Initially, social media was mostly used as a platform for people to share personal information, family pictures, statuses, opinions etc. “Many resisted to even coming on these platforms, but today, social media has become a way of life and has earned a status in society,” says Manjula Nair, founder of RBZ Academy with a vision to educate youngsters and make them aware of the digital and social media benefits. What makes social media stand out is the fact that people of all ages are using it effectively.
Inspired by Digital India, her vision is to make digital marketing courses affordable and easy to access online across India, penetrating rural and urban India with the understanding that social media is not only for socialising but to build an effective business module.
She says that many business ideas are coming out of social media. “People sitting at home are successful entrepreneurs today with ventures into various sectors because of which it’s necessary for people to understand how to use social media platforms effectively so that they can connect to content that will bring them the desired attention,” she says.
Social media is a platform where emotions play a big role because of which the better performing content that is seen today on social media are usually initiatives that appeal to human emotions and centred around society.
It is often believed that social media is a tool that only the urban people can use effectively, but Nair is of the opinion that this does not hold true anymore. Internet connectivity has reached every corner of India, so social media has become accessible for more. “Social media channels have language options, so it’s not just the urban people but rural India too is active on social media,” she quips.
When used with responsibility social media can be instrumental in growth, awareness and development of communities. Keeping this in mind, Nair says that youngsters need to be trained on how to effectively use social media and use it for the benefit of setting up their own startups.
Talking about how social media has become a marketing strategy, Nair says that the best thing for startups is to keep a social media presence because clearly door-to-door marketing, banners and hoardings are outdated strategies now.
“Today, everything is about connectivity and social media is its tool. The more people you reach, the bigger and better your business grows; the benefit here is the reach,” she points out. She believes that it is basically smart work since it reduces the efforts that are put into marketing the business especially for the ones who have products like applications for users such as the education industry, food, fashion and lifestyle ventures etc which definitely see a lot of value out of social media.
The biggest challenge is that even though startups have a great understanding of technology and build really good innovation, they may not have a good marketing strategy in place. Also, a lot of time they are not sure what to look for while hiring marketing people.
When asked what is the future of marketing, Nair says that marketing will always be the backbone of any business. “It has grown into multiple functions over the last three decades and today, digital marketing has proven to be the best form of marketing since it brings bigger reach with wider geographies and is the most economical form of marketing,” she says.
Digital Marketing courses are not only for aspiring marketers but others as well since it has become the need of the hour for everyone to learn and know its different functions.
