Digital Media Workshop by Prateek Shah

We had a perfect start to our weekend, where we got a chance to host an interactive session on Digital Media delivered by Prateek Shah, Co-founder of Digital Defynd. The talk was refreshingly relevant primarily due to the fact that it touched upon all possible current scenarios, means and end of using digital media in today’s world of aggressive brand building. With live examples from the corporate sector, big or small, hits or misses, the speaker very clearly highlighted the best practices when it comes to the use of such a potent tool. And not to forget the never ending cups of tea and endless rounds of cookies that made the talk all the more engaging.

The talk answered the questions like

~ What is the magical equation to get your brand seen and identified in an age where we are bombarded with content from all corners of the globe?

~What comes first; an aggressive marketing which eventually converts into sales or genuine service/product delivery which would ensure your sustainability.

~In a dynamic start-up culture, like what we are experiencing in India right now, what is it that ‘Clicks’ with the customers (beyond the infallible strategy of ‘Discounts)

Don’t get intimidated by what is mentioned above, because the answers to all are actually quite simple and no rocket science involved here. One can broadly classify it all in these principles

Have multiple USPs and think from user’s perspective- People want more, they might not always ‘need’ what they want but we aren’t satisfied with limited choices. Brands need to have content that caters to multiple users and their needs. All ventures need to empathize with their clients; think and be like them, understand their pulse inside out and move ahead accordingly. There has to be a lot of science in the art of marketing.

Reach out to many but have a personal connect- No matter how good a product is people do not fall in love with your brand till they feel a personal connect, something that happens when a client is viewed as an individual with specific demands and not just an entity to do business with. Ever tried greeting a person with their first name? They are more likely to remember the interaction, same goes for brands.

Stay young and tell meaningful stories- Be creative, keep innovating, stay on your toes, do not follow the trend but dare to make new ones, be a pioneer. People have very limited attention span and even lesser recall rate, so how do you stay with them and ensure your brand identity? The key lies in being creative, fresh and always new. Again, sticking to personal connect and tell them stories that people can relate to. Banks don’t shy from using friendly golden retrievers in their advertisements even though it has no relevance to its services.

We all are well aware that the world of digital marketing relies heavily on sound research and creative content. One needs to do their homework right and study the trends from the beginning till the end. What really gets it going with the readers? What is an over-used strategy? What worked and did not in the past? All this and a lot more goes into meeting the diverse needs of the readers. On the same lines the platforms of digital media must be kept as diverse as possible rather than keeping all eggs in one basket. Relying on any one singular digital media tool will actually backfire, no matter how popular it is at the moment.

The talk stressed upon the importance of constant learning, in-depth analysis and a strong product creation. Even though advertising is the art of selling snow to an Eskimo, it really doesn’t work that way in reality. One needs to create sharp content backed by an incredible product, impeccable service teamed with curiosity to constantly evolve.

There is no ‘One’ fixed answer for acing at the world of digital media but there are many and each works for different business depending on what stage of growth they are at and for everything else we have been blessed with common sense to make it work. If not all the talk surely answered some of important questions that one has while working with the multiple tools of digital media.