Ad land’s young guns: Devan Bhalla, Brand Marketeer & LinkedIn Content Creator

Devan Bhalla has carved a niche or himself in the realm of integrated marketing with his adept navigation of the dynamic digital landscape and profound expertise in brand management. Bhalla embarked on his professional journey, immersing himself in the nuances of content marketing and product launches across diverse industries. Transitioning seamlessly to the brand side, he adeptly leveraged digital platforms to carve out a distinct personal brand, fostering vibrant communities and driving meaningful conversations. As a thought leader with a substantial following on LinkedIn, Bhalla remains at the forefront of digital innovation, advocating for strategic clarity, content excellence, and consistent engagement as cornerstones of modern marketing. 

In conversation with Adgully, Devan Bhalla, Brand Marketeer and LinkedIn Content Creator, speaks about his current role, leveraging digital platforms for personal branding, as well as some common challenges thatyoung professionals face when starting their careers.

Could you share the key milestones that led you to where you are today in the world of integrated marketing?

There are quite a few, but I would like to highlight three main experiences: first, when I got into content marketing right after MBA from IIM. It was a different domain and I learnt the tricks of the ‘content trade’ - how to approach a piece of content while keeping the end user in mind. Here the complete marketing funnel became clearer to me as it was set in motion and I got to experience the thrill of sales enablement first hand! Second was when I worked on new product launches in quick succession - scaling up products in digital media, education, astrology, and content parallelly and witnessing the movement in terms of business impact. Lastly, it was when I pursued media buying and planning in the phigital space at the brand side. It was exhilarating as what I had learnt at the publisher side, I was able to strategize that on the brand side and build traction in a synchronized manner.

With a significant following on LinkedIn, how do you leverage digital platforms for personal branding, and what role do you think digital innovation plays in modern marketing?

Followership leads to a community and for me, personal brand is an extension of my own personality and the social platforms are an effective medium to reach that community. LinkedIn and Instagram are the two platforms that I am present at this point of time and I create customized content for each, keeping the community in mind. It is a systematic process which I follow derived out of my experiences as a marketing and branding professional, educator, and as a content creator. Digital innovation has a significant role to play in modern marketing as it is the backbone that binds it all together. Introduction of automation, no-code tool integration, performance optimization, CRM workflows, etc., are all some practical use-cases of innovation-led marketing.

How do you approach community building in the digital space, and what significance does it hold in the current marketing landscape?

Communities are where modern-day marketers are tested. These are not only amazing grounds for ideation and creative outlook, these are also powering up the commerce aspect - right from a download to a sale. I have always viewed a community as a prized asset which offers significant learning from a marketing reality check and also drives valuable conversations which enrich a brand. It is a three-fold process based on the 3Cs:

• Clarity: By having an end objective in mind as to WHY a community is needed and what larger purpose will it serve for a brand.
• Content: Driving stakeholder value through numerable value-adding content pieces - from a blog to a video, every content piece adds to the final IMPACT.
• Consistency: The reason as to why most brands/ creators/ founders, etc. don’t succeed in the long run is their inability to be relevant and drive conversations which add insights and that too in a periodic manner.

In your view, how has marketing strategy evolved over the years, and what emerging trends do you foresee reshaping the landscape in the near future?

As we’ve transitioned from an offline and print/ TV dominated world to a digital-first era, the strategies utilized by brands to reach out to the consumers has also evolved. As newer technologies have been introduced, there is a lot of customization and hyper-local connect that has been established as compared to the massy approaches of the by-gone decades. As the media evolved, so did the way of reaching to the audience. Now, social media, influencers, communities, and digital media buying have emerged as strong pillars in order to market a product/ service. Focus has now moved towards founder branding and corporate branding with a humane connect - all which helps in creating a stronger digital image for the brand involved and also building conversations. Now, the marketing strategy is aimed at driving a conversation through a dialogue unlike the monologue of the past.

As someone deeply involved in brand management, what challenges do you often encounter, and how do you address them?

Brand is a crucial asset for an entity whether personal or corporate. There are three major challenges which need immediate attention from a visibility and an authenticity point of view and here’s how they are addressed:

Unanimous clarity of thought: It is critical that a long-term understanding is achieved by those working on the brand as every single action should add on to the overall brand image and imagery. Get to the drawing board and identify the reasons for being for the brand and whom do you serve and why and how of it.

Consistency of action: One of the biggest misses by anyone working on the brand piece is not being consistent with value delivery. Brands need to ‘walk-the-talk’ and continue to inspire and bring about fruitful change in the user’s life. It needs to be a hero and the story needs to be narrated in different ways over a period of time. Get your ‘Hero’s Journey Framework’ set in motion and you won’t have to think a lot for an upcoming allied campaign.

Losing out the humane element to a brand: People tend to forget the fact that end consumers like to deal with humans more than over a machine. It is just a case of personalizing that brand and making it more relatable. Always remember to study brands in similar and allied space(s) and then act accordingly.

SEO is a crucial aspect of digital marketing. How do you stay ahead in understanding and adapting to the ever-changing dynamics of search engine optimization?

SEO is one of the most rewarding work roles that anyone can have in marketing. It is dynamic. It is pretty much long lasting. It is ever evolving. It caters to all the three check marks that most marketers look for in careers. I have always referred to searchengineland.com, searchengingejournal.com, HubSpot, and the likes to keep myself updated on the latest trends in SEO. It is always good to upskill if one is not from an SEO/ coding background and then showcasing your learnings and monitoring it in real-time.

What advice would you give to young professionals aspiring to make a mark in the dynamic field of marketing?

Most important piece of advice would be to cultivate the art of receiving and giving feedback minus the emotion. It is advisable that corporate professionals should work towards achieving excellence and build a body-of-work that they are actually proud of. We can only control our reaction to someone’s action and that’s why it is important that feedback is exchanged in a manner that fosters growth.