Ruchi Sinha is a digital marketing professional with over 10 years of experience. She was instrumental in setting up the SEM team for GroupM India. Has worked for major brands on SEM.Also, she has managed media planning teams for Unilever & J&J. The former, in particular, was a great learning experience. Besides, Ruchi has done a lot of independent consulting and business development work in digital. She is also a lead trainer with Digital Vidya on Search Engine Marketing (SEM).
How did you get into Digital Marketing? What interested you in learning Digital Marketing?
Ruchi: I had applied to GroupM in April 2006 and was hired. Interestingly, I got into digital marketing thinking I would shift to traditional media when I find an opportunity. Then people considered it an extraneous source of revenue for the agency. Of course, I changed my mind in a month’s time and considered it seriously as a career. I found I had a natural flair for SEM considering my writing skills and my attention to detail.
According to you, what are the top 3 mistakes committed by organizations today in leveraging Digital Marketing?
Ruchi:
- Budgeting & Spends: There are organizations where there is so much focus on restricting or adding budgets
- Resource Retention: The industry has a very high attrition rate. As a result, the learnings are often lost. Every brand works differently and people working on them do acquire a lot of knowledge on the brands.
- Non-experimentation: There are organisations which will list the digital behemoths, add the inventory and, snap, the plan is made. I mean, really? Are we as consumers so predictable and so consistent?
Which are your 3 favourite Digital Marketing Tools?
Ruchi: Comscore, Radian6 and all analytics tools.
Why do you think it’s important for entrepreneurs, marketing professionals and students to learn Digital Marketing today?
Ruchi:
- For Entrepreneurs: Most entrepreneurs these days are new-age entrepreneurs and they cannot dispense with digital marketing. Also, for them it is imperative to understand every nuance of the business.
- For Professionals: Marketing has changed from what it used to be and it is a must for marketing professionals to know the digital aspect as well.
- For Students: Students of marketing have to know that the stream has changed and there is no going back. Hence, they have to also know this aspect of marketing.
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?
Ruchi:
- For India: afaqs, exchange4media, India Digital Review
- Globally: Marketing Land, adage and many more
Share the names of 3 people you respect when it comes to Digital Marketing.
Ruchi:
- Beerajaah Swain – Chief Growth Officer, Neo@Ogilvy
- Vijay Shekhar Sharma – Founder, Paytm
- Sanchit Sanga – Chief Digital Officer, Asia Pacific at MindShare
How do you see Digital Media evolving in future? What are the top 3 trends do you foresee for 2016?
Ruchi: Digital media will continue to grow in double-digit figures. India has a huge potential.
For me, top 3 trends for 2016 are:
- Growth of Mobile Usage on search will leave desktop way behind.
- Wearable Technology will emerge as new platforms.
- Local advertising will finally grow as mobile does.
What are the top 3-5 skills you look for when hiring a candidate for Digital Marketing profile?
Ruchi:
- Ability to adapt to newer technologies and trends
- Communication skills
- Meticulousness
What is your advice for newbies, who are looking at building a career in Digital Marketing industry?
Ruchi: In the beginning, focus on honing your skills. You should be a hands-on learner. There is no shortcut to knowing all there is to know in this field.
You led the webinar ‘Mobile Search Advertising in 2016’. How was your experience in leading the webinar?
Ruchi:
It was a great experience. People did seem to be fascinated by the kind of growth that we can fathom in this arena.
Some questioned me on overall digital trends as well.
Please share top 3-5 takeaways from the Webinar you led for our community.
Ruchi:
- Mobile search will continue its growth path.
- We’ll see mobile search in new forms.
- Follow best practices for mobile search, discussed in the webinar, to mark your presence in mobile.
Do you have any suggestions for us to further increase the value of our Digital Marketing Webinars for our community?
Ruchi: I think it’s going great as is.
Would you like to share few words about the work we are doing at Digital Vidya?
Ruchi:
Digital Vidya is the pioneer in digital marketing education in India and continues to lead from the front. I have great respect for people who are running it so wonderfully.
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 :).
