[Live Blog] Takeaways from #SMLive 2024

Welcome to the live blog coverage of the 8th edition of #SMLive, Social Samosa’s premier event, as we bring together industry thought leaders and enthusiasts from the A&M industry for a day of insightful discussions, trend analysis, and more.

Today’s virtual event promises to be an exciting journey through the ever-evolving digital landscape, with expert sessions on brand building, the battle between long-form and short-form video formats, the creator economy, and much more.

Tune in live to the session here, or catch the action on Social Samosa’s YouTube, X, and LinkedIn channels. Get ready to dive into the latest industry trends and takeaways, and let’s make this a day to remember.

2:40 PM – We’re live! Tune in to Social Samosa’s #SMLive for a day of industry insights and expert discussions. 

2:41 PM – Karuna Sharma, Head of Content at Social Samosa and the event’s emcee, welcomes viewers and industry experts to the 8th edition of SMLive.

2:43 PM – Karuna Sharma welcomes Hitesh Rajwani, CEO, of Social Samosa Network and Saugato Bhowmik, Director, CPG D2C Auto at Meta for the first fireside chat on Building an iconic brand In the Age of Digital. 

2:47 pm – The principles of building brands have not changed, what’s changed is the consumer and their habits. The most fundamental habit today in our lives is scrolling all day – Saugato Bhowmik. 

2:49 PM – The average number of reels an Indian scrolls every single day is at a high double-digit. We still need to be salient, meaningful and differentiated  – Saugato Bhowmik.

2:53 PM – We are natively and innately discovering when we are browsing the internet – Saugato Bhowmik.

2:54 PM – The rules of media, creativity and measurement are changing – Saugato Bhowmik.

2:57 PM – Digital ad revenues are growing upwards to 15 to 20% – Saugato Bhowmik.

3:22 PM – A workshop on ‘The Strategy Lie: The ONLY 4 questions your social strat should answer’ by Viren Sean Noronha, Co-Founder, The New Thing. 

3:24 PM – Strategy as we know is dead – Viren Sean Noronha. 

3:29 PM – Social Strategy is Pretentious; what it needs to be is Simple – Viren Sean Noronha. 

3:34 PM – If it sounds too simple, it’s probably the right thing to do. Focus on one thing at a time. It’s about what people are saying about your brand on social. Not every part of your brand needs to be on social – Viren Sean Noronha. 

3:52 PM – The first-panel discussion for the day on ‘Long Story Short: What kind of Content works on Social Media’, moderated by Mrinil Mathur Rajwani, Founder and Editor of Social Ketchup and MD Social Samosa Network with panellists:

• Ayush Shukla, Founder, Finnet Media
• Preeti Oza, Senior Vice President, Content and Strategic Partnerships, FCB Group 
• Priyanka J Pimpale, Deputy Manager, Marketing, Tim Hortons India 
• Sandeep Balan, Founding Team Member & Partner – Branded Content, Spring Marketing Capital

3:55 PM – Every brand should chase social with an objective, not just create content because you want to be present – Preeti Oza. 

3:58 PM – You should look at creating content that you feel will resonate deeply with the audience – Sandeep Balan. 

4:00 PM – Before you start the campaign, lock down the KPI right at the beginning. Once the campaign begins, we can decide what brings in more value – Priyanka J Pimpale

4:03 PM – Yes, KPIs are important, but identifying your consumer is more crucial – Preeti Oza.

4:06 PM – When it becomes more about the brand and less about the consumer, the content becomes problematic – Sandeep Balan. 

Source: Social Samosa