There are several things that make Gaurav Arora‘s background, but if there’s one thing that stands out, it is his love for marketing and consumer behaviour. It excites him to think about new ways to make a brand’s messaging reach the customer and gauge their reaction to it.
He started off as a software engineer with a keen interest in UI/UX design and went on to do an MBA to bolster his marketing skills, after which he worked in the corporate sector for a brief time, and then went on to pursue his dream of entrepreneurship through Bangalore based Social Panga, the online branding, marketing, UI/UX design and consulting company that he started 2 years ago. Since then there has been no looking back!
Digital Vidya: How did you get into Digital Marketing?
Gaurav: From a very young age, I knew marketing was going to be my dream profession, which is why I was always working towards trying to achieve it. For me, a client is like a girlfriend that must be kept happy no matter what!
My passion for marketing coupled with my strong technical background almost auto-steered me into the world of digital marketing. What I like about this field is that if you’ve got the talent, ideas and a strong will to succeed, you can definitely make your name in this field, unlike traditional marketing, which is now quite saturated. The high that one gets when an online marketing campaign succeeds is unexplainable. And I love the fact that it is much more technical, systematic and track able as compared to traditional channels of marketing.
Digital Vidya: Why do you think it’s important for entrepreneurs, marketing professionals and students to learn Digital Marketing today?
Gaurav: Gone are the days when having a Facebook Page or a Twitter Account was a good to have for a company. Today, it is an absolute must for companies to have an online presence, and a pretty robust one at that!
Brands, big and small, companies or personalities; are all using digital marketing to great effect nowadays. One can’t deny that an effective digital marketing campaign can go a long way in improving your market share, and can even go a long way to help you in becoming the Prime Minister of a country!
Digital absolutely is the new platform for marketing, and with the costs currently being lower than traditional media and space open for new ideas and innovative campaigns, it becomes imperative for entrepreneurs, marketing professionals and students to be abreast with digital marketing techniques to really be able to harness them for their companies and careers. Good digital marketers are in big demand!
Digital Vidya: According to you, what are the top mistakes committed by organizations today in leveraging Digital Marketing?
Gaurav: I think one of the biggest mistakes committed by organizations when it comes to digital marketing is an understanding of their own product and the platforms that can be used to leverage them. We are increasingly noticing that companies want to take up digital marketing initiatives irrespective of their product or service. Everybody wants to be present on all platforms, be it Facebook, Instagram or Pinterest. And they all expect immediate results without committing required funds.
Companies need to understand that while digital is cheaper, it is not free. And it is cheaper also in the long run. But if there is a lack of planning, messaging and a clear budget assigned, your digital campaigns will not create the magic you expect. And companies need to consult experts to figure out what platform is best for them – for example, search engine marketing is better for product based brands, Facebook is better for high engagement brands, and Instagram and Pinterest are best for brands which have a lot of visual appeal. With this understanding clear, companies can spend their money in the right places and get the results they expect!
Digital Vidya: You led ‘Unlock The Best 5 Techniques For online Lead Generation’ Webinar for Digital Vidya’s community. How was your experience in leading the Webinar?
Gaurav: I was quite amazed by the kind of response and learning that happened in the session. First of all I think Digital Vidya does a great job with organizing their trainings, the technical part of it works smooth as butter.
But the highlight of the session was the kind of detailed queries that people had and the intelligent discussions that followed. Frankly, I had expected it to be more of one way communication, but I was pleasantly surprised by the enthusiasm, the will to learn and the existing knowledge of the participants! In fact even I got to learn a few things that I’d never thought of before!
Digital Vidya: Please share top 5-7 takeaways from the Webinar you would like to share with our community?
Gaurav: Some of the major takeaways for me were:-
- There is no one platform that works for people. When coming up with a digital strategy, it has to be a healthy mix of all platforms, and the best features of all the platforms. Just managing a page on Facebook is not enough, you need to advertise on Google as well!
- Targeting is king – One of the biggest benefits of digital marketing is the amount of data available in the background for companies to target. Therefore campaigns can be highly narrowly targeted for best results on the basis of interests, mobile usage, travel details and so on.
- Your leads are a function of the effort you put in – everything matters, right from your targeting, ad copies, graphics, landing pages, and so on. Utmost care needs to be taken to keep in mind each of these factors!
Digital Vidya: Do you have any suggestions for us to further increase the value of our Digital Marketing Webinars for our community?
Gaurav: I think Digital Vidya is already doing a pretty good job with the webinars and the technical aspect of it. The only thing that could be slightly improved on is setting expectations with the participants a little better so that they are well aware what they are in for and are prepared for the same. Engaging conversations and discussions are the best learning experience in these webinars!
Digital Vidya: Would you like to share few words about the work we are doing at Digital Vidya?
Gaurav:
I think Digital Vidya is doing great work in forwarding the cause and education about Digital Marketing. A lot of people want to know more about it but are already working or unwilling to join a full-time course in digital marketing, and this is where Digital Vidya is helping these people. And having experience of having taken several workshops myself, I can safely say that Digital Vidya’s webinars are by far the most engaging, interactive and fun!
Here’s wishing you guys luck! Keep up the good work!
