Prateek Shah is one of the best known digital marketing trainer across Asia and is the founder of Digital Defynd, Asia’s largest community for digital marketers. Having helped dozens of companies in successfully executing their marketing initiatives, Prateek shares the current trends in the digital marketing world, what is expected from a digital marketer and one of the most overlooked marketing channels that can be the secret sauce for your company’s success –
How would you explain the role of digital marketer to a college student aspiring to be one?
A digital marketer’s everyday role involves managing a brand’s digital presence, helping them reach out to more relevant people and addressing people’s concerns on the digital medium.
To be a good digital marketer, you don’t just need to know the technicalities involved in making different platforms work, but you need to understand and master the art of connecting with an audience online, of engaging online but making it feel like you are physically talking to a person.
How did you get started in this field?
I was working with a bank right after my engineering and didn’t know much about either engineering or banking. I started looking out for a career break in a creative domain and that’s how I got into PR. Social Media marketing was up and coming during my PR days and I jumped on to the bandwagon. Ever since I have explored various areas of digital marketing and been a trainer all this while.
How do you approach new projects (in terms of preparation and planning)?
Research is the best tool when it comes to any new project. Then there is a static and a dynamic plan as you start working on the project.
Who is this field for? What kind of people should aspire to be digital marketers?
Two key qualities come to mind. The ability to express and the skill to keep learning constantly. Technical expertise helps but that’s something people can pick once they start working in the domain.
For a lot of people, digital marketing starts and ends at Facebook. What are some of the great resources people are not looking at?
That’s the problem these days. Digital marketing is far beyond just Facebook and Google. There is email marketing, push marketing, inbound marketing and even affiliate marketing. Everybody needs to look beyond the standard mediums and explore the vastness of this field.
What is digital evangelism? Any different from digital marketing?
Helping people come on board digital would be digital evangelism while digital marketing will largely revolve around marketing for a company digitally.
What is the one myth about digital marketing too many people believe to be true and one fact very few people know?
One of the biggest myths is that this medium can work for them for free. As digital becomes popular, the demand supply skews in digital’s favor and the advertisers need to spend more. One fact very few people realize is that email marketing is one of the strongest digital marketing techniques when it comes to both building relationships as well as conversions.
How can one get started in digital marketing?
You can either start interning with somebody or get yourself enrolled in a course.
What are some of the hottest upcoming trends in digital marketing that everybody should know?
Marketing Automation is the one key thing on everybody’s minds.
What’s presently at the top of your mind and what’s next for you?
Presently thinking about how to take regular breaks from the digital world to detox a little 🙂
You can learn more about Prateek Shah and Digital Defynd
here.
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