Mihir co-founded Social Wavelength in 2009 – so a little over 6 years ago. He finished his graduation around 18 months before that and was into technology before Social Wavelength got started.
Digital Vidya: How did you get into Digital Marketing?
Mihir: In the 2007-2008 time frame, the communications landscape was changing very rapidly. Platforms like Twitter were just emerging, and Facebook was in the process of rapid evolution to the platform that it is today. As an external observer, interested in both tech and communications, I could see that this change was a tectonic one, and would create a lot of opportunities for all participants. That is what led me to get into the Digital space.
Digital Vidya: Why do you think it’s important for entrepreneurs, marketing professionals and students to learn Digital Marketing today?
Mihir: The digital medium today connects close to 1 / 4th our country. If you include mobile phone connectivity, then the number is more than three times as high. And this connectedness is going to only increase, both in breadth (how many people are connected) and depth (what are these people using this connectedness for – communication? Commerce? Hailing taxis?). If you want to be relevant today and in existence tomorrow, your marketing has to leverage this medium. Those are the reasons for everyone to learn digital marketing – relevance in the short term and existence in the medium term.
Digital Vidya: According to you, what are the top mistakes committed by organizations today leveraging Digital Marketing?
Mihir: Not starting the thought process from Business Objectives. I would not bemoan experiments (different platforms, different tactics etc.), if they were lead by a thought about how they are impacting a business objective. However, even if someone runs an otherwise strong Digital Marketing program (good creative, execution etc.) which is not leading towards fulfilling a specific business goal, then that would be a mistake!
Digital Vidya: You led ‘CRM, Insights and Sales through Social Media Listening’ Webinar for Digital Vidya’s community. How was your experience in leading the Webinar?
Mihir: It was a great experience – it feels good to see that more and more people are finding value in the work that we have been doing and the message that we have been taking to the world.
Digital Vidya: Please share top 5-7 takeaways from the Webinar you would like to share with our community.
Mihir: Here are the top takeaways from the webinar:
- Conversations happening on Social Media mean that, for the first time in history, it is possible for us to get a direct window into people’s minds, through their own expressions (whether words, images or other media).
- This is a phenomenally powerful tool, and a great opportunity to:
- Build relationships with these people
- Get an insight into their thoughts
- Increasingly, brands are able to do these things much better than in the past, because:
- Better technology is available and
- Brands are increasingly aware of the treasure trove that Social Media presents
Digital Vidya: Do you have any suggestions for us to further increase the value of our Digital Marketing Webinars for our community?
Mihir:
I think Digital Vidya already does a great job with their Seminars. Any attempt to increase the number of people you can reach will be in the right direction.
The importance of the digital medium and digital marketing needs to be known to everyone, even beyond those for whom it is a day job.
Digital Vidya: Would you like to share few words about the work we are doing at Digital Vidya?
Mihir: As I mentioned before, very happy to see the work Digital Vidya is doing. It is an important role that you are playing – of an educator – and my best wishes to you as you scale great heights.