Google dips into CSR budget, ties up with Election Commission for voters’ registration

Over the next six months,
Google will offer Election Commission its resources,
including its search engine,to enable voters to check their enrolment status online.

NEW DELHI: While political alliances are yet to firm up for 2014 polls, the Election Commission(EC) has already entered a key partnership with US-based internet giant, Google, to help it manage online voter registration and facilitation services ahead of the democratic exercise. Over the next six months, Google will offer EC its resources, including its search engine, to enable voters to check their enrolment status online and locate their polling station, complete with directions using Google Maps. 

The "arrangement" between EC and Google is learnt to have been clinched late this month, and is expected to be "operational" by the second week of January. As part of the partnership, Google will put its worldwide network and resources at the Commission's disposal until June 2014 to help it manage online registration of new voters and allow the enrolled ones to check the address at which they are registered, and get directions to the polling station. With the new rolls with reference to January 1, 2014, slated to be out by January 6, the voters' queries on the Commission website are likely to be managed by Google starting from the second week of January. 

Google will not charge the EC for these services, estimated to cost $50,000 (over Rs 30 lakh), and fund the same from its corporate social responsibility (CSR) budget. 

"The EC is going ahead with the use of hi-tech and professional expertise to manage online enrolment of voters and search a voter's name in electoral rolls along with the polling station. "So, all that one needs to do now is to type his name/EPIC no and address on the Google Search engine, which will promptly generate results matching the voters' name with his assembly/Lok Sabha constituency, and pinpointing the location of his polling station...in fact, Google Maps will give exact directions to the voter on how to get to the correct polling station on the polling day," explained a senior EC official. 

Google is offering similar services across 100 countries as part of its CSR obligations. The American firm had approached the EC some time ago to offer its expertise for better management of online services on the Commission's website, particularly voter enrolment and facilitation. The Commission, which felt that the management of its online interface with the voters left much scope for improvement, welcomed the offer from the "global leader" and the two signed on the dotted line recently. 

EC is also exploring the option of using the worldwide network and servers of Google for dissemination of results for the 2014 general election likely to be held in May. EC had tied up with US-based IT firm Akamai for putting out results for the recent assembly polls in five states. The use of 272 servers of Akamai across the world to disseminate the results, as against barely two servers in use during the 2009 Lok Sabha poll, ensured that the ECI website could handle the millions of hits it received per minute on the counting day (December 8).

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Get Started With Pinterest

Pinterest is the hottest social network out there right now! It allows a user to create virtual pin boards  for organizing their interests, and capturing inspiration and innovative images they find on the web. The saying “A Picture equals a Thousand words”, is the best way to describe why Pinterest has become so popular.

If you have not created an account on Pinterest yet, you are really missing out on a HUGE opportunity to drive targeted traffic back to you. Pinterest actually brings more referral traffic than LinkedIn, Google+ and YouTube combined? Sounds crazy but this little network has been able to do this in less than 2 years.  According to Shareholic, it is on the verge of driving more  referral traffic than Twitter as well.

When Pinterest first started they required an invitation in order to create an account, but that is not longer the case. You can simply go to Pinterest and create your account by connecting with your Facebook, Twitter or just with email. (If you are setting up your Pinterest account for your business, I highly recommend creating a Business Pinterest account.)

 Setting up your profile on Pinterest is simple. You will setup your username (limited to 15 characters) and I recommend using your name for personal accounts and business name for business accounts. Now if you have a common name or someone has already captured what you would like as your username, think of some combination with keywords or something that describes you/your business. I do not recommend adding numbers at the end (unless it relates to your brand) as it looks like you were late to the party. 

Once you have set up your username and added a brief description (limited to 200 characters) and your profile photo (DO NOT forget to add this, after all this is a site all about photos!) then start creating your boards and start pinning away.

I can’t wait to see you on Pinterest. Please come and check out my profile and while you are there, check out some pins. You can find me at: http://pinterest.com/nitinupparpelli

Did you find this post to be useful? Will you do me a favor and share this with 2 of your friends?

Thanks so much and stay tuned for more fun strategies on Pinterest! Happy Pinning!

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9 Keys to Supercharge your LinkedIn Profile

LinkedIn is the Social Network for Professionals, Entrepreneurs, and Managers.  Because of the user network, you want your profile to stand out to make it effective.  Here are some key ways to supercharge your LinkedIn profile:

1. Optimize your profile– add keywords that characterize your specialization or brand.  Some areas to add keywords as you build your profile include:
   • Headline – this is the space that visitors see first, after your name of course.  The headline should feature keywords that describe what you offer.
   • Work Experience – your most current information is important and how you describe it is even more important.  Use descriptive words when adding keywords in this area (i.e., “social media marketing” consultant instead of  ”marketing” consultant)
   • Summary – use this area to provide details on your specific brand.  This is where you list the types of services you provide and what you are offering potential clients.
   2.       Personalized URL – Create a personalized URL for your LinkedIn Profile.  Use keywords or the same name you use on other profiles that identify your brand.
   3.       Skills and Expertise – As you add your professional experience, don’t forget to add something more personal like human skills, abilities and characteristics.
   4.       Don’t forget your blog – Providing a link to your blog makes your profile more attractive to anyone viewing your profile. Remember when adding a link to your blog not to use LinkedIn’s default of “My Blog” but use the “Other” option so you can use keywords that relate to what your blog is about. The same is true for any of the three websites you highlight on your profile.
   5.       Ask for Recommendations –You know your strengths but asking others that you have worked with in the past to write a quick recommendation for you will only add value to your profile.  If someone writes a recommendation for you, don’t forget to return the favor. Just think of how much easier it is when you give the recommendations first… 
   6.       Groups – Joining groups is important.  But adding to the discussions in groups is even better.  Contribute…Join…draw people’s attention to your own brand.
   7.       Utilize other accounts – Use your Twitter account and blog to add to your own LinkedIn profile.  You can share your relevant Tweets by adding #LI in front of your post on Twitter.  Also adding select tags on blog posts makes them apparent on your LinkedIn profile.
   8.       Add connections – The more connections, the more opportunities you have to market your brand.
   9.       Videos and Slideshare – Add videos of events or information you want to promote.  You can also add slides of a presentation you recently gave using Slideshare.  These items will markets you as an authority in your field. 

Use your LinkedIn profile to market your brand by making your profile stand out.  Using these tips can supercharge your profile and provide a positive experience as you market your brand.

Did you find these tips useful? What is the one take away that you are going to implement into your LinkedIn profile as a result of the tips shared here? Please leave it in the comments below…

Let’s connect on LinkedIn! Please reach out at http://in.linkedin.com/in/nitinupparpelli

Do you know someone that can benefit from these tips? Please share this post with them to help them supercharge their LinkedIn Marketing. Thank you 

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The Impact Of Social Media On Business

“A brand is no longer what we tell the consumer it is – it is what consumers tell each other it is.”

Social media marketing refers to the process of gaining website traffic or attention through social media sites. Many a social network sites have come in the limelight, for helping businesses to grow especially small and medium enterprises.  Social media marketing is a very important marketing tool in the contemporary world and the best companies have accepted this. It is a must for all companies, irrespective of their size, the industry they serve in. Consumers today are more informed and empowered. They know what they want and yearn to get it. Smart companies have realized this. Around 73% of Fortune 500 companies have a Twitter account& 66% of Fortune 500 companies have a Facebook page.

Presence of companies on social network sites like Facebook, twitter, LinkedIn has become an imperative in the present business environment. Many of the companies’ use these sites for recruitment of fresh talents, or for back ground check of an employee, for advertisements of their product or services, for addressing a consumer’s grievances e.t.c. Social Network presence has become a must in a marketers’ strategy. It has strategic importance in business nowadays.

Many a companies have joined the bandwagon of social marketing. It is the in thing; everybody is doing it. A recent survey in a newspaper said that 64% of business owners have a positive attitude towards social marketing. A research shows, 57% of marketers acquired customers via blogging, 20% of Facebook users have purchased something because of ads or comments they saw there But on the other side, news like 0.5% of Facebook fans engaging with the brand they are fans of, leads generated through social media not being sales ready have made people accept social media as a marketing tool with a pinch of salt.

Social media is undoubtedly the cheapest and easy available tool for small companies to advertise and create buzz. But one of the most important things a marketer has to keep in mind that social media has become a lethal tool for protest by customers, called in popular parlance “Internet activism”. A consumer can easily showcase his views, both positive and negative towards a company or its products& this surely affects a company.

It is common knowledge that, if a consumer is happy with your product or service he will recommend it to his close friends, but if he thinks he is dissatisfied with your offering; you can minus 200 people from the list of your potential customers. Word of mouth publicity is the oldest and most trusted medium of advertisement. Its speed is its biggest asset or on sometimes the biggest thorn for companies.  In earlier times, when bad news used to hit companies, they able to take their time and plan how to respond. Today, a negative story or customer experience can be shared with millions of people within a matter of hours, via the social networks.  If you wait to respond, a small story can reach millions and causing irreparable damage to your brand. A company should focus on responding to negative publicity in real-time on social media sites that are most popular with their customers. This will help the company in transforming negative publicity into a positive brand building opportunity.

A good deed by the company also reaches and travels as fast as the negative publicity does. A company should not neglect social media because of these factors.

One school of thought is that marketing nowadays is moving towards brand engagement, conversation. For providing meaningful marketing to your consumer, you have to give space to the consumer, to relate to your brand, tell stories about how your brand makes his/her life easy and more satisfied. Fans create communities, like Starbucks lovers or Nike Fans. This is the highest level a brand can reach, to engage its customers in activities. The bottom line is, social media may not give immediate returns, but ignoring it is not an option.

Social media savvy consumer are more subject to show their dissent towards a product, in the case of a dissonance situation than a customer who is not that active online. In this information age, it would be committing suicide for a company, by having no social media presence, especially if it wants customers to engage with its brand(s). In my opinion, social media marketing may be a fad or not, but it’s not inconsequential for a company & simply cannot be ignored.

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