AliveNow - Social Media Blog

Instagram Clone from Facebook

2012-05-26T09:39:00.000+05:30

Within two months of Facebook announcing the acquisition of Instagram for $1 Billion, Facebook has released an iOS app that looks and functions like Instagram for iPhone and iPad touch devices.

Facebook product manager Dirk Stoop told The New York Times. The app, the Times suggests, has been in development for much longer. In an address to 200 investors leading up to Facebook’s IPO earlier this month, CEO Mark Zuckerberg said that mobile is Facebook’s number-one priority

Read more on Mashable

INFOGRAPHIC: Facebook Deals, Contests and Events an overview

2012-05-25T17:31:00.000+05:30

So you have set up a Facebook Page for your brand, what to do next? Here is an Infographic which goes over certain things that you can do as a brand to engage your fans. From creating a Fan only deal for your Facebook fans, to creating engaging contest and events on the Infographic below.

Source: Pagemodo

Browser Wars: Yahoo releases the Axis browser!

2012-05-25T12:16:00.000+05:30

Google Chrome was recently in the news as it took over Internet Explorer as the most widely used web browser in the world. As browsing becomes ubiquitous and more importantly as browsing increases on tablets, mobile devices, laptop and desktop computers, Yahoo! has released it's own browser Axis, keeping in mind the changing browsing habits of the online audience. Here's a cool preview of the browser, and it looks like it could give the other browsers a run for their money! Do share your thoughts.

Source: Yahoo YouTube channel

INFOGRAPHIC: The Facebook Timeline of Social Commerce

2012-05-24T17:30:00.000+05:30

The way forward has been a rock and roll ride for Facebook, the social networking giant has been going from one high point to the next. Here is an Infographic which is a goes over the evolution of Social Commerce in the Facebook Timeline format!

Source: Business Insider

Best #petrol related tweets after the petrol price hike in India

2012-05-24T02:42:00.000+05:30

After the government announced it's outrageous and unpopular petrol price hike in India, the twitterverse was abuzz with jokes and reactions to this move. #petrol was trending just hours after the price hike was announced and we wanted to share some of the most hilarious tweets about the #PetrolHike. Here we go (in no specific order)!

The "F" in your car's fuel meter doesn't mean "Full", It means " F****D " :'( #petrol hike !!
— nishu (@nishuscorPiO) May 23, 2012

After #Petrol price hike, Tatas, Mallya announce collaboration on hybrid Nano that can run on beer shar.es/qpIIg (replug)
— The UnReal Times (@TheUnRealTimes) May 23, 2012

Some fun stuff on #petrol hike. Put a viagra pill in ur petrol tank...atleast d fuel indicator will stay up=)) =D
— Karuna Lulla (@Karunalulla) May 23, 2012

"Long distance relationships are better, international phone calls are cheaper than #Petrol!" #India. Source - @nkharoo
— Bharghavi Chari (@Bagzzie) May 23, 2012

Breaking News: 2 Mumbai players caught red handed accepting a 10 litre can of #Petrol to bowl a NO ball. #IPL
— Fake News (@Ohfakenews) May 23, 2012

Sid Mallya says out of court settlement with the molestation victim wasn't financial in any way. Maybe they paid in #petrol.
— Faking News (@fakingnews) May 23, 2012

Cant stop laughing...But its a #Fact #Petrol ---->twitpic.com/9of5r8
— Praveen. Sॐ(@PraveenSubash) May 23, 2012

Breaking: Mannapuram to come up with new product Mannapuram Petrol Loan #petrol
— The UnReal Times (@TheUnRealTimes) May 23, 2012

I am waiting for #bigbazaar to come up with 1 litre pe 1 litre #petrol free offer.
— Pratik Bhatt (@b4ckd00rbug) May 23, 2012

Its so sad that a person cannot borrow his frnds bike after this #PetrolHike
— A.K.A Rohit Jayakar (@RohitJessikar) May 23, 2012

Rajnikant went to a petrol station, and got a discount of Rs.7.50 per litre. #petrolhike
— Nikhil Mehta (@njmforever) May 23, 2012

Drink and drive should not be a problem now. After all how many will be able to afford alcohol and petrol on the same day #petrolHike”
— Kanwar Singh (@Kanwarsingh13) May 23, 2012

The little Sardar kid in the maruti suzuki ad who once said, "papa petrol khatam hi nahi hunda" has just committed suicide!! #PetrolHike
— Lakhi Sakaria (@lakhisakaria) May 23, 2012

Please note: now guv employees are accpeting bribe in form of #Petrol. RT and create awareness.
— Dr Manmohan Singh (@PM0India) May 23, 2012

Wondering how long the "free home delivery" will be free now. #PetrolHike
— ah sataN! (@NutAshes) May 23, 2012

The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari Knew About The #Petrol Price Hike. #bbm
— Aarti Madan (@AartiMadan) May 23, 2012

Just saw Congress ka haath. It's amazing how the middle finger in the symbol has become so prominent. #petrol
— ViJay D Chauhan (@JaaTeri) May 23, 2012

Petroleum Minister had a sip of Thumbs Up and Said . . ."Aaj Kuch Toofani Karte Hai " #petrolhike
— DJ Ravish (@djravish) May 23, 2012

Dear Father-In-Law, deeply regret 4 takin Petrol Car in dowry, plz take ur daughter or the car back..... Can't afford both #Petrol
— Arvind Singhatiya (@asinghatiya) May 24, 2012

Dedicated 2 another #Petrol Price hike, "the days are not too far, wen my take home salary won't be enough to take me home"
— Kalyani Bansode (@kalyanibansode) May 24, 2012

#petrol ,we hav th world's cheapest car nd the world's costlier petrol. Aur karo Santa Banta ke jokes. Dekha Sardar ka revenage
— Ankur Gupta (@ankur_smarty) May 24, 2012

To see more #petrol related tweets, click here.

INFOGRAPHIC: Senior Marketers Wake up to SEO and Social Media!

2012-05-23T17:10:00.000+05:30

If you are a senior manager, decision maker on marketing or looking for new ways of marketing and branding, then you got to see the Infographic below and understand why SEO ans Social Media is important for your Brand! Search marketing has been around for 2 decades now and Social Media for the last 5 years... it is high time you took these marketing tools seriously for your business.

Source: Digivate

How to create a Viral Video?

2012-05-23T09:05:00.000+05:30

Here is a compilation of 10 videos that gives you an insight as how a brand should create a viral video. Once brands start figuring out how to create these, they can make viral videos of their product launches. Going viral requires you to try out these ideas and stick to the basics. Most of the viral videos have followed some or all of these when shooting a video.

Check out the top 10 compilation of how to create one for your brand here.

Source: Utalkmarketing

Press Release: Naturals Unisex Salon and Spa Appoints AliveNow as it's Social Media agency

2012-05-22T16:55:00.000+05:30

Bangalore, 21st May, 2012

Naturals Unisex Salon and Spa, who are India's fastest growing salon chain has appointed AliveNow, the award winning social media agency from Bangalore to manage their social media and online duties. With the number of salon's expanding at a rapid pace, Naturals wanted to partner with the right company to help them leverage the social media and online space for effective and creative marketing and branding. Being a retail chain, Naturals realizes the importance of the social platform and being a consumer-facing company, it becomes even more critical for the Naturals brand to be active and present on social media channels.

Mr. Vaibhav Kumaravel, Head of Online Media Marketing, Naturals Salon and Spa said, "We at Naturals understand the need to be present and active on the digital space. There is immense potential that can be tapped with the right push. We chose to partner with AliveNow because of their expertise in Social Media. We believe that they are the right people to represent us and are very happy to be working with them."

Mr. Adhvith Dhuddu, CEO of AliveNow added, "We are very happy to be associated with a fast growing and vibrant retail brand like Naturals. The growth story of Naturals is quite outstanding and we are thrilled to be working with the incredible marketing team. We've already devised some very interesting and creative social media campaigns keeping the target audience in mind and will roll them out very soon. It's critically important for any B2C brand, especially retail players, to be present and active on social media and then to listen, engage and excite the audience on social. We plan to do just that with innovative and interactive campaigns targeted at the right audience.

About Naturals: Naturals - India’s No.1 Family Salon & Spa, is synonymous today with beauty care and styling in India, a Pioneer in the concept of Unisex Salons in India. Founded by Mrs. Veena K in the year 2000. Naturals Beauty salon is the one that has revolutionized the concept of beauty and styling in days when grooming was limited to nothing other than regular haircuts. Over years, it has grown leaps and bounds to become one of the finest beauty and wellness destinations across India with over 140 salons and expanding. Naturals is acknowledged as the most happening chain of beauty care centers in India.

Actor Genelia D’Souza is well known for her bubbly image as is every outlet across India belonging to the Naturals chain, which Genelia is the brand ambassador of. As of today, Naturals has reached out to Indians for their styling needs. In fact, Genelia has been a Naturals customer and has been visiting the Hyderabad branch for a while now and also uses Naturals for her outdoor shoots to meet her styling needs.

About AliveNow - AliveNow is a full-service award-winning social media agency based in Bangalore offering a range of social media services. They have worked with iconic international brands like Hard Rock Cafe, Pepsi, Hyundai, Honda, Chevrolet and leading Indian brands like ITC, Prestige Smart Kitchens, Fortis, Barista Lavazza and more. In 2011, AliveNow was picked by Businessworld magazine as one of India 25 hottest start-ups and was also chosen by NASSCOM as one of the top 10 emerging IT services companies in India. Find out more at alivenow.in

INFOGRAPHIC: All about the Mobile World and the Advertisers.

2012-05-22T09:04:00.000+05:30

Do you know by 2015 the number of mobile users? It's expected to cross a little over 2 billion! And here's a world full of opportunities for the advertisers who would like to cash in on the users to advertise and sell their products. This is clearly evident from the fact that the traditional cell phones are being out smarted by the smartphones.

Google is the BIG Boss in mobile advertisements now, but who knows what there in store for Google by 2015. Google is also trying to figure out who are responding for what kind of advertisements. And there's going to be a burst in the rise of the "QR Codes", where a survey taken recently reveals that almost 50% of the smartphone users have scanned "QR Codes" for various reasons, and imagine the usage of QR Codes by 2015. More on the Infographic below.

Source: Mashable

Bible for "Timeline" in Facebook - Simple but Effective!

2012-05-21T18:06:00.000+05:30

This is very important for all those who are running Brand pages on Facebook. These are simple but effective steps to be taken. The main purpose of having a presence in the world's biggest social platform is to get the due mileage when it comes to customer engagement and interaction.

Follow these:

1. Embrace Images

2. Cover Photo - Prime Real Estate

3. Pay attention to Insights because it pays!

For the complete list of things to be followed, click here and you will know how to get a better customer interaction and a better understanding of the new "Timeline'.

Source: Mashable

INFOGRAPHIC: Paradigm shift of Marketers on Social Media!

2012-05-21T09:01:00.000+05:30

Yes, we have to say there is a paradigm shift that has happened to the marketing folks. When social media started buzzing, they were skeptical to spend on this medium and recently this has changed according to a survey conducted.

Interesting findings :-

64% feel that social marketing will eventually produce ROI - What a paradigm shift!
6% say social marketing is unlikely to produce ROI!

But how do marketers measure their success in social media? Find out on the Infographic below.

Source: Pagemodo

INFOGRAPHIC: Meet the connected consumer

2012-05-19T09:16:00.000+05:30

Consumer is King! This age old principle could not fit any better than it applies to in this era of marketing. In this Infographic you will see how Smartphones, tablets and Facebook are changing the way people shop, also what devices are used for purchase of different category of products.

Source: Zmags

INFOGRAPHIC: What Women & Men really want! Impressive findings, but did you know this?

2012-05-18T09:03:00.000+05:30

Women and Men speak of various things in Social Networking sites but here's a survey that figures out what they really want in life!

Here are some interesting Survey Findings:

Women want: Ice Cream, Car, Pizza!

Men want: Car, Pizza, Ice Cream!

More on the Interesting information on the Infographic below!

Source: Mashable

WSJ Creates an exclusive Facebook page to track the Facebook IPO

2012-05-17T18:23:00.000+05:30

The Wall Street journal has created a Facebook page to track the Facebook IPO! Sharing all the latest updates, articles and op-eds regarding this topic on the Facebook page - www.facebook.com/GoesPublic.

Here's a feed of the FB page, and you can like the page if you want regular updates about Facebook's big IPO!

INFOGRAPHIC: 10 Commandments To Be Followed On Social Media For Handling Customers.

2012-05-17T09:04:00.000+05:30

In today's socially connected world, every brand knows that they have to be present in these platforms for various reasons ranging from providing a good customer service to announcing the launch of a new product.

There's nothing wrong in choosing different sites but how to communicate is what many brands really miss out. For an effective presence in social media, the brand has to follow these simple but effective steps.

More information on the Infographic below

Source: Mediabistro

CASE STUDY: UniverCell Mahesh Guarantee

2012-05-16T18:57:00.000+05:30

Yet another success story on how Social Media was used to reach the target audience and create a buzz about the Brand!

Online and Offline integration of the UniverCell Mahesh Gaurantee campaign and the successful use of Facebook to promote, inform and engage the audience.

Source: AliveNow Inc Slideshare Channel

INFOGRAPHIC: More Smartphone Users taking Pictures and Updating status at Restaurants

2012-05-16T08:51:00.000+05:30

According to the study by Lab42, about 19% of those that use their smartphone while at a restaurant update their status on Facebook. Meanwhile, about 24% said they take pictures of their entrees and 18% check-in to the restaurant on services such as Foursquare.

Also 95% of the respondents use their smartphone prior to dining out! More on the Infographic below.

Source: Mashable

VIDEO: What Mark Zuckerberg Can Buy With His $1 Billion Windfall

2012-05-15T16:55:00.000+05:30

What would you buy if you had $1 Billion? Watch the below video which goes on over what Mark Zuckerberg could buy with his $1 Billion.

Source: Mashable Video

INFOGRAPHIC: Social Media Battle Ground for Luxury Brands!

2012-05-15T09:07:00.000+05:30

It is very obvious that major luxury brands are having a huge presence in the social media platforms, one such classic example is "Burberry" where their digital spend for 2012 has consumed more than 60% of the total ad budget. This has resulted in 29% upscale of their revenues for the same period!

Interesting Stats:

1. 69% of all luxury brands have a Facebook presence.

2. 46% of all luxury brands have an account in the micro-blogging site Twitter.

3. 34% of all luxury brands have at least one mobile app.

For more such insights, see how luxury brands are fighting it out at this battle field on the Infographic below.

Source: Social Media Influence

Can Google+ help your business? - 15 interesting tips.

2012-05-14T17:49:00.000+05:30

The numbers for Google+ seem quite good, but we haven't seen brands and organizations flock to this social network like others to market their products and services. So can Google+ really help your business? John Brandon from Inc shares 15 interesting tips on what you can do on Google+ to get real business results. We share 5 tips from the article (and you can read the rest on Inc):

1. Use your real name when you register – this creates an authentic presence on the service; investors can look you up by name, and customers want to know it’s really you. Later on, you can create a business page that’s less personal.

2. Create Google+ Circles in a logical fashion: business partners, employees, friends, investors. That way, as you start using the service, you can keep people organized. You can then choose only a select group to view a new post.

3. Engage with other business professionals in an authentic way – read what they post, make comments, and follow their links. When you follow links, comment on them so that everyone knows you read the article.

4. Post occasional coupons and specials – that way, you can see if people are engaging with your posts. Be careful about how often you post specials or you may raise the ire of the Google+ team, who discourages blatant promotion.

5. Send private messages to people who look interesting. You can just type the message, then remove the Public circle and just add one name.

Read the rest of the tips and the full article on Inc.

VIDEO: If you die?

2012-05-14T09:05:00.000+05:30

Have you ever wondered what might happen to your Facebook profile after you die? Well, this creepy but unique facebook application lets you record a message that gets posted onto your Facebook profile ONLY after you DIE! That's correct, you can leave a message to your loved ones, settle a score, dole out some advice, whatever you want and this video will get posted on your facebook profile after you die. Check out the video below that explains this service:

Source: IfIDieApp

10 Really Cool High Tech marketing solutions for your business

2012-05-12T09:30:00.000+05:30

Marketing your product or service on social media is great, but here are some other really cool methods, platforms and ways in which you can market yourself. If you adopt any of these platforms one thing is for sure, your brand will be perceived as cool, forward looking and outgoing. Some of these are:

- Facial Recognition

- Augmented reality

- Eavesdropping Applications

- Incentives and Virtual currency

Read the rest of the article on Inc

Facebook, Google+, LinkedIn and Twitter - All in one

2012-05-11T17:05:00.000+05:30

Say hello to a new and innovative social networking utility called Hachi. Their tag-line is "Connect Smartly" and we can safely say that if they do achieve what they claim to offer, i.e., the ability to pull in all contacts, friends, connections, etc from Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and Google+ onto one platform that's searchable it's definitely connecting smartly! Check out the service at gohachi.com and do let us know what you think.

SLIDESHOW: LinkedIn acquires SlideShare

2012-05-11T09:08:00.000+05:30

A nice presentation put out by the LinkedIn team that gives an overview of LinkedIn + SlideShare. LinkedIn recently acquired SlideShare for $119 million.

Source: LinkedIn SlideShare channel

VIDEO: What is Branding?

2012-05-10T17:19:00.000+05:30

Superb videos that tells you what branding is!

Source: NorwichBSchool YouTube channel