The Case
The client’s problem stemmed from a reputation issue that they had noticed but did not resolve hoping it would die down with time. An ex-employee had been spreading false rumors about the organization on various portals related to the industry and this was slowly eroding the goodwill the company enjoyed. Potential employees walked away and, they later guessed, a few potential clients too. Our client had no idea until someone pointed it out to them. The posts were read in horror, duly noted and the company decided to wait it out. This was November 2009. A few token efforts were made to douse the flames but discontinued when they realized they were egging on the bloggers. An email began circulating saying blatant lies about the company.

In March 2010, an old customer pointed this out to them and they knew something had to be done. Legal notes were sent but the forum owner was neither legally liable nor could he violate the integrity of his website by deleting posts. The only option left to them was to take the bull by the horns and they were little equipped to do so.

This is when iridium Interactive was called in. Here is a snapshot of the things we did to build a stronger reputation

Listening:
iridium set up its monitoring tools starting with simple free ones like Google Alerts and free online monitoring tools along with our own social media monitoring system. We listed out in detail all the forums and websites where the company was being spoken about favorably as well as negatively and set about identifying influencers who really affected the online reputation of the company.

Responding:
As soon as we got a picture of the kind of things that were being spoken about, iridium swung into action and listed out appropriate responses for the same. We engaged clients and employees to promote a positive view of the company. where there were negative reviews, we stepped in and resolved people’s queries.  Our SEO machinery swung into action working to position relevant information on the first few pages of major search engines instead of the false rumors. We went a step further and created positive conversations on more credible communities.

Engaging:
iridium set up social media accounts to represent the company online. We dug into twitter and started slowly to interact with the influencers in their field. A facebook page served as a touchpoint for the employees of the company, slowly evolving as an extended platform to promote activities, updates and discussions.  The blog which we set up and maintained was a mix of industry news and company updates positioning the company as a thought leader and industry peer.

Within six months we noticed a remarkable change. The damaging reviews and emails subsided. The company’s sentiment index swung from red to green. A greater chunk of information about the company was positive and positioned in the initial pages of web results. At an industry conference they were recognized for what really mattered, their performance, and pulled in greater business. iridium’s efforts on the online reputation management program had worked. This is now an an integral part of the company’s work ethic. Never again will they ignore the multitude of voices that speak about them.

iridium Interactive is a pioneering company with over 10 years of experience in the field of internet marketing.  we have been in the ’social media’ field from before the term existed.

Follow us on twitter and facebook to stay current with what is happening in the industry and how simple interventions can benefit you.

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1. Increase awareness
2. Raise funding
3. Increase volunteering

In this post, we will focus on trying to using techniques we feel have worked for iridium’s clients and give you working principles of what you should concentrate on to raise awareness for your cause.

Increasing awareness

As social media continues to dominate internet timespend, it is but obvious that this is a channel you need to capitalize on and increase your reach at minimal cost. However, as NGOs occupy a major chunk of social media space it becomes necessary for you to not just differentiate but also have a much more interesting and involved approach towards social media engagement. Opening a facebook and a twitter account, pestering your network to like the page or to follow your twitter handle, although essential isn’t the be all end all of things. Here are three simple principles for you to follow:

The messaging:

Your product is as good as your message. Short or long, it must communicate something to your users, fans and viewers. Updates thus are the point where you either get shared or hidden or get your page unliked. Someone who likes your page would obviously be looking to learn more about your cause and you should try to keep your updates in line with this. Communicate what you want to but ensure that your tone is conversational and maintains the standard you have started with. Use a lot of videos and pictures which communicate your message directly with the minimum lag in understanding. Not only will your message get watched, read or viewed, it also has a higher likelihood of being shared which is what actually contributes to enhanced reach.

The engagement:

Speak to your fans. Let no comment/post go unreplied to. This helps build a rapport with your fans and can be a pleasant surprise to them when you speak to them in a friendly way. Without becoming intrusive, stay connected with your fans and engage them. Keep a cheerful tone and stay at it!

Social plugins:

Get a facebook like box, get a twibbon, get a youtube channel and spread the word. The more places that you garner social sharing, the more chances of you increasing your reach and spreading awareness to a greater demographic.

Follow iridium Interactive on twitter and facebook and stay current with the latest on social media and campaigns.

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punni ki kahaniyan

Aide et Action-South Asia along with its Social Media Partner, iridium Interactive and Print partner, The Hindu launched Punni ki Kahaniyan, a Short Film series about Multi Culturalism at Ravindra Bharathi, Hyderabad on 26th October 2010. The initiative of Punni ki Kahaniyaan is aimed at fostering the values of multiculturalism and promoting cultural harmony in children by helping them understand other cultures through short films talking on these subjects. ‘Punni’ is the animated narrator of the ‘Punni Ki Kahaniyan’, that acts both as a narrator and observer in the Films.

iridium Interactive, as the Social Media Partner has been associated with Aide et Action right from conceptualizing the online branding of Punni to the launch of the film series. Tireless efforts have been put to bring in identity to Punni in the social media. Punni has been promoted in the Social Media circles by a wide range of activities on Facebook, Twitter, Blog, Twibbons, News Portals and a whole range of other Social Media initiatives.

Sriram Bharatam, CEO and Founder, iridiumInteractive and Sania Mirza at the launch event

The launch event comprised of an audience of over 1,200 enthusiastic children from over 30 schools in Hyderabad and they sure added a lot of enthusiasm to the proceedings! The enthusiasm of the children was palpable as they clapped and sang right from the prayer song till the end of the launch, adding immense zest and energy to the proceedings. The screening was preceded by messages of multiculturalism to the children by Ravi Pratap Singh, Regional Director, AEAI South Asia, P. Ranga Reddy, Regional General Manager, The Hindu, Rajiva Wijesinha, MP from Sri Lanka and Ganesh Devi, Educationist. All the Speakers drove across the point of multi culturalism in their own ways. While Ravi Pratap Singh narrated his childhood experiences, Rajiva Wijesinha amazingly compared multi culturalism with a bouquet of flowers. He said “The bouquet looks good because of many flowers, but what makes the bouquet beautiful is that the flowers are of many colors”, thereby driving home the need to recognize ethnic diversity.

What followed later was the screening of the first film in the series of Punni Ki Kahaniyan which was cheered by the children amidst loud whistles and claps. Post the screening Sania Mirza, the Indian Tennis Star talked on how Sports does not recognize differences in language, religion or color. She added that she is humbled by the fact that she gets to play for the Nation and that she wishes that every child gets to serve the Nation in their own way.

Sriram Bharatam of iridium Interactive narrated a very interesting story that stressed on the need for children to look beyond their boundaries and actively explore new things. His story drove home the morals of Cultural acceptance, shunning the herd mentality and realize their true potential. His account of his childhood experiences helped children connect with him. RP Patnaik, music director, also echoed the same sentiments and sang ‘Saare jahan se achcha’ which the children happily participated in.

Saniz Mirza, Sriram Bharatam and RP Patnaik presented accolades to the children who were the cast of Punni Ki Kahaniyan.

Follow iridium Interactive on twitter and facebook and stay current with the latest on social media and campaigns.

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Aide et Action [South Asia], an organization working to empower people by providing quality education to all, has launched an initiative called Punni Ki Kahaniyan, a series of short films that uses the voice of a young girl to tell children stories built around the values of multiculturalism, communal harmony and education. The first of the series, an 18 minute film, shows children the bright side of cultural harmony and the pitfalls of ragging, bullying and racism. By showcasing the varied cultures that represent India through the eyes of schoolchildren, the film is a teaching aid that also opens the eyes of adults to the fact that we are one people and that a herd mentality that propagates racism and divide is to be shunned.

Support Punni through social media!

Aide et Action South Asia has partnered with iridium Interactive as a Social Media partner to create Awareness and Buzz for Punni Ki Kahaniyan and reach out to students, teachers, parents and the society at large. The objective is to start a strong movement that promotes cultural harmony through social understanding and integration. iridium Interactive is promoting and connecting with all the stakeholders using the social platforms like facebook,  twitter, youtube, vimeo etc., to promote the film and supporting Aide et Action South Asia to take the message to millions of school children across India.

You can aid this mission by:

1. sharing the movie and/or showcasing it in your neighboring school

2. demonstrate your support  on facebook and take this initiative to parents and educators, the key influencers of young children

3. actively sharing your ideas on how to increase the impact of this initiative

On 26^th October 2010, Punni ki Kahaniyan is formally launched at Ravindra Bharathi, Hyderabad with 1000 children representing 35 odd schools who will watch this movie and, we hope, learn the importance of unity. Sania Mirza, ace tennis player, is an enthusiastic supporter who is attending the launch of this event. Ravi Pratap Singh, Regional Director-Aide et Action South Asia, Sriram Bharatam, CEO and Founder at iridium Interactive and Ranga Reddy, RM-The Hindu would also be part of this event. Our endeavour is to reach out and promote this movie to as many children as possible and along the way, sensitise the general public so that they too imbibe these values and create an ecosystem that shuns regressive beliefs and promotes unity.

So come, join Punni as she takes the lead and tells children value driven stories that will make them better people.

Punni has been covered by The HIndu in today’s newspaper. Click here to read the full article. The Hindu is an official media partner in A.P for Punni Ki Kahaniyan. You can reach Punni on her facebook page and on her twitter account

For further details contact:
Mohammed Salahuddin
salaudin.m at iridiuminteractive dot com
+919989234334

Follow iridium Interactive on twitter and facebook and stay current with the latest on social media and campaigns.

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Over the course of the past few weeks, we’ve been monitoring several blogs, Indian as well as from across the globe,  to understand the commenting trends and almost everywhere we have come across this phenomenon. It seems that now, with the advent of so many social media platforms, there are a hundred different avenues through which blogs are commented on and discussed, including the blog. A simple tweet on twitter like ‘Read interesting post about wordpress 3.0 by *** and totally disagree’ can trigger a conversation on twitter rather than on the blog. If the blogger would like to be part of this conversation, it becomes her job to track where her story is being shared and discussed and get there as fast as possible with her reasons and opinions to continue the conversation. For instance, this blogpost may be retweeted by 10 different people on twitter, each marking the tweet with his/her thought [which takes the place of the comment] along with the url. In this scenario, it might simply be a better solution to add to the comments box a continuously updating list of mentions on the social web thus allowing you to connect with those who have thoughts about your ideas on their platform rather than bringing them to your blog and expecting them to drop a comment. So if the lack of comments is really getting you down, hang in there! Someone, somewhere is tweeting about you. You just need to find them and engage!

Follow us on @iridiuminter or catch us up on facebook and we’ll keep you posted about more such news.

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