1. The document discusses social media marketing (SMM) and group buying sites. SMM involves using social media platforms like forums, blogs, and social networks for marketing. 2. Group buying sites like Groupon and LivingSocial leverage SMM for customer engagement, branding, communications, outreach, feedback, and impulse purchases. They operate by partnering with local businesses to offer discounts that drive sales. 3. Revenue comes from profit-sharing agreements where the group buying site keeps a percentage (usually 40-60%) of sales from each promotional campaign run for a partner business. Areas like customer service, sales, and reporting can potentially be outsourced.

1. 1

2. About Social Media Marketing
SMM Landscape
Areas of outsourcing in SMM
Understanding Group-buying sites
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3. A subset of digital marketing where medium of marketing is
using social media sites such as Internet
forums, weblogs, social blogs, microblogging, wikis, podcasts, predominantly participatory
media
Social Media Marketing is not an endeavor but exists
virtually
Variety of online businesses exist on SMM landscape:
Group buying sites (Groupon, Livingsocial etc)
Promotional/publishing sites (Thrillist.com)
SEOs
Pure-play internet retail
Large retail players with online presence
SMBs with online presence
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4. Group buying sites leverage on SMM for customer
engagement, brand building, customer
communications, outreach & feedback gathering, customer
impulse collection
Location
based
social
networks
Social
networks
Engagement
Advt
Microblogs
Information
Aggregators
Online
advocacy
Blogs
Online Events
aggregators
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5. Group buying sites leverage on SMM for customer
engagement, brand building, customer
communications, outreach & feedback gathering, customer
impulse collection
Group Buying
Sites
Location
based
social
networks
Social
networks
Engagement
Advt
Microblogs
Information
Aggregators
Online
advocacy
Blogs
Online Events
aggregators
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6. These are simple extensions, on an online platform, of the already
existing group buying to get a substantial discount concept run by
retailers.
They leverage on:
the increasing demand in the consumer market, consumers who
take advantage of great value offer
Business demands on achieving maximum advert coverage with
minimum expenditure
Power of internet in reaching to millions in minutes
Group buying sites predominantly target local businesses, mostly
retailer.
Business development is done using sales forces (freelancers & homeagents, commission-based agents) to attract businesses to use group
buying
Revenue is through profit-sharing with the business owners running a
coupon campaign (Usually 40-60)
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7. 3
Merchant is
presented for review
1
Merchant rejected
Sales team
approaches
merchants
Inquiry Desk / Backoffice support Team
2
Fact-checking team
Emailers
Factchecking
inquiries
Merchant
signs-up with
group site
Consumer
inquiries on
running deals
Deals concept
team
Consumer
Web-site
Deal
inquiries
Campaign
designing team
Merchant
Merchant inquiries on
running deals
Value propositions for business through group buying include:
Repeat customers
Referral sales
Up-selling opportunities
Cost effective adverts
Attracting Hard-to-reach demographics
Potential outsourcing
Areas
Consumer / Merchant to site inquiries
Site to merchant inquiries, reports &
updates
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8. Sales Team
Deal
confirmation
Telephonic & Face-toface marketing & Sales
Merchant Sign-up
Customer
inquiry
Merchant
inquiry
Periodic updates
on performance
Deal Values, profit share
%, duration is fixed
Fact finding about
merchant, locality, product
quality
Merchant
Validated
Deal Designed
Campaign is run until max value
is reached or merchant stops
campaign whichever is earlier
Company absorbs agreed % of
fees and pay merchant his share
(in installments)
Telemarketing
Lead-gen with
screening
Inquiry Calls
Payments
Inquiry
Experts design attractive
adverts, best-option sales
Campaign is run
Profit is shared
Verification Calls
Interactions /
touch points
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