MARKETING ON LINKEDIN

VYOM K. SHAH

HPGD/JL20G2/3436

SPECIALIZATION: MEDIA AND ADVERTISING

WELINGKAR INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT DEVELOPMENT & RESEARCH

Year of Submission: August, 2022

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 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

First of all, I wish to thank my guide HARITA DESAI JANI who has provided great help and
encouragement throughout the completion of this project she made all the efforts to improve the
quality and the layout of the presentation.

I wish to thank the Marketing team at the MSWIPE TECHONOLOGIES PRIVATE

LIMITED who provided all the required information to complete the project. I would appreciate
the positive attitude shown by my Co-workers, without which this project would have not come
to the conclusion.

Finally, I am particularly grateful to my family for having believed in me and for their constant
support.

(HPGD/JL20G2/3436)

VYOM K. SHAH

Place: Mumbai

Date: 26th August, 2022

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 UNDERTAKING BY CANDIDATE

I declare that project work entitled “MARKETING ON LINKEDIN” is my own work

conducted as part of my syllabus.

I further declare that project work presented has been prepared personally by me and it is not
sourced from any outside agency. I understand that, any such malpractice will have very serious
consequence and my admission to the program will be cancelled without any refund of fees.

I am also aware that, I may face legal action, if I follow such malpractice.

Signature of Candidate

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 TABLE OF CONTENTS

Chapter Title Page

Name Numbers
 Title page 1
 Acknowledgement 2
 Certificate from the Guide 3
 Undertaking by candidate 4
1. INTRODUCTION 6
 What is LinkedIn? 6
 Why one should be on LinkedIn? 7
 The Evolution of Marketing: A 120-Year History 9
 What Are the Different Stages in the Evolution of Marketing? 10
 What is Digital Marketing? 16
 Difference between Traditional and Modern Concepts of Marketing 24
8. BACKGROUND 27
 The Marketing Orientation Era 29
 Marketing Management Orientations 36
 The Marketing Mix 37
 Identify Social Media Sites that Appeal to the Target Audience 44
 Strategies to Enhance Social Media Marketing for Businesses 46
 Essential Elements of well-known Social Networking Sites 48
15. METHODOLOGY 51
 Marketing on LinkedIn 51
 Why Does Your Business Need LinkedIn? 58
 Market to Who Matters: Achieve Your Marketing Goals 59
 8 Ways to Tap into the Power of LinkedIn 60
 Case Study - I 65
 Case Study - II 66
 How to use LinkedIn for Business? 67
23. CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS 72
 Why LinkedIn Marketing is Important Today Ever Than Before? 72
 Why LinkedIn Marketing in Important? 73
25. BIBLIOGRAPHY 75

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 INTRODUCTION

LinkedIn has been designated as the world's largest professional network. You may have
experimented with the platform on a personal level, but it is much more than just an online
resume. LinkedIn is not only the ideal platform for professionals to make industry connections,
but it also has enormous marketing potential. You can use it to connect, communicate, learn,
educate, and inspire, as well as generate powerful leads and market your business directly to
your target audience.

WHAT IS LINKEDIN?

Operating a social networking website is LinkedIn Corporation. Members may upload a profile
of their qualifications and accomplishments on the company's website. Worldwide customers are
served by LinkedIn.

Registered users of LinkedIn can have a contact list of well-known and dependable business
experts. A member has the option of inviting other members to "connect" or inviting visitors to
the site to sign up and connect. The list of connections can be useful in:

 Establishing a three-degree network of reliable contacts. (Connections in the first, second,

and third degrees)
 Connecting with people you would find it difficult to connect with otherwise by way of
member introductions
 Identifying business opportunities

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  Receiving recommendations from others
 Following connections
 Following the companies where your connections are employed
 Increasing awareness of your offer to targeted prospects

According to LinkedIn's "gated-access model," professionals must already be acquainted or

know one other through a third party. The Facebook strategy is completely different from this.

In June 2003, Reid Hoffman and influential figures from Paypal and socialnet.com founded
LinkedIn. With offices in Omaha, Chicago, New York, and London in addition to Mountain
View, California, where the corporation is headquartered.

A new user reportedly joins LinkedIn every second, giving it a current membership of roughly
100 million. The majority of members are American, at 50%. There are about 11 million people
from Europe. The nation with the quickest growth is India. Even China has joined the party.

At the time of this writing, Bloomberg estimated the value of LinkedIn to be above $2 billion.

Why one should be on LinkedIn?

It has more than 675 million members as of this writing, according to the About Us section of
LinkedIn. This is a significant market for any company. But what sets LinkedIn apart is that the
majority of people who sign up there are professionals. These are individuals who genuinely

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desire information about the brand. It is made simpler for businesses to sell their brands because
to this characteristic of LinkedIn's users.

Marketers do not need to launch any aggressive marketing methods to get leads as they do in
other social media networks because the majority of users are genuinely interested in learning
about the brand.

But it's not only a matter of how many loyal LinkedIn users there are. Businesses can utilise
LinkedIn's paid and unpaid features to generate leads, form connections, and provide value.

Businesses can get a free, in-depth study of user visits to their official page with LinkedIn
Analytics. Businesses can upload text and video material on LinkedIn Pulse, and the InMail tool
aids in developing contacts with potential clients. Among the various tools of LinkedIn that
marketers may leverage for their businesses are LinkedIn Analytics, Pulse, and InMail.

Given its user population and feature set, LinkedIn is unquestionably significant and helpful for
any marketer looking to build their company's brand.

People that log on daily form a solid, active network. 40% of the more than 100 million monthly
active users log in every day.

It's critical to think about what you hope to gain from LinkedIn in order to use it for business
purposes. This can help you develop a plan to use the platform in the best way possible for your
company's requirements.

First you need to consider the following questions:

 What are your aims?

 Who do you want to connect with?
 Who do you want to monitor?
 What information do you want?
 How can you gain competitive advantage?
 What do you expect of your employees?

Social media is an internet platform that brings individuals together from different backgrounds
to engage. Organizations encounter prospects in the context of marketing on this platform who
are not from the same industry or who have never used their products or services, particularly if

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it's a new creation. Businesses will get considerably more brand awareness if they can figure out
how to use social media to offer answers since people are more willing to share information that
they can grasp. When businesses or people use social media channels to advertise, their brand
will show up not only in search engine results but also in search results all across the Internet. If
a prospect finds information intriguing or helpful, they may quickly and easily share it with their
networks, giving brands organic exposure. The technique of rapidly exchanging information with
a large number of connections is made easier by social media networks.

Businesses today are eager to participate in social media marketing. The corporate world has
been captivated by this trend ever since platforms like LinkedIn and Facebook experienced
enormous global success. To fully use the advantages and enormous benefits of social media
marketing, it is essential to comprehend the fundamentals of social media. Simply put, social
media marketing is the process of increasing brand recognition and value through a variety of
online venues.

The Evolution of Marketing: A 120-Year History

Although there are several schools of marketing thinking on the discipline's beginnings and its
various stages, the beginning of the 20th century is a decent place to start for our purposes.

The simple act of notifying potential customers about the availability of a given product has
evolved over the previous 12 decades into a complicated web of interactions that occur in person,
through print, over the airways, and on social media.

What Is the Evolution of Marketing?

The phrase "marketing evolution" refers to the numerous phases that businesses have gone
through as they searched for fresh and original ways to establish, maintain, and expand their
revenue through client sales and partnerships. Numerous strategies have been employed since the
early 1900s as various industries developed and enhanced their marketing plans.

When Did the Marketing Discipline Begin?

This question has a complicated answer. Let's consult the Online Etymology Dictionary to gain a
general idea of how marketing came to be. According to the authors, this phrase was first used to
refer to "buying and selling, [the] act of transacting business in a market," in the 1560s. Although

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it's a very precise definition, it serves as a useful reminder that "marketing" was still in use when
marketing principles were developed. It was only a relatively simple task.

The term "marketing" was first used in the context of modern business, or the "process of
transporting commodities from producer to consumer with focus on advertising and sales," in
1897, according to the dictionary.

The foundations of this subject may be traced back to the turn of the 20th century, albeit it took
some time for the profession to transition from a product-centric perspective to what we now
define as a marketing orientation.

What Causes Marketing to Evolve?

The evolution of marketing is driven by two main factors:

Marketing technology: In addition to in-store merchandising and in-person contacts, illustrated

print advertising was one of the only workable channels accessible to marketers when the
profession first started. Today's digital marketing makes use of a variety of technologies,
including email and multimedia text messaging.

Customer needs: What does today's consumer expect that yesterday's consumer did not? What
previously out of their grasp are they now able to afford? Your competition will stay up with
your audience if you can't.

What Are the Different Stages in the Evolution of Marketing?

We'll talk about four different stages of marketing evolution for our objectives. Although
opinions among professionals regarding the numerous tactics that marketers have adopted to link
their goods with customers and the other way around are somewhat divided, we believe that the
following are the most crucial stages to research:

 Production orientation
 Sales orientation
 Marketing orientation
 Relationship orientation

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The Production Era: Products Develop from the Primordial Soup

Modern marketing was made possible by the Industrial Revolution. The perfect storm of factors
came together to create marketing as we know it today: the advertising of mass-produced
consumer goods.

Early marketing initiatives adopted a production perspective as a result. The prevailing belief
was that buyers merely needed to be made aware of the products that were available to them.
After all, if you don't know something exists, you can't buy it.

Henry Ford’s Model T

This approach is perhaps best summed up by a quote from Henry Ford: “If you have a really
good thing, it will advertise itself.” The company’s approach was heavy on the text and highly
informational, emphasizing price, quality and standardization.

Source: The Henry Ford

In fact, the automaker was so focused on production that national advertising ceased entirely
during periods of high demand. Though individual dealers continued to place local ads featuring
nominal branding resources supplied by the company, Ford stopped advertising between 1917
and 1923.

A different marketing era was starting to take shape.

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The Sales Era: Species Diverge and Brands Emerge in Marketing

Leveraging a production orientation is fine if you’re pretty much the only game in town. From
the 1930s onward, though, it became increasingly rare that any company would permanently
enjoy a competitor-free environment. So, in response to the pressures of natural selection,
businesses developed unique adaptations. This resulted in two core innovations of modern
marketing: the central importance of brand identities and an emphasis on the selling orientation.

A Very Coca-Cola Christmas

Would it be a stretch to say that the sales era gave us Santa Claus? Only a little bit.

Source: Coca-Cola

In the 1920s, Coke realized something: The company wasn’t selling as much soda in the winter.
A production-oriented approach like Henry Ford’s would have led to a decrease in advertising
during colder months while reducing bottling.

Instead, Coca-Cola focused on driving sales by attaching their brand to Santa Claus. To make it
work, marketers had to solidify an image of Santa that would appeal to consumers. In 1931, they
found what they were looking for in the illustrations of Haddon Sundblom. Until 1964,
Sundblom would continue to produce images in the iconic Santa style that we still know and love
today.

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The Marketing Era: Intelligent Adaptations Focus on Meeting Customer Needs

Something of a paradigm shift occurred with the establishment of a marketing orientation. This
new strategy was distinct from traditional marketing, which concentrated on simply getting
things in front of clients and persuading them to make a purchase. Marketers were motivated to
have a deeper understanding of consumers' wants, worries, and preferences. Businesses might
then only aspire to have a real influence. Customers were in charge by the 1980s.

Apple Breaks Through

As a marketing concept, many internal stakeholders were skeptical of Apple’s 1984 Super Bowl
commercial announcing the debut of the Macintosh personal computer.

There’s a lot of creative insight to take away from this interview, but one thing definitely jumps
out: They never even show a Mac. They don’t talk about any of its features. It’s not about getting
you to buy a product. The entire commercial is centered on the premise that a new world is
possible by taking a different approach to the adoption of technology — one that places
individual consumers, not big companies, firmly at the center.

The Relationship Marketing Era: Customers and Businesses Co-evolve to Create

Cooperative Societies

Today, a relationship-based approach to marketing is widely used by numerous companies. An

approach to marketing that puts relationships first is centered on promoting customer loyalty and
retention as well as ongoing engagement with the company. Delivering re-engagement incentives
to customers is simple with the help of digital marketing channels, and social media campaigns
make brands very approachable. In order to be seen as a partner in the consumer's effort to build
a more just society, brands often place a strong emphasis on social responsibility.

Every working professional is expected to be conversant with at least the fundamentals of digital
marketing in a world where over 170 million individuals use social media regularly. Digital
marketing can be defined as the process of promoting goods using the internet or other electronic
media. Digital marketing, as defined by the Digital Marketing Institute, "Digital Marketing is the

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use of digital channels to promote or market products and services to targeted consumers and
businesses."

People are consuming digital content on a daily basis. Very soon, traditional marketing platforms

will disappear, and the digital market will completely take over. There are a number
of advantages in Digital Marketing. Unlike traditional marketing, digital marketing is more
affordable.

You can reach a larger audience in a shorter time period. Technological advances have resulted
in considerable attrition of the customer-base of traditional marketing agencies and departments.
People have moved on to tablets, phones, and computers, which are the areas where digital
marketers have gained the most ground.

The term Digital Marketing was first used in the 1990s. The digital age took off with the coming
of the internet and the development of the Web 1.0 platform. The Web 1.0 platform allowed
users to find the information they wanted but did not allow them to share this information over
the web. Up until then, marketers worldwide were still unsure of the digital platform. They were
not sure if their strategies would work since the internet had not yet seen widespread
deployment.

In 1993, the first clickable banner went live, after which Hot-Wired purchased a few banner ads
for their advertising. This marked the beginning of the transition to the digital era of marketing.
Because of this gradual shift, the year 1994 saw new technologies enter the digital marketplace.
The very same year, Yahoo was launched.

Also known as "Jerry's Guide to the World Wide Web" after its founder Jerry Yang, Yahoo
received close to 1 million hits within the first year. This prompted wholesale changes in the
digital marketing space, with companies optimizing their websites to pull in higher search engine
rankings. 1996 saw the launch of a couple of more search engines and tools like HotBot,
LookSmart, and Alexa.

1998 saw the birth of Google. Microsoft launched the MSN search engine and Yahoo brought to
the market Yahoo web search. Two years later, the internet bubble burst and all the smaller
search engines were either left behind or wiped out leaving more space for the giants in the
business. The digital marketing world saw its first steep surge in 2006 when search engine traffic

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was reported to have grown to about 6.4 billion in a single month. Not one to get left behind,
Microsoft put MSN on the backburner and launched Live Search to compete with Google and
Yahoo.

Then came Web 2.0, where people became more active participants rather than remain passive
users. Web 2.0 allowed users to interact with other users and businesses. Labels like ‘super
information highway’ began to be applied to the internet. As a result, information flow volumes
–including channels utilized by digital marketers- increased manifold, and by 2004, internet
advertising and marketing in the US alone brought in around $2.9 billion.

Soon, social networking sites began to emerge. MySpace was the first social networking site to
arrive, soon followed by Facebook. Many companies realized all these fresh new sites that were
popping up were beginning to open new doors of opportunities to market their products and
brands. It opened fresh avenues for business and signaled the beginning of a new chapter to
business. With new resources, they needed new approaches to promote their brands & capitalize
on the social networking platform.

The cookie was another important milestone in the digital marketing industry. Advertisers had
begun to look for other ways to capitalize on the fledgling technology. One such technique was
to track common browsing habits and usage patterns of frequent users of the internet so as to
tailor promotions and marketing collateral to their tastes. The first cookie was designed to record
user-habits. The use of the cookie has changed over the years, and cookies today are coded to
offer marketers a variety of ways to collect literal user data.

Products marketed digitally are now available to customers at all times. Statistics collected by
the Marketing tech blog for 2014 show that posting on social media is the top online activity in
the US. The average American spends 37 minutes a day on social media. 99% of digital
marketers use Facebook to market, 97% use Twitter, 69% use Pinterest and 59%
use Instagram. 70% of B2C marketers have acquired customers through Facebook. 67% of
Twitter users are far more likely to buy from brands that they follow on Twitter. 83.8% of luxury
brands have a presence on Pinterest. The top three social networking sites used by marketers are
LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook.

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How successful is Digital Marketing?
Today, the opportunities available in digital marketing are endless; nobody wants to lose out on
those opportunities as they have the potential to drive business growth.
With nearly a billion regular social media users, it is essential for business owners and marketers
to be well-versed with the fundamental digital marketing concepts, to retain existing customers
and attract new ones.

What is Digital Marketing?

Digital marketing is also known as online marketing. To put it simply, digital marketing refers to
the marketing of products or services over any type of digital or electronic media; it uses digital
channels to attract targeted customers and businesses.
Companies use different online channels like social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram,
LinkedIn, Pinterest, email marketing, online flyers, and banners, pay-per-click ads, and so on.
This helps businesses to reach their target audience with fewer hassles.
Consumers today are demanding tech-savvy, and impatient; they want services to be delivered
when and where they want. Consumption of digital content is increasing by the day, thanks to the
availability of affordable smartphones and tablets, and the proliferation of the internet.
The popularity of digital marketing is burgeoning to such an extent that experts believe that it
may completely replace conventional marketing methods in some time.
What are the 5 Ds of Digital Marketing?
 Digital Devices – laptops, desktops, smartphones, tablets, smart TVs, wearable devices,
gaming devices.
 Digital Platforms – social media, search engines, websites.
 Digital Media – online ads, social media marketing, SMS, email marketing
 Digital Data – apps, contact forms, surveys
 Digital Technology – artificial intelligence, virtual reality, augmented reality

Types of Digital Marketing

There are several types of digital marketing, with categories and sub-categories. However, it can
be broadly classified into the following:
 Search Engine Optimization or SEO

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  Pay Per Click ads or PPC
 Social Media Marketing or SMM
 Content Marketing
 Email Marketing
 Mobile Marketing
 Marketing Analytics

Now that we’ve understood the very basic digital marketing meaning, let us try and trace its
origins and track its progress to the present – a brief look at the history of digital marketing. The
digital age dawned with the advent of the internet and the Web 1.0 platform, which enabled users
to find information; however, there was no option to share this information. At this stage,
marketers were wary of using the digital platform for marketing, as the internet itself was not
deployed widely. Digital Marketing as a term was coined in the ’90s, with the advent of server-
client architecture, and the rising prevalence of personal computers. It was at this age that
the Archie search engine was developed, to index FTP sites. Storage capacity of computers in the
1980s had already been increased to store voluminous data, and companies started switching to
database marketing and other online techniques.
As to who is the father of digital marketing, it’s a pen for debate; some argue that it should be
Marconi, as he sent the first radio signal; some opine that as Ray Tomlinson sent the first email
in 1971, it should be attributed to him. Others feel that nobody has the knowledge on this subject
like Philip Kotler, and he is the actual founder.

Advantages of Digital Marketing

Digital marketing offers numerous benefits over conventional marketing methods, making it
extremely popular with both marketers and consumers. Let’s see what they are:
 Businesses get better ROI – compared to traditional marketing, digital methods cost less
for the reach it gets. This makes it affordable for small businesses too. An ad in the
newspapers which can only reach consumers in your city or state itself, can cost you a
great deal; a social media ad on the other hand, which can reach people around the world,
will cost you lesser.

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  As mentioned above, you can extend your reach tremendously with digital methods; you
are not restricted by geographical boundaries. The whole world can be your target with
online marketing.
 Unlike conventional marketing, it is not intrusive, and consumers are also able to convey
their reviews, concerns, grievances, and so on back to the business. This two-way
communication is very useful for consumers and businesses alike.
 Digital marketing can be personalized to appeal to different types of customers, and based
on the products, as they can be delivered directly to the consumer’s personal device –
unlike ads on TV or print media.

Evolution of Digital Marketing – The Timeline

Let us attempt to establish a timeline here regarding the evolution of digital marketing; the
digital era had already begun, and now it had begun to evolve.
 1993 – the first clickable banner was deployed. An online magazine called HotWired
bought a few of these to advertise the magazine and increase subscription. Thus began the
age of transition to digital marketing. With new technologies making their arrival, and
Yahoo! being launched, the evolution of digital marketing was well and truly under way
in 1994. Yahoo received nearly a million hits in its first year of existence, prompting
business owners and marketers to rethink their attitude towards digital marketing. They
began to optimize their website to satisfy the search engine requirements.
 1994 – Cookies were invented by Lou Montulli; these are small data packet created by the
web server when you browse a site, and are placed on your computer. They are used to
access websites; they can also track your activity, like the sites you visited and the actions
you took. This would help businesses to know about your interests, and offer you
customized promotions.
 1996 – new search engines and tools like Alexa, LookSmart, and HotBot were launched.
 1998 – was when big daddy Google emerged, MSN search engine launched by Microsoft,
and Yahoo web search arrived.
 1999 – This year was very significant in digital marketing history; web 2.0 was launched,
which allowed users to upload and share content, and not simply consume it. Users were
no longer passive users, but active participants. This laid the foundation for widespread

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 sharing, social media platforms, and the like. Sites like Wikipedia, Facebook and blog
sites all sprung up in this phase.
 2000 – there was much trepidation over how computers would respond to the change in
the date at the dawn of the millennium – commonly referred to as the Y2K problem.
There was a crash and many of the small search engines vanished from the scene, paving
the way for the giants to firmly establish their dominance. 
 2002 – a social media platform for professionals called LinkedIn, was launched, that
helped recruiters to find qualified people, and vice versa. 
 2003 – MySpace was the first social networking site to be launched; this was followed by
Orkut, and later, Facebook. Businesses began to take serious notice, and realized the
potential that these platforms afforded to them. They could reach thousands of users in
minutes or even seconds, and at a very low price. Companies began to actively market
their products and services on these platforms, signaling the beginning of a new era in
business.
 In 2004 – in the United States alone, the revenue from internet advertising came to nearly
$3 billion. The digital marketing industry was not just established, but made its presence
felt, and signaled to the world that it was here to stay.
 2005 – saw the birth of YouTube, the video sharing platform, which has millions of
subscribers and users today.
 2006 – saw a precipitous surge in this year, with search engine traffic touching nearly 6.5
billion in just one month. Microsoft replaced MSN and launched Live Search, to keep
pace with Google and Yahoo. this year also witnessed the launch of Twitter, and the
emergence of split test in marketing. Amazon recorded e-commerce sales over 10 million
USD.
 2007 – was the year streaming service Hulu, and microblogging site Tumblr were
launched.
 2008 – saw China emerging as the country with the largest number of internet users,
overtaking the US.  Music sharing site Spotify was launched in this year.
 2009 – Google instant was launched, enabling users to get real-time search engine results

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  2010 – Messaging app for mobiles, WhatsApp was launched in this year. Now this app
offers businesses several tools to promote their products and services, with ‘WhatsApp
Business’ accounts.
 2011 – web use overtook TV viewership, especially among the young generation, and
Google + and Google Panda were launched.
 2012 – social media marketing budgets increased by a whopping 64%.
 2014 – witnessed the launch of Facebook messenger, and tailored ads on LinkedIn and
other social platforms. This was also the year that mobile usage overtook the use of
personal computers for browsing and shopping.
 2015 – this year was the dawn of the ‘wearables’, predictive technology, and active
content marketing, and inbound marketing growth.
With every year we see that there are new tools, platforms, and technologies making their
appearance in the digital marketing world. Digitally marketed products are available to
consumers at all times of the day or night.
Facebook is the most popular platform, with 99% of marketers using this social media network.
Twitter follows, with 97% also using it.
However, there is now a move towards Instagram, especially for the younger generation, or
‘millennials’, preferring it over other social media platforms.

Digital Marketing – the Indian Scene

The history of digital marketing in India can be traced back to 1995 when VSNL launched
internet services.
However, till 2000, only 0.5% of the Indian population used the internet. It was after 2005 that
the internet boom caught on, and the evolution of digital marketing in India commenced.
In 2008, it grew steeply, and by 2010, several new digital marketing companies were launched,
with thousands of professionals being recruited to work in them.
In 2013, 15% of Indians were using the internet, and in the next 6 years, by 2019, the number of
internet users in India crossed 525 million. It is expected to cross 650 million in the next two
years.

Origin and Meaning of Marketing:

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In mid 1950s most firms were production oriented i.e. the manufacture emphasized only on
production of quality products and then looked for people to purchase them. With the passage of
time and technological advancement, the focus shifted to an effective sales force to find that
customers for their increasing output. After 1950s the marketing shifted to impressive concern
that the manufacturer first looks into consideration the customers wants and then manufactured
their goods according to their interest.

The American Marketing Association defines “Marketing as the process of planning and
executing the conception, pricing, promotion and distribution of ideas, goods and services to
create exchanges that satisfy individual and organizational objectives.”

Marketing is a broader and comprehensive term and it includes set of activities and important
resources necessary to direct and facilitate the flow of goods and services from the producer to
the consumer. Marketing also availing the right goods and services to the right people, at the
right place and at the right time.

Core Concept of Marketing:

Philip Kotler explained the core concept of marketing in his book – “Marketing Management”
as,

According to him, every human being has endless needs and demands. There are many products
which can satisfy human wants and demands. These wants and demands can be fulfilled by
exchange of goods and services. Marketers try to increase demand by making products more
attractive, affordable and easily available. Market is a place where goods and services
exchanged. Marketing means all those activities that take place in relation to market. Hence, the

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marketing is a social process by which individual and groups obtain what they need and want
through exchanging products and values with others.

Definitions of Marketing:

To understand the concept of marketing different authors, define marketing in their own way.
Some definitions of Marketing are as follows:

 According to Pyle, (Principles of Marketing) – “Marketing comprises both buying and

selling activities.”
 According to Tousley, Clark and Clark (Principles of Marketing) – “Marketing consists
of those efforts which affect transfers in the ownership of goods and services and which
provide for their physical distribution.”
 According to Paul Mazur – “Marketing is the delivery of standard of living.”
 According to William J. Stanton – “Marketing is a total system of interacting business
activities designed to plan, price, promote and distribute want satisfying products and
services to present and potential customers.”
 According to H.L. Hansen (Marketing)- “Marketing is the process of discovering and
translating consumer needs and wants into product and service specifications, creating
demand for these products and services and then in turn expanding the demand.”

Development of Marketing Concept:

The history of development of marketing concept is divided into four stages:

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1ST Stage: Production – oriented Philosophy (1900 to 1930)

Till 1930‟s, USA was facing shortage of production and at that time the general philosophy of
business was, “produce as much as u can, because there is a limitless market”. In this stage
the main focus on increasing the production not the selling. Producers were busy to find and
implement the ways and means which increases production. That’s why this stage is called as
production – oriented stage. The assumptions of this philosophy are:

 Anything that can be produced can be sold.

 To keep the cost of production is low
 Produce only certain basic products.

2nd Stage: Sales – Oriented Philosophy (1930 to 1950)

This stage lies between the periods from Great Depression to the end of World War II. During
this stage the main problem was not production, but how to sell it. In this stage the focus of
businessmen was shifted towards sales and this stage is called as sales – oriented stage. The main
assumptions of this philosophy are:

 Production of good quality product

 Finding new buyers of the product
 Convince the buyers through good selling tactics.

3rd Stage: Customer – Oriented Philosophy (1950 to 1990)

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In this stage the needs of the consumer determined and then integrated efforts were taken to
produce the goods that satisfied these needs and wants. The main assumptions of the philosophy
are:

 Only desired products by consumer should be produced,

 Consumer is treated as a king of the market,
 To integrate all activities to satisfy consumer wants.
 Focus on long range profits rather than “quick sales”.

4th Stage: Social – Oriented Philosophy (1990 to update)

In this stage focus not only consumer satisfaction but also for consumer welfare or social
welfare. The assumptions of social orientation philosophy are:

 Only those products produced which are desired by the consumers,

 The purpose of the firm is long term profit objective rather than quick sales,
 The firm should discharge its social responsibilities.

Marketing Concept:
This concept focus on the determination of the requirements of potential customers and
supplying product to satisfy their requirements. This concept highlights that the primary task of
every business enterprise is to study the needs, desires and values of potential customers. The
market concept focus on the four points:
 Target market

 Customer Needs

 Integrated Marketing

 Profit through Customer Satisfaction.

Difference between Traditional and Modern Concepts of Marketing:

24
 Basis Traditional Concept of Modern Concept of Marketing
Marketing

1.Orientation It is a production-oriented It is a consumer-oriented

concept. concept
2.Scope It has a narrow concept. It has a wide scope .
3.Purpose The purpose of this concept is The purpose of this concept is
earning profits through more earning profits through increase
production and higher sales. in customer satisfaction.

4.Focus Focus on sales . Focus on customer satisfaction.

5.Social Responsibility No place for social responsibility. It dedicates itself to social
responsibility by providing
standard of living to the
society.
6.Market Research No scope for market research. Top priority for market research.

7.Integration between There is no integration with the All activities of various

marketing marketing department. Different departments are directed and
departments departments of firm are integrated by the marketing
independent. department.

8.Consumer welfare There is no place for consumer It is the main responsibility of

welfare. the marketer for consumer
welfare.
9. Principle It follows the principle of „Seller It follows the principle of
Awareness.” “Buyer awareness.”

Some New Concepts of Marketing:

Relationship concept:

According to Philip Kotler- “Relationship marketing is the process of building long –term,
trusting, WIN-WIN relationship with customers, distributors, dealers and suppliers. Relationship
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marketing promises and delivers high quality, efficient services and fair prices to the other party
overtime. It is accomplished by strengthening the economic, technical and social ties between
members of the two organizations or between the markets and the individual customer.”

Mass Marketing Concept:

Mass Marketing means to sell the mass produced goods. This concept focus on sale of mass
production by using tools of mass marketing i.e. mass advertising, mass promotion, mass
distribution to large group of customers.

Niche Marketing Concept:

Niche Marketing is a concept where marketer plays a role of specialist in particular segments.
For example: Quality Specialist for manage low or high quality of the products, Service
Specialist for providing best services which are not provided by other firms, Product line
Specialist for availing only one product line or product.

Strategic Marketing Concept:

Strategic marketing is a decision making process which includes the analysis of internal potential
and external environments of a firm in order to efficiently use the various marketing resources to
achieve organizational objectives.

Stimulation Marketing Concept:

In this concept a proper stimulation is provided to customers for buying the product. There is no
demand in this situation and people are not interested to purchasing the products, so to create
demand stimulation is provided.

Synchromarketing Concept:

In this concept there is a state of irregular demand or we can say that demand is more than
supply. In other seasons, whatever is supplied goes to waste for want of demand.

Demarketing Concept:

Under this concept the demand for a product exceeds the supply and this is also known as
overfull demand. the term overfull demand is defined as a situation in which demand exceeds the
level at which the marketer feels able or motivated to supply it.
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Remarketing:

Remarketing is associated with the term “faltering demand “, which is invariably for all kinds of
products, services, places, organization etc. In this state, there is a decline in demand for the
products is possible, if no preventive action is taken to enhance the target market.

Database Marketing Concept:

Database Marketing is a process of collecting and using data on our customers and markets helps
us to acquire a better understanding of the market so that we can utilize sales and marketing
techniques in a more precise and cost effective way.

Network Marketing:

Network means a strong interdependence between the firms controlling different activities, i.e.
firms are components of a value chain. So that is why the success of the value chain is not only
dependent on its performance but is closely related to the interactions between all the firms
making that chain. According to Kotler (1991)- “Marketing started out as an analysis of how
commodities are produced and distributed through an economic system. Subsequently, we
became interested in distribution channels themselves and the functions marketers perform. What
I think we are witnessing today is a movement away from a focus on exchange in the narrow
sense of transaction towards a focus on building value- laden relationships and marketing
networks”

BACKGROUND

Social media is an internet platform that brings individuals together from different backgrounds
to engage. Organizations encounter prospects in the context of marketing on this platform who
are not from the same industry or who have never used their products or services, particularly if
it's a new creation. Businesses will get considerably more brand awareness if they can figure out
how to use social media to offer answers since people are more willing to share information that
they can grasp. When businesses or people use social media channels to advertise, their brand
will show up not only in search engine results but also in search results all across the Internet. If
a prospect finds information intriguing or helpful, they may quickly and easily share it with their

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networks, giving brands organic exposure. The technique of rapidly exchanging information with
a large number of connections is made easier by social media networks.

Businesses today are eager to participate in social media marketing. The corporate world has
been captivated by this trend ever since platforms like LinkedIn and Facebook experienced
enormous global success. To fully use the advantages and enormous benefits of social media
marketing, it is essential to comprehend the fundamentals of social media. Simply put, social
media marketing is the process of increasing brand recognition and value through a variety of
online venues.

Numerous studies carried out all around the world show that social media marketing has a great
potential to increase sales, but little is known about how to make it happen. Social media
communication fosters the kind of personal trust that leads people to desire to do business with
other people rather than corporations. Social media's openness plays a key role in winning over
potential customers' trust. Consequently, to sum up this initial session: Online content for social
media is produced by users of widely available publishing tools. Combining sociology and
technology, it turns one-too-many interactions into many-to-many discussions and democratizes
knowledge by turning content consumers into content creators. Social media, at its most
fundamental, represents a change in how individuals find, consume, and exchange news,
information, and material. Because social media enables online connections that foster both
personal and professional interactions, it has grown incredibly popular.

Without a doubt, social media has evolved into a means of fostering relationships through the
exchange of knowledge and concepts. The marketing on this platform expands on this thought.
The ability of humans to establish bonds through sharing is fascinating. They might talk about
something that happened in their personal life or something hilarious they saw on television.
Let's categorize sharing, a crucial aspect of social media, into its constituent parts:

• Social media is about people interacting with one another, thus brands must develop
networking skills with their clients in order to effectively market their core values. Most
of the communications a person receives comes from his or her network because social
media enables each individual to interact with numerous other people across the world.
Therefore, brands must be aware of the strategies for actively influencing people's

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 attitudes. This is accomplished with the aid of ongoing marketing on the various social
media channels.
• Social media turns content browsers into content producers: By publishing or
republishing the message in their own terms, content browsers (readers) can distribute the
content among their own network of followers. Thus, content browsers are not only
media consumers but also help brands market their products and services by
disseminating important information.
• A platform for building relationships for both personal and professional use: Social media
is about building relationships as well as sharing content and messages in original ways.
Building a network around a service or product requires brands to develop a more
personal interaction with end users through social media. The majority of us who are now
using the majority of the main social media channels can personally attest to the
aforementioned reality. Online purchases of goods and services frequently come about as
a consequence of a referral from another person in our established network. Thus, the
existence of posts and testimonials on social media channels affects our decisions
regarding online purchases. We also decide to avoid brands that have been accused as
being dishonest or shady by others on social media. Therefore, decisions are heavily
influenced by the views and connections shared online.
• Brands involved in the creation of personal accounts: On social media, users follow
engaging users who assist in building brands rather than the brands themselves. With the
exception of B2B marketing, every account nowadays is of a real person who has a name
and a title that unmistakably identify him or her as the company's face. Using a
conversational tone and replying in real time to other discussion participants is a popular
trend among those who market on social media. It has been noted that accounts that are
automated or updated continuously with links do not yield results.
• User-based control of the message: Since most information is uncontrolled, sharing
becomes a crucial aspect of social media. In actuality, no one individual or group can
control the information because of the very nature of social media. Since social media is a
network-based medium for information sharing, brands must understand that once they
publish a message, they lose all control over it. Users have the option to edit, share,
ignore, or personalize messages by adding their own comments. Because of the nature of

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 social media, brands that attempt to control the message will find it challenging to reap its
advantages. In conclusion, brands have no control over the origin of the message, and
users can create messages about businesses even if they possess no personal connection
to them.
• Using Social Media to Create Organic Relationships Within the Organization: Social
media can be utilized internally to encourage teamwork among employees and improve
communication between departments. Additionally, it's a practical way to collaborate
swiftly and remotely. Social media can also be utilized to record conversations, meetings,
and choices that will subsequently be referenced in performance appraisals or decision
case studies. The choice to use social media as an internal solution, like any other social
media use option, is influenced by the goals and resource limitations of the Brand.
Beyond its use, social media's advantages mostly center on expenses. Social networking
may be a far more affordable alternative to other software packages on the market for
start-ups or small to midsized businesses. Many of the common social media tools have
equivalents in closed-network commercial solutions. For instance, the Yammer
application, which is like Twitter's business counterpart, is also free to use.
• Connecting with end users via social media: As social media has become commonplace,
brands are always coming up with new strategies. As a result, there are several ways to
interact with end users via social media.

The Marketing Orientation Era

The majority of markets have been oversaturated since the 1960s (the size of the market remains
the same). This indicates that fierce rivalry has emerged for customers. A modern marketing
department is what we see now as a result of the development of marketing management.
Because they are strategically involved in the business, marketers can advise an organization on
what products to make, where to sell them, how much to charge for them, and how to connect
with customers. Market and consumer research is common today. They make an effort to
comprehend client wants (and conceivable future needs) and effectively deploy organizational
resources to suit these needs. Brands are the primary focus of contemporary marketers.
Additionally, they are become more and more concerned with making sure that everyone in the
business participates in marketing activities and that employees understand marketing.

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Many people find it difficult to comprehend, but marketing is a very new field of study, having
only been established in the early 1900s as compared to economics, production and operations,
accounting, and other business-related fields. Prior to this, the majority of issues that are now
typically related to marketing were either assumed to fall within fundamental economics
concepts (for example, price setting was seen as a straightforward supply/demand issue) or
advertising (which was well developed by 1900), or in the majority of cases, simply not yet
explored (e.g., customer purchase behavior, importance of distribution partners).

The necessity to analyze relationships and behaviors between sellers and purchasers in more
depth worsened the development of marketing, which was led by marketing scholars from
several prominent universities. The study of marketing in particular helped merchants realize that
certain methods and tactics might significantly improve the seller-buyer connection. Before the
1950s, this frequently meant devising strategies and methods for merely selling more goods and
services, paying little attention to what customers actually desired. This frequently resulted in
businesses adopting a "sell-as-much-as-we-can" mindset with little regard for establishing long-
term partnerships.

However, businesses began to realize in the 1950s that customers were growing weary of the
traditional methods of selling. Organizations looked to the buying side of the transaction for
strategies to advance as competition became more rigorous across the majority of industries.
They discovered a developing school of thought that holds that knowing client demands is
essential to effective marketing. This now-famous marketing concept contends that knowing
your customers and what they want should be the starting point for all marketing initiatives. An
organization shouldn't start developing and promoting items and services before that.

Three Era’s of Marketing

 In the first era of marketing, we were presented with eye catching beauty in the
surrounding background, which presented us with a certain calming effect; just what the
marketing ploy needed. Then you noticed the colorful wide variety of assorted fruits that
were available. You could stroll endlessly about, taking your time to decide what you

31
 wanted. There were no pushy salesmen, definitely no television ads, and most assuredly
no harassing phone calls. In fact, it didn’t take much more than a whisper of a suggestion
to make the first marketing ploy work. It was simple, just tell the people they couldn’t
have the one thing that would allow them to know and have everything they ever wanted.
What began as a small “marketing ploy”, snowballed throughout history, and I believe
began the very first marketing era.
 The second era of marketing was easy to see coming. When the masses no longer
sought out all that the market had to offer, it became clear that a new marketing era was
forthcoming. Now was the time for the market to come to the consumer. A whole new
range of strategies emerged amid declining sales. First there was the one on one, “door-
to-door” marketing approach. While effective, it was a slow word of mouth process. It
did not offer a quick response like the new profitable posters, or newspapers and
magazine ads that followed. Even today, these marketing approaches continue, but by the
time television and radio started selling advertising time, the marketing approach had
again changed. Now advertisers could appeal not only to what the consumer needed and
wanted, but to what they might want some day in the future. These avenues gave access
to new marketing areas and ideas. This second marketing era gave people the ability to
market things like houses, housing projects, and vacation resorts. Consumers no longer
had to spend excess money on gas just to see what was available. In addition, college
funds, burial arrangements and even retirement plans, were easily handled in the comfort
of your own home.
 Finally, we come to the third and final marketing era. Now, because of satellite and
Internet capabilities, mass marketing is always available; weather you want it or not. It
resounds in your ears from television, radio, billboards and the like. It is the first thing
you see in the morning and the last thing you hear at night, before you turn of your
television. In this present third marketing era, every vain imagination of man is marketed.
It is not only marketed to those who have the money, but to those who have no money.
They even direct their advertisements under age kids who have no money. The marketing
strategies are so perverse now, they actually encouraged the under age and the “low
income” classification of people, to lie and begin buying things on credit.

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Advertising is a form of communication intended to persuade an audience (viewers, readers or
listeners) to purchase or take some action upon products, ideas, or services. It includes the name
of a product or service and how that product or service could benefit the consumer, to persuade a
target market to purchase or to consume that particular brand. These messages are usually paid
for by sponsors and viewed via various media. Advertising can also serve to communicate an
idea to a large number of people in an attempt to convince them to take a certain action.

The "marketing concept" proposes that to complete its organizational objectives, an

organization should anticipate the needs and wants of potential consumers and satisfy them more
effectively than its competitors. This concept originated from Adam Smith's book The Wealth of
Nations but would not become widely used until nearly 200 years later. Marketing and
Marketing Concepts are directly related.

Given the centrality of customer needs, and wants in marketing, a rich understanding of these
concepts is essential

 Needs: Something necessary for people to live a healthy, stable and safe life. When needs
remain unfulfilled, there is a clear adverse outcome a dysfunction or death. Needs can be
objective and physical, such as the need for food, water, and shelter; or subjective and
psychological, such as the need to belong to a family or social group and the need for
self-esteem.
 Wants: Something that is desired, wished for or aspired to. Wants are not essential for
basic survival and are often shaped by culture or peer-groups.
 Demands: When needs and wants are backed by the ability to pay, they have the
potential to become economic demands.

Marketing research, conducted for the purpose of new product development or product
improvement, is often concerned with identifying the consumer's unmet needs. Customer needs
are central to market segmentation which is concerned with dividing markets into distinct groups
of buyers on the basis of "distinct needs, characteristics, or behaviors who might require separate
products or marketing mixes." Needs-based segmentation (also known as benefit segmentation)
"places the customers' desires at the forefront of how a company designs and markets products or
services." Although needs-based segmentation is difficult to do in practice, it has been proved to
be one of the most effective ways to segment a market. In addition, a great deal of advertising

33
and promotion is designed to show how a given product's benefits meet the customer's needs,
wants or expectations in a unique way.

B2B and B2C marketing

The two major segments of marketing are business-to-business (B2B) marketing and business-
to-consumer (B2C) marketing.

B2B marketing

B2B (business-to-business) marketing refers to any marketing strategy or content that is geared
towards a business or organization. Any company that sells products or services to other
businesses or organizations (vs. consumers) typically uses B2B marketing strategies.

Examples of products sold through B2B marketing include:

 Major equipment
 Accessory equipment
 Raw materials
 Component parts
 Processed materials
 Supplies
 Venues
 Business services

The four major categories of B2B product purchasers are:

 Producers - use products sold by B2B marketing to make their own goods (e.g.: Mattel
buying plastics to make toys)
 Resellers - buy B2B products to sell through retail or wholesale establishments (e.g.:
Walmart buying vacuums to sell in stores)
 Governments - buy B2B products for use in government projects (e.g.: purchasing
contractor services to repair infrastructure)
 Institutions - use B2B products to continue operation (e.g.: schools buying printers for
office use)

B2C marketing

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Business-to-consumer marketing, or B2C marketing, refers to the tactics and strategies in which
a company promotes its products and services to individual people.

Traditionally, this could refer to individuals shopping for personal products in a broad sense.
More recently the term B2C refers to the online selling of consumer products.

C2B marketing

Consumer-to-business marketing or C2B marketing is a business model where the end

consumers create products and services which are consumed by businesses and organizations. It
is diametrically opposed to the popular concept of B2C or Business- to- Consumer where the
companies make goods and services available to the end consumers. In this type of business
model, businesses profit from consumers' willingness to name their own price or contribute data
or marketing to the company, while consumers benefit from flexibility, direct payment, or free or
reduced-price products and services. One of the major benefit of this type of business model is
that it offers a company a competitive advantage in the market.

C2C marketing

Customer to customer marketing or C2C marketing represents a market environment where one

customer purchases goods from another customer using a third-party business or platform to
facilitate the transaction. C2C companies are a new type of model that has emerged with e-
commerce technology and the sharing economy.

Differences in B2B and B2C marketing

The different goals of B2B and B2C marketing lead to differences in the B2B and B2C markets.
The main differences in these markets are demand, purchasing volume, number of customers,
customer concentration, distribution, buying nature, buying influences, negotiations, reciprocity,
leasing and promotional methods.

 Demand: B2B demand is derived because businesses buy products based on how much
demand there is for the final consumer product. Businesses buy products based on
customer's wants and needs. B2C demand is primarily because customers buy products
based on their own wants and needs.

35
  Purchasing volume: Businesses buy products in large volumes to distribute to
consumers. Consumers buy products in smaller volumes suitable for personal use.
 Number of customers: There are relatively fewer businesses to market to than direct
consumers.
 Customer concentration: Businesses that specialize in a particular market tend to be
geographically concentrated while customers that buy products from these businesses are
not concentrated.
 Distribution: B2B products pass directly from the producer of the product to the
business while B2C products must additionally go through a wholesaler or retailer.
 Buying nature: B2B purchasing is a formal process done by professional buyers and
sellers, while B2C purchasing is informal.
 Buying influences: B2B purchasing is influenced by multiple people in various
departments such as quality control, accounting, and logistics while B2C marketing is
only influenced by the person making the purchase and possibly a few others.
 Negotiations: In B2B marketing, negotiating for lower prices or added benefits is
commonly accepted while in B2C marketing (particularly in Western cultures) prices are
fixed.
 Reciprocity: Businesses tend to buy from businesses they sell to. For example, a
business that sells printer ink is more likely to buy office chairs from a supplier that buys
the business's printer ink. In B2C marketing, this does not occur because consumers are
not also selling products.
 Leasing: Businesses tend to lease expensive items while consumers tend to save up to
buy expensive items.
 Promotional methods: In B2B marketing, the most common promotional method is
personal selling. B2C marketing mostly uses sales promotion, public relations,
advertising, and social media.

Marketing Management Orientations

A marketing orientation has been defined as a "philosophy of business management." or "a

corporate state of mind" or as an "organization [al] culture". Although scholars continue to

36
debate the precise nature of specific concepts that inform marketing practice, the most commonly
cited orientations are as follows:

1. Product concept: mainly concerned with the quality of its product. It has largely been
supplanted by the marketing orientation, except for haute couture and arts marketing.
2. Production concept: specializes in producing as much as possible of a given product or
service in order to achieve economies of scale or economies of scope. It dominated
marketing practice from the 1860s to the 1930s, yet can still be found in some companies
or industries.
3. Selling concept: focuses on the selling/promotion of the firm's existing products, rather
than developing new products to satisfy unmet needs or wants primarily through
promotion and direct sales techniques, largely for "unsought goods" in industrial
companies.
4. Marketing concept: This is the most common concept used in contemporary marketing,
and is a customer-centric approach based on products that suit new consumer tastes.
These firm engage in extensive market research, use R&D (Research & Development),
and then utilize promotion techniques. The marketing orientation includes:
5. Customer orientation: A firm in the market economy can survive by
producing goods that people are willing and able to buy. Consequently,
ascertaining consumer demand is vital for a firm's future viability and even existence as
a going concern.
6. Organizational orientation: The marketing department is of prime importance within
the functional level of an organization. Information from the marketing department is
used to guide the actions of a company's other departments. A marketing department
could ascertain (via marketing research) that consumers desired a new type of product, or
a new usage for an existing product. With this in mind, the marketing department would
inform the R&D department to create a prototype of a product/service based on
consumers' new desires. The production department would then start to manufacture the
product. The finance department may oppose required capital expenditures since it could
undermine a healthy cash flow for the organization.
7. Societal marketing concept: Social responsibility that goes beyond satisfying customers
and providing superior value embraces societal stakeholders such as employees,

37
 customers, and local communities. Companies that adopt this perspective typically
practice triple bottom line reporting and publish financial, social and environmental
impact reports. Sustainable marketing or green marketing is an extension of societal
marketing.

The Marketing Mix

A marketing mix is a foundational tool used to guide decision making in marketing. The
marketing mix represents the basic tools that marketers can use to bring their products or
services to the market. They are the foundation of managerial marketing and the marketing
plan typically devotes a section to the marketing mix.

The 4Ps

The traditional marketing mix refers to four broad levels of marketing decision,
namely: product, price, promotion, and place.

One version of the marketing mix is the 4Ps method.

 Outline Product

The product aspects of marketing deal with the specifications of the actual goods or services, and
how it relates to the end-user's needs and wants. The product element consists of product design,
new product innovation, branding, packaging, labeling. The scope of a product generally
includes supporting elements such as warranties, guarantees, and support. Branding, a key aspect

38
of the product management, refers to the various methods of communicating a brand identity for
the product, brand, or company.

 Pricing

This refers to the process of setting a price for a product, including discounts. The price need not
be monetary; it can simply be what is exchanged for the product or services, e.g. time, energy, or
attention or any sacrifices consumers make in order to acquire a product or service. The price is
the cost that a consumer pays for a product—monetary or not. Methods of setting prices are in
the domain of pricing science.

 Place (or distribution)

This refers to how the product gets to the customer; the distribution channels and intermediaries
such as wholesalers and retailers who enable customers to access products or services in a
convenient manner. This third P has also sometimes been called Place or Placement, referring to
the channel by which a product or service is sold (e.g. online vs. retail), which geographic region
or industry, to which segment (young adults, families, business people), etc. also referring to
how the environment in which the product is sold in can affect sales.

 Promotion

This includes all aspects of marketing communications: advertising, sales promotion,

including promotional education, public relations, personal selling, product placement, branded
entertainment, event marketing, trade shows, and exhibitions. This fourth P is focused on
providing a message to get a response from consumers. The message is designed to persuade or
tell a story to create awareness.

Criticisms

One of the limitations of the 4Ps approach is its emphasis on an inside-out view. An inside-
out approach is the traditional planning approach where the organization identifies its desired
goals and objectives, which are often based around what has always been done. Marketing's task
then becomes one of "selling" the organization's products and messages to the "outside" or
external stakeholders. In contrast, an outside-in approach first seeks to understand the needs and
wants of the consumer.

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From a model-building perspective, the 4 Ps has attracted a number of criticisms. Well-designed
models should exhibit clearly defined categories that are mutually exclusive, with no overlap.
Yet, the 4 Ps model has extensive overlapping problems. Several authors stress the hybrid nature
of the fourth P, mentioning the presence of two important dimensions, "communication" (general
and informative communications such as public relations and corporate communications) and
"promotion" (persuasive communications such as advertising and direct selling). Certain
marketing activities, such as personal selling, may be classified as either promotion or as part of
the place (i.e., distribution) element. Some pricing tactics, such as promotional pricing, can be
classified as price variables or promotional variables and, therefore, also exhibit some overlap.

Other important criticisms include that the marketing mix lacks a strategic framework and is,
therefore, unfit to be a planning instrument, particularly when uncontrollable, external elements
are an important aspect of the marketing environment.

The 4Cs

In response to environmental and technological changes in marketing, as well as criticisms

towards the 4Ps approach, the 4Cs has emerged as a modern marketing mix model.

1. Consumer (or client)

The consumer refers to the person or group that will acquire the product. This aspect of the
model focuses on fulfilling the wants or needs of the consumer.

2. Cost

Cost refers to what is exchanged in return for the product. Cost mainly consists of the monetary
value of the product. Cost also refers to anything else the consumer must sacrifice to attain the
product, such as time or money spent on transportation to acquire the product.

3. Convenience

Like "Place" in the 4Ps model, convenience refers to where the product will be sold. This,
however, not only refers to physical stores but also whether the product is available in person or
online. The convenience aspect emphasizes making it as easy as possible for the consumer to
attain the product, thus making them more likely to do so.

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 4. Communication

Like "Promotion" in the 4Ps model, communication refers to how consumers find out about a
product. Unlike promotion, communication not only refers to the one-way communication of
advertising, but also the two-way communication available through social media.

Promotional mix

The promotional mix outlines how a company will market its product. It consists of five tools:
personal selling, sales promotion, public relations, advertising and social media

Personal selling involves a presentation given by a salesperson to an individual or a group of

potential customers. It enables two-way communication and relationship building, and is most
commonly seen in business-to-business marketing but can also be found in business-to-consumer
marketing (e.g.: selling cars at a dealership).

Sales promotion involves short-term incentives to encourage the buying of products. Examples

of these incentives include free samples, contests, premiums, trade shows, giveaways, coupons,
sweepstakes and games. Depending on the incentive, one or more of the other elements of the
promotional mix may be used in conjunction with sales promotion to inform customers of the
incentives.

Public relations is the use of media tools to promote and monitor for a positive view of a
company or product in the public's eye. The goal is to either sustain a positive opinion or lessen
or change a negative opinion. It can include interviews, speeches/presentations, corporate
literature, social media, news releases and special events.

Advertising occurs when a firm directly pays a media channel, directly via an in-house agency or
via an advertising agency or media buying service, to publicize its product, service or message.
Common examples of advertising media include:

 TV
 Radio
 Magazines
 Online
 Billboards

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  Event sponsorship
 Direct mail
 Transit ads

Every brand should embrace social media since it increases exposure for the website of the
company and draws visitors from search engines. Additionally, this online presence might
increase the number of consumers who consistently follow the various promotions. Popular
social media marketing platforms are used by businesses to interact with potential clients or
customers and establish credibility within the sector. More than 80% of micro brands (local
businesses) are now using websites like Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn to improve their online
presence, according to a recent research. Three popular social media marketing platforms will be
briefly discussed in this section.

1. Facebook – In addition to groups, fan pages, applications, Facebook Messenger, and

Facebook Connect, Facebook offers a wide range of alternatives for brands. Create a
group that is linked to your concept in order to find potential clients on groups. The
wonderful thing about groups is that, like an email list, the administrator can send
messages to the whole group. Similar to Facebook groups, fan pages usually bear the
brand name of the company. With fan pages, businesses can upload videos, blog posts,
and messages from fans on the wall. Fan pages have the unique ability that fans can
suggest the page to their whole friend list at once. This is in contrast to practically every
other Facebook function, which limits a user's ability to invite 20 friends each day. When
thinking about marketing on the Facebook app, marketers should keep in mind that the
majority of Facebook users prefer games or quizzes over other sorts of applications. The
best app would be created if you could incorporate your good or service into a multi-level
game with rewards for players who bring in new players.

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2. Twitter – Twitter is a microblogging site that enables businesses to communicate with
their followers, clients, and potential consumers informally. One of the easiest methods to
locate possibilities on Twitter is to follow them. Once they have a following, marketers
can manually post links to their website on Twitter or use a service like Twitter Feed to
feed their blog page into Twitter. For every connection to a brand's website, the majority
of seasoned Twitter marketers think it's important to publish four links to other
worthwhile sites, making 20% self-promotion the ideal amount on this social media
platform. Brands may use Twitter to market their goods and services in the best way
possible with the assistance of reputable digital agencies. This social networking site's
primary purpose is to announce sales, new products, and events. The tools accessible to
marketers and advertisers using Twitter are getting incredibly complex due to ongoing
evolution and technology advancements. Like other well-known platforms, Twitter
requires more integrated thinking that considers leveraging rather than a set of particular
strategies. Therefore, the difficulty is to consider how to incorporate Twitter as a
component of larger social media initiatives and online marketing. To sum up, content
marketers use Twitter as a foundation for connecting as a full-fledged marketing
platform.

3. LinkedIn - Businesses utilize LinkedIn to communicate with other members of their

target industry. They can join groups relating to their sector and receive pertinent advice
from other experts in the same field. The largest corporate networking website today,
LinkedIn offers both free and premium accounts. Features that are geared toward more
experienced users are included with the premium account. The free account is accessible
for new brands to use in order to get started on LinkedIn. Connecting with people around
the world has never been easier for brands according to LinkedIn. Brands can now

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 employ the services of social media marketing agencies in India and around the world to
market their goods and services to a huge audience of potential customers. These experts
in their industry are equipped with the necessary expertise to create effective marketing
tactics. Without a question, using social media marketing services in India is the most
cutting-edge technique to promote a brand or presence in the marketplace. One of the
best examples of a social network with a wealth of data on potential new employees,
clients, and rivals is LinkedIn. It has now developed into a useful resource for sales and
marketing in terms of prospecting and lead creation data.

4. Instagram - Instagram, a social networking service for sharing photographs and videos,
is owned by Facebook, Inc. Mike Krieger and Kevin Systrom created it, and it premiered
in October 2010 only for iOS. According to studies, visual content platforms such as
Instagram will continue to grow in popularity on social media in the future. This graphic
social networking channel has grown significantly since its inception. Brands must be
aware of how their target audiences use Instagram in various ways. People are now using
this site to create virtual wish lists for products and a wide range of promotional methods,
rather than just watching photographs and shooting selfies, according to surveys. This
presents a critical opportunity for firms looking to harness social media marketing.
Brands should be aware that Instagram followers are more engaged than social media
audiences on other channels. This channel generates greater engagement percentages for
brands than both Facebook and Twitter. Brands with a presence on other social media
channels should also have a presence on Instagram. To be successful on Instagram,
marketers must be thoroughly aware of the numerous characteristics of the channel as
well as its consumers.

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Identify Social Media Sites that Appeal to the Target Audience

Many brands discover that a specific content style appeals to their target demographic and
explains their products or services more effectively. If there is a clear relationship between a
brand's products and services and a specific content format, it is a good practice to focus on
establishing a stronger connection. In this environment, if the items or services require more
visual explanation, marketers must be adept at making highly compelling videos. As a result,
social media channels such as YouTube or Daily Motion are obvious places for the company to
spend. Brands are always interacting with their online audiences, and these conversations
disclose important information. According to surveys, many prospects and existing customers
utilize business networking sites like LinkedIn to receive industry-relevant suggestions or even
spend a significant amount of time on Facebook to get likes. These valuable insights can fill
important gaps that analytics and market research may overlook in the context of integrating
content with the needs of the online audience.
With drastic changes in the media environment on social networks, new mediums appear on a
seemingly daily basis. Not only that, but current platforms are increasing their offerings and
capability via fresh acquisitions and quick development. Thus, in the previous several years,
there has been an amazing change in social media and content marketing. The debate over
content types and social marketing has progressed from how to distribute your material across
many platforms to how to match the platform to the content for maximum reach. A nice example
to simplify this subject is the 'hashtag,' which was previously a primary function of Twitter but is
now available on the vast majority of significant networks. Let us establish an understanding of

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how to make a link between the material and Social Media sites that appeal to target audiences
online in the part below.

1. Facebook: Facebook is the largest and most prominent worldwide trending Social Media
Site, and it is currently at the top of most Marketers' to-do list. Marketers can thus utilize
it to reach prospects in every extant industry sector, and it has long surpassed one billion
total users worldwide. The basis for success on Facebook is that if a company has a broad
demographic, they should be able to efficiently reach the appropriate prospects. As a
result, brands on Facebook can increase awareness for their company and build a
community around it. This is done regardless of the industry in which they operate.

2. LinkedIn: LinkedIn is widely recognized as the most popular global site for business
networking. Few brands realize it may also be a terrific tool to learn about their industry.
Several brands use LinkedIn to exchange critical information with people in the same
target industry online. This platform's 'groups' function allows users who represent those
brands to join groups pertaining to their industry. LinkedIn has significantly increased the
reach of internet brands. Brands can engage Social Media Marketing services all around
the world to market their products and services to a big number of consumers. Millions of
professionals who are authorities in their fields and possess the necessary knowledge to
develop effective marketing strategies are members of LinkedIn. Without a question,
using social media marketing services in India is the most cutting-edge technique to
promote a brand or presence in the marketplace. Discussions in LinkedIn groups can
offer perspectives on issues that are not available elsewhere. You can compile a list of
frequently asked queries and come up with new content marketing concepts by keeping
up with these groups. LinkedIn's content, which takes the form of recommendations from
other experts in the same sector, includes testimonials, case studies, and stories.

3. Twitter: Another magnificent platform that has a large global following among young
people is Twitter. It is still underutilized in the Indian context and belongs to celebrities
who tweet to their fans. With more than 500 million users, Twitter too has a sizable user
base. Consequently, Twitter is a fantastic spot for brands to start their campaign and

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 utilize this microblogging network. Similar to Facebook, Twitter also has a gender ratio
that is largely balanced, making it convenient for firms to advertise their goods and
services as well as tweet succinct client testimonials. According to a recent survey,
people who use Twitter have admitted to purchasing electronic or computer products
after reading reviews or testimonies there. It has practically become essential to learn
about the brand, product, or service and compare it with the equivalent of competing
brands before considering purchasing it in today's world when consumers trust other
people more than any brand or company for any online purchase. While doing so,
prospective customers converse with friends, conduct searches on Twitter, and read
reviews from people who have previously used the brand, product, or service, in addition
to using the other channels.

Strategies to Enhance Social Media Marketing for Businesses

A recent analysis describes the best ways for online firms to leverage each network to
communicate with potential and current customers. Making the most of the social media
presence requires a thorough awareness of the various sorts of material. The engagement on the
chosen platforms will be at its highest level as a result. It's also crucial to consider the network's
and the audience's culture. For instance, international firms must adjust their products to suit
Indian preferences. In order to understand what works for each channel, brands need to carefully
investigate companies that have had considerable success with their social media initiatives.

1. Strategy of Simplicity and Effectiveness: The best way to attract internet audiences is
not through overly complicated or elaborate websites or adverts, as is commonly
believed. Experienced social media marketers understand the value of streamlining the
design process. This entails being aware of and communicating only the information that
online audiences require while minimizing unnecessary complexity. In essence, research
shows that businesses with an easy-to-use interface are more likely to turn prospects into
consumers. Thus, simplicity and durability are the keys to modern content marketing.
Online brands are learning that providing more information and complexity is not as

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 effective as it once was as social media has matured over time. In order to maintain the
content basic and clutter-free, brands must plan strategically and have a long-term view.
2. Brands must use the Power of Questions: Brands must use the tactic of questioning
current customers to gain a clear understanding of the goods or services they are buying
on social media. By using this method, brands can learn a lot about the online behaviour
and purchasing habits of their customers. Future strategic initiatives to improve online
conversions through social media will be influenced by this.
3. Categories Affect Purchases on Social Media Channels: Online audiences favor some
Social Media Channels over others when making purchases. An important conclusion
from a recent online study on social media is this. According to the results of this study,
37% of Twitter users and 28% of Facebook users said they had bought online devices as
a result of suggestions they had seen on these particular social networks. The same
survey reveals that sales of art and craft products did not do well on these internet
channels. Only 15% of Twitter and Facebook users indicated that they had recently made
purchases in those categories.
4. Differing in Conversion Rates on Different Channels: This is a tactic that all online
businesses need to be aware of because it shows which social networking sites have the
best conversion rates. For instance, a YouTube video that becomes "Viral" can result in
far more conversions for the product or services than an article published on a blog.
Because of this, not all social commerce platforms are made equal. This is true even if
businesses abide by recommendations for best practices for customized content and
culture.

The appropriate channel selection can make a significant difference in a brand's ability to
succeed on social media or fail. The brands should determine the most well-liked social media
channel and post some content on it, according to a suitable approach. Therefore, cross-
promoting each account or profile is a smart move. For instance, it is a good idea to link to the
company's Twitter and Facebook pages from their website. Additionally, they can add a link to
the company blog on the brand's Twitter page and import the blog into the Facebook fan page. In
this way, if someone sees your business on one medium, they may simply locate it on the others
as well. It's crucial for brands to understand that they always have more resources than they

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anticipate when using social media. The brand may repurpose the same material in several ways
if it does not have the time to produce fresh content. For instance, if the company has excellent
blog pieces, they may choose one of them and transform it into a 140-character advice that can
be shared on Twitter. They could upload images of their product to Facebook or Instagram if
they don't have a blog. Brands can carefully utilize the abilities of their staff members who are
tasked with using the well-known Social Media Channel and industry trends. Marketers may
rapidly make a blog post or broadcast the most recent links or news by watching them as videos
on YouTube.

The real-time nature of popular social media channels is helping many firms engender a sense of
urgency among their current and potential customers. Clothing companies have started
promoting their products on Facebook and Twitter in real-time. Viral marketing strategies that
take advantage of consumers' propensity to share interesting or amusing material can be
profitable for even tiny businesses. In order to better collaborate across time zones and locales,
brands must start utilizing a number of popular social media channels, including social networks,
blogs, and video-based channels. Brands frequently need to use well-known social media
channels to convey knowledge, for instance through company-specific blogs. They also need to
give tools that let employees search the entire intranet's material from a single location. Brands
must become more imaginative and nimble in order to fully exploit social media. Therefore,
successful social media platforms offer the chance for far larger audience and brand integration
and interaction.

Essential Elements of well-known Social Networking Sites

Currently, online users spend more time on social networking sites like Facebook, Instagram,
and YouTube than they do on e-mail. As a result, these social networking sites, business
networking sites, photo sharing sites, and video sharing sites have all gained popularity with
internet users. Because these technologies have had such a profound impact on users' lives, it is
quite difficult to comprehend that they were barely even a thought less than fifteen years ago.
The climate for firms conducting online business has drastically changed with the introduction of
Social and Media Networking on the World Wide Web and the Internet. The increasing ability of

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marketers to transform all forms of communication into digital media has improved the flow and
utility of information while also creating effective, affordable ways to link firms and their
customers. Consumers have access to a wider range of items and more knowledge about options
and quality, while brands have the information they need to make more educated decisions. The
majority of experts predict that social networking will soon rule digital communication as it
continues to develop as a medium.

As a result, social media has developed into a potent tool that brands are employing to connect
and communicate with audiences around the world. Brands have a variety of chances to connect
and engage with their existing consumers and prospects through their own social media accounts
thanks to the existence of well-known social media platforms. The most well-known social
networking platforms on the internet include the capabilities listed below, along with how each
one can help businesses doing online marketing:

Facebook
 Facebook is a low-cost marketing strategy.
 Share basic information about your business.
 Share photos and videos of your business.
 Talk to existing and potential customers.
 Raise brand awareness and promote word of mouth.
 Target advertising/Insights.
 Offer Deals.

LinkedIn
 Find business partners, clients and service providers.
 Get advice from industry experts.
 Add your website or blog for increased exposure.
 “Recommendations” increase your credibility.
 “Profile” makes for better SEO opportunities.
 Join groups with like-minded people.

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Twitter
 Monitor real-time conversations.
 Extend customer service.
 Offer helpful links and headlines.
 Break through communication barriers with tweets.
 Run special deals and promotions.
 Build your personal brand.
 Keep up on news and trends.

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 METHODOLOGY

Marketing on LinkedIn

LinkedIn is a business- and employment-focused service that may be accessed via mobile apps
and websites. It is mostly used for professional networking, with both employers and job seekers
submitting job listings and resumes. In 200 countries as of the beginning of 2018, LinkedIn has
more than 500 million users, of which more than 106 million were active users. In an online
social network called LinkedIn, users can create profiles and "connections" with one another that
could be interpreted as actual professional connections. This applies to both employees and
employers. Any person, whether they are a member already or not, can accept an invitation to
connect. Building confidence among the service's members is the goal of the "gated access
strategy," in which contacting any professional necessitates either an existing connection or an
introduction through a contact of theirs. The utilization of this social media platform by brands is
advantageous because it enables consumers to study different companies they might be interested
in collaborating with. When a specific company's name is entered in the search box, information
about the brand's presence on this channel is displayed. The location of the company's
headquarters and offices, a list of current and previous employees, the gender split among the
workforce, and the prevalence of the most popular job titles and roles inside the organization are
a few examples.

LinkedIn provides the best social proof for brands considering using this social media channel on
the profile page in the form of endorsements and recommendations. This platform provides smart
marketing experts with an excellent opportunity to highlight their capacity to add business pages
with featured products. Additionally, intriguing are its enormous target audience creation
capabilities and outstanding search engine friendliness. By creating a well-designed profile,

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brands may increase engagement. People that represent brands can create groups to take
advantage of the big user base that interacts there and utilize LinkedIn as a potent tool for
generating leads. The benefit of using this channel is that brand marketers can expand their
network of contacts and expand their brand with very little effort and financial expenditure.

A. LINKEDIN GROUPS

The most effective way to interact with online audiences on this business networking platform is
through LinkedIn Groups. Thus, this is the most effective method for building an active
community on LinkedIn. LinkedIn Groups offer a space for professionals in the same field or
with related interests to share content, look for solutions, post and view jobs, create relationships
in the business world, and position themselves as subject matter experts. Using the search bar at
the top of the homepage or browsing the suggested groups, marketers can identify groups in their
specific industry to join. It is possible to start new groups that are narrowly focused on a certain
subject or sector. Both the mobile app and the LinkedIn website offer access to groups. To
connect with other group members, group members can send them a free message. On the
Conversations page, they can also start or join conversations and view the most recent ones.

Starting a Conversation in Groups

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Featuring a Group Conversation

A conversation can be highlighted if you are the group owner, manager, or moderator by
choosing Feature from the available options present within the conversation. Until a new item is
selected, the highlighted conversation will be displayed at the top of the feed.
To feature a conversation:

1. Navigate to your LinkedIn Group homepage.

2. Click on the ... More icon located on the top right corner of the conversation.
3. Click Feature.

To un-feature a conversation:

1. Navigate to your LinkedIn Group homepage.

2. Click on the ... More icon located on the top right corner of the conversation.
3. Click Un-feature.

If you’re a group member, you can always contact your group owner or manager and request that
they feature your conversation.

Active discussion and offering value to the group members must be prioritized if "Groups" are to
increase participation. Instead of positioning themselves as salespeople intent on getting the next
lead, businesses should position themselves as knowledgeable and trustworthy colleagues. By
participating in groups, brands may enhance their visibility while also fostering personal
connections. The size of the group, the number of new connections, the number of debates, and
the calibre of online chats are all important aspects to take into account when interacting through
"Groups."

B. SPONSORED CONTENT FROM LINKEDIN DIRECT

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Current users of the LinkedIn platform and brands using this channel for marketing frequently
use this capability. Direct Sponsored Content, a type of sponsored update, is used to deliver
online content directly in the form of a feed. Brands now have the ability to test and customize
content on the LinkedIn Page thanks to this tool. Because messages are sent specifically to target
audiences, the information is more relevant. To improve speed, this function can be creatively
used to test and retest a range of content in real-time. Sharing insights that businesspeople are
looking for makes it simple to produce excellent leads when this feature is used properly. Brands
may track the way their content is being shared by LinkedIn users. Brands must provide links to
gated (particular community) content or their landing page with a lead form in order to increase
the effectiveness of this procedure.

The practice of developing relationships with a wide range of experts by establishing trust and
providing value results in deeper customer relationships and increasing online engagement,
which can be utilized to develop thought leadership for businesses. Direct Sponsored Content not
only develops thought leadership but also vital brand exposure. Thus, this attribute aids in
forming a favorable impression in the minds of the target market and raising awareness of the
brand and its goods and services.

C. COMPANY LINKEDIN & SHOWCASE PAGES

LinkedIn has introduced the 'Company Pages' function to assist businesses generate engagement.
By highlighting pertinent material, this feature enables brands to communicate with prospects
and strengthen bonds with current clients. Brands may share Sponsored Content and Company
Updates with LinkedIn members via the Company Page. Members can follow the facets of the
company that are pertinent to them thanks to this function, which also aids in the development of
long-lasting partnerships.
“Showcase Pages” and Company Pages have similar functions, but the former emphasizes
particular company divisions, products, or brand-related efforts and displays these details.

Brands all over the world are noticing a rise in audience engagement thanks to the deployment of
specific Showcase Pages. As a result, this feature serves as an addition to the company page for

55
the brand. The Showcase Pages are intended to highlight a company, a particular item, or an
endeavor. With the help of this tool, brands may develop a page for key aspects of their
operations that they can share with key audience segments. In summary, Showcase Pages are
designed to foster relationships with LinkedIn members and disseminate certain material to a
specified audience.

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 D. SPONSORED INMAIL

An improved version of InMail is sent to people on this channel in this format for marketing.
With the help of this functionality, businesses may target specific audiences with customized
communications within the LinkedIn channel. The InMail functionality can be used in place of
or in addition to traditional email campaigns since they are now outdated and have reached a
saturation point. Let's look at some of the key methods that Sponsored InMail messages will use
to boost online audiences' engagement.

1. Cater Your Message to Your Core Audience: Just as with email, you should segment
and target your message for InMail. There are various phases involved in creating the
ideal message for your target audience. You automatically boost your possibility of user

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 engagement with InMail ads because the message is only sent to individuals who are
currently logged in to the platform, whether through the desktop or mobile apps. This
means that your InMail message will be delivered immediately and won't be filtered out
as spam or lost in a sea of unread emails, two issues that plague traditional email
marketing. However, having an engaged audience is only half the battle. After sending
the email, you still need to persuade the recipient to read it and respond.
2. LinkedIn Sponsored InMail Marketing Strategies: Brands should be aware that
Sponsored InMail is a terrific way to share content offers with your target market. InMail
helps brands generate leads in a significant way. This function broadens reach by making
marketing materials accessible to the target market in one of the ways listed below:
a. Using Sponsored InMail to run promotions: Sponsored InMail campaigns can
be especially designed to engage online audiences by providing them with the
most recent information. By choosing only a specified target demographic to hear
the message, brands can extend an invitation to audiences to learn. This
uniqueness will make the offer appear more engaging, provide quick conversions,
and entice more inquiries. Additionally, they have the option of using promotions
like discounts or one-time deals.
b. By inviting them to webinars and events, brands may connect with their
target prospects and current clients: Brands can take advantage of the chance
to engage audiences through live events or an online webinar. As a result,
campaigns launched using the Sponsored InMail function are a fantastic method
to connect with new audiences and build brand awareness. Additionally, this
function helps to convey a clear marketing message, generate enthusiasm, and
inform the receiver of the benefits of the event. Here are some other tactics that
brands might take into consideration in addition to the ones mentioned above:
 Online networking to boost participation.
 Makes the offer to reward devoted customers.
 Brand awareness education for the target market.
 Announcements regarding certification enrollment.

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Why Does Your Business Need LinkedIn?

In the modern corporate world, partnerships are more important than ever. People ignore
promotional or unnecessary messages. However, people do want to interact with businesses
who share pertinent and useful content. Companies that educate and engage consumers aren't
only making sales; they're also fostering relationships.

The vast majority of professionals congregate on LinkedIn to remain in touch and informed,
progress their careers, and do their jobs more effectively. On LinkedIn, there are more than
467 million professionals. The individuals you want to target are all here: the decision-
makers, influencers, and leaders of today and tomorrow. According to LinkedIn:

 61 million senior-level influencers

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  40 million decision makers
 10.7 million opinion leaders
 6.8 million C-level execs
 3 million MBA graduates

Professionals are using LinkedIn in massive numbers, but they also have a very specific goal
in mind. They are visiting particularly to engage with high-quality content across the
LinkedIn platform in order to connect to networks, brands, and opportunities. Compared to
other social media platforms, we have a fundamentally distinct mindset and purpose since we
are motivated by the objectives of our members in the workplace. Professionals from around
the world visit LinkedIn for

 Industry news
 Expert advice
 Career training
 Peer insights and recommendations
 Content published by LinkedIn’s 500+ Influencers

With the help of LinkedIn, intelligent marketers may establish connections with these
professionals. In fact, this is the first time in media history that you may interact with experts
from around the world in one location. It's understandable why marketers have swiftly adopted
LinkedIn as their preferred medium for publishing content.

Why are professionals from all around the world converging on LinkedIn? Because you want to
market to people who are similar to us. There are really fewer locations where we are
congregating in huge numbers, despite the fact that we are all looking for the best locations to
find the information. With LinkedIn, you may professionally connect with a great audience.
Additionally, you may interact with them in a profound way by providing them with useful
content and services designed specifically for businesspeople. By doing this, you participate in
the platform's conversations and educational efforts on behalf of your audience.

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All that is necessary is for a proficient marketer to seize the chance to engage them. What does
the term "sophisticated marketer" mean? Being a savvy marketer is a concept that emerged when
social media marketing evolved from a purely theoretical concept to a practical application.
However, marketers cannot simply "do" social. They must now deliver outcomes and useful
insights in order to demonstrate the efficacy of their work. Thankfully, we are no longer need to
use a spray-and-pray strategy to have our ideas heard in the crowded social media space. The
technology is in place to enable us to use the largest professional network on the planet to adopt
a much more sophisticated approach to social media marketing.

Market to Who Matters: Achieve Your Marketing Goals

Realize that buyers are up to 90% of the way through the purchasing process before they make
direct contact with your sales staff as a skilled marketer. Therefore, it is up to you to draw in and
keep these customers by offering them content that helps them narrow down their alternatives.

That’s where the Linked platform delivers value, by:

1. Targeting Creating awareness of your brand and products early in the purchase
process
2. Engaging Positioning your brand as a thought leader and engaging audiences more
deeply with content as they’re forming perceptions and decisions
3. Optimizing Driving the right audiences to take action, helping you generate quality
leads and new business

Get to the Right Professional Audience with your specific end goal now in mind, our targeting is
the core of what enables your success on LinkedIn. The authentic member-generated, first party
data on LinkedIn is more accurate and highly differentiated in the market noise of audience data.
We make it easy for you to segment and reach your audience by offering:

 Rich demographic data Job Function, Seniority, Company Name, Geo, Industry
 Interest-based targeting Group Membership, Skills, Field of Study
 Persona targeting Job Searchers, Opinion Leaders, Mass Affluent, Business Travelers
 Your own audience data Target Account Lists, External Data Integrations

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Engage Your audience with content Based on your goals and the metrics you’ll use to grade the
success of your programs — and given how members engage on the platform — you can take
advantage of a mix of organic content and paid advertising opportunities.

8 Ways to Tap into the Power of LinkedIn

You can build your brand and content presence through:

1. YOUR COMPANY PAGE

Company Pages have evolved from a nice-to-have to a need-to-have. Through a Company Page,
you can market your business to the LinkedIn community, telling your company’s story and
giving customers and prospects a place to learn about your business, your employees, and your
brand.

2. SHOWCASE PAGES

By using Showcase Pages to create dedicated pages for your more prominent brands, businesses,
and initiatives, you can extend your LinkedIn presence.

3. LONG-FORM POSTS

Using an intuitive blogging tool that seamlessly integrates with your profile on LinkedIn, you
can publish new and previously published content on LinkedIn to quickly grow your audience
and network.

4. CONTENT UPLOADED TO SLIDESHARE

SlideShare is not just a repository for your slide presentations. It’s a social channel where you
can establish your brand as a thought leader and authority around topics and keywords.

5. LINKEDIN SPONSORED CONTENT

Delivering your content directly into the LinkedIn feed, this allows you to capture people’s
attention where they’re most engaged: while consuming information shared with them by their
professional network. Sponsored Content is foundational and arguably LinkedIn’s most versatile
product; you can design your program to serve branding and awareness objectives, along with
direct response and lead-generation goals.

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 6. LINKEDIN SPONSORED INMAIL

The most direct way to engage your prospects on LinkedIn, this is a game changer in terms of
taking email marketing effectiveness to the next level and driving tangible metrics including
leads, cost-per lead, and pipeline. You do that by delivering targeted, personalized messages and
content right into prospective customers’ LinkedIn inboxes.

7. LINKEDIN Text Ads

These are a powerful way to make sure you get on the radar early and build your brand with the
right audiences — in the premium context of the world’s largest professional network.

8. LINKEDIN DYNAMIC ADS

Dynamic Ads (e.g., Follow Company, Spotlight) empower you to accurately target your
audience with highly relevant and customizable creative on LinkedIn.com. Because this
dynamically generated ad format leverages information from LinkedIn member profiles, it is
highly engaging and very effective at driving traffic to your website or Company Page.

Attract More Followers

The more the merrier on the social merry-go-round. Here are some simple, effective strategies
for attracting more followers with your company updates:

 Engage your colleagues. A study by BrightEdge found that 9 of the top 10 brands with
the most followers on LinkedIn have at least 60% of their employees on LinkedIn.
 Cultivate a larger following with a multi-channel approach. Encourage your
teammates to add a link to your Company Page in their email signatures. If needed, ask
your designer for help creating a customized banner or button.

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Follow the 4-1-1 Rule

The 4-1-1 Rule was coined by Tipping Point Labs and Joe Pulizzi of the Content Marketing
Institute. While it was originally created with Twitter in mind, it can successfully be applied to
your company’s content marketing strategy using LinkedIn. The rule states: “For every one self-
serving tweet, you should retweet one relevant tweet and most importantly share four pieces of
relevant content written by others.” It’s basically saying to share the love. Instead of constantly
bombarding your followers with demos, webinars and whitepaper downloads, create a cadence
of helpful insights relevant to your audience. Mix in a bit of industry thought leader content;
news and trends are a great way to build relationships with prospects while keeping current
customers in the know. You’ll authentically engage in conversations, build awareness and
interact with LinkedIn members without giving the impression that you’re a self-centered know-
it-all. It’s all part of moving to the new marketing mindset of “always be helping” instead of the
outdated “always be selling.”

Consistent posting: Create an editorial calendar of updates within your company, and highlight
relevant third-party material. Then share it with company followers. Building a cadence around
the 4-1-1 rule will continually add value for your followers.

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Expand Your Targeted Reach: Paid Advertising on LinkedIn

By combining mass reach with accurate targeting, LinkedIn advertising solutions enable you to:

 Engage your target from among the most affluent, influential, and educated audience on
social media.
 Increase awareness, credibility and impact through the power of social proof.
 Drive traffic and leads to your site. Here are the LinkedIn advertising solutions at your
disposal to help you achieve those results:
 Sponsored Content
 Sponsored InMail
 Programmatic Buying
 Dynamic Ads
 Text Ads

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Dynamic Ads for Personalized Targeting

As a sophisticated marketer, you know that message relevancy is critical to successfully

connecting with target audiences and driving desired actions. And LinkedIn Dynamic Ads makes
it possible to accurately target decision makers and deal influencers with highly relevant,
dynamically generated, customizable creative on LinkedIn.com.

Using Dynamic Ads, you can:

 Target the audiences that matter. Select the audiences you want to reach based on a wide
range of professional targeting options, including company, work experience, groups, and
interests.
 Customize your creative; personalize your message. Craft your ad copy, choose your call
to action, and leverage dynamically generated images from LinkedIn member profiles.
 Grow your company follower count. Encourage LinkedIn members to follow your
company and build better relationships with your target audience with one-click “Follow
Company” calls to action.

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 Case Study - I

7Speaking applies the lessons of smarter lead generation on LinkedIn

First launched in 2001, 7Speaking is one of the major players in the online language learning
market in France. However, a lack of digital marketing investment left the business struggling to
protect its position against new competitors. Investing in generating demand and leads on
LinkedIn helped the brand to dramatically increase its share of voice among a relevant
professional audience, and deliver the pipeline of high-quality leads required for renewed
growth.

The Challenge

 Generate high-quality, relevant professional leads for 7Speaking’s language learning

platform
 Increase the brand’s competitiveness and share of voice following minimal previous
marketing investment
 Increase awareness and engagement

Why LinkedIn?

 Proven B2B content marketing platform

 Powerful targeting options, including account targeting and targeting by function and
company size
 Integration of LinkedIn Lead Gen Forms with their CRM system

The Solution

 Targeting of HR and training functions in large enterprise businesses

 Additional account targeting of high-value opportunities
 Sponsored Content aligning with key industry issues
 Personalized Sponsored InMail addressing specific issues for businesses

Results

 Over 800 marketing qualified leads (MQLs)

 Click-through rate (CTR) of over 3%

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  Over 10,000 views of the 7Speaking landing pages

Case Study - II:

A New Way to Promote a New Indication

In the midst of the pandemic, AstraZeneca marketers were looking for a way to reach oncology
healthcare professionals and promote the groundbreaking approval of a new indication for
TAGRISSO, a targeted therapy for EGFR+ Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer. This in-demand
audience is bombarded with new reports daily, so it was important to break through the noise and
connect with them in a valuable way.

The TAGRISSO marketing team looked for places to reach their target in a professional yet
personal environment. They selected LinkedIn to run a pilot Sponsored Messaging campaign,
and the results exceeded expectations, providing the highest click-through rate (CTR) the
product has seen on any social media platform.

Seeing (the results) is believing

 Open rates 2X higher than LinkedIn benchmarks (50+% compared to 25%)

 Click rates 7X higher than LinkedIn benchmarks (7% compared to 1%)
 25% increase in users viewing all efficacy endpoint information on landing page
compared to other platforms
 84% increase in quality visit rate from LinkedIn compared to other social platforms

“This was the highest CTR that we have seen through any social platform thus far”.

Andrew Lyle Senior Marketing Manager, Non-Personal Digital & Media Strategy

Why it worked: right time & place, right message, right mindset

 Time & Place

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Knowing that LinkedIn members may not use “oncology” specifically in their titles, the
TAGRISSO marketing team was creative in their audience targeting, including both core and
broader, related titles from hematologist to cardiothoracic surgeon.

 Message

The creative was concise, informative, and focused on the new indication announcement rather
than the details of the indication.

 Mindset

LinkedIn members come to the platform with a purposeful mindset, which makes them more
receptive to advertising.

Conclusion

LinkedIn’s high-quality audience and professional environment make it the right place for
branded prescription education for HCPs.

How to use LinkedIn for Business?

The first thing you need to do on LinkedIn is make a page for your business.

Step 1: Create a user account for yourself

To access LinkedIn, you need to create an individual account. This will also be the administrator
of your Company Page (although you can add additional Page managers later). I’d
recommend signing up with your work email address.

Step 2: Create a LinkedIn Company Page

Now create your Page. After you’ve logged in, click on the Work icon at the top right of your
browser. Scroll to the bottom of the menu that pops up and pick Create a Company Page.

Choose the right type of Page from the four available options:

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  Small business
 Medium to large business
 Showcase page
 Educational institution

They’re all self-explanatory except for “Showcase pages.” These are for companies who want to
separate out divisions in their business to each have their own sub-page, but still link them back
to the main corporate Page.

Showcase Pages appear on the main Company Page.

After you select the Page type, start filling in your details. Your logo and tagline will serve as the
first impression most LinkedIn users will have of you, so spend the time necessary to write a
good tagline.

When you’re done, click Create page.

Step 3: Optimize your Page

It’s time to optimize your new Page to get noticed and build your following.

First, scroll down and click the blue Edit Page button.

A few LinkedIn Page optimization tips

 Use translations
Serve a global audience? You can add translations here, so you don’t need to create a separate
Company Page for each region. You can have up to 20 languages on your Page, and it includes
the name, tagline and description fields. 

 Add keywords in your description

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Your LinkedIn Page is indexed by Google, so work in natural-sounding keywords where you can
in the first paragraph of your company description. Keep it to 3-4 paragraphs max about your
vision, values, products and services.

 Add hashtags

Nope, not in your Page copy. You can add up to 3 hashtags to follow.

You can see all posts using these hashtags by going to your Page and clicking Hashtags under
the post editor. This allows you to easily comment, like and share relevant posts right from your
Page.

 Add a branded cover image

Take advantage of this space to bring attention to your latest product launch or other big news.
Keep it on-brand and simple.

And finally: add a custom button

This is the button located next to the Follow one that LinkedIn users will see on your Page. You
can change it to any of these:

 Contact us
 Learn more
 Register
 Sign up
 Visit website

“Visit website” is the default option.

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Step 4: Build your Page following
No one’s going to know your Page exists unless you tell them.

Until you start posting content.

Here are 4 ways to get your new Page some love:

1. Share it

From your main Page, click on Share Page beside the Edit button.

Share your new Page to your personal LinkedIn profile and ask your employees, customers and
friends to give it a follow. It’s an easy first step.

2. Link to it from your website

Add the LinkedIn icon to the rest of your social media icons in your footer, and anywhere else
you link out to social media.

3. Ask employees to update their profiles

This is key for the long-term growth of your Page. When your employees first listed their job
titles on their profiles, you didn’t have a Page. So those titles don’t link anywhere.

Now that your page exists, ask your employees to edit their job descriptions on their LinkedIn
profiles to link them to your new Company Page.

All they have to do is edit that section on their profile, delete the company name and begin
retyping it in the same field. LinkedIn will search for matching page names. Once they click
yours and save the changes, their profile will now link back to your Page.

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This allows their contacts to find and follow you, but it also adds that user as an employee at
your company. Displaying the number of employees, you have can help your company establish
credibility on the platform.

4. Send invitations to follow

From your Page, you can invite your connections to follow it. LinkedIn limits how many invites
you can send out to ensure people don’t spam.

Step 5: Execute your LinkedIn marketing strategy

Creating a Page is the easy part. Keeping it going with content your audience wants is the hard
part — unless you have a plan.

The LinkedIn part of your social media strategy should include answers to:

 What is the goal of your LinkedIn Page? (This may be different from your overall social
media goals.)

 What will you use your Page for? Recruiting? Lead generation? Sharing the super nerdy
industry stuff that doesn’t perform as well on Instagram or Facebook?

 Are you going to advertise? What is your LinkedIn ads budget?

 What are your competitors doing on LinkedIn, and how can you create better content?

Lastly, make a content plan:

 How often will you post?

 What topics will you cover?
 How can you repurpose existing content to use on LinkedIn?
 Are you going to curate content from others?

You can upload your content, schedule it to auto-publish and quickly see everything in either a
weekly or monthly view. At a glance, ensure your posts are evenly balanced across all the goals
and topics you want to cover and easily add new content or rearrange upcoming posts as needed.

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Besides posting your own content, don’t forget to engage with others. Even though it’s for
business, LinkedIn is still a social network.

CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Why LinkedIn Marketing is Important Today Ever Than Before?

Before we talk about LinkedIn Marketing, right at the time of inception of the dot-com bubble,
when Reid Hoffman pitched the idea of LinkedIn venture capitalists in Silicon Valley, he made
sure that his idea was not confused with just another social network. His idea was unique in the
sense that it targeted the professionals in different industries.

People spend years in building connections in their professional life. However, most of them are
lost with the passage of time. Hoffman realized how important was it to preserve the connections
and networks established during work. After all, businesses are not only about what you do; it’s
also about who you know. With the foundation of LinkedIn in 2003, the LinkedIn team was clear
in its approach to first work on the network rather than the product itself. In its first year,
LinkedIn looked something like this.

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Why LinkedIn Marketing in Important?

Because LinkedIn is the biggest professional network on the earth with 500 million users. It
provides you the opportunity to reach out to the most relevant segment of users for your products.

4 out of every 5 LinkedIn subscribers have the ability to influence the decision making of their
companies. That’s huge. It means that you are already dealing with the most prominent targets
and well-segregated target audience based on their business requirements.

LinkedIn is a tool, used by professionals to get the business insights and learn and adapt to the
new solutions to their problems. Keeping that in mind, the chances of reaching your content to the
highly specific audience is huge.

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Different sections of personal and company profile add the reference to the relevance to your
target audience. That is the reason, LinkedIn is the most used Social Media tool for brand
awareness.

Linked Prospect — Linked Prospect allows you to send thousands of automated personalized
messages. You need to have a message that you want to share and the prospects, Linked Prospect
will share your personalized message with the prospects.

LinkedIn itself is a great tool in reaching out to a number of industry leaders and decision
makers. With the paid services of LinkedIn, you can share your message with a network spanning
over 450 million of its users.

LinkedIn is an important tool at present in establishing your presence in the market. Reaching out
to the most suitable targets for your products is relatively easy today. The most fundamental of
these efforts are providing relevant content with decent frequency. You should also look forward
to sharing the others’ content as well, which adds value to the readers. That, in turn, will increase
your credibility in your readers and the chances of your content being shared go high.

LinkedIn is an excellent platform that offers the best lead generation and B2B online interaction.
With an effective online marketing strategy, you can boost your conversion rates and evolve your
business into a renowned brand. Although Facebook is still the biggest social media platform,

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LinkedIn is the most successful social media site for a business, in terms of networking and
finding new talent. And it is highly recommended a company no matter how big or small create a
LinkedIn company page and keep updated.
Nowadays, a LinkedIn recommendation has a higher value than individual
recommendation letters as the platform is very relevant, and people tend to use it as an open
resume.

A well written LinkedIn profile shows transparency. It shows that the profile owner cares about
their reputation on the platform and if you use the recommendation feature, your profile value can
increase even more.

Let’s go over a few key points we talked about:

 Send recommendations to people who are likely to reply to you

 Go over the recipient’s profile to get an insight about what you could write about their
skills
 Make it professional and address strong characteristics
 Use a powerful statement to finish the recommendation
 Be personal and add a real situation, if possible

Remember that people who receive recommendations are more likely to return the act, so choose
wisely and create the best LinkedIn recommendations possible. This will increase your credibility.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Books:

Social Media Marketing by Prof. Chinmay Kamat

The Digital Marketing Handbook

Wikipedia …. Digital Marketing ... (Online)

Wikipedia …Marketing Mix (Online)

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Site referred:

https://business.linkedin.com/

https://blog.hootsuite.com/linkedin-for-business/

https://cdn2.hubspot.net/hubfs/92872/MarginMedia-Beginners-Guide-to-LinkedIn-
Marketing.pdf

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