INTRODUCTION

The theme of this Industry Connect was “Digital Marketing in the Age of Disruption: New Era”. Nitya Krishnamoorthy and Manika Goyal sat down and discussed their experiences in the digital marketing industry, focusing on the unique circumstances they have faced as marketers, and how to adapt to the ever-evolving marketing industry.

The Speakers:

Nitya Krishnamoorthy is currently the GM at GALE India, based in Bengaluru. She has 21 years of experience  in the Digital Marketing industry and she started off as a technologist in her initial days of the career. She has guided teams that have transformed ideas and programs into successful business outcomes. She has delivered digital marketing solutions across Technology, Experience Design and Media through her expertise in Program Management, Client Focused Delivery and Process Excellence. As a Vice President at GALE she oversees the Business and Office Operations for India. She runs the India office towards excellence in Delivery and Operational execution.

Manika Goyal is the founder of Intellicloud Solutions, a consultancy focused on Salesforce Industries, SFMC, and other Salesforce products. She is a Salesforce Industries Architect with over 19 years of industry experience. Manika has extensive expertise in Industries CPQ solutions. She comes with 5+ years of experience in PreSales & Technical SF Estimations. She has been working on Salesforce for over 12 years and Industry CPQ for the past 5 years. She leverages her expertise in Salesforce technologies and the power of innovation to help organisations leverage technology to reach their maximum potential.

Further Insights into the Session:

1. What is the essence of Digital Marketing? (3:00)

According to Nitya, initially digital marketing was about outreach, about getting the information out to the audience. However now it is more about understanding the customer, marketers are focusing more on a unique user experience. In Nitya's words, it is “about the audience”. 

2. How have things changed since you first started? (5:14)

It all started with the internet, says Nitya. Information became accessible and companies started focusing on getting the information out to everyone. Then came the age of e-commerce. The brands however were not focused on creating an impact on the customer, they were more focused on conversions. We then shifted to omnichannel experiences where lots of data was generated and brands started analysing the data. Nitya believes that this was “a eureka moment for digital marketing”. The audience has also changed as they now seek only the information they want rather than all types of information.

3. What part is AI playing in digital marketing? (10:57)

Nitya believes that AI will not be disruptive, rather it will impact productivity and personalisation. It will be a boon for smaller companies that don’t have the manpower or resources. Nonetheless, nothing can beat human creativity and strategic thinking - “AI was built by somebody”.

4. How can one build their career as a marketer? (15:09)

Nitya states that attitude and the adaptability to learn and evolve are the most important characteristics to have as a marketer. She says that “as we speak things are changing”, there are more opportunities now than ever. She emphasises that you have to have a network and be able to understand and use technology. There are many short term specialised courses to help you get started, and since there is a wide spectrum in the market you can start off based on your background.

5. How are Social Media and Digital Marketing related? (19:43)

Nitya remarks that a user exists on many channels simultaneously. Digital Marketing has thus expanded everywhere as it is necessary to focus on all the channels the user is on. This also helps the brand maintain connectivity with the audience.

6. Do female marketers have any advantages? (22:30)

In Nitya’s opinion, women have always had a certain point of view - they don’t care for what works for everybody, they go for what works for them. This gives them an edge as a marketer. However Nitya does highlight the fact that one does not have an advantage over another as it is effort that matters most, she just believes that women have a mindset which makes them more adaptable. 

7. What do you think the future of Digital Marketing looks like? (27:45)

To Nitya it seems that, besides AI, we have explored all our options. There will be a full circle moment where we start doing certain things again. 

8. How do you stay updated with the latest trends and changes in the market? (29:53)

Nitya mentions that she follows a few leaders in the industry who she listens to and reads about. She suggests that since there is a lot of content available, keep up with a variety of information and then apply it according to what works for you. However, most help comes from networking and conversing with people in the industry.

9. How can you make content engaging but still aligned with the brand? (33:17) 

Nitya replies that content used to be based around who could create information properly. Now it is more about creating content that triggers a change in the user, content that helps the audience connect to the brand. Nowadays, content isn't just written information, it comes in many forms. Therefore understand the nuances before creating the content, and make sure to focus on designing and wording.

Conclusion:

The session comes to an end with Nitya answering a question asked by one of the viewers - How do you determine the success of a campaign? How do you allocate a budget for it? Nitya’s response is that every campaign has metrics, you can monitor the stats constantly and tweak it if any changes are needed. The key factors you should focus on are - 1. Have you been able to achieve what you wanted to with the campaign? and 2. Did you target the right audience and with the right content? There are many tools that can help you realise this. The budget depends on which channels you want to execute the campaign on, the people you want to reach out to, where you will get maximum traction, etc. It is a very extensive approach that has a lot of science behind it, so make sure you do your research before delving into the digital marketing campaign.

Summary:

The following mindmap is a summary of the whole session. If a detailed session is required, please refer to the link given below: