Over the years, social media has become one of the most convenient platforms that enable people to get in touch others instantly.
These sites are also becoming a favoured business platform these days. Be it big business ventures or small entrepreneurial ones, every firm is on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook or some other virtual space.
How successful are businesses that begin from creating a Facebook page or posting pictures on Instagram? Daanish Suhail, vice president (Marketing), Playo (a sports-based venture), says this depends on the marketplace. If it is a consumer-oriented app, it makes more sense to have a social media page for a wider reach.
"A few years ago, new ventures that wanted to promote themselves put out Google ads. However, social media like Facebook is better than Google. As everyone is on Facebook today, it offers a better target audience rather than investing large amount in hoardings and the like," says Daanish.
These platforms, he says, help new entrepreneurial ventures reach out to specific target groups. He further points out that Indian entrepreneurs generally don't set aside a huge budget for marketing, so they end up moving to a cheaper market.
"Facebook and Instagram are good spaces for any sort of businesses. Though Twitter is not being used extensively for business in India, it will soon gain similar popularity," he speculates.
Talking about Playo, he says, Facebook has definitely given the business the opportunity to reach out to people The platform allows one to be creative, fun and connect easily with one's target audience.
But there are two sides to the coin and the same is true of social media; these benefits come with disadvantages. Daanish says, "Everyone is doing the same thing, and it's hard to be different. Moreover, there are times when people write unnecessary comments, so we don't really have control over what people are saying about the brand."Starting a business using social media has become a trend, perhaps because of its feasibility and convenience. Arun Rafi, the founder of the startup 'Open Out', says, "We are currently running the venture through social media. Today, you can host anything on this platform, including buying and selling of tickets. It has made it extremely easy for any infant venture to kick off operations."
He continues, "In a venture like ours, where we don't allow anyone and everyone to buy a ticket, Facebook has come as a blessing. We can go through people's social media profiles and check for details. It acts as a filter of sorts," he adds.
According to him, the real challenge seeps in when a business becomes bigger. Constant efforts need to be put in to promote one's business, like frequently updating the page; this can be compared to the effective word-of-mouth form of communication.
So what is a more convenient way of marketing a brand — social media or the traditional way of advertising?
"It definitely has to be social media for me; a startup can't afford conventional methods of promoting itself — through radio, print or television. So social media comes in handy to such ventures and their entrepreneurs. The biggest advantage of social media is that it helps one to target a specific audience. For example, if I am organising an event related to food tomorrow, I can reach out to the various foodies groups on Facebook or on Instagram."
For Prabha Rajkumar, who owns 'Bluemadegreen' (that caters to upcycled products) and works from home, says social media helps her connect to people faster. She exhibits her creations on her social media page and gets feedback. She says, "I work through a Facebook page and have got very valuable responses from people. For a home-based business like mine, social media is a great platform to get in touch with like-minded people and also learn a lot from them."
She started her business through Facebook and she finds this very effective way of promoting her products. It also makes it easy for people to share posts from her page.
"If someone likes my page, they might talk about it to others, helping me spread the word. And I always take feedback positively," adds Prabha.
![]( "convenient Social media has become a blessing to new ventures that want to promote themselves.")
Over the years, social media has become one of the most convenient platforms that enable people to get in touch others instantly.
These sites are also becoming a favoured business platform these days. Be it big business ventures or small entrepreneurial ones, every firm is on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook or some other virtual space.
How successful are businesses that begin from creating a Facebook page or posting pictures on Instagram? Daanish Suhail, vice president (Marketing), Playo (a sports-based venture), says this depends on the marketplace. If it is a consumer-oriented app, it makes more sense to have a social media page for a wider reach.
"A few years ago, new ventures that wanted to promote themselves put out Google ads. However, social media like Facebook is better than Google. As everyone is on Facebook today, it offers a better target audience rather than investing large amount in hoardings and the like,” says Daanish.
These platforms, he says, help new entrepreneurial ventures reach out to specific target groups. He further points out that Indian entrepreneurs generally don’t set aside a huge budget for marketing, so they end up moving to a cheaper market.
"Facebook and Instagram are good spaces for any sort of businesses. Though Twitter is not being used extensively for business in India, it will soon gain similar popularity,” he speculates.
Talking about Playo, he says, Facebook has definitely given the business the opportunity to reach out to people The platform allows one to be creative, fun and connect easily with one’s target audience.
But there are two sides to the coin and the same is true of social media; these benefits come with disadvantages. Daanish says, "Everyone is doing the same thing, and it’s hard to be different. Moreover, there are times when people write unnecessary comments, so we don’t really have control over what people are saying about the brand.”Starting a business using social media has become a trend, perhaps because of its feasibility and convenience. Arun Rafi, the founder of the startup 'Open Out’, says, "We are currently running the venture through social media. Today, you can host anything on this platform, including buying and selling of tickets. It has made it extremely easy for any infant venture to kick off operations.”
He continues, "In a venture like ours, where we don’t allow anyone and everyone to buy a ticket, Facebook has come as a blessing. We can go through people’s social media profiles and check for details. It acts as a filter of sorts,” he adds.
According to him, the real challenge seeps in when a business becomes bigger. Constant efforts need to be put in to promote one’s business, like frequently updating the page; this can be compared to the effective word-of-mouth form of communication.
So what is a more convenient way of marketing a brand — social media or the traditional way of advertising?
"It definitely has to be social media for me; a startup can’t afford conventional methods of promoting itself — through radio, print or television. So social media comes in handy to such ventures and their entrepreneurs. The biggest advantage of social media is that it helps one to target a specific audience. For example, if I am organising an event related to food tomorrow, I can reach out to the various foodies groups on Facebook or on Instagram.”
For Prabha Rajkumar, who owns 'Bluemadegreen’ (that caters to upcycled products) and works from home, says social media helps her connect to people faster. She exhibits her creations on her social media page and gets feedback. She says, "I work through a Facebook page and have got very valuable responses from people. For a home-based business like mine, social media is a great platform to get in touch with like-minded people and also learn a lot from them.”
She started her business through Facebook and she finds this very effective way of promoting her products. It also makes it easy for people to share posts from her page.
"If someone likes my page, they might talk about it to others, helping me spread the word. And I always take feedback positively,” adds Prabha.
These sites are also becoming a favoured business platform these days. Be it big business ventures or small entrepreneurial ones, every firm is on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook or some other virtual space.
How successful are businesses that begin from creating a Facebook page or posting pictures on Instagram? Daanish Suhail, vice president (Marketing), Playo (a sports-based venture), says this depends on the marketplace. If it is a consumer-oriented app, it makes more sense to have a social media page for a wider reach.
"A few years ago, new ventures that wanted to promote themselves put out Google ads. However, social media like Facebook is better than Google. As everyone is on Facebook today, it offers a better target audience rather than investing large amount in hoardings and the like," says Daanish.
These platforms, he says, help new entrepreneurial ventures reach out to specific target groups. He further points out that Indian entrepreneurs generally don't set aside a huge budget for marketing, so they end up moving to a cheaper market.
"Facebook and Instagram are good spaces for any sort of businesses. Though Twitter is not being used extensively for business in India, it will soon gain similar popularity," he speculates.
Talking about Playo, he says, Facebook has definitely given the business the opportunity to reach out to people The platform allows one to be creative, fun and connect easily with one's target audience.
But there are two sides to the coin and the same is true of social media; these benefits come with disadvantages. Daanish says, "Everyone is doing the same thing, and it's hard to be different. Moreover, there are times when people write unnecessary comments, so we don't really have control over what people are saying about the brand."Starting a business using social media has become a trend, perhaps because of its feasibility and convenience. Arun Rafi, the founder of the startup 'Open Out', says, "We are currently running the venture through social media. Today, you can host anything on this platform, including buying and selling of tickets. It has made it extremely easy for any infant venture to kick off operations."
He continues, "In a venture like ours, where we don't allow anyone and everyone to buy a ticket, Facebook has come as a blessing. We can go through people's social media profiles and check for details. It acts as a filter of sorts," he adds.
According to him, the real challenge seeps in when a business becomes bigger. Constant efforts need to be put in to promote one's business, like frequently updating the page; this can be compared to the effective word-of-mouth form of communication.
So what is a more convenient way of marketing a brand — social media or the traditional way of advertising?
"It definitely has to be social media for me; a startup can't afford conventional methods of promoting itself — through radio, print or television. So social media comes in handy to such ventures and their entrepreneurs. The biggest advantage of social media is that it helps one to target a specific audience. For example, if I am organising an event related to food tomorrow, I can reach out to the various foodies groups on Facebook or on Instagram."
For Prabha Rajkumar, who owns 'Bluemadegreen' (that caters to upcycled products) and works from home, says social media helps her connect to people faster. She exhibits her creations on her social media page and gets feedback. She says, "I work through a Facebook page and have got very valuable responses from people. For a home-based business like mine, social media is a great platform to get in touch with like-minded people and also learn a lot from them."
She started her business through Facebook and she finds this very effective way of promoting her products. It also makes it easy for people to share posts from her page.
"If someone likes my page, they might talk about it to others, helping me spread the word. And I always take feedback positively," adds Prabha.
Over the years, social media has become one of the most convenient platforms that enable people to get in touch others instantly.These sites are also becoming a favoured business platform these days. Be it big business ventures or small entrepreneurial ones, every firm is on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook or some other virtual space.
How successful are businesses that begin from creating a Facebook page or posting pictures on Instagram? Daanish Suhail, vice president (Marketing), Playo (a sports-based venture), says this depends on the marketplace. If it is a consumer-oriented app, it makes more sense to have a social media page for a wider reach.
"A few years ago, new ventures that wanted to promote themselves put out Google ads. However, social media like Facebook is better than Google. As everyone is on Facebook today, it offers a better target audience rather than investing large amount in hoardings and the like,” says Daanish.
These platforms, he says, help new entrepreneurial ventures reach out to specific target groups. He further points out that Indian entrepreneurs generally don’t set aside a huge budget for marketing, so they end up moving to a cheaper market.
"Facebook and Instagram are good spaces for any sort of businesses. Though Twitter is not being used extensively for business in India, it will soon gain similar popularity,” he speculates.
Talking about Playo, he says, Facebook has definitely given the business the opportunity to reach out to people The platform allows one to be creative, fun and connect easily with one’s target audience.
But there are two sides to the coin and the same is true of social media; these benefits come with disadvantages. Daanish says, "Everyone is doing the same thing, and it’s hard to be different. Moreover, there are times when people write unnecessary comments, so we don’t really have control over what people are saying about the brand.”Starting a business using social media has become a trend, perhaps because of its feasibility and convenience. Arun Rafi, the founder of the startup 'Open Out’, says, "We are currently running the venture through social media. Today, you can host anything on this platform, including buying and selling of tickets. It has made it extremely easy for any infant venture to kick off operations.”
He continues, "In a venture like ours, where we don’t allow anyone and everyone to buy a ticket, Facebook has come as a blessing. We can go through people’s social media profiles and check for details. It acts as a filter of sorts,” he adds.
According to him, the real challenge seeps in when a business becomes bigger. Constant efforts need to be put in to promote one’s business, like frequently updating the page; this can be compared to the effective word-of-mouth form of communication.
So what is a more convenient way of marketing a brand — social media or the traditional way of advertising?
"It definitely has to be social media for me; a startup can’t afford conventional methods of promoting itself — through radio, print or television. So social media comes in handy to such ventures and their entrepreneurs. The biggest advantage of social media is that it helps one to target a specific audience. For example, if I am organising an event related to food tomorrow, I can reach out to the various foodies groups on Facebook or on Instagram.”
For Prabha Rajkumar, who owns 'Bluemadegreen’ (that caters to upcycled products) and works from home, says social media helps her connect to people faster. She exhibits her creations on her social media page and gets feedback. She says, "I work through a Facebook page and have got very valuable responses from people. For a home-based business like mine, social media is a great platform to get in touch with like-minded people and also learn a lot from them.”
She started her business through Facebook and she finds this very effective way of promoting her products. It also makes it easy for people to share posts from her page.
"If someone likes my page, they might talk about it to others, helping me spread the word. And I always take feedback positively,” adds Prabha.