As I wrote in my last article, on the topic differences between Publicity & Advertising through social media, that both needs strategic approaches and that too, at separated lines of definition, it is the demand of the hour that we stress upon the part ‘social’ more than the part ‘media’.
The Basic Essence: With the availability of this new age media, the new age online marketers are now responsible for advertisements and publicities that lead to a massive interaction between the product/service and the consumers, so as to create a word of mouth and a positive reputation. And, in brief, this is the basic essence of both publicity and advertising done through social media.
Basic Definitions: Advertising is what you pay for and publicity is what you pray for.
Publicity is (almost) the free type of communication where the virtual presence of the concerned product or service is brought to the light of the potential market or among the target customers. On the other hand, advertising is the form of communication where a perception from the point of a definite value is being created. This so called value may be the price, quality, appearance, availability, utility etc. or any specific combination of them that could be used out to promote the concerned product or service.
The line of Coordination: These basic sets of definitions only show the prominent difference between publicity and advertising, yet they don’t clarify the possibility of coordination among the two. And without discussing that due coordination, the discussion of the essence of them through social media will go vague. And the coordination among these two can be defined on the ground that they are the specific methods of promotion. So, the marketing perspective that lies common to both publicity and advertising is the coordination we are talking about.
The essence of publicity and advertising through social media:
The question that revolves around the value of publicity and advertising through social media in the current market situation is something to be answered with the reasons as below:
- Word of mouth promotion: The publicity and advertising stunts done via social media are the best pieces of word of mouth promotions. The users and customers in the form of fans & followers give the boost that a publicity or advertising campaign needs. With the possibility of a quicker response to marketing stimulus, it promises a better level of conversation, referral and conversion.
- Reputation building: The reputation that is being built over time is the direct representation of growth. Creating a good reputation and a good will is a very important part where social media plays a very crucial role now a day. With the availability of reputation monitoring tools, publicity and advertising through social media promises a lot for all the businesses.
- Perception Branding: The next essence one can expect out of a promotional campaign through social media is the creation of an identity. In other words, it is the creation of a brand perception through targeted message/s.
- Level of engagement: The reach of a promotional campaign is best measured through the level of engagement of the current customers and fans. The conversations are the preliminary milestones in these campaigns to measure the ROI.
- Convenience: The next thing that comes with such a campaign through social media is the level of convenience. Whether it’s the time factor or the money, social media gives you an edge over the rest by minimizing the costs involved in printing, commercials and importantly minimizing the time required in targeted reach.
- Sustainability: Advertising and publicity stunts done through conventional mediums are always mostly being targeted at some fads rather than trends. As a matter of fact, most of these campaigns are effective for a very shorter duration of time and hardly possess any sustainability. In contrast to this, use of social media for such a campaign comes with the better possibility of creating a sustainable vibe.
With the application of social media in publicity and advertising, we can create credibility, reputation over a shorter span of time than the traditional medium.
And apart from all these essence I have experienced and mentioned here, there is a lot more which you might have experienced in your case. So, which one of them you feel is the biggest and importantly not included in this write-up?
