Digital Marketing Training in a Nutshell

I used to have misconception that we need to hard sell our services by convincing customers. However, in my first class of Digital Marketing mastery, I got to understand from Deepak Kanakaraju , founder of digitaldeepak.com who is the trainer of the session . It all starts with Personal Branding. The first and foremost step to market your services to the world is to create a brand around you. That will help you create credibility and a kind of "Mass Trust" on you in the market. Then, whatever initiatives that you take have takers from your established market and slowly your services can be funneled in a scientific way and sold to them in a bundled way.

 Personal branding is not just about collecting emails and contact numbers and pumping unwanted information to their inboxes without knowing their interests or needs. There should be an overall structure to the exercise. It is called and Integrated Digital Marketing (IDM).

IDM is primarily driven by the content we create on the internet and the significant value added foot prints we make. Once the right content is developed, IDM helps to drive traffic to the content , thereby making the content more visible and searchable on the World Wide Web. There are other ways to utilize Paid Advertising, Social media and SEO techniques to get more visitors see the content that we create. 

These steps slowly and steadily get attention from the market and create "Mass Trust" on us in the market. This helps us to get more takers to the programs we introduce. Then , its  the time to offer free or low priced webinars that doesn't pinch the pocket of the target customers. During the sessions, we further blow their mind with the knowledge that we have and give value to the time they spend for the session and pitch other products that are seemingly useful and extremely enticing to them in a way that they can't refuse to buy and package them in a way that shows immense value to their potential being offered to them for peanuts.

This is currently one of the ways Digital marketing Training is flourishing in the industry and it is highly appreciative of the Digital marketing Trainers who are making people knowledgeable on the power of digital marketing and thereby offering solutions on how to make more money.

The "FOCAL POINT"

Today I had read about BKS Iyengar and the way he rose to fame by familiarizing Yoga to the West. In that article, I found an interesting fact. He had to run from pillar to post to make a living out of his yoga expertise in the early days. The awareness regarding Yoga and its innumerable health benefits are not known to people during 50's and 60's.  During his stint as a Yoga teacher, he was so dedicated to his profession that he constantly experimented with his body to find out how anatomy of the human body works. Without any formal education in medicine or physiology, he taught himself the art of curing people having muscular pains through Yoga.

It's his dedication to his profession that made him explore the benefits of Yoga till his death. He knows only one thing. Helping people lead a healthy life through Yoga. And he mastered in that better than anyone else in the world; traversed deep into the subject that none had gone and kept trying out new things in Yoga through his body. During this journey to the uncharted territories of Yoga, he got the skill to precisely suggest his patients what to do. He often dared his patients to do what renowned doctors advice otherwise. Without any pills, he cured life threatening pains of many people who came to him.Few of them include Rajiv Bajaj, MD of Bajaj Auto, Zaheer Khan, VVS Laxman.

The fact that he has thousands of followers all around the world , that he got multiple Yoga Practicing Centres establised in 20+ countries , resonate his way of “Focused” life. People known to him and mostly those unknown to him but who became Yoga practitioners through his centres in various parts of the world poured condolences when he passed away. There are many Yoga teachers, Yoga instructors before his time and even latter. But the way he treated his profession by focusing all his energies in one direction ,is all what made the difference. Others, including most of us, treat our job as a mundane activity to earn a living. We have energy on par with him, no doubt.But , we are not sure where exactly we need to invest in.We are making progress , for sure ,but in million directions . Henceforth , results are not in the way we aspire

With a single point agenda, he conquered the whole world. His story teaches us - what all can be achieved if we have Focus in our lives.
                               We just need to figure out that "Focal Point".

What happens in India when a maid goes on leave...?

Time 9:40 AM . My wife was looking at the wall clock as the maid hadn't turned up yet. Just a week back I suggested to my wife,to replace her with another maid as she lacks time management and we had to call the maid often to know by what time she comes.Since my profession deals in Data Analytics , I am able to see a clear pattern of increase in the mobile recharges for my wife's phone after this maid starting coming to our house. During 2 days of Diwali the maid was very punctual  and placed her demands for Diwali bonus.We complied.Now that she had received some Diwali gifts+bonus , I was pretty sure , she will become complacent.Even the watchman,house keeping person of our society took Diwali tips from flat owners and the very next day I heard that it was their last day.Following their footsteps,as expected , the maid informed over phone that she can't come for that day.

            To add icing to the cake , our neighbours asked to take care of their 3 year old son for four hrs owing to the kids Diwali holidays at play school.They are very helpful people and often take care of my daughter when we stay out.The Kid's mom goes out for competitive exam coaching during that time.Our families are close and we sometimes ask their help to take care of our one-and-half yr old daughter .My office shift timing is from 1-10 pm.I thought it was easy because effort is the same to engage with one kid or two kids.I latter realized I was wrong. Effort multiplies.


  Now, since the maid went on sudden leave, my wife asked me to tell the watchman if any other maid can work for that single day. When I stepped out of our flat, kids ran up to me crying to take them along.I had to take them along as they danced in the lift ,pressing all the buttons of all the floors and shouting on their top of the voice.Luckily I found a house keeping maid who told that she can come at 2 pm to clean kitchen utensils. I was elated to say to my wife that I found someone to work for that day. When I told  it to my wife, she asked what's the need to wait till 2 pm and I should have convinced her to come right away  as cleaning kitchen utensils just take 10-15 mins and. I lost the sense of achievement for what I had done.
           
           In the four years of marriage, I rarely felt that I did something just the right way my wife expected.If I go an extra mile and do something more than what she told, I would be asked who told me to apply my own brain.So, I started doing only what I was told to do.Then I was told to use my common sense to do that extra thing which is implied in the statement provided. Ever since, I started doubting if I would ever be able to decode the correct depth of my wife's statements in my life time. Owing to this performance, she feels that she can do my office job single handedly and often wonders how I got promoted in the last appraisal. I shared it with my close friend from Bihar , Amit Kumar - who replied "Same Pinch". Even his wife feels exactly the same about him. I was bit relieved.But my happiest moment came when our family went to Bangalore for a get together. My childhood classmates from 1st-10th class meet once in 3-4 years at one city or the other. Now most of them are married and with little kids. During the Bangalore get together, there was a discussion, no a debate started between all the ladies. They started debating very seriously. And the topic is - "My husband is the dumbest of all". Each of them explained so funnily , so enthusiastically how dumb their husbands .And I am very happy that I hadn't topped the list at the end of debate, as other woman were able to dominate in explaining the dumbness of their husbands better.

Coming back to my current day care scene,the neighbours' naughty son arrived .He and my daughter started running around the house taking out the articles from shelves, scattering news papers etc. The neighbour's 3 yr kid was at his mischievous best.He just like to run around without looking at the sharp edges of the furniture.But the worst fear is that if the kids get into the balcony they can do dangerous things like standing on the stool and peeping down from 9th floor terrace.I locked the balcony doors. But still there is a danger looming in the form of sharp edges of shoe rack, TV stand etc. Now that the maid hasn't come , there are two options given to me - either clean the house or take care of the Kids. I choose the latter so that my wife can clean the house and prepare lunch.I had to take the kids out of the flat so that the cleaning can be done.I was confused how to engage them as they run hay-way and making a mess in the common corridor.

Finally , to my bliss , they found fun in running after me and catching me.I thought it was a brilliant idea to play cop and thief kind of game then. But running to escape from them after 10 mins took away my breath.But they wanted it more.I ran for a while and stopped looking for other innovative engagement techniques.My daughter took my size-10 shoes and happily started walking with them.The 3 year boy followed the suit taking my slippers. Thank God,I got a break for a while.When I was just able to relax, I got information that my daughter has thrown the plastic bat of our neighbours to the ground floor. While I was going down I thought that I should explain to our neighbours how tactful and patient I am in dealing with those heroic kids.


Meanwhile the mom of the 3 year Kid came to take her son back and told my wife that she is planning to put her kid in day care for next 5 days as his Diwali holidays got extended.My wife being kind enough , told that there is no such need and we (meaning "I"- the husband ) can take their kid during those 3-4 hours in the next five days.I was missing from the scene as I was searching the bat downstairs.Else I would have expalined my wife how difficult it would be to do a daddy day-care for our naughty baby alone.Once I returned, she told what she conveyed to the kid's mom.

  "Upset-Anger..Puzzled" were little words to describe my feelings then.On top of it, my wife also informed me that the maid may not return for next 2-3 days.Having read certain anger management tactics,I took deep breaths for next couple of minutes.To escape from the impending ordeal ,I then contemplated to change my office shift timings to morning if its feasible, else the company itself. !!! All this happened because of the maid taking a sudden leave and my wife getting busy with household work which left me with no choice but do a "Daddy-Day Care".In the hindsight, I left wondering  - Can a maid going on leave alter my career path ??

IPL - A Slow Poision ?

                                   

The other day when I asked my colleague on what he generally does in his free time , I was taken aback by his reply.He said - "Nothing much.I have two room mates.One generally goes out with his girl friend , the other one who has been  my child hood friend for the past 20 yrs just while away his time watching TV.We don't have much to talk about or share anything as we knew each other too well .On weekends, friends from other areas come and we booze.Right now , we need not think much about passing time since IPL is there.We pass time watching every ball of the match and once the match is over , we call it a day."

He is an example of an average young educated Indian who completed his graduation,got a safe job as a software developer and thus put and end for his quest for personal excellence.I found this typical mentality in some of the people I came across and this is actually making them less productive in the work environment since they "just do for what they are getting paid and not an iota more than that".No reading of books, no socializing with people from diverse back grounds, doing the same work every day , meeting  the same people every day and whiling away the time in the same old manner. This is just killing their creativity and shutting down the doors for their progress.It is pretty sure that after few years , this monotony reaches a level that he would be unable to bear it and by the time he wanted to act upon it, he would have been left behind for couple of years.

Watching IPL for entertainment per say once in a while or to get relaxed during weekends is fine but following it continuosly for two months dedicatedly indicates a deep routed social issue. By preoccupying themselves to the IPL, these people are trying to distance themselves from their anxieties and worries without acting on them or confronting them.This would inhibit any other creative thought process that comes to their mind , make them post-pone things indefinitely  and lose any golden opportunities that they might  come across.



This is exactly why Colosseum was built in Rome. To divert the attention of citizens from more serious issues like corrupt senate, inefficient governance and personal problems. Emperor Vespasian who started building that great stadium thought if he was able to give people , a bang on entertainment channel , they would forget everything and cheer the king irrespective of his in-competencies. History says he and his son, Titus ,the next Roman emperor succeeded in doing so.

Times changed but the plot remains same.The television channels and global brands are benifitted with the steady rise in TRP's in our cricket crazy nation.IPL Franchisees and players got richer.Government  is happy as people just ignored the rising inflation and offered little or no resistance to the rise in fuel prices.

The average young educated Indian now raises from his couch as the IPL ends ,ignorant of the fact that he is a pawn being used by various players making money , realizes that his problems got piled up during the entire season and starts thinking...whether to act upon them or look for another IPL-like entertainment which makes him forget the already existing problems, again ignorant of the fact that his decision has an impact of India's growth story.

Friends, feel free to air your opinions on this subject.

31st Night - A Hypocritical One?

It seems that the most restless day in the whole year is the last day of the year , Dec-31.

Managers sending "thanks for your commitment all through this year " mails to the rest.Organizations getting vacant by afternoon.

People becoming frenzy , frantic to have a biggest blast of their life that night , come what may. Last minute arrangements for the DJ nights and booze parties bettering the balance sheets of even the not so known venues. Hotels competing on billboards and placing spotlights at the venue to entice the passers-by with their offers. Lucky ones choosing the best partner for the couple entry pass. Stags searching those which allow them. Others planning to spend those few special moments of welcoming the new year with their beloved friends and partners.

In US , it would be a million people thronging to the Times Square to catch a glimpse of the balloon dropping scene after getting stranded for hours without a Loo facility.

In Bollywood , lesser known actors jabbering to Page3 circuit journalists that they would be partying at Goa ( which is most affordable for them ) and Mega actors subtly revealing their London , Los-Angeles and Bali plans through their PR agents.

"Kuch to Karna hai , Aaj raat " attitude sweeping the whole world so that the next afternoon when we wake up, there's something substantial to share with.

Are we doing all this because we want to really enjoy the moment or because we are required to say "I too had a blast , last night" to avoid the sympathetic looks from our peers. ..?

Sharing your thoughts is highly appreciated...thank you

What maketh a winner - Winner

After a long gap , I am inspired to write this blog post for one sole reason - The way Yuvraj singh grabbed the victory through an unconventional shot from Chennai Super Kings in a nail biting match that got tied and extended for a super over. Of course many players drove their teams to victory in the final moments.Lance Klusener did it ample number of times for South Africa ,that too in World cup matches. Javed Miandad did it for Pakistan hitting a last ball six at Sharjah .The list goes on....what's a big deal with this.


The catch lies in the way Yuvraj hit that one ball gifting Kings XI Punjab the victory that boosts their morale which had hit the rock bottom. He was the under the pressure cooker situation of batting at a critical juncture for a team which has been consistent in losing the last three matches. In addition to that he was facing the deadliest bowler who is the highest wicket taker in the history of Test Cricket and One day internationals (Muralidharan). On top of it ,he missed the third ball heightening the pressure.Only3 balls left to make 6 runs.Adding to the vows, there was only one wicket left which incase lost, will add a 4th consecutive loss to the team.


Any batsman who is facing at least one of the above situations confront the ball ferociously and go for a big shot giving a full on swing to the bat with their maximum power for a six or four.Every one of the 30K audience in the stadium, the countless viewers of SetMax, the commentators, the experts across all TV channels...everyone expected the same - A full blown shot from the Man who had hit six sixes in six balls in the history of T20.


Contrary to the expectations, when Muralitharan threw the ball , Yuvaraj who is about to give a full blown shot , changed his strategy , instinctively made a decision depending on the pace of ball and went for a less used reverse sweep which has all the chances to make him either bowled or get him caught.He took the biggest risk.Gone the path that is less travelled. The success rate for a reverse sweep to reach the boudary is far less than a full blown hit because one cannot use one's entire muscle power in that batting position. In such type of compelling instances no batsman dare to go for a reverse sweep. But Yuvraj did and supporters of Punjab celebrated Bhangra yelling "Chak De Phatte."


How did he managed to give a splendid victory to the team that is so consistent in losing. It's not the same sheer muscle power with which he had hit six sixes in the T20 world Cup.There is much more to this shot.


The perfect blending of his skill with the concentration he showed in the brink of that moment and the instinct he had developed, allowed him to change his strategy dynamically which resulted in the master piece of an unconventional shot.

Yes, it all started with his skill which was the outcome of his consistent performance in the previous T20 matches .All those matches served him as the best practicing sessions since they have the same amount of nerve wracking pressure.He got habituated to face such kind of tense and traumatizing situations.Today's circumstance is just another one for him.He was able to keep his cool, able to estimate the pace of the ball precisely and didn't go for a full straight shot just like others do.

Ofcourse , the more we practice the situations that we dread, the better experienced we become , the right kind of instinct we develop , change our game plans and go for the path that is less traveled but hit the bull's eye just the way YuvRaj did today.


But is Practising alone is sufficient.?? then all players can become Sachin Tendulkars , Roger Federers and Michael Schumachers.Am wondering what other characteristics makes a winner - winner. I solicit your opinions based on your experiences. Your contribution to the post would be highly appreciated. Feel free to write your thoughts. Thanks a lot

The Eternal dilemma - Whether or not to divulge

Last night my best frnd Anil ( name changed ) called me up and said he wanted to talk something important. He seemed to be restless. As i guessed there was a problem. He told that he called off his engagement which is due in a week and the marriage that was planned in next month. Now, its my turn to be shocked. Reason - Some guy called my frnd yesterday afternoon to say that the girl, whom my frnd is going to marry is in love with him.

My immediate reaction to my frnd "stop believing this bull shit". My frnd had burst out of angst and said - " Phani , u know me for years , am I such a fool to believe what another fool said "...He lost his temper for a moment and then calmed down.Never in my last 5 yrs of his association have I seen him erupting this way. He is a shrewd guy and i look up to to him for his frank opinions in my personal matters. A man of foresightedness , he took the responsibility of his family due to certain compelling reasons and this made him understand the intricacies of this complex world. After accomplishing the goals that he had set for himself and after helping his siblings to settle well in their lives , now he started searching for his soul mate. A gentleman with straight forward nature and has never been in a relationship bcoz of his commitments to his family.He is very upbeat bout this match to be finalised and informed bout it to few of his frns.

When he told a week back that his marriage is almost settled , i was the first person to be happy. After all , he got some time to think bout himself . Now , when he told this shocking news , i was upset . My frnd after receiving a call informed the same to the mediators , who are his own relatives who in turn talked to the gal's parents.

" That was true but all that happened an year back" - the gals father said to the mediators and struck a deal with the mediators to conceal the fact - reliable Sources revealed.The way they reacted clearly pointed out that there was something fishy. But gals father claimed innocence before my frnd saying dat was a hoax call."We will inquire bout it " , gal's father said.

My friend felt cheated for not being told about the issue at the beginning. His only question - "why should they wait till some tom, dick and harry call me and talk nonsense bout the gal that am gonna marry."

" I don't bother bout what has happened but about not being told regarding that ", he said.

Now that most of the people came to know bout the phone call , circumstanses proving that the girl is being persuaded to marry him, no surety of a peaceful life after this marriage ...as this phone call left a billion unanswered questions in my frnds mind, ..he has no option but to call off the marriage. Of course , since engagement was due , its not that big a problem , except for the broken hearts.

Now, my frnd tells to his relatives n frns that the match was cancelled becoz of someother bla..bla..bla..reason , but not the real one , keeping inview the future of that gal.

This post is dedicated my frnd and upon his consent, I am publishing this post.He wants to know your opinion if he had done the right thing.

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Now that the post has received a gud number of responses , I thank each and everyone who read the post and also those who contributed their valuable insights to the post. After reading them , my frnd got very much relieved and conveyed his warm thanks to all of you. Upon his request , comment column for this post has been frozen.

See you all with my next post. Till then , Bye.

Regards,
Phanivijay.