Explorer of Experiences

There's a first time for everything! Last month, I was interviewed by Social Samosa . I'm very excited to share this on my blog. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ THE INTERVIEW We interviewed,  Hanisha Lalwani  – Assistant Manager, Marketing & Communications who handles the social media vertical internally at Courtyard by Marriott Pune City Centre. She highlights how Courtyard better understands its customers & fosters brand loyalty through fresh content. She also throws light upon how customer queries & grievances are effectively addressed at the earliest. What role does social media play in your marketing communications?  How important is it for a premier business brand like yours to be in the social space? The emphasis on social media and the role it plays in our integrated marketing communications plan has become more pronounced, especially over the last year. Having a digital...

I wrote this article as a Guest Contributor for Social Samosa . Here is the link to the published write up:  http://www.socialsamosa.com/2014/09/interns-social-media/ The call to be on social media should be made consciously by a company. The  herd mentality  syndrome should not apply here. Some companies, depending on their line of business or the expertise and funds at disposal, need not feel the hurry to jump on the digital bandwagon. The company’s senior leadership team should be convinced of the need to create digital assets; they should profess commitment to social media – they should be in for the long haul. Identify The next significant step of action is to identify social media champions within the company. Social media is normally entrusted in the safe hands of a company’s marketing team. This is crucial to ensure that social media strategy is on equity with the brand. However, not just marketing, but other functions (operations and finance for instance...

A mini-me back in the day putting lead to paper I always fancied the thought of being a writer. It seemed so...so..what's the word..intellectual. English was always my favourite subject and pretty much the only class I looked forward to during school years. While reading books, I not only enjoyed the stories and tickling my imagination but also took in the writing styles of the authors. I went quite mainstream in choosing my Bachelor's degree and studied Business Administration. Why didn't I study literature instead? No idea! I used to write for myself mostly. But then came Facebook and Facebook Notes where I started publishing my ramblings on. My friends said I penned well. With a full time job coming into the picture, the writing mostly took a back seat. Only once in a while would I find time and get the creative itch to write. But the embers of wanting to write professionally still glowed. A random browse through my Twitter timeline led me to applying for a freelan...

(This post was written by me and published on my Facebook page when I created my Twitter handle back in May 2010 . I like a million others was curious as a cat to discover Twitterverse. With this poem, I quite like how what I had in my mind  translated into words . Enjoy reading and if you will, follow me on @HanishaLalwani.) *Tweet! Tweet!* Who is it?  A little blue bird, 'Twitter' is what you call it!   I'm spreading my wings and flying with it...  For those out of it, are sadly missing out on it!  Once I'm on it there's no fighting it,  He's on it, she's on it, even it's on it...  And if you're not yet on it,  Then you must be quite a twit!  Celebs tweet randomness on it,  Crazy fans are lovin’ every bit of it...  The media is spying all over it,  Tharoor and Modi fell in a soup ‘cause of it!  Corporates are spending millions on it,  Students and teachers are debating ...

Early September, just a few days after I booked my round trip tickets to Manali, the news announced that there'd be airfare hikes. Yet again . Not cool.  Travel is one thing the yuppies seem to be enamoured by and I'm no different. It's something I crave for and look forward to doing. In the larger picture, it features on the top three reasons why I work so very hard at my job. And it's great to see so many of my peers boarding flights and exploring destinations off the beaten track. It's inspiring. And it makes me want to book my next flight all the more.  Exploring new places requires a lot of money ( no shit! ) which requires one to be smart in managing their savings. I wouldn't think twice to pay for a trip though. And the fact that shopping for shoes, clothes and bags doesn't qualify as 'therapy' for me, works in my favour. The key however is to travel smart. And below are just some ways I do it and you can too... 1. You don...