Building Brand Advocacy with Influencer Marketing | Shishir Bhanot from Pulse Advertising

Ernesto Quezada: Pathmonk is the intelligent tool for website lead generation. With increasing online competition, over 98% of website visitors don’t convert. The ability to successfully show your value proposition and support visitors in their buying journey separates you from the competition online. Pathmonk qualifies and converts leads on your website by figuring out where they are in the buying journey and influencing them in key decision moments. With relevant micro experiences like case studies, intro videos, and much more, stay relevant to your visitors and increase conversions by 50%. Add Pathmonk to your website in seconds. Let the AI do all the work and get access to 50% more qualified leads while you keep doing marketing and sales as usual. Check us on pathmonk.com. Welcome to today’s episode. Let’s talk about today’s guest. We have Shishir from Pulse Advertising, marketing director with them. How are you doing today, Shishir?

Shishir Bhanot: Hi, thanks for having me here. I’m good, I’m good. It’s Friday. Cannot complain.

Ernesto: Definitely. That’s always nice, right? Especially when we are at different locations, right? I still have half a day. You’re almost ending, so that’s always nice.

Shishir: Indeed. As I said, it’s a commitment to do this at 8:30, but it’s always good to talk to like-minded people and people in the same industry.

Ernesto: Awesome. Great, great. Well, Shishir, thank you so much for being on and well, I’m sure our listeners are tuning in wondering what Pulse Advertising is all about, so let’s kick it off with that. Shishir, in your own words, tell us a little bit more.

Shishir: So Pulse Advertising, we are a global influencer marketing agency. Founded in 2014, we are a social-first influencer marketing agency. As I said, headquartered in Hamburg, Germany, we work at a global level. We have several offices, including Hamburg, Berlin, Milan, London, Paris, and APAC. We also work a lot with the American market. We were one of the first ones to enter the industry in 2014. Obviously, as you can imagine, in influencer marketing, that’s decades ago, literally. And it’s been a fantastic success journey since then.

Ernesto: Definitely awesome to hear that. And so that way our listeners could get a good understanding of Pulse Advertising. What would you say is that key problem that you guys like to solve for clients?

Shishir: So starting with the kind of profile we have, we work with global brands, right? So we work with the likes of BMW, Mini, Apple, Nespresso. And those are real clients we work with on a day-to-day basis. I think we try and really build a lot of brand advocacy for them through social media. So influencer marketing is fantastic in forming and changing consumer behavior, changing the mindset of the audience, and really helping them connect with the audience and build communities for them through social media, but kind of transcending beyond that. So I know we were also discussing that a little bit. When you look at the Stanley Cup as an example, when you look at New Balance, there are a lot of brands that have come into prominence again, and that’s not coincidental. That’s what Pulse Advertising brings in. That’s what influencer marketing brings in. That’s what we want to do. So obviously, you can do a performance marketing campaign, and you can try and really try and sell a lot. You can also do a lot of brand awareness campaigns by building billboards and so on and so forth. But I think influencer marketing sits in kind of the middle of both of them. So when you go to Nespresso, they don’t need brand awareness. Everyone’s seen Josh Clooney, everyone’s seen the Wallace campaign. Doesn’t mean people are buying Nespresso. I think when you think about the concept that people trust people and not brands, that’s where influencer marketing is really successful. That’s where we come in.

Ernesto: Definitely important in today’s world. That belief sells. So awesome to hear that from Pulse Advertising. So then, is there a certain vertical, a segment, an ideal ICP for Pulse Advertising that you guys like to go for?

Shishir: Sorry, what is ICP? Ideal client? I think global brands. Right? So, as I said, brands that really operate at a global level, who don’t need brand awareness, who don’t need just, okay, let’s put some money and try and sell. It’s more brands who really are in the long term, and our budgets really are nothing, not less, in that perspective. And you look at some of the brands we work with, it’s more who want to build brand advocacy, who want to build their community over the long term. And as I said, which transcends social media. So social media happens to be the ecosystem we work in. But that’s not our end goal, right? We want people to convert beyond. We want, when somebody goes to the supermarket, everyone knows Heineken, but doesn’t mean they’re picking that up. When they’re looking at the different views. That’s where we want to position ourselves. Those are the kinds of brands we want to work for. Great, you have a fantastic brand. You’ve done a fantastic job building it up. We now want to help you connect with your right audience and make them buy your products.

Ernesto: Absolutely important. Okay, thank you, sir, for sharing that. So then how would somebody, how would somebody help? How would they find out about Pulse Advertising? Is there a top client acquisition channel for you guys?

Shishir: I think that’s where my role kicks in, right? And that’s when my team’s role kicks in. So within Pulse, I do a lot of B2B marketing. So it’s my job to connect Pulse with the right brands, again at a global level. So my role is not limited to Hamburg or the UK or any of it, it’s at a global level. Now clients find us through a lot of different channels essentially. So starting from bottom out. So obviously when we work with Nespresso, they’re happy with us, which they are. They would then recommend us to the next brand. So that’s obviously in an ironic way. Good old influencer marketing, good old word of mouth marketing. We have a fantastic website, we do a lot of search ads as well. We use a lot of Google Ads to really drive traffic when people search for influencer agencies. So good old somebody going on Google, one of the CMOs of a big brand, searching for influencer marketing agency London. Influencer best TikTok agency London. That’s where we want to be because that’s when people are really searching for. And then beyond that we have a lot of really good newsletters which go live every week, where we truly just add value, right. We position ourselves not as someone who’s trying to do a hard sell because as I said, it’s not e-commerce, it’s not that we want to sell 20 products in a single day. Like for us, we have limited clients and we have big clients and that’s what we want to have. So when we do newsletters we really try and add a lot of value, really telling them the latest social media news, latest in good marketing news because we are also Facebook, TikTok, Instagram, Google Partners, official partners with them we have the latest news and we want to showcase that and help the clients. Email marketing is a big one for us. Same with webinars as well. So we do quarterly webinars with our CEO Chris Castellanos. And that we’ve seen adds a lot of value. We’ve had as much as 1000 people, 1000 big brands signing up for webinars, fully organic and that’s where we know it adds value. It makes people want to come back to our content. And finally of course good old content marketing, good old social media, LinkedIn, Instagram, the works.

Ernesto: Definitely important, right? Also awesome to hear that from you. And well, next Shishir then is, I mean, so that way our listeners could go ahead and visit you. They could always check you out at pulse-advertising.com. What role does the website then play for client acquisition?

Shishir: A lot. Right, as I said, so we have a lot of different activities that happen, but all of them are geared towards the website. So from webinars to white papers to landing pages, they’re all kind of hosted on the website. And all our acquisition is done for inbounds, of course, within just the website ecosystem. Obviously, we can always do more, but as a website, I think we’ve got it to be very call-to-action oriented, very simple to see, very easy to understand as well, and really showcasing what we do and how we do it and why we want our, why brands should work with us.

Ernesto: Okay, perfect. Awesome. Next up then is. So then is there any tools or tips that you would recommend to our listeners as far as some website lead generation?

Shishir: A few. So I have a bit of a content background as well. Right. In my experience, I think I realized there are a few things. So one is obviously the AIDA method where you want to grab attention, you want to generate interest, create a desire and have a big call to action. I often see a lot of good websites where, and as a shopper as well, where I’m like, okay, I’m sold, I want to buy it and I can’t see the call to action. So when you go on our website, we have one sentence where we say global influencer agency and there’s a talk to us or get in touch. And I think that’s the kind of approach we’ve tried to have across the website. We make it easy for people to sign up and we have a webinar page. It’s not complicated, there’s no going down on the page. Quick text. This is what it is. It literally says what, when, how, who, and then sign up here. So we want to make the website, we have made the website very simple, very easy to use, obviously fully branded, and I’m very proud of the brand we’ve set up, how it is. And keeping a consistent messaging as well has been important. And then it’s the subtle elements which more marketers know, but they add value to make people convert, which is ensuring that the SEO elements are all in order. You have the meta title, you have alt images, the image alt tags, you have the images on the right size. The website is mobile-first. It’s fast, there’s no overlaying elements happening. All those elements again, one of them alone doesn’t change everything, but I think all of them done right together really make for a good website experience.

Ernesto: Absolutely important. All right, thank you. Thank you so much for sharing that, Shishir. And well let’s, let’s switch gears a little bit and let’s talk about you as a leader, you being the marketing director there for Pulse Advertising. Shishir, what are some key tasks you like to focus on in your day-to-day work?

Shishir: So it really depends. I think obviously we’re in a similar industry, same industry essentially. So it’s, I mean I’m sure you can back me up here, but our role changes almost on a day to day. Sometimes there are days when you’re doing email marketing, the day you’re part of a big event and another day you’re managing a webinar. But for me, if I have to try and make sense of it, I think my big, big part of my role is to manage a team of designers, of content writers, digital marketers and web development. Those are the different functions which report into me. And obviously it’s to ensure that all of us are rowing in the same direction. Beyond that, I think from how my day kind of shapes up, it starts from stakeholder management because obviously marketing is a core function of any business. Pulse Advertising is no exception in that perspective. So it could start from having a call with the UK managing director, to the brand partnerships director and then suddenly someone else. It’s very very, there’s a lot of stakeholder management for me. There’s a lot of strategic thought leadership as well because obviously ten years is a huge achievement for Pulse to have achieved, basically still very young in the market, so to speak. So there’s still a lot of ground to cover and there’s still a lot of potential there. So really thinking how can we stay relevant, how can we continue growing and how can we continue winning clients and win more clients? A bit of everything to be honest. Like I said. I mean with a small team you don’t have the luxury of just always managing or directing. So there’s a lot of executing as well. For the longest time I was doing a lot of Google Ads myself. I’ve done content like I’ve gotten my hands dirty to written a lot of content as well. Sometimes I’m writing captions again, really depends. But this hopefully should give a bit of a perspective on how my day looks.

Ernesto: Yeah, definitely. I mean, it sounds like you have a full plate there on your hands, Shishir. And in between those cracks of time available, then how do you stay up to date with all the marketing trends, news out there? Is there a preferred channel that you like to go with?

Shishir: So I give a lot of lectures at universities in London, and I hear myself repeating this also to new students. I think it’s a mindset, right? Like, I mean, I spent a lot of my Friday evening today working with another colleague, just looking at new AI tools, you know, and it sounds very nerdy. And I guess we’re all a bit nerdy in our fields. I think that probably, for me, is it right. It’s a mindset. So really not getting worried about new tools. You know, when we. When I started my job at Pulse, that was 2016, there was no TikTok, there were no Insta ads. Instagram was still a photo app in that sense. And Facebook was still a thing in that perspective. And so much has changed within these seven years of me being with Pulse. And there’s one option where you can say, okay, I’m getting a bit, irrelevant. I don’t know this. I’m becoming a dinosaur. The other is constantly just learning, based on what comes up. So, for instance, TikTok advertising was one of the smoothest things I could have done because I knew Facebook ads and TikTok ads were not too dissimilar because the ecosystem is the same. So for me, as I said, just to repeat it, it’s more of a mindset. I mean, yeah, I have Google alerts set up. I have a lot of subscriptions to newsletters. I use LinkedIn a lot. And not in a preachy way, more just to be real and more to connect with the right people, because I really do see value in LinkedIn when it’s not too printed. But by and large, you’ve got to love what you do. And I think I’ve truly been blessed to find a role, which I love.

Ernesto: And it sounds like you do. So it’s awesome to hear. And Shishir, let’s jump into our next section here, which is our rapid-fire question rounds. Are you ready for them?

Shishir: I can try.

Ernesto: All right, perfect. Awesome. So, first, Shishir is, what is the last book that you read?

Shishir: It’s a book called Lessons in Chemistry. I just finished it last week. They now also made an Apple TV series about it. Highly recommended. It’s a lot about the misogynistic world and how tough it is for a female chemist back in, I think fifties and sixties.

Ernesto: Okay, perfect. Great read there for our listeners. Next up then is if there would be no boundaries in technology, what would be that one thing that you want to have fixed for your role as a marketer today?

Shishir: Someone to hack into my brain, and keep a task list up to date. I think that, for me, is a big one because there are truly a hundred different ideas. And it’s such a challenge also to kind of, because in marketing, you realize a bit into the role and into the industry, that idea is sadly the easy part. It’s taking that idea into execution and implementing and seeing it blossom is the tougher part. So, yeah, there’s a tech which can kind of just literally hack into my brain, create an Asana board which is up to date automatically. I am sold.

Ernesto: Definitely. Okay, awesome. and I mean, what you mentioned, right, I think it’s, I think we’re, I don’t know how close we are, but if Musk gets it, if Elon Musk, you know, with his whole brain chip thing, we never know. Right.

Shishir: It’s Black Mirror stuff. Let’s see how that shapes up.

Ernesto: Yep. then next up is if there’s one repetitive task that you could automate, what would that be?

Shishir: Invoices. They come in every month, and the more trips you have during the month, the more invoices you have to bill. But I think that’s something. I’m obviously saying it as a half joke. I think realistically, for me, it’s the SEO elements, because I think especially with a small team, if you have a big team, you have ten social media, whatever teams who are constantly doing it on a day to day. But within the marketing field, I would say it’s more that a way to just ensure that all the SEO elements are up to date and we don’t have to go into them every week. Every month again.

Ernesto: Okay, perfect. Great. And well, lastly, Shishir, I mean, you have a lot of experience already in the marketing world, but what is that one piece of advice that you would give yourself if you were to restart your journey as a marketer today?

Shishir: I know it sounds very, very cheesy, but I truly think you got to love what you do. I think because you end up spending at least 40 hours a week in what you do. As I said, it doesn’t come to everyone, and that’s fine. But if you can find, okay, this is something I really enjoy. I think I’ll be good at. It doesn’t mean that I have all good days. There are a lot of days when it’s bad, and there are a lot of days when I’m challenging myself, cursing myself, and really figuring out and doubting myself. But the core of it that, okay, I really enjoy what I do. I take a lot of ownership in my task. I take a lot of pride in my work. I think that’s something, which is something I would always advise. If you can find that, that’s amazing. Beyond that, I think just to be bold, take more risks, you will make mistakes. It’s a fact. And what we also mentioned before, continue learning because it’s such an expanding field with AI now even more, the challenges are super, super high, but the opportunity is higher.

Ernesto: Right. And you mentioned everything is going to keep evolving. You never know when there’s a new social media platform that’s going to blow up again and there’s a new stride new channel to go through. Awesome to hear that from Shishir. And well, Shishir, it’s been a pleasure to have you on, but before we do end our show today, I do want to give you the last word. So say someone forgets everything about the interview today. What is that one thing they should remember about Pulse Advertising?

Shishir: Very good question. That people trust people.

Ernesto: I think that’s very important, right. Especially in today’s world. I think a lot of people got tired of the old traditional marketing. So if someone that you like, you’re going to trust them and you’re going to go with what they’re saying. Right? So, great to hear that from you, Shishir.

Shishir: No, exactly. I think that’s the core difference between any traditional advertising and influencer marketing. And I think people, as you rightly said, people are just tired of seeing or being forced to see an ad on TV, you know, that’s decades old. And we have more control on our social media. We choose to follow brands, we choose to follow influencers who hopefully give you the right kind of advice. And a good influencer marketing agency facilitates that, and that’s what we do.

Ernesto: Definitely awesome to hear that from you, Shishir. Hey, well, it’s been a pleasure to have you on today’s episode, Shishir, for our listeners. Check them out at pulse-advertising.com. And to our listeners, again, thank you so much for being on with us today, and I’m looking forward to our next episode at Pathmonk Presents. Thanks, Shishir.

Shishir: Thank you so much for having me. Thank you.

Ernesto: Bye.