Founder, and CEO of DigitalTigers Digital Marketing agency Mehak Chadha is a force to reckon with in the Digital Marketing industry. She took time out from her busy schedule to speak to Ankit Mahajan about the future of communication and Digital Marketing in today’s world. Excerpts:
Hi Mehak, what is the importance of Communication in today’s world?
Communication is power. If you know what to communicate when to communicate and how – you are powerful or else, someone who knows the game and can play it better than you will always exploit or take advantage of you.
We seem to be living in a world where almost everything around us is changing very fast, is this good or bad?
Change is an inevitable and evolutionary process. It creates great challenges and opportunities in the business world. The world is moving ahead. It is the age of video and influencer marketing. It requires strategic, out-of-the-box thinking and application of Digital Marketing tools like Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Pay per Click (PPC), Social Media Marketing (SMM), Content Marketing, web marketing, and Target Ads. The right time to join this bandwagon is now or never.
What will be the marketing trends that will rule the online world? For instance, what is the future of video marketing?
In this high-tech era, the internet holds immense possibilities for one and all. Video Marketing is one of the most effective tools to reach your target audience and improve your search engine ranking. A number of marketing campaigns can be planned using video as a medium for clear, crisp, and effective communications. If you want to establish a make your brand visible online there are endless possibilities for you to exploit and maybe sell your product or service – even outside your immediate geographical area. There are a number of options for you to choose from— corporate films with customer testimonials to serials, video coverage of live events, jingles, endorsements by celebrity brand ambassadors, educational/ motivational/ training films, public awareness spots/ advertisement commercials, and product demonstration – explaining the use of a product—especially one that has been launched only recently.
Do you think YouTube will rule the world in the years to come?
Today, YouTube is the second largest search engine next to Google. This in effect implies that a properly tagged video can work wonders for your SEO, improve the click-through rate and start an emotional heart-to-heart conversion with your target audience. According to a recent study, 64 % of consumers who buy a product online do so after watching a video demonstration of the product. In other words, before making the purchase, they have to be convinced to buy the product. A strategy combining the use of the internet and video holds the potential to engage customers, make your business grow as well as ignite your customer engagement and sales. So if you are planning to switch to video and harness the most powerful aspects of modern marketing, the best time to do so is now.
What is the future of artificial intelligence?
Artificial Intelligence will transform the entire digital landscape and sharpen the impact of your digital marketing effort and help you understand your audience better. It will predict and influence the buying behavior of your customers by making you know in advance — what your target audience actually needs and how to satisfy them. Knowing your customers’ buying habits and what they actually want to purchase can help you invent a more effective and innovative marketing strategy and work wonders for your brand.
AI can transform the way you engage with your audience, drive relevant traffic, acquire new customers, increase sales and retain existing customers by bridging the gap between the brand and its customers. In the long run, AI can transform the way you engage with your audience and create a place in their heart by providing a more personalized customer experience.
Can you give some examples of artificial intelligence to clarify how it will change the world around us?
Some of the best examples of artificial intelligence include “Chatbot”- a virtual assistant which can communicate with your customers like a human, and Apple’s Siri. Google Home’s voice-controlled digital assistants can order products you need from retailers like Walmart, Costco, Walgreens and PetSmart. RankBrain – Google’s third most important ranking signal, Amazon’s Echo and Alexa voice-shopping platforms will change the face of the digital landscape. Today, Alexa can play your favorite song, while Siri can set an alarm.
Moving ahead please tell us what is inbound marketing and how it can help attract prospective customers.
Inbound Marketing is a strategic effort to attract prospective customers to your products and services and make a lasting impression in their hearts and mind through content marketing, social media, search engine optimization, events, and webinars. Catching the attention of customers is what a business needs. This is where inbound marketing, helps us build strong brands. The main objective behind Inbound Marketing is to create valuable relationships that have a positive impact on your business and potential customers.
Do you agree with the notion that influencer marketing is the new face of marketing?
Influencer or word-of-mouth marketing involves building trust with a fan base. Unlike traditional marketing, influencers have greater credibility and make a bigger impact than newspaper advertisements. If you want your business to grow, you need to figure out the right influencer for your brand. He may not necessarily be a celebrity but anyone from journalists to YouTubers can attract followers, make them trust your company’s product or influence, and change the perception and opinions of your target audience.
Can social media help?
Social media is one of the best ways to influence the decision-making process through trends in online social circles. Some social influencers have more than a million followers and can subtly but surely create a more, long-lasting impact in the intended circles and reach new and unexplored markets.
According to recent studies, more than a third of decision makers are using social media channels to engage potential buyers, nurture relationships and drive sales. A new Forrester Research suggests that social messaging tools present a whole new opportunity and a dominant channel of communication in the future even outside the realm of Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, and Twitter. Marketers and sales professionals can now use these mediums to reach out as well as communicate with existing subscribers or followers and positively engage or acquire new prospects.
Many people say that WhatsApp is a useless medium that actually spreads false and useless information. Do you agree?
No. I would say no medium is good or bad– it all depends on how you use the medium. About 29% of people use messaging apps like WhatsApp, which currently has 175 million active daily users and counting. As on date, WhatsApp is the most preferred social messaging service, with a range of business features. It is also a platform that allows business organizations a chance to communicate with their consumers on a personal level. The broadcasting feature allows the sender to mass communicate with a group of people at the same time. At the same time, this doubles up as a two-way communication channel for the recipient to seek an answer, and send a query, or feedback to the sender. The best part of the deal is that the entire or a portion of the communication between the sender and receiver can remain private and confidential, in case they so desire.
