Social Media MarketingAyojak Case Study GROUP 8: ESTHER, MONICA, RENAUD, SOBIA

PROF. ASHWIN MALSHE – UNIVERSITÄT MANNHEIM

Background

What Online Event Management Product Solution in India and the UK

Products Ticketing, Social Meets, Event Promote, Conference

End-to-end solution: creation of event web page, ticket sales, collation of attendee information, event promotion on social media, and customer support for booking tickets online

Clients Business Clients (B2B): Start-ups to mid-size firms from various sectors such as entertainment, technology, sports and businessEnd Customers: Young people / event attendees

Event Management Industry (EMI)

An industry involved in researching, planning, organizing, implementing, controlling and evaluating an event (source: ask.com)

Companies working in the Event Management Industry provide their clients with tools to organize and manage events (ticketing, publicity…)

Social media outlets have paramount importance for companies in the Event Management Industry as they can boost the attendance of an event an as they can (to a certain extent) replace specialized companies (Facebook Events, LinkedIn events…)

Background: Business Model

AyojakEvent Organizers Attendees

Ayojak acts as an intermediary between event organizers and event attendees.

Ayojak utilizes few offline marketing efforts, and relied mainly on word of mouth.Hence social media acted as a tool to for Ayojak to reach both event organizers (clients) and attendees.

1. Social Media Strategy

Primary objective of using social media: To increase word of mouth about its products and to build its brand in the online event management industry

Facebook Mainly to promote events of B2B clients (event organizers)

Twitter Promoting events and interacting with community members

Corporate Blog Placed greater emphasis on Ayojak and its products (some event posts)

1. Social Media Strategy

Outsourcing Ayojak outsourced social media activities to a Noida-based social

media agency

The agency was given clear objectives, and deliverables for each objectives were outlined

One of the deliverables included word of mouth

1. Social Media Strategy

Monitor • Build a substantial following on FB and Twitter• Collected customized demographical data regarding prospective

event attendees for event organizers

Respond • Build engagement among Ayojak community members• Collate feedback from B2B clients and end customers and list

changes to be incorporated into products based on feedback• Provide support to B2B clients and end customers• Twitter used for customer interaction

Amplify • Use FB, Twitter, corporate blog to advertise clients’ events• More emphasis on Ayojak and its products on corporate blog

Lead • Be open and honest to customers• Gather customer sentiments: customer appreciation if a good job

was done, or apologize and improve if customers are unhappy

1. Social Media Strategy: Social Media as a product

Using social media to build a following of end customers (event attendees), Ayojak provides product solutions which includes more social media coverage at a higher price Ayojak Ticketing

Only Elite and Premium offers Social Media Promotion

Ayojak Event Promote

Elite offers 6 weeks of social media solutions, 3 weeks for Premium then 1 week for Standard

Only Elite offers social media monitoring

1. Social Media Strategy: Event Management Industry

Facebook

Twitter Corporate Blog

Description

EventAvenue ✕ ✕ ✕ Others: Website - Case studies, white papers

MeraEvents ✓ ✓ ✓ Promote clients’ events and build customer engagement

DoAttend ✓ ✓ ✓ Promote clients’ events, interact, customer support, educate users of new features

Bookmyshow ✓ ✓ ✓ FB: Promote movie releasesTwitter: Shared related content

Eventnu ✓ ✓ ✓ Promote clients’ events, share details about organization, build customer engagement

Ayojak ✓ ✓ ✓ Promote clients’ events, build customer engagement, information about Ayojak and its products

Others: LinkedIn

1. Social Media Strategy: Event Management Industry

Covered the main channels that main industry players were in (Facebook, Twitter, corporate blogs)

Relatively low followership on Facebook and Twitter as of April 2011 (680 and 610 respectively) compared to Bookmyshow (266,884 and 5,600 respectively)

Greater focus on clients’ events promotion (on Facebook and Twitter) rather than building the brand to B2B clients (compared to EventAvenue, which only has a corporate website targeted at B2B clients). Ayojak engaged both B2B and end customers (event attendees)

2. What is content?

Information that is provided by companies to educate, inform or entertain customers or prospects through

grabbing their attention or causing behavior that results in sales, leads or advocacy.

2. What is content strategy?

The practice of planning for the creation, delivery and

governance of useful, usable content.

Helps to engage an organization and its community members on a particular social media platform.

2. What is content strategy?

Creating relevant content to reach an objective

Delivering content on appropriate social media platform

Governing discussions surrounding the content

3. Ayojak’s content strategy

Creating relevant content to reach an objective

Objective : to promote events of Ayojak’s B2B clients

Content: posts of clients’ events, news, quizzes and contests, entertainment (fun facts, quotes) on social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter.

3. Ayojak’s content strategy

Creating relevant content to reach an objective

While some things posted by Ayojak may not directly help promote the events of its clients, they serve the purpose of engaging people.

By uploading relevant photos, videos and having contests, these can spur event attendees’ interests and raise the hype of an upcoming event.

Helps Ayojak position itself not merely as an “event calendar” but a reputable organisation eager to put its clients’ customers’ interests at heart.

3. Ayojak’s content strategy

Creating relevant content to reach an objective

Objective : to promote its brand among stakeholders (build brand identity, create brand awareness.)

Content: posts about Ayojak, e.g. testimonials from clients, company announcements

2. Ayojak’s content strategy

Creating relevant content to reach an objective

Testimonials serve as a positive reinforcement to potential clients that Ayojak is a trustworthy and experienced online event management company.

Company announcements can be made promptly to its clients, as opposed to going through press statements which might not even reach its target audience.

Engagement with potential clients gives Ayojak a better impression.

3. Ayojak’s content strategy

Delivering content on appropriate social media platform

Corporate Blog

- Good platform for sharing information, photos and videos.

- People who log onto it often spend more time reading through the posts to be updated on what is happening around them.

3. Ayojak’s content strategy

Delivering content on appropriate social media platform

Corporate Blog

- Posts are limited to 140 characters

- Might be a challenge to post something longer and more information

- People who use it often just want bite-size pieces of information.

Corporate Blog

3. Ayojak’s content strategy

Delivering content on appropriate social media platform

- Able to address serious issues and provide comprehensive information through in-depth write-ups.

- Potential clients can comment without worrying that their queries will be lost with the comments of event-goers.

- Separates Ayojak’s two target audiences – clients and event-goers

3. Ayojak’s content strategy

Delivering content on appropriate social media platform

Corporate Blog

Clients’ upcoming events

Interaction with community members (messages, contests etc.)

Information and updates about Ayojak

Delivering content on appropriate social media platform

More than three-quarters of its Facebook posts are promoting events of its clients

3. Ayojak’s content strategy

3. Ayojak’s content strategy

Delivering content on appropriate social media platform

Its corporate blog keeps Ayojak’s clients and interested parties updated.

3. Ayojak’s content strategy

Governing discussions surrounding the content

Respond promptly to queries, especially when people expect things to be done faster on social media platforms.

3. Ayojak’s content strategy

Governing discussions surrounding the content

Tackle negative feedback and leave such comments there along with Ayojak’s response.

Shows itself as a responsible brand which does not evade any problems. Furthermore, the problem may serve as a testimonial of Ayojak’s work ethics.

3. Ayojak’s content strategy

Governing discussions surrounding the content

Allow feedback from satisfied clients to build its credibility and reputation.

3a. Suggested changes to Ayojak’s content strategy

OBJECTIVES OF SOCIAL MEDIA Attract larger clients More engaging social media presence Building Ayojak’s brand image through social

media

Use of “SUCCES” in order to change/improve content strategy

Simplicity

Unexpectedness

Concretness

Credibility

Emotions

Stories

3a. Suggested changes to Ayojak’s content strategy

Stick on one logo and one name People will/can recognize the brand by its logo and can link it to

the brands name (memorable). Slogan/companies mission should be clearly visible on ➥ Social media➥ (eg. use fb cover page for their slogan)

Share content to those who it is relevant to➥(younger age group, locations etc.)

3. Simplicity

Make the audience to pay attention to Ayojak’s ideas, and maintain their interest

Violate people’s expectations and to be counterintuitive

3. Unexpectedness

Make the idea and promises clear, through short videos (eg. how to… pay for a ticket/how eticketing works etc.

Share mission statement on social media (eg. What is our aim? promote business events etc)

3. Concreteness

Make people believe in what Ayojak is doing, by giving feedback of events and analysis of the ticket system for example (list facts: eg. through eticketing we could save 84 trees)

3. Credibility

▶ Sharing pictures of events, (eg emotions of crowd on a concert; letting people share their event experience, tag themselve on event pictures, link it to Ayojak)

3. Emotions

▶ Ayojak makes their own posters and ask celebrities/ people part of the events to pose in front of their posters.

Subtle advertisement for Ayojak. (For Facebook posts to generate more interest)

3. Stories

Jonah Berger’s Formula (STEPPS)

Social currency: share info that make Ayojak look smart - Have a “thank you” post – « 2000 people came to this event! Thank you for trusting Ayojak. With its safe payment options, it’s the people’s choice etc. »

Triggers: Emphasize on its benefits: advocate of environmental sustainability, safe payment

Emotion- covered above in SUCCES framework

Jonah Berger’s Formula (STEPPS)

Public: show, to make it grow, updating social media platforms on regular, daily basis. Enter new social media such as instagram (apps)

Practical value: news people can find useful, upcoming events near their area. Make their blog mobile friendly

Stories- covered above in SUCCES framework

Further Recommendations

▶ Have a “tickets can be purchased at Ayojak” logo on posters.

▶ QR codes▶ Product promotions on social media (5% off your ticket

when you pay online)

4. Threats from Facebook and LinkedIn events

No substantial threat (payment facility provided by Ayojak lacking on social media)

However, the viral nature of social media make Facebook and LinkedIn events more visible than on Ayojak

Higher engagement on Facebook/LinkedIn, higher

visibility and higher interaction with other potential attendees

4. Threats from Facebook and LinkedIn events

LinkedIn provides a potential attendees database based on

clients from the business world ➥ high relevance for business related events (conferences, seminars… than on Ayojak) + interesting side services (i.e. TripIt app)

If Ayojak manages to use Events on social media wisely ➥ win-win situation (payment facility from Ayojak combined with increased visibility through Social Networks)

Thank You