Do What You Love and Love What You Do

The idea behind quitting a stable job as Marketing head, India for A Swiss-German the company was to start something of my own, at the same time give more time to my passion, that's travel, content writing, photography, and blogging

Tell us about your background and journey.

I am a Marketer and transformation trainer (soft skills and image) by profession and a traveller by passion. Love for travel runs in my genes and my father has been a big influence on me. After working for corporates under different leadership positions for 12 years, I finally decided to follow my passion.

The idea behind quitting a stable job as Marketing head, India for A Swiss-German the company was to start something of my own, at the same time give more time to my passion, that's travel, content writing, photography, and blogging.

For the past 2 years, I have been focusing on sharing my travel stories and experiences with my audience through my blog madhuonthego and my social media handles, primarily Instagram.

What led you to start your page on Instagram and what is it about?

Being someone who loves to explore new places, I find pictures and visuals as the best medium of expression. Instagram is the most dynamic and convenient medium to share your stories and work with others as compared to other mediums. After starting my blog, I felt the need to have a presence on different social media channels in order to reach out to a larger audience. And this made me start a page on Instagram.

Today my Instagram page "Madhuonthego" is all about seeing the world from my eyes. I write and share my travel experiences, along with other lifestyle topics that are close to my heart like sustainable & slow fashion, ecofriendly living, etc.

How would you distinguish the term blogger from an influencer?

Bloggers express themselves by writing valuable content, in the form of a story or informative article, usually on a website (blog). Not every blogger can be an influencer. Influencers are people with a strong presence on social platforms. Someone with a background or accomplishments that can inspire people to follow them and look up to their views on particular topics. Influencers have a large following.

Is it financially sustainable to be an influencer today?

To be honest, it's not easy to influence somebody until and unless you have a clear niche and a strong understanding of the subject. Given the fact that it's a cluttered market today, it's not easy to create a financially sustainable position as an influencer. However, if you are able to differentiate yourself and offer a value proposition that your audience can relate to and find useful, there is always a possibility.

What do you think influences consumer behaviour?

There are many factors that influence Consumer behaviour right from beliefs, lifestyle, cultural influence, economic factors to aspirations, motivations, and many more. These days with a lot of exposure to trends and social media, I think aspirations (or wanting to be like someone) plays an important role in influencing consumer behaviour.

What is your idea of success or your mantra in life?

The most important Mantra that I believe in is to follow your heart. Do what you love and love what you do. I like to keep learning and improving myself because learning is a continuous process and there is always room for improvement.

When it comes to Success, I don't have fixed numbers or digits to call myself successful. But for me, success is any accomplishment ( big or small) that gives you the happiness and satisfaction of doing something good.

How can someone become a successful social media influencer?

I am not sure if I am successful yet or not. But I really enjoy what I do. My advice to someone who is looking to be a social media influencer is

1. Find your niche, it should be a field you are really passionate about.

2. Create content which you would find interesting and engaging as an audience.

3. Create original and quality content

3. Be persistent, Don't give up

Which is your favourite book and why?

I like reading so there is a big list of favourites. But if I have to name a few, in the nonfiction category, I like the book Secret by Rhonda Byrne. Very simple and motivating book. In the fiction category, the list is really long and a few books that I like include Eat, Pray Love, Thousand splendid Sun, Palace of illusions. Currently, I am reading Sapiens by Yuval Noah Harari.

It's an interesting book about the history of humankind.

Interviewed by - Manav Malik