The Socialmedia Ninja

Harshil Karia, Chief online Strategist at FoxyMoron, Gives You the Skinny on What It’s Like to be in the Field of Social Media Marketing

Best Thing About the Job
I love the spontaneity of my job. The madness. I also love that I have the opportunity and the ability to dream up ideas.

Additional Perks
There are a lot of great perks if you are in the field of social media marketing. We tend to get a lot of free products from clients and are always invited to great events!

Growth Opportunities
The growth opportunities are immense in this field. In fact, the field is at the cusp of technology and advertising. And that’s always a good thing. The people who succeed in social media are the ones I like to call bridges between creativity and technology. As a field as well, its value in clients’ minds is always rising. So, I strongly feel that the scope is great.

Remunration
Those in the field of social media marketing can earn anything betweenRs.15,000 to Rs.1,50,000 a month.

The Challenges
People in this field always seems to face the challenge of creativity and time. The best ideas are the most creative ideas. Because its a very dynamic profession, you often don’t get much time to spend on ideation and crack the best idea possible. This is perhaps the only challenge.

A Typical Day at Work
I start the day by setting priorities and then move on to check the progression on my set of brands. I also update my brand properties with predecided messaging and later spend time cracking ideas for the days, weeks and months that follow. I also work on a daily basis with copy writers and designers to fine tune my concepts. I update my brand properties a couple of times a day. Syncing with clients to understand new brief requirements also forms a huge part of my day. And finally, another set of updates followed by some research on my category of brands ends the day for me.

Skill Sets and Qualities
Since this field is ‘social’ media, people skills are a must. The ability to understand consumer needs, wants and desires is also vital. You have to be a Wordsworth so to speak and it’s also great if you have a flair for understanding how  technology works.

Educational Background
I pursued a bachelor of mass media. It helped me think creatively about problems. The course also gave me enough free time to pursue relevant internships. Apart from that, I learnt a lot about aesthetics through various classes that I  attended. This includes aesthetics in motion film, static film and graphic design.

Scope in India
There were 400 + new agencies in social media in the last year. Spending on digital and social media increased by nearly a 10 0 per cent in the last two years. Its growing. And it’s growing quick .

One Thing He Would Change About the Job
I wish it wasn’t as hectic as it is (but only slightly less than what it is – else it wouldn’t be fun). I also wish i had a little more time to think about ideas.

 

Volume 2 Issue 2