Currently, Debasish Nandy is working as a Program Manager with Azim Premji Foundation and has a total work experience of 12 years. His work involves developing content in Mathematics and Education Leadership and Management. Debashish also facilitates workshops in these two domains arranged for the Government School Teachers. Liaising with Government Education Officials is also a part of his job. He started his career as a junior lecturer in Economics, worked as an Administrative Officer in a Government Organization before joining Azim Premji Foundation.
Debashish’s present role has no direct relevance to Digital Marketing, but he is embarking on a journey as an entrepreneur which requires digital marketing knowledge. As he felt that it would be difficult for him to work as a fresher in the new domain of digital marketing as he does not have any experience of it, he decided to enroll in a course which will help him to develop an in-depth understanding of the nuances of digital marketing. Debasish enrolled himself with Digital Vidya which seemed to be a wise decision on his part. As he was going through the course, he developed the website Eduleaders to start his entrepreneurial journey. The website is still not fully developed, but he is learning each day as he is developing it with the help of the knowledge which he is acquiring from the course. He is also working on a homestay business plan and the digital marketing knowledge is helping him a lot in framing the business plan and the way to go about with it in the digital world.
Which course of Digital Vidya you participated in? How did it help you acquire new skills related to digital marketing?
Debashish: I participated in the Certified Digital Marketing Master (CDMM) Course. The course is comprised of six modules which include Social Media Marketing, Search Engine Marketing, Search engine Optimization, Web Analytics, E-mail Marketing, and Inbound Marketing.
I was completely new to the domain of digital marketing when I enrolled for the course. But it took very little time for me to get into the basics of digital marketing and gradually advance to the higher concepts, thanks to the wonderful trainers. The trainers are skilled and possesses excellent practical knowledge which is required for a domain as diverse and ever changing as digital marketing. The course gave me the confidence to start my own venture.
Why did you choose Digital Vidya’s course?
Debashish: I was looking for an Institution which has good curriculum in digital marketing and does not place digital marketing as a money making medium.
Digital Vidya fitted into my search as I found its curriculum well aligned with the current requirement for learning digital marketing and it has not branded its course as a medium of earning quick money but concentrated on the knowledge component of digital marketing.
How has the course contributed in your career growth including new job opportunities?
Debashish: As I said the course has helped me immensely in starting my own website Eduleaders. I am developing the website of my own, though I have no knowledge of coding. I am able to implement the SEO components in the website and also trying to bring all the aspects of digital marketing to make the site visible, and drive traffic. I am able to do all of these due to the learning which I got from Digital Vidya’s course.
I am also working on a homestay business plan and currently the website is under construction. Since it is a commercial travel website the knowledge of digital marketing is helping me immensely in conceptualizing the website and framing the business plan.
Why do you think it’s important to learn Digital Marketing today?
Debashish: In a world which is ever changing in terms of technology and the way people behave digitally, a knowledge in digital marketing is a must if someone wants to establish and sustain a business or just wants to share knowledge. People across the world find ways and means to ease their daily course of action, may be it for buying things or acquiring knowledge. Hence digital marketing becomes more important to facilitate these wants of the people. Moreover, when the options in a particular segment are in plenty before the individuals, digital marketing helps to narrow down the choices and make decision making easier for the individuals.
Share about the benefits you can foresee about building a career in Digital Marketing industry.
Debashish: A career in digital marketing will help me to understand a business in holistic way. I can understand how people behave, what they want and what they aspire for. I can strategize business accordingly. It will also be cost effective for the business as the business has not to try out too many things to establish it as a brand. It will help in diverting the energy and finance in right channel. Creativity in doing things has got a lot of opportunity with digital marketing which brings loads of positive results for a business. Digital marketing gives me the scope of being creative and connect me to the people which my business caters. Establishing a business is easy, but surviving the business is the most difficult part. Digital marketing makes both the aspects easy, if I know how to do it effectively and efficiently.
How do you stay updated on the latest trends in Digital Marketing? Which are the Digital Marketing resources (i.e. blogs/websites/apps) you visit regularly?
Debashish: I have become member of the Digital Marketing group in LinkedIn, follow many digital marketers in Twitter and became Facebook friends with some of the digital marketing professionals to keep myself updated in the latest trends in Digital Marketing. I follow social samosa, buzzsumo, right relevance. I also read the online magazine yourstory.in which is about the startups.
Which are your favorite 3 digital media channels (e.g. Twitter, Google etc) and why?
Debashish: I like LinkedIn, Twitter, and YouTube.
With LinkedIn, I get to know the all the latest things happening in the professional world. It helps me to keep track of the changes and trends happening in the profession which I am into, including Digital Marketing.
Twitter helps to keep myself updated in the field of Digital Marketing. The knowledge I get by following some digital marketing professional is helping me a lot in conceptualizing my venture and getting implemented in it.
YouTube is like knowledge bank for me. I have learnt many of the intricacies of website development from YouTube.
Which are your 3 favorite Digital Marketing Tools?
Debashish: I am yet to try out many of the digital marketing tools as I am just starting my digital marketing journey. But I have used Woorank, SEMRush, Google Analytics and Web Master tools which provided great insights for developing my website.
Share the names of 3 people you respect when it comes to Digital Marketing.
Debashish: I am new to Digital Marketing. I have read many professionals in the field and yet to narrow down some of favorites as I am on a learning spree now and read all as it comes across to me. If I have to mention 3 names then I would say that I love the blog of Avinash Kaushik, Thalini Abeysekara,and Justin Cutroni.
What is your advice to newbies who want to build career in Digital Marketing?
Debashish: My advice to all the newbies will be to focus on acquiring more knowledge in digital marketing and getting the basics right. Also, I will advise to implement the knowledge practically, may be by developing a simple website or a blog. Knowledge acquisition and practical implementation will open up world of opportunities in the domain of digital marketing. I will also request them to be patient and not take digital marketing as an instrument for easy money making.
What are the challenges a person is likely to face when s/he enters into Digital Marketing industry? How can s/he overcome those?
Debashish: Every industry has its own challenges. But the best part it is that the industry gives you time and opportunities to overcome the challenges. One has to grab the opportunity.
In digital marketing industry the challenge is to understand the customer journey and how to adapt and adjust based on the customer behavior. It can be overcome by developing an analytical skill and giving self an opportunity to learn while understanding the nuances. Another challenge in the industry is its fast changing nature. One has to equip self to adapt to those changes and be ready to unlearn and learn.
For someone who’s looking at full time or part time job or an internship in Digital Marketing, what approach would you advice?
Debashish: A job of any nature in Digital Marketing demands patience, an open mind to learn, learn from the mistakes and to be creative. A positive approach in all these aspects will help someone to move fast in the industry.
Digital media especially Social media channels such as Facebook can eat up a lot of your productive time if not used wisely. Do you agree? What all can one do to efficiently leverage these channels for personal growth?
Debashish: I personally invest less time on Facebook as I agree what has been said above. Facebook is a great platform for personal development. One should focus on the interest area and share ideas with people having the same interest in Facebook. It will help not only to socialize but also to grow in personal front.
If you were given a chance to rebuild your career, what changes you would have made to have even better growth and fulfillment?
Debashish: I am satisfied with my career as I think that I am in the profession which interests me. One changes which I would have liked to make or can still make is to equip myself with some technological knowledge which I could leverage in my profession.
How do you see Digital Media evolving in future?
Debashish: Any industry cannot survive for long without its presence in the digital world. As the days’ progresses and economy grows the digital media will grow more than proportionately.
Would you like to share few words about the work we are doing at Digital Vidya in educating others about Digital Marketing?
Debashish:
I got to know more about Digital Vidya during my course with them. I think Digital Vidya is in its right track in educating others about Digital Marketing. The course content, the special sessions, the webinars and the blogs are great learning resources. I think publication of more print materials will spread the work more and will help in building repository of knowledge.
Are you inspired by the opportunity of Digital Marketing? Start your journey by attending our upcoming orientation session on Digital Marketing for Career & Business Growth. It’s online and Free :).
