Dissecting Social Media, one step at a time

When 23-year-old Aleena Gandhi started working with a digital agency 2.5 years ago, she didn’t realise the impact her social media presence would have in the industry in the next few years. Today, her company Social Media Dissect, is a well-known disruptor in the digital space, offering brands a platform to showcase their best work and calling out the rampant plagiarism present in the industry.

Having worked with brands such as The Face Shop India, The St. Regis Mumbai, The Westin Mumbai Garden City, Ruby’s Organics and many more, her brand Social Media Dissect is now a reckoner in the industry. Initially started as a side project in 2018, the company has now racked up almost 88,000 Instagram followers. What started off as a small-scale project that aimed at reviewing and researching marketing campaigns on social media has now become a behemoth for social media trends and etiquette.

Humble Beginnings

Aleena, now 26, started Social Media Dissect in 2018 as a one-woman operation. The page initially started off reviewing and researching brand campaigns on Instagram. After a year, she received several positive responses on Instagram, and a slow but steady loyal follower base, which is when she decided to quit her job and focus on the brand.

As the brand grew more successful, Aleena expanded to other platforms, created a website and hired a small team. The brand is focused on building a strong community on social media and creating engagement with their audience through personal branding, offering efficacious tips on how to organically build a brand on social media, uplifting zealous creators on social media, and of course, doing what they do best, calling out plagiarism.

Social Media Dissect frequently sets up seminars, training sessions and talks on digital media to teach and inspire many more to seize the best out of the digital space.

Aleena is a published author, consultant, TEDx speaker, and an experienced veteran in the social media space. She has also provided training and marketing sessions to more than 4,000 students and professionals.

A Social Media Influencer Platform

In a nutshell, Social Media Dissect uses its clout on digital platforms to give prominence to content that is unique and imaginative, especially from smaller brands. The company highlights creative social media marketing campaigns by these brands on their website as well as all their social media platforms.

Says Aleena, “We started out as a means to showcase good work in the marketing space. However, the response we received was overwhelming. Coupled with the fact that we were a pioneer in this space, we also started getting approached by brands who would request us to feature them or handle their marketing and social media strategies. Today, one arm of Social Media Dissect is devoted to this, while the other continues with our core function.

Earlier, established brands, with more resources and budgets, would thrive, leaving the smaller ones to fend for themselves. I made it a point to showcase these smaller brands and the stellar work they were doing.”

Local & Global Social Media Marketing Trends

Another key offering of Social Media Dissect is their ability to feature, disseminate and discuss emerging trends in the social media marketing space, both locally and internationally. The brand highlights and reviews Indian and international campaigns, and offers followers the ability to discuss their thoughts on the concepts and provide constructive feedback.

Says Aleena, “We get a lot of traction on our social media handles where our followers give feedback on what they liked (or didn’t like) about Indian and international marketing campaigns. It’s also a great brainstorming tool and a box to derive original ideas from.”

Calling Out Plagiarism

One of the foremost tenets that Social Media Dissect was built on was calling out plagiarised content in the industry. With no regulations, the industry was a free-for-all for companies and agencies to copy original work created by other brands, many of whom lacked the means to take these giants on. Social Media Dissect managed to successfully highlight this issue and ‘shame’ the plagiarists on their social media platforms.

Tips On How To Be Successful On Social Media

As the number of followers increased on Social Media Dissect’s platforms, there was a demand and need to provide tips and inspiration to budding marketers and influencers on how to be successful. Aleena regularly posts her learnings and knowledge on social media popularity to help those who can benefit from this information.

An All-Round Marketing & Social Media Agency

With the exponential growth in the popularity of Social Media Dissect in the industry, the company was approached by a number of brands to handle their marketing and social media campaigns. Taking this into account, SMD now has a separate branch that handles these brands and campaigns on a strategic and brand solutions standpoint.

Future Plans

“I’d like to become a thought leader in the social media space on the lines of Gary Vaynerchuk, Tony Robbins, and Seth Godin - and I’m working towards making Social Media Dissect a one-stop platform for what’s new in the social media space,” says Aleena.

“Currently I’ve seen in the industry that the norm is that employees work long hours and often without adequate appreciation. My aim is to build an ethical company with a comfortable, inclusive, non-discriminating work culture; one that empowers and encourages young people to prioritise both their work as well as their social life.”

Website- www.socialmediadissect.com

Disclaimer: The views, suggestions and opinions expressed here are the sole responsibility of the experts. No Forbes India journalist was involved in the writing and production of this article.