Importance of Digital Marketing is growing in India (portion from my forthcoming book @Rs 400/- )

" As I started introducing me with my sales pitch , the caller from other side said I am a 21 year student from a local college and is not able to marry as Google search is fetching negative content that is posted about me by my former boy friend when someone searches my name on the search engine. She requested me to help her with an ORM service."

The Corporate Communication head of leading Non Banking Financial Corporation (NBFC) had met me twice in last 5 years. I had first met him in 2012 and met him later in 2017 . Our discussion was same during both meeting – marketing. Last time, he was describing about media relation in his Nariman point office. But this time, in his new office at Sion , he was discussing on digital marketing. He said “ There is no option before us. To run a TV ad in a popular television channel, it is damn costing. Print is on the way to be oblivion. Digital is only option. It is cost effective. It is delivering result.”

Along with my co-for Founder at PRJankarui Digital Marketing Pvt Ltd (PRJankari) , Vishnu Nath , I was in his office on an invitation to discuss on a research project around media and branding. But the discussion moved beyond media and remained focused around digital marketing. Now a days, my most of meetings goes around discussion around digital marketing. I have tried to understand why people are discussing with me on digital marketing. Answer is either as I am a digital marketer, they like to discuss or they are part of digital marketing revolution, they have relevant topics for me. But it was not so much in a decade ago when I started learning digital marketing tools and techniques. The popularity of use of digital marketing is pan India is growing day by day. Community in smaller cities like Odisha’s Bhubaneswar or Rajasthan’s Ajmer are also trying to use digital marketing in most optimum way.

" The Aam Aadmi Party's national Facebook page reach recently crossed 150 million users (15 crores). This audience is several times larger than the readership of many large Indian national dailies combined. APP source claims that it is also solely run by volunteer contributors who aren't paid any monthly salary."

I had met Jagadish Pradhan in January 2017 in Bhubnaeswar. He is a farm produce marketing activist who is all praise for digital marketing. “I had sold a bullock ( balad) recently. I had sent its image on WhatsApp. People said that it could have fetched better price if I had shared it on digital media among others before I sold it.” I was in Salemabad village of Kishangarh block in Ajmer district to explore whether digital marketing can be used to sell goats online. My local host took me to goat traders there in a nearby village. The trader narrated over a cup of tea on how he is selling goats on WhatsApp .

In Kashipur, a interior tribal habitation in Rayagada district of Odisha on the boarder of Andhra Pradesh, I had interacted with members of Mandibishi Maa Sangathan , a tribal women organization there established in Mandibishi village by a local NGO Agragamee. . They are exploring whether they can switch to digital channels to sell jhadu (hill brooms) . Jhadu has been sold by local hawkers and retail outlets located in our neighborhoods.

ACC Cement team is one of the corporate which has successfully reached engineers and architects in India for a design competition for Holcim using digital marketing tools and techniques. An naadi vaidya (palse reader ) from Mumbai Dr Pankaj Naram has been able to reachout to millions of patient for his practice in cities in USA and Europe. He is the leader in nadi treatment in the world who is marketing his services to the world being operating from Malad in Mumbai in India using digital marketing tools and techniques.

" Some of their old employees had posted negative about them on a consumer website and these content is coming to Google search when someone writing any of their director’s name. Off course, I was able to locate solution to this and the content was deleted by the website. But I could not save the institute as the institute was so defamed due the content, it could not compete with other MBA institutes in the densely competitive management education market."

During Loksabha election in 2014, BJP made the election a digital war. In 2017 , the elections in Assembly and local bodies in India, have used digital media for electoral purpose in a more organized way by using professionals even graduate from IITs and IIMs. Social Media team has been formed by all political parties those were known for their skilled in reaching out to voters in person through rally and outdoor posters. They use social media for outreach related to political parties, counter act the controversies, sharing important images related to Local rallies conducted by Politicians. Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader the Chief Minister of Delhi Arvind Kejriwal is better also in social media-craft. The Aam Aadmi Party's national Facebook page reach recently crossed 150 million users (15 crores). This audience is several times larger than the readership of many large Indian national dailies combined. APP source claims that it is also solely run by volunteer contributors who aren't paid any monthly salary.

The story of digital marketing by corporate is a common thing today. Every reader of my writing knows how a bank like Kotak Bank is doing # tag banking or Lakme is influencing users by using fashion and beauty bloggers in India.   

Two instants in my life as a Digital Marketer will be always remembered.

Instant One: I used to get call always from people seeking digital marketing solutions and services. One day a female called and asked whether I am able to provide her a online reputation management (ORM) services. I used to get this kind of queries from celebrity fraternity. I welcome this kind of queries as this kind of project fetches good service fees. As I started introducing me with my sales pitch , the caller from other side said I am a 21 year student from a local college and is not able to marry as Google search is fetching negative content that is posted about me by my former boyfriend when someone searches my name on the search engine. She requested me to help her with an ORM service.

Instant Two: I got a call from a USA returnee couple (now they have returned to USA) from Mumbai those were managing an MBA Institute in Pune for SEO service. I went there with a pitching preparation on how can SEO and other digital marketing activities help the MBA institute to get good admission. But on reaching there I found there are hardly interested to listen my keyword centric web optimization pitching. They told me that negative content is surfacing on Google when anybody writes name of any Director out of their four director of the institute with a request to ensure that the negative post be unoptimised to inner pages of Google. Later I came to know that some of their old employees had posted negative about them on a consumer website and these content is coming to Google search when someone writing any of their director’s name. Off course, I was able to locate solution to this and the content was deleted by the website. But I could not save the institute as the institute was so defamed due the content, it could not compete with other MBA institutes in the densely competitive management education market.

Digital marketing has become an unavoidable channel for everybody today. But the domain needs more education and guidance for its users as the social media and technologies are changing very fast pushing a common user to back. An entrepreneur can try use these channels for his /her business if he /she knows what is it and how can he /she use it. Hence, an organized discussion or book with local examples which a business man from Mumbai or Bangalore can identify is a need. A case of marketing a training programme is always making me positive. A training project that had used Facebook and Email marketing with a support from tele-caller team has yielded 1500 leads with an investment of nearly Rs 96000-00 (Rupees Ninety Six Thousand Only).

Here, I shall try to discuss different marketing tools and techniques with examples from my practicing experience and cases that has successfully changed the business development scenario in our time in India.

Loknath Swain is a practicing digital marketer and blogger in Mumbai . The published article is a portion from his forthcoming book (Digital Marketing for Business Leads - How you can grow your business by using proven digital marketing techniques  ) on how to use digital marketing for business. The book which is expected to be released towards the end of March 2017 , is aiming to be a guidebook for business and marketing community on how to use. This book is power not to be missed knowledge on digital marketing that has proved to generate business . The book is priced at Rs 400/- . Loknath Swain can be contacted on [email protected] or on his mobile 09833181107 .