A Session on ‘How To Make Social Media Work for You’ at iLEAD

A Session on ‘How To Make Social Media Work for You’ at iLEAD 

iLEAD hosted a session on how to make use of social media for professional branding and personal branding. The speaker of the session was Mr. Dwaipayan Chakraborty, the Digital Marketing Head (East Zone) of global media and marketing service company Mindshare.   The event focused on understanding the varied social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram and their utilization from a personal and professional perspective.   Mr. Chakraborty stressed on the fact that the social media work as great influencers and generate immense power. The student community should properly use them to build their portfolio in the job market. People use their valuable time to be in social media. Strategic understanding of the niche is essential for fruitful utilization of the social media. The audience asked several questions to Mr. Chakraborty on how to make maximum use of social media platforms and also on technical issues like search engine optimization and the future trends. The session ended with the message that people should be more and more aware of the dynamics and reach of the digital social platforms. This will help them in meeting their desired objectives from the world of social media.

Some of the takeaways from the session were:

·         Human behavior itself is being captured on social media and capturing consumer attention 24x7 is easier than ever.

·         LinkedIn should be again used in every way to upgrade the professional life and network with the market leaders and CEOs. LinkedIn contains their email id and phone numbers. This otherwise is not accessible at all.  

·         There is no privacy of consumers and all social media platforms should be left bereft of information about personal life and should only be used as a PR tool. 

·         Time is an asset and many brands are selling time by saving the consumer’s time.

·         For multiple social media platforms, niche and quality content should be created, the creator should be focused one genre to understand that market but have different strategies for different platforms like – Facebook, YouTube, SnapChat, Twitter, Instagram and WhatsApp.

·         YouTube is the best platform for video – average of 30 minutes of viewer attention compared to Facebook Video (average of 5 mins of viewer attention). 

·         The YouTube video can be linked to the Facebook video for greater visibility.  

·         Understanding the TG and the local consumer market is one of the key and vital elements of influence too.

·         It is important to be updated about every new product of market leaders like Apple, Google, Amazon and Facebook.     

   

Communications Fair at iLEAD

Communications Fair at iLEAD

The students of BMS and MSc 1^st year at iLEAD showcase their talents and understanding of various communication theories through posters, models and presentations. The BMS1A was assigned with presentation regarding communication theory and BMS1B was assigned with presentations regarding communication models. The MSc. 1^st semester was assigned with presentation on both communication theories and models. The judges of this fair included Mrs. Subha Das Mollick and Ms Mom Mitra, distinguished faculties of the Media science department of iLEAD.

iLEAD Chairman, Mr. Pradip Chopra visited the fair and heard the presentation from the different student groups. The judges gave score to each of the groups according to their presentation, model and poster. Dr. Manas Paul – head of the department of Media Science, Mr. Arkaprava Chhatopadhyay-Faculty of Media Science, Mr. Archan Mitra- Faculty of Media science were also present in the fair. They also visited the different student presentation desks to see the models and theories. Dr. Ishita Dutta Ray, Mr. Gourab Chatterjee and Mr. Sumanta Bhattacharjee – faculties of the management department also visited the fair and saw the presentations of the students.

The various communication models and theories presented during the fair included-

·         Aristotle’s communication Model which advices speakers to build speech for different audiences on different times and for different effects

·         Shanon and Weaver’s Model of Communication is designed to develop the effective communication between the sender and the receiver. It also finds the factors which affect the communication process called Noise. 

·         The Newcomb’s model is focused on introducing the role of communication in a social relationship and to maintain social equilibrium within the social system.

·         Berlos SMCR model of Communication is based on a number of factors like source, message, channel and receiver  which play a key role in communication dynamics

·         Osgood-Schraam model of Communication is a circular model where communication in a cyclical manner between the Encoder, Decoder and Interpreter. 

·         Cultivation Theory argues that Media presents an image of the world that does not reflect reality. People perceive the real world through them in a distorted manner

·         Westley and MacLean model of communication realized that communication does not begin when one person starts to talk , but rather when a person responds selectively to his or her physical surroundings

·         Magic bullet or Hypodermic needle theory of communication says that the Media which is the Magic gun fired the message directly into the audience head without their own knowledge. The message causes the instant reaction from the audience mind without any hesitation which is called the Magic Bullet theory. The Media which is the needle injects the message into the audience mind and it causes changes in audience behavior and psyche towards the message. Audiences are passive and  they cannot resist the media message called Hypodermic Needle theory

·         Social responsibility theory allows free press without any censorship and also stresses on the point that the content of the press should be discussed in public panel. The Media should also accept any obligation from public interference or professional self regulations or both

·         Play theory is based on how we use media for our satisfaction and also how media brings changes in our lives according to its contents.

·         Laswell’s Model states that the convenient way to describe an act of communication is through answering the following questions which  include Who, says what, In which channel, To whom and with what effect.

·         Libertarian theory sees that people are capable enough to find and judge god ideas from bad

·         Authoritarian theory describes that all forms of communication are under the control of the governing elite or authorities or influential bureaucrats

·         Gerbner’s General model which stresses on the dynamic nature of communication and also the factors which affect the reliability of the communication

The Best Communication Theory award went to M.Sc 1^st Semester Batch who presented the Cultivation Theory.  While the Best Communication Model award was given to BMS 1^st Semester who presented the Magic Bullet Model. The students participating in the fair were also given certificates of participation.  The Overall Best Presenter Award was given to M.Sc 1^st Semester.  The awards were handed over to the winners by Dr Ishita Datta Ray- Faculty Management studies, Mr. Gourab Chatterjee- Faculty Management studies, Mr. Arkaprava Chattopadhyay Faculty Media studies and Ms Aishwarya Chatterjee- Faculty Media Studies.  

iLEAD Conducts Guest Lecture Session on Media, Society and Gender

iLEAD organized an interactive session on analyzing Advertising dynamics through the parameters of Media, Society and Gender. The session was taken by Ms. Katy McAlary who is an English Language Fellow from United States- Department of State English Language.  She has a background in English and Spanish language and works as a trainer for English language.  She also works in the field of Women Empowerment and is also involved in advanced research on World Religions.    

McAlary conducted the session on basic questions of Advertising that include:  

·         What we buy?

·         How we buy?

·         How it inspires us to change our buying decision?

Ms. McAlary pointed out the real need of advertisement in the society. Grocery stores do not advertise except when they offer something more to the consumers. The character of an individual reflects in his or her buying style. Advertisement is that mode through which the needs of the society are being created. The advertisement triangle in this regard suggests that a typical Advertising has three elements inside it – The Ethos (Ethics), Logos (Logic) and Pathos (Emotions).      

 Advertisement tries to capture all kinds of personality and character traits to make an impact in the buying behavior of an individual.  She also showed certain specific advertisements catering to male, female and non traditional families. The advertisements were shown to the audience to make them understand some basic questions like-

·         Who are the target audience and what market is being identified by the brand?

·         Whether the advertisement makes money or not?

·         Would the advertisement work with an opposite gender or cast?

The advertisements shown during the session include some famous brands like Biba, Hero, Airtel etc. She even told the audience that effectiveness of advertisement can be judged by the parameters of

·         Strongly defined target audience

·         Evoking an emotion

·         Memorable value of the brand

·         Evoking a societal change

·         Building stories from normative tropes

The session ended with a takeaway assignment given by Ms. McAlary to the audience - finding out advertisements which go by the parameters of-

o   Defying gender Normative Tropes.

o   Social activism and galvanizing the populace to social change.  

Abiding by the effective litmus test. 

The Jefferson Debates 2017 – The Battle Begins

The Jefferson Debates 2017 – The Battle Begins

It is time again for one of the most prestigious debates in Kolkata in association with the U.S Consulate – “The Jefferson Debates” at iLEAD. On November 3, the Dale Carnegie Auditorium at iLEAD will be host to ‘The Jefferson Debates’ with the topic – ‘Entrepreneurs are Born, Not Made’.  There are many who consider that entrepreneurs must have personality traits such as vision, passion, and volition that are innate and can never be taught. Others argue that skills of evaluating opportunities, channelizing managerial abilities and running a business may easily be passed on to efficient learners wanting to be entrepreneurs.  The sixth edition of ‘The Jefferson Debates’ will explore the domain of entrepreneurial abilities and try to find out the answers of this age-old debate. Numerous institutes participate in this event with some of the participants this year being Raja Manindra Chandra College, Heritage Academy, Heritage Institute of Technology, United World School Of Business, IISWBM, JCC Law College, Scottish Church College, St Xavier’s College to name a few.   The event will be moderated by Jay Treloar, Assistant Public Affairs Officer, U.S. Consulate General, Kolkata.

60 Second International Film Festival 2017 at iLEAD

60 Second International Film Festival 2017 at iLEAD

iLEAD organized screening of 60 second international festival in its auditorium. The event was anchored by Ms. Fajia Parween from Nepal and a representative of this International Film Festival. This is a platform for everyone who can tell a story in 60 seconds.  The films shown during the session were centered on the theme of ‘Colors of Your Country.’  Films shown in the session were from countries like Pakistan, United States of America, India, Iran, France, and Israel. The themes which were catered in the films included the memories of the icons of the various countries, social messages regarding saving water, stopping child labor and encouraging physically handicapped people to excel in human life. Some films were also shown on topics like fashion, photography, animation etc.  Ms Parween also discussed about the upcoming festival theme that deals with remaking of folk stories.  The students even showed their enthusiasm to participate in the upcoming 60 second film festival on folk cultures of their country and state. 

About iLEAD:

Institute of Leadership, Entrepreneurship and Development (iLEAD) is one of the premier Media and Management School of Kolkata having world class infrastructure   excellent teaching and non teaching staff and is using latest educated technologies and is affiliated to West Bengal University of Technology (WBUT) and is located in the heart of the City. To know more about iLEAD one can visit: www.ilead.net.in.