Advit Sahdev, Founder, ODigMa – Online Digital Marketing Agency

“Social Media- Facebook Marketing”

It is a sign of the virtual times we live in and a novel addition to marketing as we know it. I am sure most of our Yourstory readers have a Facebook account and have at some time or the other come across ODigMa’s work. If the name does not sound familiar; it’s only because they are working behind the scenes. Quite possible a page you have clicked the “like” button on was one of their creations. Advit Sahdev is the Young and social media savvy entrepreneur behind ODigMa which is an Online Digital Marketing Agency poised to take their game to the big leagues.Their niche was created in February 2004, known to us as Facebook; the site has more than 500 million active users as of July 2010. The potential and possibilities with social media marketing centered on Facebook and its ilk is incredible. Advit told Yourstory more on ODigMa explaining how it all works…

What sort of marketing is your company involved in? Any special focus areas?

ODigMa was started with the intent of doing highly creative marketing work that yields unprecedented results. Our expertise lies in social media marketing in India with special focus on Facebook business communities. We have created 0.5 Million Facebook fans for our clients in less than 3 months with a record of 15,000 fans in a day for one page. No other Indian (social media) company can boast of such results in such a short span of time. We love to take new challenges every time we start a new assignment and work on a “Result based” structure.

What is your business model based on? How are your fees calculated for your clients?

Our key differentiator is “Result based” model. We don’t charge our clients for something that cannot be measured. I firmly believe that if you cannot measure something, then it is not a deliverable. Deliverables can be number of fans, number on interactions, number of active users, number of “Goals” completed by social community etc. These are what we target and get paid on. We like to work on annual retainer model with our clients with fixed goals and targets.

What attracted you to entrepreneurship? Practical needs or creative expression?

This is a no brainer – To become a billionaire :D.On a serious note, I used to lead a team of 25 people with multiple projects all across the world. I had traveled over 20 countries for work and was at a stage where I was working more than 15 hours a day. That’s when I realized that I could do this and similar stuff all my life and get unnoticed. I want to make an impression by what I work on and more importantly, on my terms - and this is why I became an entrepreneur.

How would you sum up your entrepreneurial journey so far?

I’ll use my favorite quote here – “If you think you can or you think you cannot, you are always right. “ So just believe that you can and rest will be taken care of.

Entrepreneurship is not an easy ride, how do you stay motivated?

I have received tremendous support from my family and friends. That is all you need to continue in tough times.

I have been earning more than a decent salary for 9 years and then I started my business. The satisfaction and the thrill out of the first 10,000 Rs from my business was more than the total salary of all the 9 years combines. So basically it’s the thrills and the adrenaline rush that keeps me on the ride. The day it stops, I’ll jump on to a better ride.

How do you want ODigMa to be perceived in the coming years?

We want to be seen as a “result based” and “trust worthy” online marketing partner. We want also to be known as experts in our fields and want to set benchmarks for others to follow. We also want to give back to the community and create a knowledge base to educate Indian organizations on the merits of online marketing.

What is the next move for your business to get to a bigger platform?

The next big step for us is to get funded. Till now, we have bootstrapped ODigMa and have been able to achieve a positive start. However, we need to reach out to each and every business in India (who wants to do something with internet) and show them the value of social media marketing. We are building a core team of social media and marketing / advertising experts. With the right team and decent funding, we will be all set to expand.

Yourstory wishes ODigMa Luck and Advit Sahdev luck with bringing their A-game to the big leagues and hopes to see them take social media marketing to the next level.