC, whether you want to consume or create, whether you want to work or play - Windows 8 delivers a personalized experience that fits your unique style and needs."

Windows 8 will be available in two versions at retail, Windows 8 and Windows 8 Pro. And for our business customers, Windows 8 Enterprise offers new possibilities in mobile productivity with features like Windows To Go, Direct Access, and Branch Cache, as well as enhanced end-to-end security with features including BitLocker and AppLocker.Launching at the same time is a new member of the Windows family designed for ARM-based tablets, Windows RT, which will be available pre-installed on new devices. Windows 8features the new fast and fluid Start screen that gives people one-click access to the apps and content they care most about, the entirely new Internet Explorer 10 that is perfect for touch, and built-in cloud capabilities with SkyDrive.

In addition to the range of new devices available, consumers can also upgrade their existing PCs.

What represents a Branding scheme?

A brand name is not simply a logotype or a name, it constitutes your company personality and thus it's a all important prospect of a inauguration method towards whatsoever enterprise firm. Branding trends are employed to render the basic sequence of steps and realize the worth full devices which would assist you to produce a compelling business brand name. In essence, a sound brand name represents one which individuals observe and realize to render good properties. Have you always found yourself at the grocery store picking out stuff over other since it's the lot renowned or esteemed brand?

It's consequently the branding scheme's aim to recognize what may translate your company into a trustworthy brand. What must you do in order to communicate the target and delegacy of your company business and the opinion you're stressing to convey to develop firm clients? What must you perform to express the destination and charge of the enterprise company and the subject matter you're attempting to communicate to grow loyal clients? A dependable enterprise firm branding method would aspire to describe answers to those queries before you are able to producing a brand name for your company which would stand out in the market.

Develop a good brand name, logo, or site

Producing a brand name towards your organization gets one on one with building up a logo that would differentiate the enterprise firm and as it points to logotypes, you must prefer for a idea that's specific. Logotypes may be employed in the publicity in addition to as business campaigns, and thus it should be broadly acknowledged. For beginners, think a logo that will promptly clue consumers close to the dimensions of the organization - much as when you are in the grocery, automotive, or telecoms field. Thus, choose graphics which are related to the nature of the enterprise firm and the product which would be utilized to publish.

Motto or punch line

When you've a logotype which you wish, you will be able to look at a slogan which will tone up the topic you are striving to express to your clients. Presuming you restrain this section straight and square, this could be an efficient branding tool around towards your enterprise firm. This slogan will serve well with an added concern to your key content you are striving to render, thereby giving you an margin across your contenders and highlighting the exceptional worldliness or service that clients would be capable to avail of.

an significance that you could acquire with producing a punch line represents that it's ever lasting, not suchlike the logo, hence when the organization likes to apply a new business process, you might promptly modify your slogan in order to spotlight the latest business strategy. A slogan in addition spreads up several opportunities to spread out the business campaign, when compared with the everlasting nature of organization logotypes as it is tougher to set up.

Extraordinary Services

When broadcasting your company brand to the consumers, spotlight the services which exactly you may provide. When you could give a service which none of your challenger can, after that you develop significance on your clients upon the equivalent businesses. One illustration of that will make up a time promise on your delivery services, when you are in the food company. Discovering how to perfectly utilize these enterprise firm branding schemes would support in advance the organization's thrust and you'll be that more closer-fitting to the related organization victories.

Social Marketing

The term social marketing has been used to describe two different things. The first thing it is used to describe is a process of marketing to improve the social condition of the world. The second definition is used to describe the process of using social networking sites and online tools to market a company. I will be using the second definition as my focus for this article.

Social marketing made a big splash in the world of Internet marketing just a few years ago. New Internet activities like blogging, video clips, and other viral marketing devices caught on quickly, and soon outpaced established online advertising methods like keyword ads and banner ads. Because of this new trend in online advertising, many companies have begun to broaden their marketing campaigns to include social marketing strategies.

Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare, and GoWalla
These social media sites are receiving the most attention these days from online marketing experts for companies large and small. The power to influence yielded by these websites is immense. There are many excellent articles that have been written detailing good methods and strategies to employ for companies large and small who desire to engage the public using these sites. Even if you're not actively marketing your company on these sites, it's important to maintain a presence on them so that you can monitor what is being said about your business and about your competitors.

Blogging
Blogging is still one of the most popular social marketing strategies currently being used by companies and websites to attract customers and web traffic. Blogging is a web log that provides readers with a periodic posting of information. This information is written by a topic expert and usually relates to the focus of the website or a company's products and services. In order to be successful, a blog needs to be formatted as a discussion or informative article, it needs to include links to the site's product and services pages and it needs to offer a way for readers to leave their comments and carry on discussions with the blog writer(s).

Viral Video
Another popular form of social marketing is the use of video. This marketing strategy involves uploading fun or interesting video clips to a website, such as YouTube and Vimeo in the hopes that people will like it and tell other people to view it and pass it on. This creates word of mouth advertising that can spread like wild fire. Think about the effects of some of the popular videos that you know of ("Charlie bit my finger!", "United Breaks Guitars", and a host of others. Videos, when they're effective and truly go viral can generate millions of views.

eBooks
An older, but still effective form of viral marketing is the eBook. An eBook is basically a short manual or basic "how to" guide that is offered free of charge to people who complete a requested task. For example, you can offer an eBook to people who sign up for your website's newsletter or who enter a drawing on your site. The main purpose of giving away an eBook is to attract people to your website, however, it can also help you to develop an opt-in mailing list for your company. In order for an eBook to be a successful social marketing tool, it will need to provide valuable information.

Social marketing online is an ever changing, evolving landscape. It's important to engage, participate, and monitor what works and what doesn't work. Most importantly, social marketing allows your company to have a direct link with customers and potential customers. It allows you to directly engage your niche audience and strategize a method to reach them that is beneficial for your company and for them as customers. 

The Term Social Marketing

The term social marketing has been used to describe two different things. The first thing it is used to describe is a process of marketing to improve the social condition of the world. The second definition is used to describe the process of using social networking sites and online tools to market a company. I will be using the second definition as my focus for this article.

Social marketing made a big splash in the world of Internet marketing just a few years ago. New Internet activities like blogging, video clips, and other viral marketing devices caught on quickly, and soon outpaced established online advertising methods like keyword ads and banner ads. Because of this new trend in online advertising, many companies have begun to broaden their marketing campaigns to include social marketing strategies.

Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare, and GoWalla

These social media sites are receiving the most attention these days from online marketing experts for companies large and small. The power to influence yielded by these websites is immense. There are many excellent articles that have been written detailing good methods and strategies to employ for companies large and small who desire to engage the public using these sites. Even if you're not actively marketing your company on these sites, it's important to maintain a presence on them so that you can monitor what is being said about your business and about your competitors.

Blogging

Blogging is still one of the most popular social marketing strategies currently being used by companies and websites to attract customers and web traffic. Blogging is a web log that provides readers with a periodic posting of information. This information is written by a topic expert and usually relates to the focus of the website or a company's products and services. In order to be successful, a blog needs to be formatted as a discussion or informative article, it needs to include links to the site's product and services pages and it needs to offer a way for readers to leave their comments and carry on discussions with the blog writer(s).

Viral Video

Another popular form of social marketing is the use of video. This marketing strategy involves uploading fun or interesting video clips to a website, such as YouTube and Vimeo in the hopes that people will like it and tell other people to view it and pass it on. This creates word of mouth advertising that can spread like wild fire. Think about the effects of some of the popular videos that you know of ("Charlie bit my finger!", "United Breaks Guitars", and a host of others. Videos, when they're effective and truly go viral can generate millions of views.

eBooks

An older, but still effective form of viral marketing is the eBook. An eBook is basically a short manual or basic "how to" guide that is offered free of charge to people who complete a requested task. For example, you can offer an eBook to people who sign up for your website's newsletter or who enter a drawing on your site. The main purpose of giving away an eBook is to attract people to your website, however, it can also help you to develop an opt-in mailing list for your company. In order for an eBook to be a successful social marketing tool, it will need to provide valuable information.

Social marketing online is an ever changing, evolving landscape. It's important to engage, participate, and monitor what works and what doesn't work. Most importantly, social marketing allows your company to have a direct link with customers and potential customers. It allows you to directly engage your niche audience and strategize a method to reach them that is beneficial for your company and for them as customers.

The Importance of Brand

A company owns many things, it owns assets, it likely owns trademarks and it hopefully owns some revenue too. However one of the most valuable commodity that any business can own is a brand, and the power and value of a recognizable brand is something that no one should underestimate.

Many companies don't recognize this and they don't use the right brand promotion tools in order to promote their company and ensure people know who they are which leaves them at a huge disadvantage.

The problem is that without a brand there is nothing holding a company together. Without a brand, in the eyes of the customer you don't exist other than in the form of some random and unconnected products and services. That means you can't promote all of your products in one swoop and it means that someone who has had a good experience can't further look into more of your items and services.

With a brand however and by using the right brand promotion tools you create a 'label' – something instantly recognizable that allows people to seek you out and that lets people connect one of your products with another. If you have a recognizable brand, then this will mean that simply by putting a poster up with your logo on it, people will know that it's yours and they will know where to go to find out more. With your brand fresh in their mind they will be more likely to buy your other products and you might see a lift in sales.

Likewise with a brand, if someone enjoys one of your products then they will come to see your logo as a stamp of quality. They can then look into more of the things you offer feeling that they are guaranteed to get a good experience and that way you can get more repeat business and you can see the word spread more.

People in some cases can even get behind a brand. If they like the brand enough and the company has employed the correct brand promotion tools, then people might come to affiliate themselves with the brand, with the logo or with the idea. Just look at the Nike tick – people will wear it simply to be able to be wearing Nike and will pay more as a result. At the same time people own iPhones partly for the recognizable brand and only partly for the technology and software they contain.

Then there's examples like Virgin – thanks to the recognizable branding, Virgin has consistently been able to enter new markets and generate a buzz and succeed far more quickly than they would if no one knew the name.

Brands represent a long term plan and they represent a vision. This is something that customers and clients recognize, and if you can use the correct brand promotion tools then this can even grow to the point where your brand itself is worth a lot of money – and this then becomes an asset that will hugely increase the value of your business and even encourage people to invest.

Branding and Advertising Trends in UAE

Advertising is a complimentary illustration of a brand or product to generate awareness among customers and public. The objective of advertising is to promote the brand by providing information to consumers about the company, its products and its services. Advertising is the means of support for a business. Without an effective marketing tool, the business cannot last longer and will definitely droop or expire. Some of the companies do not recognize the importance of advertisement for the stability and promotion of the business, that is why several brands do not last long and disappear within five years of establishment. Trends of exhibitions in Dubai experienced an boom followed the region's economic expansion. Like other states there was a growth the in number of advertising agencies in Dubai, and it became easy to find branding firms willing and equipped to do digital marketing Dubai.

There is misperception about the objective of advertising the product. Several people misperceive it as being a tool to increase the sales only which is not true. The main aim of marketing is to make public aware of the product and services of a particular brand. Advertising can form a connection between company and customers. It will not be an exaggeration if we consider advertisement a source of communication between brand and their customers.

There are several benefits of an effective advertisement such as;

• Advertising generates the understanding of products among people.

• If you have just established your brand, advertisement is the best technique to get the space in market.

• It helps to gain confidence of existing customers and to attract new customers.

• However, the main objective of advertising is not to increase your sales, but a good advertisement surely makes an impact to make the individual identity in the market.

There are various options to get your product advertised. Luckily, there are both paid and free options available to get your product introduced or promoted in market. Following are some effective ways you may consider to make them a part of your outdoor advertisement campaign.

• Radio marketing is an old and reliable way of advertisement.

• You can advertise your product on television which is one of the most effective tools as the majority of public is believed to have a habit of watching TV on regular basis.

• Print marketing such as newsletters, magazines, and newspapers is also considered very beneficial.

• Internet marketing or online marketing such as email marketing, search engine optimization and social network marketing have become very important since the world has become a global village and it is the best tool to advertise your product internationally.

Some of the companies have established their own advertising department which is dedicated to promote the products through marketing. While some other companies consider it more appropriate to hire some advertising agency for marketing purposes. Overall economic development has a big role to play in order to promote the advertising agencies and this is the case with sector of Exhibitions in Dubai as you can easily find branding firms in UAE. There are many companies for digital marketing Dubai who have expert and qualified consultants to offer appropriate plan for promotion of your brand.

Interactive Marketing

Interactive marketing is a type of marketing where the emphasis is on dialogue between people rather than the traditional transaction model.

This is a personal service which focuses upon customer needs with the aim of fulfilling those needs. This is a two way process in which the marketing agency talks to the customer, finds out what they want and then delivers.

Hence the use of the term "interactive marketing." By this we mean a two way process in which both parties get what they want. But to do so means spending time with all your customers so that you can tailor your services to meet their needs.

Customer engagement
This is at the heart of interactive marketing. This is where it differs from other forms of marketing in that a greater effort is made to engage with the customer, building rapport and trust in order to deliver a service that suits their individual needs. It's all about going that bit further to ensure that your customer is satisfied and feels valued.
A valued customer is more likely to buy from you again and, to recommend you via word of mouth to family and friends. This will spread your reach and help build your reputation as well.

Go the extra mile
This may seem like a cliché but nevertheless, it happens to be true. People remember those companies who were prepared to look after them and go that bit extra to ensure that their needs were met. And in some cases, the company has 'over-delivered' in order to satisfy the customer and ensure their continuing loyalty.

Personal service
This is what it is about. As a customer you want to feel important, that your custom is respected and valued. Any business or agency worth its salt will realize this and take steps to ensure that their customers have a highly rewarding experience.

This means using a variety of marketing tools such as social media, direct mail and online promotions in order to find out a customer's individual likes and dislikes. Once you have this information you can target your products or services in their direction. Plus you can develop a marketing strategy around these individual needs.
To do so means finding out what your customer is interested in, offering them a range of goods or services which fit in with their interests and then measuring the results.

Interactive marketing plan
This is not something which you can do on the spur of the moment. It requires careful consideration, knowledge about customer likes and dislikes and ways of measuring the results. Use SMS, social media or interviews as methods for acquiring this information.

Treat every customer as if they are special. Take time to find out what they like and need and then fulfill this need. Discuss any issues they may have and deal with their complaints fairly and sympathetically. Remember: you need them more than they need you.

8 Marketing Strategy lessons from Microsoft

Bill gates Microsoft has been an iconic brand of our era. There are 100′s of lessons which business graduates can learn from Microsoft. However, here we present 8 marketing strategy lessons from Microsoft.

1) Network Marketing – The first and most known strategy of Microsoft is Network marketing. This is because each windows product is compatible with another windows products. Your office documents can be opened on most computers because of the number of people using Microsoft. Thus it has established the concept of Network marketing perfectly.

2) Regular product launches – Microsoft is present almost everywhere, be it the music market with its Zune, the computer peripherals market, it is the market leader in operating systems, it has its own tablets, it has revolutionized gaming with XBOX 360, it is now involved in Cloud computing and it generally comes out and gives tough competition to the current players in the market. This expansion helps build up the deep pockets of Microsoft.

3) Follower strategy – One problem in the strategy of Microsoft has been that it has had a follower strategy in the past decade or more. It has rarely come out with an innovation. Check “Microsoft office” from 2003 to 2010. You will see that except for graphics, they have been almost the same products over and over again. In hardware too, there has hardly been an innovation in Microsoft. Ipod launched in 2001 and Zune launched in 2006. Need we say more.

4) Learning and adapting – If you look at Windows, you will find that XP had the most security holes, Windows Vista had several too, Windows 7 has quite less security problems and Windows 8 too is expected to be even better in security. Thus Microsoft is learning fast and adapting to the environment. Microsoft knows that nowadays people need security and it is providing the same to them.

5) Build a cash cow – Even though I am repeating this point, but this is important. Microsoft has a cash cow – operating systems as its backup. And its whole empire is built on the basis of this cash cow.

6) Be customer focused – There are a lot of jokes about the customer service of Microsoft but if you really look at it, then the reason why Microsoft is actually working is because help is available offline as well as online. Your computer might crash for any reason, but generally you are able to specify the reason for the crash and if you are a techie you will be able to rejuvenate it. Even a 10 year old nowadays knows how to correct windows.

7) Ease of use – Make products which can be used by the youngest to the oldest in the easiest manner. Like Nokia in mobile phones, Microsoft OS is known for its ease of access. The start button has been revolutionary.

8) Build brand equity –  Today Microsoft is amongst the top 10 companies in terms of its brand equity due to many different consumer and business to business products that it has. Building such a high brand equity has paid off for Microsoft with it becoming a highly trusted household name.

The above are some strategies of Microsoft which has helped in making Microsoft one of the topmost brands in the world. Can you think of some other strategies which have helped Microsoft grow? 

Dubai Lynx rebranded as International Festival of Creativity

The organisers of Dubai Lynx have announced that its name will change from ‘International Advertising Festival’ to ‘International Festival of Creativity’. The move serves to better reflect the evolvement of the industry from one that has previously focused on traditional creative advertising to one that involves creativity in all forms of communications. 

The Dubai International Festival of Creativity is the leading awards and festival for creative excellence in advertising and communications in the Middle East and North Africa and the must-attend event on the region’s industry calendar. Since its launch in 2007, the number of entry categories at Dubai Lynx has more than doubled due to creativity stretching across a greater number of forms of communications. Held at the Madinat Jumeirah, Dubai, next year’s event will take place 10-13 March 2013, and will once again include an unbeatable line-up of international jurors who will use their expertise to award the best in creativity.

Emma Lancaster, Festival Director of Dubai Lynx, says about the change, “Entering their 7th year, the Dubai Lynx awards are established as the must win awards for the MENA industry. As organisers, we always strive to keep pace and what is clear is that creativity crosses a great number of platforms, from social media to technologies to user-generated content, meaning that to term the event as an advertising festival is no longer relevant.”

The brand new 2013 Dubai Lynx website will be live from 13 October and will contain up-to-date information on the event including full details of how to register and enter. Held in association with the IAA – UAE Chapter and supported by Dubai Media City, the festival’s full programme will be released early 2013.

Key 2013 dates are as follows:
Delegate Registration Opens: 18 November 2012
Entries Open: 9 December 2012
Entry Deadline: 7 February 2013
Dubai Festival of Creativity: 10-12 March 2013
Dubai Lynx Awards: 13 March 2013

Grocery stores move beyond the flyers in the newspapers.

Many people slip some flyers in with the newspapers to convey their business communication. In a bid to find ways to advertise without putting out a lot of cash people modify simple yet inexpensive ways to them make their own. Newspaper flyers have been a long trusted method to reach out to the desire TG with a localized approach. Many believe that certainly there are changes ahead, but reports show that traditional media still tops.

The ongoing shift in consumer media usage habits from traditional to digital media will be pushing the grocery industry in a distinctly social direction, according to research from media and marketing services firm Valassis.

Three-quarters of grocery retail executives surveyed in the US in March said they would use print media this year for marketing purposes, but just 17% expected to be doing so five years from now. Social media, by contrast, was expected to go from just 12% usage in 2012 to 65% usage in the next five years.

Social media was not expected to be the only beneficiary of declining interest by consumers in print media. The grocery retail executives said they would be changing their promotional strategies to account for lower newspaper circulation by increasing investments online in general (22%) as well as in shared or merged mail (19%) and solo or direct mail (14%).

Respondents saw the role of online advertising differently from that of broadcasts or printed circulars. Nearly half of respondents agreed that broadcast was best used for acquisition, while about the same number said circulars were good for increasing traffic and sales. But grocery executives were split on the benefits of internet advertising, with nearly equal numbers naming acquisition, retention and increased traffic as its primary role in the marketing mix.

For now, though, old media are the old standbys for consumers as well as retailers when it comes to grocery purchase decisions. Parents surveyed by agency Cone Communications in May said that in-store promotions were the top marketing channel they used to gather information on their grocery purchases (69% among moms and 57% among dads). Just 12% of mothers and 18% of fathers used online media for this purpose, and 8% and 11%, respectively, used social media.

Now if we look at the Social Media usage in the Arab region, fresh data published in The Dubai School of Government’s annual Arab Social Media Report highlights Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter as the region’s key social media platforms.

In terms of penetration, LinkedIn outperforms Twitter across many countries – most significantly, in the UAE where the business-focused network reaches more than 12% of the population (compared to around 3% for Twitter).

Facebook is the leading social network across the region. Again, the UAE sees impressive penetration, with the service reaching more than 40% of the population.

Here are few online stores that operate to provide wide varieties of grocery products online:

1. Ethnic Grocer.com : Not only do they sell products from the Middle East, they sell items from all over the world. Their prices are great and they offer fair shipping.

2. Kalamala.com : Kalamala.com offers a large variety of Middle Eastern products and even sells wholesale if you need the service. The site can be viewed in both English and Arabic and boasts hard to find fruits and other imported products.

3. Cedar Sky : Cedar Sky offers traditional Middle Eastern food and gifts, more specifically Lebanese products.

All of these above and more and more grocery stores are making their presence felt on Facebook and other leading social media websites. This process has indeed made easier for people to identify the best grocery store that serves what they want and getting the grocery at their door step had never been this easy.

The rise in social media usage in the region unquestionably gives retailers and shopkeepers a great opportunity to target the untapped people.

Event update - Gulf Industry Fair to break new ground in 2013

Preparations are in full swing for the 2013 edition of Gulf Industry Fair (GIF), the Northern Gulf's premier business-to-business industrial show, with a major new initiative being introduced by organisers Hilal Conferences and Exhibitions (HCE).

'Industry Week' is a unique and innovative concept whereby a cross-section of Bahrain's leading industries will open their doors for site visits for university students and graduates for the duration of the Fair, to be held from 15 to 17 January 2013 at the Bahrain International Exhibition and Convention Centre (BIECC).

'Industry Week' is primarily designed to promote Bahrain's world-class industrial capabilities to young stakeholders, while highlighting the sector as a viable and rewarding career option for students and graduates, who will form the backbone of future industrial and economic growth. More broadly, Industry Week also seeks to tap into the growing commitment among large industrial concerns to engage more closely with the local communities in which they operate.

'Industry Week' promises to add yet another important dimension to a show format that is already renowned as a valuable showcase for Northern Gulf industries - from world-scale manufacturing plants to specialist equipment suppliers, distributors and agencies representing the key segments of aluminium, energy and environmental protection, steel and alloys, industrial processes and manufacturing, ports, logistics and free zones, training for industry; and industrial security and safety.

Several Bahrain-based companies have already pledged to support 'Industry Week', including National Institute for Industrial Training (NIIT), Hidd Power Company and ITSS, a prominent industrial trading company, and many more are expected to follow suit as they realise the long-term strategic benefits of early engagement with schools and universities.

Jubran Abdulrahman, HCE managing director, said, "Bahrain, like its GCC neighbours, envisages industrial development as a prime driver of long-term economic growth. Participating companies in Gulf Industry Fair have requested that we highlight the virtues of industrial growth to the wider community."

Abdulrahman said, "Promoting industrial career opportunities to the next generation is important. Industry should be seen not as a dirty word in the modern world but rather as an opportunity for innovation and the development of society. Bahrain's move towards an industrial base will require a new skilled workforce for engines of economic growth.

"We look forward to the evolution of 'Industry Week', which will inject new energy for visitors and exhibitors meeting and doing business in a structured, professional setting," he added.

As in previous years, GIF 2013 is endorsed by some of Bahrain's most high profile industrial organisations, including the National Oil & Gas Authority (Noga) in association with Bahrain Petroleum Company (Bapco), and Aluminium Bahrain (Alba), who will, respectively, sponsor the energy and aluminium zones in the exhibition hall. 

Bahrain's semi-government organisation Tamkeen (Labour Fund) has also agreed once again to extend financial assistance to eligible small and medium-sized exhibitors, following the overwhelming success of the 'Tarweej' growth assistance scheme rolled out for GIF 2012. 

Like 'Industry Week', the close collaboration between HCE and its partners is part of a unique approach to supporting the local economy and positioning the Kingdom as the Northern Gulf's prime exhibitions hub.

GIF was last held from 7 to 9 February 2012 under the patronage of His Royal Highness Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa, Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Bahrain, at which more than 100 exhibitors from 21 countries showcased their products, services and capabilities.

Building brands on more than advertising

A talk with  Mr . John Brash, the founder and chief executive of Brash Brands

 Great brands are built on more than just advertising.

If you doubt that, just ask John Brash, the founder and chief executive of Brash Brands, a Dubai agency that helped create the public image of the Burj Khalifa.

Mr Brash believes companies are spending too much on advertising and need to "take a step back" before shelling out on expensive campaigns.

The fictional Don Draper from the television series Mad Men would doubtlessly disagree but Mr Brash is adamant.

"A lot of organisations just do what they've always done and they don't take a step back and reappraise. Therefore, I would say that they are definitely spending too much on advertising," he says.

"[If] advertising is the correct means to reach your target audience, fine, do it. But don't just do it because you've always done it. It might be relevant for your brand, or it might not."

Mr Brash's clients have included Emirates Group, Abu Dhabi's Tourism Development & Investment Company (TDIC) and the Dubai-based property developer Emaar. Part of his work for Emaar involved the renaming of the Burj Dubai, the world's tallest building, as the Burj Khalifa.

Here he talks about how an organisation's front-line employees are critical to the success of a brand.

What is the difference between branding and advertising?

Advertising is a way to help sell a product. Branding is looking at the core of the organisation. It's basically your DNA, what goes through your veins. It's what makes you who you are. And that's something that will last 10 or 20 years. If you're building a house, if you don't get the foundations right, then the house - no matter how beautiful it is - might never be sustainable. I almost feel branding should be part of the capital cost of the organisation, like your IT bill or your fixtures.

I'm sure you do, given that you're in the branding business … does this mean brands should spend less on advertising?

I would say brands should not just go to their traditional methods. Look at your customer's journey, look at all the key touch-points. Who are your key stakeholders? It could be government, it could be shareholders, it could be customers. What you do is map all of that out and then you say, 'Who are we trying to communicate to?' You don't say, 'Let's do an ad straight away.' If your brand is about being personal and being intimate, having a billboard on Sheikh Zayed Road is not a way to create intimacy.

How important are the employees in branding?

Critical. Because brands should begin inside out.

What if a low-paid employee in, say, a fast-food restaurant, is just in a bad mood? Can't that destroy a brand's image?

Whoever you employ, you need to spend time to engage with them about the reason why they are working in an organisation. Even at the lowest-paid job. We did a job for a waste-management company and we didn't just do the brand values as things that you pin on the wall. We actually [spelt out what the brand] means for the senior manager, the middle manager, and the workers on the ground sweeping the streets. We related the values in a manner that was relevant for them.

What excites you about branding?

Working in such varied industries - from an airline one minute, next minute you're doing waste management ... I've worked in one of the biggest ball-bearing factories in the world. I've worked on healthcare brands, education brands and Formula One brands. We did the branding for the Burj Khalifa. We then understood the importance of that to Dubai, to Emaar, to the ecosystem. And that's really interesting because what you're doing is you're seeing how all the dots join together, how the bigger ecosystem works. And that's a buzz.

You were working on that project when the name changed to Burj Khalifa. Did that cause a problem?

No. Before, we had been doing some work on communication. And we were also focusing on the UAE-ness of it, before the name change actually happened. The importance of the Burj Dubai or the Burj Khalifa to Dubai is critical. But to the UAE, it's one of the key statements. So to share it as part of a federal thing is a no-brainer. When we were approached by our client with the name change, it didn't come as a shock, it was a natural evolution of it. The brand personality was exactly the same.

So define your reaction when you first found out about the name change.

We found out a few days before. And the one thing about us is that we were born in the UAE, we set up in the UAE and changes like that happen on a daily basis. We [can] either embrace it, celebrate it, do it - or complain. And the one thing we don't do is complain. You have got a country that has only been going for a few decades that is progressing so fast. It's just the nature of growth. Growth isn't perfect but it's exciting.