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Interview with Rajasekar KS, GM – Marketing, Matrimony.com

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Rajasekar ksRajasekar KS started as part of the content tribe with local magazines. Later, he worked with Ezynes Communications, one of India’s earliest online marketing companies working for the US market, to practice list building and SEO. His stint with Sify in 2004 helped him understand the nuances of web. In between, Rajasekar built and sold a blog “Zodiacs4u” with 2,50,000 monthly page views back in 2009. He was early into mobile and social media marketing driving business leads as Senior Director – Social Media Marketing at Impiger Mobile, when the iPhone was launched. Currently, he drives the social media and PR initiative at Matrimony.com, a progressive company that truly believes in listening, connecting and engaging with customers online.

Rajasekar KS is a content and social media strategist who tweets at @positivemantra. When he’s not playing with his family of one loving wife and two caring daughters, he blogs at www.positivemantra.com. He travels to connect to himself and the universe.

How did you get into Digital Marketing? What interested you in learning Digital Marketing?

Rajasekar: I’ve always been excited by consumer behaviour and technology that can build a better engagement and experience. My passion was triggered when internet arrived in India and it was stoked by Seth Godin’s Permission Marketing in 1999. Digital media has fundamentally changed the way humans interact with each other; and businesses reach and interact with customers. The ease of searching and publishing information, ability to target communication, measure marketing activity, the wealth of customer information, the leap of technology fascinated me. Social media is being leveraged to shop, discover talent, streamline customer service and even collaborate inside workplaces. You could be living under a rock if your brand isn’t on social.

According to you, what are the advantages of conventional marketing over Digital Marketing? Do you think that Digital Marketing is a threat to the future of conventional marketing?

Rajasekar: The primary advantage traditional marketing has is the trust of customers, where digital has to make some headway. But certainly, marketing has swung the digital way.

  • Traditional Marketing treats you like consumers. Digital marketing treats you like collaborators.
  • Digital offers tremendous personalisation that traditional simply can’t match.
  • Digital is completely data-driven and actionable.
  • Its low cost compared to conventional marketing.
  • Micro-segmentation of audience is possible.
  • Digital has in-built virality.

Let’s not worry, both will peacefully co-exist as husband and wife.

Share about your 3 favorite Digital Marketing case studies. What did you like most about them?

Rajasekar: 

  • Jockey’s Show ‘EmWhat’s Underneath. It encouraged people to be comfortable with their imperfections and connected very well with the audience.
  • BharatMatrimony’s HappyMarriages.com, a good Content Marketing example from India that attempts to guide users post the matchmaking transaction.
  • Dove’s Choose Beautiful campaign. It combines social responsibility and marketing very cutely.
According to you, what are the top 3 mistakes committed by organizations today in leveraging Digital Marketing?

Rajasekar: 

  • Focus on leads, not conversations. Today’s conversations fill tomorrow’s coffers. If you don’t build conversations, you’ll have no social proof tomorrow.
  • Low investment on social media. If you’re not where your customers live, you may not live at all in the future.
  • Lack of 360 degree marketing. Bits and pieces marketing won’t bring you wholesome business results. 
Between Agency and In-house, which approach would you recommend for maximum value of Digital Marketing? Why?

Rajasekar: It depends on the company, category, marketing goals and investment. There’s no doubt that agencies have amazing and multiple talent – strategy, creative and copy. But in-house is best when your company is strongly committed to listen, connect and engage digitally. Talent is local and knowledge is in-house. Speed to execution and sync with corporate goals/ culture is superior.

Which are your 3 favorite Digital Marketing Tools?

Rajasekar: 

  • Google Analytics (Enterprise version)
  • TweetDeck (it’s not the tool, it’s how you use it)
  • Meltwater
Why do you think it’s important for entrepreneurs, marketing professionals and students to learn Digital Marketing today?

Rajasekar: 

  • For entrepreneurs: Your customers are here and it’s easier to do business. Partnerships, business and customers are just a tweet/ post away.
  • For professionals: Kick your ass and learn digital because your customers are here as also your everyday work, jobs, entertainment. Infact, your life is on digital.
  • For students: Your future is digital. Get on it now or you’ll be left behind as a factory worker.
What are the top 3-5 skills you look for when hiring a candidate for Digital Marketing profile?

Rajasekar: 

  • Passion for exploring new things
  • Familiarity with digital media and tools
  • Bagful of ideas
  • Inclination for data
  • Decent social media activity on personal profile
What is your advice for newbies, who are looking at building a career in Digital Marketing industry?

Rajasekar: 

Just go ahead and explore things until you discover your passion. Read the masters, follow industry leaders, know the emerging tools/ platforms, practice what you learn, be on the edge of the digital change.

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?

Rajasekar: Global research reports, Seth Godin, MarketingProfs, Adweek, Mashable, Marketing Land, Content Marketing Institute, R/GA, Social Media Examiner are some.

Share the names of 3 people you respect when it comes to Digital Marketing.

Rajasekar: 

  • Seth Godin, the modern marketing thinker
  • Steve Jobs who showed us a new way to connect with each other
  • Steven Rosenbaum who showed the world the importance of curation in a world where there’s information overload
How do you see Digital Media evolving in future? What are the top 3 trends do you foresee for 2016?

Rajasekar: Digital marketing is witnessing a new wave. Live streaming is going to be big as brands continue to push the edges to enhances customer experience. As attention spans dip, consumer time will be maximum on videos and visually-driven mediums (Youtube, Snapchat, Instagram, Pinterest, Vine). All platforms need content that is useful and contextual and I see brands invest more into rich content in all forms. Bots, VR, AI are in but they’ll evolve to impact by 2017. Brands that produce incisive and contextual content, leverage newer platforms and overlay data on Ad platforms; and collaborate with customers will win.

The rest will be pushed to the sidelines.

Would you like to share few words about the work we are doing at Digital Vidya?

Rajasekar: 

Digital Vidya has been a pioneering brand in social media marketing and digital workshops. When the Roger Federers and Usain Bolts of the world need coaches, then what about mortals like us? Digital research and training is critical and you guys have played a key role here.

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 :).

Avatar of jasleen kaur
Jasleen Kaur
[Sr. Associate - Content Marketing] A content passionate, Jasleen handles content writing & marketing activities. Also, she leads Digital Marketing Internship Program. She is in the content writing and marketing fraternity for 10+ years now & is proficient in writing content for blogs, articles, books, brochures and social media. She embraces practical knowledge of WordPress CMS.

11 thoughts on “Interview with Rajasekar KS, GM – Marketing, Matrimony.com”

  1. Avatar of yaagneshwaran ganesh
    Yaagneshwaran Ganesh

    Brilliant knowledge share sir!! Especially loved the thought about being in ‘sync’ with customers, corporate goals and coexisting in a dynamic ecosystem. I more so loved this conversation because of the emphasis on creating conversations and thus experiences, and not just driving a CTA.

    1. Thanks, today’s social conversation influences tomorrow’s revenue, besides social proof is critical for conversion.

  2. Avatar of dr. Annakannan
    Dr.Annakannan

    The interview was nice & useful. For upcoming trend, I would like to add one more. Personalize advts in deep is happening now; it will develop more by studying users mood and interest. IoT will influence all fields including Marketing.

    1. Dear Dr Anna Kannan, quite true. Enough personal data including conversations are being mined to serve ads targeted contextually and relevant to your core interests.

  3. Avatar of sarath babu s
    Sarath Babu S

    Brilliant article. Having known Mr Rajasekar for a while now, I have always regarded him for his insights.

    1. Dear Sarath, thanks for stopping by here and leaving warm words of appreciation. Glad to have known you.

  4. Thank you for sharing very practical advice on marketing for the digital age. I thought your perspective on contemporary marketing was concise and deep. I’m saving it for future reference!

    1. Dear Selvan, glad it provoked some thoughts in you. Would love to learn a bit from your experience.

  5. This article is definitely an eye-opener. For a person who has been into social media marketing, it definitely has valuable points that am putting into use right away! Rajsekar’s experience and insights are a beacon to such seekers.

  6. Thanks Rajasekar for your contribution to our community through this interview. Really happy to know your feedback about the work we are doing in spreading digital (marketing) vidya :).

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