All the businesses small and large are shutdown. So, how do we survive in these troubled times? There are a lot of challenges for a business owner as we are in the times of a national calamity.
How can one work as a digital marketer during this crisis?
The first thing that one can do as a digital marketer is you have to understand the mass psychological behavior of the people concerning different industries. Most of the big businesses are closed. This impacts many people. As it has impacted the masses, you can sense the fear. You can sense the insecurity and lack of trust among the people. Both these are not one the same. It is due to the insecurity that you do not trust anyone right now. The insecurity has made people distance from each other. Now a big social proofing is required. The psychological behavior has been hampered and people are full of fear.
In the facet of the commercial aspect like building up a company, making up a brand, taking that out to the consumers etc, the first thing required now is to understand the human psychology with all the aspects mentioned above and then identify what they require when the lockdown is open. This lockdown has helped me in identifying my priorities, my importance and my luxury. We have started defining our priorities, decisions and our luxuries. The main priority is that we and other people are sanitized. This sense has prevailed in a family and it would be difficult to believe and trust others for sanitization. Now that the industries are starting they would want to assure people that they should be sanitized and possess sanitary products so that you can use them for free. This implies to private industries, travel industry, cafes, hospitality industry, the grocery stores, the grocery stores, etc. They want to assure people that they are sanitized and they have sanitary products at their stores so that you can people can use them for free.
After the 18th day of the lockdown when one goes out, one will have a psyche whether the other person is sanitized or not. You need to ensure that you are sanitized. Even if you go for a personal meeting, one will let the other person know that he or she is sanitized. You have to understand the psychological changes that the nation or the world is going to face in the next 18 days. If one opens an e-commerce store, nobody will go out and buy because one doesn't have ample money to spend on luxuries currently. Already a lot of frustration is creeping into the 130 crore people sitting at home.
Quarrels are taking place in households. For instance, some people have an addiction to smoking and some have an addiction to eating tobacco and due to this, there is a lot of chaos. So the psychological patterns are changing and also the perception of seeing the entire world is changing. The perception of people towards each other is changing rapidly.
Marketing is for the people, by the people.
How to use Nicotine Pouches is another area where behavior is shifting as people seek alternatives to smoking, which can be useful for marketers to consider during this time.
In case you have a product to sell but people are not there for it, then it is of no use. The main thing is to make people or customers fall in love with your brand.
Why digital marketers should get into some depth?
When you merge Digital and marketing industries, it becomes digital marketing. Marketing has been there for a long time and the sole purpose of marketing is to take the product to the consumer. You have to be aware of the consumer is happy or not. If the consumer is not happy with the product, then you have to take the feedback from him and make it much better than before. When the product is rectified, you need to take it back to the consumer. So, this is a complete cycle. In this cycle, if there are no people, then your product will not do any wonders. In the current situation, you won't be able to generate any miracle. The first aspect that you have to do from the marketing point of view is to understand user's psychological behavior. We are expecting that the nationwide lockdown will open on 14th April and we still don't know if it will continue further.
Now from 14th of April, the market is expected to open. Consumers are ready to come to a decision. People will be having different priorities when the lockdown is relaxed. The market may start functioning on the 20th of April. The reason why marketers need to understand the psychological behaviour of the users is that when everybody is ready to listen to your content on 20th of April, you will put the exact proper content for them in their language assuring them of social proofing. Social proofing is a phenomenon concerned with psychology where people believe that the action of others in an attempt to exhibit the right behavior for a particular scenario. So social proofing is the utmost priority for the people. It doesn't matter that you own a website but it is important that you are socially proofed. All the policies like CAA, NRC etc. revolve around social proofing and it is all about mass psychology. We should create the content but not the usual way that we used to do it earlier.
We should focus on psychology and have some different mindset in the way we used to create content and how we create it now. This is an important part on which we have to concentrate. We have to focus on the psychological aspect. The industry is doing very well and people are keen to start their venture. People are eager to learn about dropshipping and affiliate marketing.
What are the tips in this scenario if a newbie wants to start his own business in the digital marketing arena or as an affiliate marketer and what skill sets are required by such a person?
Two types of people exist. There are ones who want to start their digital space like an e-commerce business, blog writing business or selling some products. The other aspect is those who want to start their business as a business marketer and open an agency. People should not choose entrepreneurship in the current situation. If they know that this is not the right time, it means that they have not decided on their own. The main thing is that the will to do the business has to come from one's self.
The journey of entrepreneurship is not that easy and there is a variation in it. This is not the right time to start a business because the market is not yet ready. People need to have the will of becoming an entrepreneur. They can help humanity in whatever way they can. If the lockdown goes beyond the 14th of April, I would, for instance, prepare Maggie noodles at home and I would start selling that to my neighbours. It won't be for earning money. Maggie will be a luxury for them as it is not available in the market. People will get assured that Maggie has been prepared in a sanitized area and they will feel comfortable that it is served in safe boxes.
At the time of crisis when people don't have a luxury with them, I will be providing them with this facility. If you can help the consumer and you think that is the right time to start, just start doing it.
If one is starting a job hunt, the chances are very bleak presently. If one is searching for freelance work, there is a lot of competition for it as everyone is ready to do work from home. So it is difficult to get work as a freelancer. If you feel you can do entrepreneurship and have a strong desire to do it, this is the right time to analyze and just start it. One should not have a second thought about it. Being an entrepreneur, you should be ready to take some risk. You have to ask yourself if you can take a risk. You can't keep the money as the centre point of your business. If you have the aptitude for it, this is the best time to start the business. When a person has some zeal and a passion in him or her, he should straight away think of starting a venture of his own. The entire thing is about taking chances to be it any type of business like digital marketing, marketing etc.
Digital Marketing Course after COVID 19: Is it uncertain?
You need to take some bold decisions as you don't have the time. One has to learn and after the learning phase, he or she has to improvise and work on yourself and move ahead. The question you have to ask yourself is whether you are passionate or interested in the business. You have to set your priorities whether you want to do a job which you love or a business in which you are passionate about. The basic thing is no matter what happens, you need to be ready to take the step. There will never be an ideal condition for anyone who wants to start a business because there will be a time when Corona Virus will go forever. There can be a lot of issues for a person after Corona Virus. If you have the passion and a desire to start a business, then you need not listen to anyone and just start the business.
It has been observed that small business owners want to start with social media marketing and they are very confident of social media marketing. People will try to go online after the Corona Virus threat subsides. Some people were running 10 or 12 ads, but now suddenly they are having 100 ad copies and to your surprise, they have started the ad campaign just 24 to 48 hours before. People have started pouring money in digital marketing and digital marketing courses irrespective of the sentiments going on. If I am a big brand, I want to be in front of my customers but in a different way.
What are the tips for a beginner whose objective is to get in a job?
It has been seen that digital marketing has grown to a great extent and it's users have increased. Snapchat revived because it could send the snaps, stories etc. The first thing that a candidate who is applying to the job is to have clarity about what to do in the digital marketing space. When the recruiter gets a resume from the applicant stating that he is a digital marketing executive or a digital marketing expert, it all sounds generic to the recruiter.
It is expected from a person to tell the recruiter that he is good at something like Facebook advertisements. He should mention his skills. For example, he is good in Facebook ads or Google AdWords or he is good in graphics or writing the content or writing the copyright content. He is an expert in writing the blog content and not the press releases or if he is specializing in writing press releases solely. One has to be very specific. If one possesses specific information, then he or she can start gearing up for that specific job.
When you define yourself as a digital marketer, you will have a specific strategy in mind. A very common issue that an employee has is that sometimes he is given work that he doesn't want to do. For instance, an employee tells the employer that he can make the finest carousal designs on Instagram, then he will be given that job only. One needs to define his or her specific niche which you love to do. A recruiter chooses that candidate who can make his task easier. The candidate has to be aware of the current updates like that on Facebook, Instagram or YouTube. A candidate has to be up to date with the current knowledge or current affairs.
How to keep ourselves motivated and updated during these troubled times?
One has to introspect himself or herself and try to improve on it. One has to be very patient with oneself. You have to tell yourself that a particular thing needs to be done and then proceed with it. The important thing is to love yourself. You have to wake up every morning, look into the mirror and hug yourself and say that you love yourself. If you do this activity for a long time, it will have positive effects on your life. Learning is of utmost significance. When you learn every day, you will be instilled with confidence and it will motivate you. Many renowned people invest their time and money in learning and that is why they are successful. For instance, you can spend ten years in digital marketing and have mastery over it. Another thing is to stop reading newspapers and TV as it can create negativity and reduce your efficiency.
Conclusion:
If you possess the skill set which nobody has, then that works in your favor. You will be the best performer when you have the requisite amount of learning and lessons with you. In this way, you will excel in your field and be successful in life.
Interview: Interviewer: Saurabh Pandey Founder Brandveda
Person: Tejas Gusani Founder 10x Solutions
YouTube: Brandveda Talkshow with Tejas Gusani
PodCast: Make Money in Corona Times
