Olja Nestov is the winner of the Mark Awards in the DIGITAL MARKETING MANAGER OF THE YEAR category. She talks with CorD about how to reach “peak experience” on digital channels.
How do you reach “peak experience” on digital channels?
The basis of the experience we create is a well-designed digital strategy that in the digital era grows into a marketing strategy. Today, digital is no longer just a media channel, but a competitive strategic advantage and the driving force behind the development of new products and services. Consumers take centre stage, and brands and the teams behind them are there to listen carefully to their needs, follow trends and adapt to the market in which they operate. Digital marketing enables two-way communication with consumers and gives brands the ability to successfully adapt to changes on the demand side, in real time – which is a condition for healthy business development as a whole. Brand experience becomes the basis of competitiveness, while content on digital channels is today measured by qualitative indicators of success, such as shares, saves and comments.
The number of likes is certainly not decisive, but the usefulness that our content has for our consumer, and the sentiment it evokes. The emotion we transmit is particularly important and should be taken into account when considering what is a “peak” for us as a brand, when and how to react to hype, trend or any other viral element that digital channels spread at high speed today. Their receptiveness and potency are often just a desire for quick results. That is why it is important that brands are guided by strategy, that there is a digital agenda and that digital KPIs are set and measured in accordance with brand and business goals. Then the measurability of digital is a function of the brand, and not an end in itself, which is often the case in an attempt to produce “peak experience”.
Why are most brands in Serbia not already on TikTok?
TikTok is growing in popularity, both among users and brands. Most brands today have a strategy for their appearance, which will only be more noticeable when advertising starts in Serbia. The presence of brands on any social network actually depends on the strategy of the brand: segmentation, positioning and targeting of users. TikTok is certainly interesting in terms of content and different from Facebook and Instagram, but we should not ignore Meta and its adaptability, and in this sense the Reels format follows the popularity of this growing network, albeit less effectively.
Is NFT a passing digital fad?
The hot segment of cryptocurrencies has taken the Internet economy by storm and created a potentially huge opportunity for brands. Hybrid experiences are also in development. The limitation of ‘live experience’ in the past two years has already made room for virtual experience. We are witnessing the emergence of the ‘metaverse’, the concept of a new immersive digital environment. It is up to brands to explore and take advantage of the new, hybrid reality and create the opportunity for enhanced brand experience. Interactive content and the use of BLOCKCHAIN technology are steps that Grand kafa has already taken, while the first NFTs have already appeared on the Serbian market.
What does the Mark Awards recognition mean to you and how will it affect your further career?
I am enthusiastic about a bright digital future and that is why I will proudly and responsibly wear the Mark Awards recognition for Digital Marketing Manager of the Year, for the purpose of further progress and development of our profession as a whole.