Ad land’s Young Guns: Nayan Popatia, iProspect India

Nayan Popatia, Strategist – SEO, iProspect India, has 6 years of experience spread across the digital space. He has honed his skills towards a data driven and analytical approach in SEO and content. During his stint at iProspect India, he has crafted strategies that showed results in innovation and creativity. From BFSI and healthcare to travel and lifestyle, Popatia’s career has spanned across some of the top brands, such as Aegon Life, Axis Bank, Nike, Apollo Hospitals, Times Now, Navman, Ferrero Boutique and more. 

This, coupled with his research based approach, be it for improving web traffic or customer acquisition, have given him a solid foundation in digital advertising. 

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What does it takes to climb up the ladder in advertising? Here’s Nayan Popatia in his own words... 

How did you get into the role you are serving?
I’d always wanted to be a commercial pilot since my childhood. However, the aviation industry was on a downfall at the time when I completed my 12^th standard. Thus, I decided to pursue my BCA instead and completed a course in digital marketing simultaneously. I took a liking to SEO as a channel instantly. This led me to working with a mid-size digital marketing company by the name of Octos in Ahmedabad as a SEO Executive. As years progressed, I grew from being an Executive to a Team Leader. This was when I decided to move back to Mumbai to continue my pursuit of digital marketing excellence. I chanced upon iProspect India around then and joined them as a SEO Manager. All the hard work and passion for SEO helped me become a successful SEO Strategist today. 

What particular skill sets do you think you bring to the table?
Having worked in SEO for over 6 years, I have honed my skills towards a data driven and analytical approach in SEO and Content. Having said that, I do enjoy every aspect of digital marketing and have a keen focus towards achieving clients’ business objectives through digital. 

One campaign that you have worked on that you are particularly proud of? Please take us through the making of the campaign.
All my campaigns are really close to me and I am proud of the work done on every one of them. Each of the campaigns/ brands has been a learning experience. If I had to choose one of them, it would be the campaign done for Ask Apollo (Apollo Hospitals Group). The main objective was to get them online appointments. The core strategy revolved around optimising their web presence by revamping the website and having a strong content strategy in place. This resulted in an increase in organic traffic and, therefore, their online appointments. We also won multiple accolades for this campaign. 

While working on the creatives how do you prepare yourself? What goes on in your mind?
As it’s all about connecting with the target audience, the first step that I take is to understand how we can marry the business objective with the audiences’ needs. Once the base is set, the creatives automatically follow. 

Icons in advertising you look up to and how they have influenced you and your work?
Inspirations need not be directly from the industry you are in. I personally admire Elon Musk a lot for his passion to always stay ahead of the curve. That’s what I try to add in my life, which has helped me achieve all that I have. 

What are the five most productive things that you do in your everyday routine?

1. Planning my day is the first thing I do before starting my work – it helps in prioritising the work and ensuring all work is completed as per schedule.
2. I read news and updates on what’s happening around, be it in digital or in general it helps me stay updated
3. It’s important that you stay focused and stress free, some coffee and conversations with team (anything apart from work) at regular intervals helps
4. Track and limit how much time is spent on a task and follow 90-minute intervals
5. I follow the ‘two-minute rule’ – if it’s a task that can be done in 2 minutes or less, I do it immediately

Do you think a career in advertising is a viable one in the long term?
I definitely think it is, especially with the digitisation happening across all sectors. 

What does it take to succeed in a career like advertising?
Constantly building your skills, being good to your fellow team members, developing connections along the way, possessing the virtues of hard work and patience, along with innovation. 

What would be your advice to youngsters planning to enter this industry?
As everyone says, there is no secret or shortcut to success. My initial journey was tough, but I never stopped improving and learning from my failures. Success is a culmination of excessive learning, dedication and leveraging that knowledge towards setting firm goals. Always improve yourself no matter where you are or what your position is. Focus on self-development, success will follow. 

Where do you see yourself in five years’ time?
Being a motor enthusiast and a digital marketer! I would like to embark on a new journey that propels the automobile industry to innovate every day in the digital space. 

Is there any agency/ organisation that you would like to work with in the future?
Exactly where I am now. Each day at iProspect India is a different one. I’m glad to be getting new opportunities and challenges that keeps me on my toes and take me ahead.

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