Social media has taken over our lives like a storm and all of us wish to make our presence felt on these platforms in some way or the other. Shilpy Saxena is unfolding her knowledge and skills to give you that ‘Wall of Fame”.
She is a Digital Marketing Manager who has a Masters in Digital Marketing and is unparalleled as a Web Designer, Social Media Manager and Virtual Assistant. Her mission is to make her clients achieve a strong web presence and help start-ups scale their revenues with her added expertise. Her portfolio includes a diversity of brands from Parenting Consultant to Bakery and Make-up. Moreover, she is also digging her nails into blogging as an interest. Read more to discover some digital marketing tips and tricks, mistakes, advice and more in this techie conversation with Storiyaan.
Shilpy Saxena: The Digital Marketing Geek
Interview
Questions and answers
What were some of the major challenges that you had to encounter when you were initially building your brand name?
The biggest challenge in building my brand was to learn technology and implement that online. As a digital marketer, it is always important to be updated with the latest technology or algorisms and be at the top of my game. Moreover, all businesses are different and each of them requires a different personalized strategy.
How would you describe your brand’s tone of voice and visual identity?
The first identity for me is to build trust and live up to their expectations as my clients are sharing their credentials, information, work etc. Secondly, I am very passionate about building the brand of all my clients and those folds the crux of my portfolio. In addition, I take feedback and constructive criticism of my work very seriously and I make sure to not disappoint my clients.
What role does paid advertising play in your overall strategy?
The organic reach for a lot of social media platforms is abysmal which makes it extremely difficult for brands to reach their target audience. Even for websites, the reach is depended on whether it appears on the first Google page. Therefore, paid advertising ensures the necessary traffic to the pages. Besides, paid advertising is efficient and affordable at the same time.
What are some of the methods you abide by to remain up to date on the current trends of the industry?
I have subscribed to several websites, blogs or YouTube channels that provide value-based content. I get my updates through these websites and their newsletters. Twitter is also a formidable source as every major announcement is first declared on it. Having said that, if there are any trends that a client wants to implement but I am not aware of, I don’t hesitate to learn.
Have you ever encountered situations where your team did not agree with your decisions? How did you deal with such situations?
Presently, I don’t have a personal team but previously I have worked with a marketing firm where I had a team. To avoid disagreements, I feel it is very important to let everyone on the team share their views or opinions so that you can be on the same page. Further, you should also explain why a certain idea gets selected or rejected as this promotes friendly understanding and builds a learning ability.
What are some common SEO mistakes in digital content production? Can you provide our readers with some tips for overcoming them?
One common SEO mistake is targeting the wrong keyword followed by using too many keywords or keyword stuffing. Keyword stuffing will lead to reduced reach to the website after a few months. Apart from this, publishing duplicate content with a few changes should also be avoided. The focus should always be on creating original High-quality content. And lastly, working on the title tags and Meta descriptions is another very important part of SEO optimization.
What are some of the skills that make an effective digital marketing manager?
The first digital marketing skill a digital marketing manager should have is the automation of email marketing. This means you automate the website according to the viewer behaviour. For example, if they wish to pay for your mails, what can be expected, or what can they expect if they opt for the free version. Secondly, Data analysis is another salient skill for developing an effective campaign. Additionally, a digital marketer should have basic design skills and creative problem-solving ideas and other technical skills like paper click.
What would be one piece of advice that you have learnt from trial and error in this profession?
My first and only mistake was to not be consistent with my social media posting. If you are not posting regularly you lose followers and your reach is also restricted. Besides, if you are a brand, you should also engage in fun and value-based content along with promotional posts or videos for engaging your followers.
What do you believe has been the most challenging project that you have tackled to date and what impact did the experience have on you?
My very first project after I completed my course was for a small bakery that did not have any high budgets. Thus, we had to employ all necessary digital marketing tools within a strict budget which was challenging but it also helped us be as creative as possible.
What impact did the pandemic have on your work?
A few of my clients decided to opt-out of their digital marketing campaigns as they weren’t generating any revenues. And I had formed my digital marketing agency for the F&B industry but unfortunately due to the pandemic and its uncertainty I had to close it down. But I am hopeful as things are taking an upward tick.
Quick 5
1.The most satisfying aspect of your job – To see a happy client.
2. A person you look up to – Neel Patel and trainer Karan Kukreja
3. One digital marketing agency you follow – Social Samosa
4. One thing that you look for in prospective clients before taking up a project – Some basic knowledge of technology
5. Your preferred work environment – My office at home