SOCIAL MEDIA STRATEGY FOR BRAND BUILDING OF

COOPERATIVES IN INDIAROLE OF BLOGS

Presentation by Sanjay Kumar Verma

Nodal Officer, Coop-ConnectNational Cooperative Union of India

BACKGROUND Cooperative sector one of the vibrant sectors of Indian

Economy.

Despite privatization, cooperative model has retained

significance.

Neglect of brand building hindering cooperative growth.

Credibility of cooperative sector is lacking.

Public perception towards cooperatives still not favourable.

Paper advocates for strengthening communication plank

through SM i.e. Blogs.

PUBLIC RELATIONS AND BRAND BUILDING

Public Relations is considered important for brand building of

an organization.

Public Relations is a two ways communication.

Branding is an image building activity.

Building and nurturing relationships is important in brand

building.

SOCIAL MEDIA AND ITS SIGNIFICANCE IN BRAND BUILDING

Definition of Social Media.

Social Media is inexpensive and easily accessible.

Difference between Commercial Media and Social Media.

Social Media → Connect, Collaborate and Move ahead.

Impact of Social Media is more profound than usual Public

Relations tools.

BLOGS AND BRAND BUILDING Definition and its nature.

Interactive nature of blogs creates goodwill.

Blogs engage customers through open forum of discussion.

Blogs provide keen insights into working of an organization.

Perfect tool for advocacy, lobbying and generating resources.

Strong alternative to mainstream media.

CURRENT PR PRACTICES IN COOPERATIVES IN INDIA

Significance of Public Relations is not understood for brand

building.

Two way communication is neglected.

Public Relations strategies neglect brand positioning.

Heavy dependence on commercial media.

Cooperatives have yet to venture in the field of Social Media

IMPORTANCE OF BLOGS IN BRAND BUILDING FOR COOPERATIVES

The cooperatives are democratic organizations.

Blogs symbolize freedom of expression, have participatory

character.

Blogs best medium to expand business of cooperatives.

Good content is key to success of an organizational blog.

Blogs can captivate the hearts of readers.

Blogs have made many organizations succeed through

dialogue.

Towards Model Building

Challenge of building up participatory models for

cooperative sector in India.

Brand-building through blogs is a new area.

The nature of paper is exploratory.

Model Building for Business Organisations

Coops face challenge to sell products

Challenge for not only brand awareness but also for brand

positioning.

Customer interactions key for brand building

Community hubs on blog

In post-liberalisation era one-to-one marketing is important

Devising marketing and sales techniques through blogs important.

MODEL BUILDING FOR PROMOTIONAL ORGANISATIONS

Devising effective communication strategies for fulfilling

members’ expectations.

Blog is effective communication tool for promotion.

Blogs strengthen capacity-building programmes.

Blogs effective for grass-roots projects/programmes.

Blogs effective for advocacy and lobbying.

Resource generation.

Blogs effective in research.

REALITY AND WAY OUT

Coops must evaluate their Public Relations strategies

Coops must give importance to blogs in on-line communication.

Coops can bridge gap between HQ’s and field offices.

Blogs effective in connecting with other organizations.

Blogs are an effective media channel.

Blogs make cooperatives achievement-oriented.

REALITY AND WAY OUT

Blogs are a crisis management tool.

COOP CONNECT Forum and Blog.

NCUI’s foray in cooperative education in schools

Generating awareness for blogs.

Pitfalls must be looked into.

Technology for popularizing blogs must be understood.

CONCLUSION

Online communications is no more a taboo.

Coops must not lag behind

With eye for future coops must take definite steps

Thank you