A new age marketer, social media junkie and PR professional, Mehar Gulati is an entrepreneur who is taking the world by the storm with her skillset and experience. At Scarlet, she adorned the entrepreneurial hat whereby she helps various brands to structure their social media, consult on building the right strategies and assists in collaborations for sound presence!
We recently sat down with Mehar to discuss branding strategies in a post covid world
1. Why do you think professional social media handling has become even more important in these COVID times for various brands?
Ans. During days of uncertainty like this, social media plays a huge role in driving out the correct voice in the society. I feel that different brands are now learning to adapt to the “new normal” and are figuring out how to promote products and services in the midst of the crisis.
As this global pandemic has lead to changes in advertising, marketing, promotional and social media trends, businesses and brands are now evaluating their current and future marketing campaigns to sustain their reach, grow their brand and still expand the customer base.
As a young marketer, I even feel that it’s very important for brands to realize that the social media landscape is readily changing every day so the modern marketers can prove to be fruitful to set the right thing for them.
2. Is this the time to lie low or step up marketing and branding considering there’s business uncertainty in the air due to the pandemic?
Well, in my opinion, it’s the perfect time to ace the marketing and branding game. After having worked with notable brands across industries, I can totally say that the lean periods like these are good to strengthen the marketing game so that when the landscape becomes better, the brands are well equipped to improvise and work.
With my diligent experience and expertise, I would personally suggest businesses to take up the uncertain days in hand by doing competitor analysis, understanding the customer better and fuelling up the marketing requirements to accelerate the brand growth as and when the time changes. Be it content development or branding activity, it’s time to keep a close watch on the market sentiment and take steps accordingly in the future.
3. What can brands do to make their presence felt once things settle down with this virus around the world. What steps do they need to take now to ensure success in near future.
Brands must always try to keep the customers first to win their trust. However, the current situation has amplified the distrust customers have of brands. Hence, I feel it’s really crucial for brands to push against that wave by rising to the occasion to re-establish trust through customer-centric strategies. Since the market sentiment is weak and the whole environment is demotivating, it’s imperative for the brands to make their presence felt via right strategies.
Marketers shouldn’t wait for problems to develop or the market to point in a clear direction before making plans and taking action. Instead, they should monitor customers and plan for marketing changes right away to ensure that they achieve incredible success in the future.
4. What do you think about efficacy of virtual product and brand launches- is it a good time to keep up with launch deadlines or wait it out for future when markets change.
Though COVID-19 came as an unprecedented change that has put restrictions for creating the brand experiences, brands are still looking for ways to safely engage customers in various events from the comfort of their homes. I truly feel that this kind of virtual product launches or brand narratives can enable them to connect in the digital space with the customers. This kind of experience can create some sense of normalcy amid the many disruptions of daily life and will prove to be fruitful to demonstrate effectiveness even when the market changes.
As a millennial and a marketer, I can see both the sides of the same coin. So I can totally say that brands should find creative outlets to launch their new ranges and services rather than holding onto their deadlines!
How can we reach out to you?
You can follow me on below link:
Instagram: scarlet.relations