Basanti and the social media marketing campaigns
Should Your Social Media Marketing Campaigns be like Basanti?
Sometimes when you have been writing content and writing content and writing even more content you may end up with a case of writer’s block. I went through the same phase recently when I was trying to come up with Blog ideas for one of our clients for the Digital Marketing Agency model of Digital Skills. Glum and feeling low I wanted to take a break. Watching TV usually has an effect of calming my nerves in these situations, and what was on TV that day? SHOLAY, one of the most iconic movies of Bollywood history. As I watched the film I started to get an inkling of an idea of what my next blog post could be and I watched the movie a little more at ease than when I began. Inspiration can hit you at any time.
The next few points are what struck me about how Basanti would make a perfect Social Media Marketing Campaign. She has just the right attributes. Doesn’t she? Let me explain.
1) “Mujhe Befuzul Baat Karne Ki Aadat Toh Hai Nahi” – They are not spammy, and they are clear concise and provide value: Basanti claims from the get go when she meets the characters of Jay and Viru that she doesn’t have the habit of frivolous talk. She says what she means and means what she says. She doesn’t have time to spam the people around her. Although that line was used for comedic effect in the movie it is exactly how your Social Media Marketing Activities should be. Fuzul ki baatein chodo yaar, come to the point and provide a value to the readers. In our Social Media Marketing Course in Pune, we teach exactly how to hit the nail on the head of the customers with your message.
2) “Tumhara Naam Kya hain Basanti?” – They are well branded. Work so hard that you need not introduce yourself. There is an exchange of dialogues between Viru and Basanti where they are making their introductions known to one another, but Basanti has already mentioned her name so many time that Amitabh Bachchan’s character Jay sarcastically asks, “tumhara naam kya hai Basanti?” Your Brand needs to be omnipresent, but not your social media campaigns. You should be able to create a suitable brand identity such that your brand can be recognized by just its logo or tagline. Your social media marketing campaign should be an integral part of your branding strategy, you should be everywhere without being in your face present.
3) “Bhaag Dhanno, tere Basanti ka Sawal hai” – They build relationships. Although Dhanno was a means to an end for Basanti, it wasn’t just about that. Basanti had built a unique relationship with her horse and they both trusted each other and were loyal to each other. It was because they Basanti had spent time building a relationship with Dhanno she knew she could count on the horse to get her to safety and towards her goals when she needed. You social media campaigns need to also be built in a similar vein. Your message to the customers shouldn’t be about selling, they should be about building a relationship with them so that when the time comes for them to need a service that you offer, you will be at the top of mind recall.
4) “Basanti UnnKutto Ke Samne Mat Nach” – They are not everywhere. Viru knows that Basanti should not dance unn kutto ke samne because he knows that it is pointless. They are not her target audience and her dancing for them will not have a fruitful outcome. You social media campaigns should also not be on every social media. If your customers are on Facebook and you’re trying to target them on Pinterest who is it going to benefit? If you want your campaigns to be successful, don’t register for an account on every social media site. That will only burn you out and your campaigns will be fruitless. With our Social Media Marketing Course in Pune, we teach you how to build your buyer personas so that you can figure out exactly what social media platforms you should target.
5) “Yunki kamal ho gaya, tum logo ki baton main raaste ka pata hi nahi chala” – They have humor. These words coming from the mouth of a blabbermouth like Basanti was just hilarious. Every social media campaign should try and add a bit of humour to the mix. Adding humour to marketing is a cool way of saying “we are a friendly business”. It makes your marketing memorable. A priceless result. Adding humour also ensures a better brand recall to the customers. Some of the most memorable ones are the touch your emotions in the deepest way and humour is one of the deepest emotions.
The more I think about it now, it seems like Basanti would perhaps not be so ideal after all. She does, do fuzul ki baatein, she did dance unn kutto ke samne, the only meaningful relationship she built was with Viru and Dhanno. So I don’t know, maybe it’s up for you to decide. Let me know, what you think. Do Basantis characteristics suit a social media campaign?