Meet Sonal Mishra, Content and Digital Marketing Consultant

The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing. #Beginanywhere

- Walt Disney

As a digital marketer and content specialist with over 10 years of experience, Sonal Mishra has helped global brands in India, Norway, the USA, and the UK. After working with organizations like Capgemini and HSBC in India, Sonal moved to Norway with her husband in 2018 and now works as a Content Marketing Manager in Oslo. She also works as a board member at PWN Norway. When she is not working, she enjoys lazy afternoons, meeting new people, traveling, or creating content to help small business owners find their brand avatar.

Before starting her business, Sonal worked as a Content Strategy Manager for Generation Mobility AS and a Content Manager at Cue Hosting. She also worked as a Freelance Content Writer and Social Media Manager at XinFin Organization. Sonal also worked as a Senior Software Engineer - Technical Writer at HSBC Private Banking and an Associate Consultant - Technical Writer at Capgemini.

Sonal began her career in finance as a Financial Analyst and Associate Analyst at XL Dynamics India Pvt. Ltd. She completed a Summer Internship at Sahara India. Sonal graduated with an M.B.A. in Finance at the International Institute of Management Studies (IIMS), Pune, and a Bachelor of Science in Maths from the Isabella Thoburn College, Lucknow University.

What does a typical day as a Content Marketing Manager look like?

Like any other job in the digital space where you have to work with a global team -

A typical day for a content marketing manager also starts with checking Slack notifications and flagging emails.

The real work that a content marketing manager does involves -

• Developing a comprehensive content strategy that aligns with the company’s goals

• Identifying a potential customer’s buyer journey

• Finding content ideas to fill content gaps to educate, inspire, entertain, and sell to their #brandavataar (ideal customer profile)

• Planning content production and distribution

• Testing and improving content production and distribution tactics

• Managing campaigns and tracking progress

• Managing stakeholders expectations

• Collaborating with the product and commercial teams

• Repurposing evergreen content to reiterate the value proposition on online and offline marketing channels

• Identifying brand advocates

• Managing content pipeline and deadlines

The day also includes catching up with marketing team members, performing admin tasks like generating reports and presenting campaign progress, listening to 10-min hype music to get into the creative zone before writing a new piece of content and doubting your skills at least 2-3 times a day.

What are you passionate about? (In your work, personal life, or other)

I'm curious by nature, and I feel that having a sense of purpose or solving a problem drives my thinking. As a content marketing manager, I like that my work allows me to learn about multiple platforms for marketing automation, industry trends and challenges, consumer behavior, human psychology, etc., which fuels my creativity.

What do you find most challenging about being a Content Marketing Manager?

Measuring content performance. Many businesses still think measuring vanity metrics like impressions and downloads gives them a clear idea of how their target customer makes a buying decision. However, it is not an exact formula. The dark funnel includes multiple touchpoints across the customer journey, including social channels, online events, online communities, referrals, etc., that CRMs can't measure. This is where the opportunity and the challenge lie for today’s marketing teams, as the process is not as straightforward as TOFU, MOFU, and BOFU marketing.

What do you find most enriching about being a Content Marketing Manager?

Learning about human psychology while understanding consumer behavior. I am fascinated by psychology, and I believe brands need to accept that product features alone won't help them sell. They will need to cater to human emotions and vulnerability and show that they care. Consumers are changing how companies do business, which is why human-to-human marketing is gaining popularity in both B2C and B2B.

How did you find yourself in your current career?

I didn't find it; it found me. After graduating with a degree in Finance and Marketing in 2011, I accepted a financial analyst role at a US-based mortgage company. It was my first job, and I was eager to prove myself. After 3 years in that job, I left to move to a different city to be with my family. The move gave me a much-needed break to reflect on what I wanted to do next.

During this time, I stumbled upon a paid freelancing job as a content writer. I used to write for myself in my journals but never for others. The idea made me excited and super uncomfortable. That was the cue for me. Lately, I haven't felt the rush of exploring something new and unknown. I took it as a challenge and haven't looked back since.

After working with organizations like Capgemini and HSBC, I finally decided to start my own venture, sonalmishra.co, to offer marketing services to startups and growing companies globally. You can learn more about my experience of starting a business in a new country where I didn’t even know the language.

I currently work full-time as a Content Marketing Manager with an amazing team at Xeneta. In my free time, I volunteer with PWN Norway as a board member and produce content for sonalmishra.co to help small business owners leverage content marketing to grow online.

Words of advice for anyone who wants to pursue this career?

As a content creator, never doubt your first draft. Some great pieces of content started as a napkin note. As a marketer, listen to your existing customers to generate more leads. Even unhappy customers can be a great source of learning and help you improve your marketing tactics.

To learn more about Sonal's career journey, visit her LinkedIn page. To connect with or work with her, visit her website.

Thanks for reading!