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Times Now Used Social Media Marketing In 2014 To Reach More

Case study of times now used social media marketing

In the 2014 Indian election, Times Now used social media marketing to reach more than 400 million people.

But how?

Read this digital marketing case study to know how a news channel leveraged social media marketing to occupy the top spot during the 2014 elections.

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About Times Now:

Times Now’ is one of the most-watched English news channels in India.

Recently India, the world’s largest democracy, witnessed one of the biggest electoral elections in its history.

The year 2014 turned out to be the biggest election in the country’s history of election polls with about 81.4 crore eligible voters out of the whole population of 120 crores.

This election was quite unique in nature as there were around 10 crore new and young voters waiting to cast their vote and contribute in making a difference.

Totally, there were 84 political parties with more than 5000 candidates vying for 543 seats to form the government.

Over 563 million men and women exercised their right of casting a vote in the election and were directly engaged in choosing and forming a new government.

The aim of Times Now was to capture this historic moment and present it to a large pool of audiences across nations with a thorough and in-depth analysis of the mood and opinion of the people.

Business Objectives of Times Now:

  • Occupy the top spot and be the Number 1 among all channels/platforms during the week of election results and also on the main result day.
  • Get the highest viewership on air and through the no. of interactions on social media channels.
  • Connect with the global audience through live streaming on Times Square on the result day i.e. May 16.
  • Ensure that the election results are displayed timely and in the most accurate manner.
  • Integrate different social media channels and increase the reach of channels to a large pool of audiences.

Times Now Used Social Media Marketing Strategy/Approach:

To achieve the campaign objectives, Times Now ensured that the content provided across different platforms and information dissemination to its audience is done in a proactive manner.

Times Now focused on using a blend of mobile applications, social networks, live feeds, and SMS services to ensure that their audience can be fed with updated election news for 90 days.

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1. Social Network:

Times Now mainly used Twitter in reaching out to its audience. Since the channel broadcasts news in English, they have a huge fan following on this social media platform.

The whole campaign was largely driven by the content of television but was strengthened by social media.

The channel used Twitter sentiments to create on-air components, thus creating cross-platform content integration.

A lot of buzzes was created on Twitter during the counting week starting from 8th May.

Hashtags were used in abundance to reach out to people and initiate conversations.

Hashtags like #PollofPolls, #MegaExitPolls, #ModiSpeaksToArnab, #Results2014, #May16WithArnab, #Modiat7RCR, and #TimesNowatTimesSquare were not only trending in India but also globally.

A mix of conversation drivers and pre-event seeding was used.

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A good example was the interview with the Bhartiya Janta Party’s prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi.

As the story broke out in the morning and the airing was scheduled for the evening, the team was short of time as there were just twelve hours for creating a buzz on Twitter.

The team worked out in such a manner to engage people so that a lot of conversations occur around the hashtag.

They created vines from the recorded episode to build curiosity and anticipation, using quotes/images and pushing out reminders to tune in at 9 pm, the time the episode was to be telecasted for the first time.

On 15th May, a day before the actual results, aiming to create brand recall and enhanced viewership, a contest was run (for the very first time from the channel’s official Twitter handle) which asked people’s views on various issues which will be addressed on the main counting day.

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The response to the contest was massive and overwhelming. The hashtag #May16WithArnab was trending globally on both days.

The main idea behind the coining up of hashtags was to keep them simple, easy to insert & use in conversations in relevance to the day’s news.

Another strategy was to make updates on Twitter accessible to the audience for all major events like live debates, exit polls, actual votes counting day, and government formation via SMS through“TimesNowLive”.

It also involved regular news updates on Google+ and Facebook while keeping the same hashtag in order to maintain continuity.

The same news was displayed on the screen regularly for driving maximum recall.

Times now mobile app (2)

2. Mobile App

Times Now also launched an exclusive election mobile app, during the campaign. This app not only brought video content and live feed about the election programming for the viewers but also enabled them an opportunity to interact with each other and the channel.

This provided the users with an enticing second-screen experience, therefore, enhancing audience engagement.

3. Video Content (Youtube)

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  • The complete election coverage was available on Youtube in the form of a live feed. All this was a part of an election hub specially created by Google for this big event.
  • Another strategy was to use vine videos strategically throughout the election campaign for promoting stand-alone events like debates, breaking news, interviews, etc.
  • More than 4 lakh audience logged in on the channel’s live feed on Youtube to watch the live coverage of the election’s result counting day.
  • The YouTube channel of Times Now fetched more than 1.5 million views on the election’s video content in just 15 days.

Timesnow app

Key Results:

  • For six days, more than 10 hashtags were trending globally with#May16WithArnab and #Results2014 being the top trends worldwide on the 15th as well as 16th of May.
  • Around 100+ hashtags trended throughout the 90 days of election coverage on the channel.
  • On Twitter during the final result counting week, Times Now had reached more than 400 million impressions.
  • By using the new Tweet to SMS service, Times now were able to reach more than 38,000 people and provide updates on the election results directly on their mobile phones via SMS.
  • Times Now was able to garner and reach more than 3.8 lakh+ followers during the campaign period.

4. Times Now Indian Election HQ Mobile App:

Times now mobile app

  • Times Now mobile app got 1,00,000 plus downloads in just 2 weeks with over 1.5 million page views via the app, and more than 3.5 lakh live feed views & over 4.5 lakh video views.
  • The mobile app was one of the featured apps on Apple, Windows, and Android during election week.

Key Findings:

Times now

This case study is a very unique example of the strategic integration of different social media channels.

alt- hashtag modispeakstoarnab being a top worldwide Twitter trend

  • It displays the advantages of careful cross-platform content integration of social media channels like Twitter with the more traditional mode of promotion like television and thus increasing reach.
  • Creating a social media marketing campaign around an event like parliamentary elections which involves the whole nation, gives the campaign a boost while enhancing the opportunity of increasing reach and engagement.
  • The use of relevant hashtags also helps in increasing reach and engagement in the form of conversations, replies, re-tweets, etc.
  • Using teaser videos, clips, quotes, etc. before the actual broadcast of an important event like an interview or a debate enhances curiosity and anticipation resulting in an increasing the no. of views.
  • The use of mobile apps further elevates the opportunity of getting connected with the audience on the move by the way of SMS and live updates/feeds. This helps in boosting audience engagement.

Image source: Google images

In the end

This Times Now case study shows how a business can reach a new audience through digital marketing.

With efficient use of social media and content marketing strategies, even with simple ideas, you can achieve your business goals and objectives.

To learn how to use digital marketing to grow your business, enroll in a digital marketing course today.

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FAQs

1. How does social media help increase the reach of more people?

Social media platforms can help increase the reach of more people. It helps you connect with your customers, increase awareness about your brand, and also boost your leads and sales.

But you need to start with a solid content marketing and social media strategy. Social media is an effective way to reach new audiences with engaging content.

2. What affects your reach on social media?

There are many factors that affect your reach on social media-

  • Follower or subscriber count
  • Visibility percentage
  • Content marketing strategy

3. How can I increase my reach on social media platforms?

To reach more people on social media-

  • Focus on your target audience to gain more social media reach
  • Meet your target audience where they are.
  • Create engaging content
  • Work with influencers or other brands to reach a new audience
  • Make your social media posts reachable.
  • Don’t be afraid to try new things.

4. How can I fix my reach on social media for free?

To fix your reach on social media for free-

  • Learn best practices for each social media platform.
  • Develop a content strategy to reach a new audience.
  • Focus on value.
  • Be consistently awesome.
  • Connect with people.
  • Call for engagement.
  • Respond fast and often.
  • Know the algorithms.
  • Work with influencers to reach a new audience

5. How did Times Now reach more people in the 2014 elections?

Times Now reach more than 400 million people during the 2014 elections.

Social media platforms like Twitter reach more than 400 million impressions and could give them live updates of the election.

Also, they gathered and reach more than 3.8 lakh followers during the period of the campaign.

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