digital

Digital Marketing: Educating The Evangelists

digital-education

Digital marketing has come a long way since 2009, the year I was seduced by the Digital Side of the Force.

Awareness has increased dramatically. Agencies, publishers, media houses and ad networks are all working to educate advertisers about digital marketing.

And digital marketing is the first port of call for India’s burgeoning startup industry.

But for some reason, digital spends are yet to cross 10% of India’s total ad spends.

More and more, I’m beginning to believe that we need to swim upstream (thank you, Dave Trott) to solve this problem.

And, looking upstream, I feel the problem lies with the talent pool the digital marketing industry taps into: it’s too small, and not educated enough.

Every single one of us that moved into digital marketing from mainline learnt the same way — on our own, and on the job. Devouring all the content we could find; experimenting with design, UI and UX; testing and retesting content strategies on social media; and never believing we knew enough.

Because of the rapidly changing nature of technology, what we learnt last year is obsolete this year. Even today, I find it difficult to identify courses that could broaden my understanding of our industry.

The challenge is great…and so is the opportunity. Senior industry folk suggest that digital marketing education is a multi-hundred-million-dollar industry just waiting to happen.

It’s time educational institutions retool their curricula to focus on digital marketing. Working independently, as well as with industry stakeholders. They’re also going to need to constantly refresh their curricula to keep in tune with changing trends.

I know some institutes have begun to do this. Before I moved to Gurgaon, I used to visit the Northpoint Institute of Learning regularly for sessions on digital marketing. They’ve since added a Digital Marketing specialisation to their Post-Graduate Programme, and I’m proud to say that I consulted with them on planning that.

I’m yet to see institutes like SIMC and MICA adopt such programmes. And if any of their management is reading this, you should know that the lack of well-trained graduates is hurting us.

It’s not just new graduates that need the education. There’s a huge amount of room for executives in ad agencies, media agencies and marketing teams to learn more about digital marketing.

Because until these young professionals have the education, the industry won’t have the evangelists it needs.

The good folks at Udemy, one of the world’s most popular online education platforms, have an offer for readers of What Is An Insight?

The first 50 people to sign up for their Online Marketing Crash Course and use the coupon code WHATISANINSIGHT will get the entire course free.

The course itself seems pretty robust, covering everything from the basics to engagement, social media, content strategies, blogging and analytics. I think it’s also useful for small-business owners looking to get started with digital marketing. Sign up for the course here.

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design, digital, india, industry, ux

What I’ve Learned About Digital Design In 2015

digital-design

I won’t bore you with a deep introduction talking about how technology is shaping an emerging India. We’re all familiar with the startup explosion, the firestorm that is social media and the inexorable rise of digital marketing. We’ve all been part of the smartphone revolution and the emergence of the app economy. So I’m not going to bore you with details of those.

Instead, I’m going to try and articulate some key principles that could help you while designing for Indian audiences. Principles that could help shape the next website or app you design.

And, just because Star Wars — The Force Awakens is out in theatres, I’m going to do this in the key of R2.

Come back to the Light Side, father!

Functionality is a great thing. But more functionality means a heavier app. Not the greatest idea for a country where a majority of smartphones offer between 4 and 16GB of internal storage. And what’s the first casualty when users run out of space? Apps! The same holds true of heavy websites that invade and occupy users’ caches faster than Darth Vader could occupy Cloud City. So, put your code on a crash diet and build light.

Corollary: To do…or to do not? (There is no try!)

Sometimes, the best way to make sure users don’t uninstall your app when they run out of space is to…not build an app at all! Not every app can fulfill needs that are daily or monthly needs. A beautiful, feature-rich mobile website (like the one Flipkart just built with Google, #shamelessplug) will often serve you better.

Take their hyperdrive offline, Commander!

India’s mobile infrastructure is like a Stormtrooper’s aim — kinda spotty. In an environment of fluctuating mobile connectivity, it’s increasingly critical that some core aspects of your app work offline. And reconnect automatically upon detecting a connection.

Leave the feasting to the Sarlacc

You know what users hate more than smugglers who drop their shipments at the first sign of an Imperial cruiser? Apps and sites that feast on data. Just yesterday, I counted 4 rich ad units above the fold on a news site (which serves as many as 11 units on its desktop home page). Not to mention the horde of images that slow down loading time and swallow data packs whole. This in a country with some of the highest Internet costs. Enough said, I think.

Chewbacca had the right idea

Technology is changing rapidly. It’s critical you keep up. Keep tinkering. Optimise everything, from UI to page load times to CTAs. You never know when a small fix could help you win your own Battle of Endor.

Never underestimate the Ewok

Small can be beautiful. Only a fraction of your eventual users probably have the kind of screen real estate you do. And new formats — wearables, cars, to name two — are shrinking traditional screens even further. Design to deliver a beautiful experience across screen sizes.

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content, entertainment, media

Is TV Broken?

Stray thoughts on the changing nature of entertainment in the post-digital age.

A simple truth: there’s some dissonance between the way people (want to) consume video content and the way TV serves it up.

And it can be summed up in 2 points:

  • Users want to decide what they want to watch. TV networks want to decide what their viewers will watch, and when they will watch it.
  • Users want to binge. To experience each story in its fullest form, without any artificial interruptions. TV channels want to get users coming back more often, and hence drop an episode at a time.

How does this end?

Badly, for TV networks.

With Netflix now going global (sorry, China) and the advent of smart TVs loaded with YouTube and other apps, it’s only a matter of time.

Unless (and here’s where I get really creative), TV networks reimagine how they curate and serve content. And use technology to offer video on demand, many episodes at a time. Putting the choice back in the hand of the user, without straining the limits of their Internet package.

Serving ads programmatically, or not at all, depending on the package you’ve bought.

This will need some serious collaboration. Between networks, DTH operators and possibly even OEMs.

But it’s one way to make sure that the TV doesn’t become just a giant projection screen for your Netflix-and-Chromecast.

 

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campaigns, challenges, industry, influencer marketing, social media

Making Influencer Marketing Credible Again

Is influencer marketing as influential as it used to be?

This post is probably going to rake up some controversy, but I’m going to write it anyway.

Over the last year or so, I’ve been watching social media closely. I’ve been hearing whispers from agency folk and brand managers. And everything points to one irrefutable fact.

Influencer marketing just isn’t as credible as it used to be.

I’ll go out on a limb, one step further.

Influencer marketing just isn’t credible any more.

And here’s why.

One. Brands aren’t being discerning enough. Anyone with enough followers or readership qualifies to be an influencer. No matter how tenuous the connection between the influencer and the brand promise.

Two. Influencers aren’t being discerning enough. Most influencers today seem to be happy to work with any brand that is willing to work with them (read: pay them well). Rather than the brands they really love. The faked enthusiasm shows in every overexcited tweet, in every hard-selling blog post.

Three, following on from my previous statement. People today are becoming more and more aware that people who randomly start promoting a brand are being paid to do so.

Having been one of the earliest exponents – and practitioners – of social influence marketing in India, I can’t help but wonder – whatever happened to the influencer marketing we used to know and love?

For those who came in late, here’s how it’s supposed to work.

  1. Brand identifies potential influencers. These are usually people who are perceived experts in a particular field (related to the brand’s sphere of operation), or die-hard brand fans.
  2. Brand contacts influencer. Influencer agrees that the brand is a great fit for them.
  3. Brand and influencer work together to co-create content.
  4. It’s a win for both, the brand and the influencer. In the truest form of influencer marketing, there is no money exchanged. The brand gains credibility. The influencer gains readership/following/indirect revenue through their association with the brand and wider exposure. And/or merchandise and/or products and/or an exclusive experience.

So here are a few thoughts on how to make it better again. Very simply, going back to the basics.

Brand Managers, be picky about the influencers you work with. Frankly, there’s a limited pool. And every social media agency has pretty much the same list. Look for a few really good and relevant influencers, rather than a wide pool of irrelevant (to your category) influencers. Or work even harder, and discover someone who could become an influencer through your campaign. Your campaign will look and feel more authentic. And you’ll save a few bucks too.

Brand Managers, avoid your instinct to hard-sell. The more sell-y the content you co-create, the more people will avoid it. Don’t be lazy. Find a way to subtly weave your brand promise into your influencer’s natural content. It’s a brand-building exercise, not a sales one.

Influencers, stay true to yourselves. If music is your passion (and the reason people follow you), you have no business working on a food brand. And if you love rock music, don’t pick up a campaign related to Bollywood pop. If you’re an iPhone fan, don’t work with an Android OEM. If you’re a jeans-and-tees person, avoid the business/formal clothing brands.

Influencers, don’t do every campaign you get. I’ve seen people tweet for OLX one day and Quikr the next. The agreement you sign with a client may not be exclusive. But being loyal to the brands you actually respect or use will win you more credibility with your audience. It’ll also keep your client loyal to you. Money is always tempting. But eventually, you’ll end up diluting your brand equity. And your follower count.

Influencers, be transparent about your engagement with the brand. There’s no need to pretend that you wrote a post out of sheer love. Talk about how you’re engaging with the brand. It’s also ok to tell the world that they paid for your trip, or paid you to write the post, and leave it to your followers to judge for bias. It’ll just help you build further credibility.

As usual, I’d love to know what you think. Do leave your thoughts and opinions in the comments.

Footnote: I want to touch upon the issue of brands paying an influencer. I personally believe that paying an influencer to engage is antithetical to the concept of influencer marketing. It’s no different from hiring a celeb to endorse your brand. I do also believe that influencers work hard to create content and build a deeply engaged following, and deserve to be rewarded for the work they do. It’s a grey area; so in the end, you should just do what seems ethical to you.

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