[Interview] We follow a storytelling approach on social media: Vineet Sehgal, Quikr

From the idea of 'second-hand goods' to used goods - online classifieds platform, Quikr has managed to change the way Indian consumers approach the concept. Vineet Sehgal, Chief Marketing Officer, Quikr shares with Social Samosa, how the platform managed to create unique branding with social media marketing.

Take us through Quikr’s digital mix

We use a mix of performance and brand marketing channels including SEM, retargeting, social media, display networks, and app & mobile marketing. We are present across key social media channels such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube and have a carefully crafted content strategy that helps with brand building and performance marketing. Our mix is in line with the consumer base on each of these channels.

Do you have an in-house social media team or an agency on board?

Our social media team closely works with internal stakeholders and works collaboratively  with a dedicated agency - Grey Digital, for social media ‘always-on’ and campaigns.

As a marketer what is your objective from social media? 

The main objective is to build brand love by generating buzz around the brand and we try to accomplish this through a ‘’storytelling’’ approach. Both creative and editorial content that we create is focused on engaging the consumer and bringing alive our product benefits, a range of offerings in a quirky, witty but relevant manner.

The idea is to touch consumer’s daily lives and connect with them beyond the brand benefits. We also constantly experiment with new formats and storytelling approaches to doing this – for example, creating a listicle with our brand ambassador, Ranveer Singh. Or twitter contest  like #DearCar and #Mycarmystory which leverage emotional insights to connect with consumers.

How has social media helped change consumers' approach towards used goods?

With our brand positioning (#AasaanHaiBadalna), we believe that Quikr can aid and assist consumers in bringing about a change in their lifestyle  and meet their aspirations. Conventionally  we are perceived to be more of a  “pre-owned goods’’ transaction platform. However we have brought a range of innovations to the market like Quikr Nxt, MSP  QuikrC2C and Quikr X offerings that are helping solve the problems associated with buying & selling used good such as nuisance of unwanted calls, getting the right price, goods delivery at home etc.   We offer an end to end delivery solution, ala e-commerce, as well as the ability to buy new goods (phones). With our verticals such as QuikrCars, QuikrHomes, QuikrServices and QuikrJobs, we stand for much more than used goods, and we believe consumers see that both in our product offering and nature of communication.

Do you use social media for lead generation? If yes, how much per cent of your lead/traffic comes from social? 

Social media as a channel for performance is no exception at Quikr and that includes lead generation, particularly for our verticals. We constantly use all ad formats to try, learn, evaluate and optimize the outcome.

Please share your views on influencer outreach programmes. How has it helped Quikr? 

Influencer programs are a key part of our social media & digital strategy. We’ve done programs with our big campaigns, for example, QuikrCars, where our influencer program resulted in more than 6mn impressions on Twitter. Influencers help spread the brand message with the right audience and help build ‘’mind-share’’ for the brand. We are evolving our influencer strategy to have an always-on component as well, going forward.

What would be the 5 social media marketing tips that you would like to give to e-commerce startups? 

1. Focus on storytelling on social media, bringing out the brand message in an entertaining way
2. Develop engaging content that consumers will consume and share
3. Experiment and innovate with new ad formats that are being brought out by the Googles and Facebooks of the world every day; use these in newer and more interesting ways.
4. Develop a consistent brand tone of voice and a brand personality that is present in all communication and all channels
5. Have fun – don’t be restrictive, be inclusive and invite consumers to participate.

How has social media helped in creating a USP for Quikr amidst stiff competition in India?

Our approach to social media has resulted in extremely high consumer engagement (as measured by consumer engagement rates); this has also played a role in Quikr being recognized by as India’s Most Trusted Classifieds brand, and the 2^nd most trusted brand overall in the e-commerce and services sector, by the Economic Times Brand Equity survey 2015.