Dizzying lights, empty bottles lying around, greased boilers tilting over food-smeared kitchen slabs, dustbin stacked with paper-plates – the party was a hit. Biryani, Paneer Tikka, Chicken Tandoori, Naan, Butter Chicken – the menu had it all. But the most talked about dish was the dip. Yes, the dip for the chips to make it more delicious.
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2 years ago…
Mamma’s food is unbeatable! But the dips she makes are the most loved. One would think she went to a special chemistry class to learn the science of blending ingredients into perfect dips. I thought so for a long time, I swear.
Her dips are all those words that the judges in MasterChef use – velvety, tangy, delicate, tropical, delicious, zesty, exotic,yummy, fancy, umami…
My friends just say,
“
Kya mast hai yaar”,
“
Aunty, aap mujhe adopt kar lo”,
“Can I take some home, puhleease?”,
“Dibs on the dips. Haha that rhymed.#OkBye”.
The compliments never stop. Neither do the dips. My mom loves the art. She puts equal amounts of love in it every day and completes each step mindfully. She is like a
Shokunin - delivering a product or service of the highest quality, with a dedication to enhance the lives of its inhabitants in some way – which in this case is feeding us.
This year on Mother’s Day, I put up a long post about how much I love my mom, her food, especially her dips. My friends joined in the conversation with a barrage of memories.
And then something unusual happened.
Friends of friends got curious. Then friends of friends of friends, until it became a chain of people waiting in a virtual line to try #MomMadeDips. So, I took the first step.
Building brand presence: I created a page on facebook and filled it with videos of the process, pictures of the dips, pics of my friends enjoying it. Facebook has real people so the no-pretense pictures brought out the true reactions and connected with people instantly. Then I moved to twitter and instagram with pictures and unlimited food stories.
Growing a fanbase through sampling: I kept posting and the followers grew organically, although slowly. I got a few orders to which I arranged for delivery at a pre-decided place. It was hard to co-ordinate, but I was slowly growing a team of evangelists. After people consumed the dips, they wrote on the wall about their experience. They shared what they paired it with –paratha, bread, rice.
We realised that dips are polyandrous. They are not meant only for chips.
Innovation with content: That led to more experiments in the kitchen. What kinds of dips would go with what food? It was like the wine & cheese situation.
Humanise: I shared my mom’s stories of discovering new flavours, like she told them to me, and my friends. Her virtual account spoke like she would talk to my friends – very casual, uninhibited. The page became a reflection of her.
Driven with passion: My mom got more enthused. More people were eating her food. Her mission to feed good food to everyone was slowly molding into a system.
The power of influencers: One day, a renowned food blogger posted on the page asking to meet my mom. When I told my mom that, I bet she thought, “YAY, one more person to feed.” But I was excited about the mileage #MomMadeDips could get.
Positioning: The blogger reviewed that it was “the perfect party partner”. Our brand found a new identity after that. And her post did well for all of us involved.
The blog was read and shared by thousands of people. We got orders and offers from folks and restaurants to supply #MomMadeDips for parties.
And ever since, my mom’s food has made it to thousands of parties across the city.
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This is the power of social media. It allows you to do what you love and reach out to many people, irrespective of barriers.
There are many case studies of people springing into limelight with just one tweet or post. There are people promising to perform crazy stunts, in exchange for a million likes, which they garner overnight.
Social networks have evolved over the past 10 years and play a fundamental role in our lives. The people you see around with necks hunched over lit phones, are probably lost in the black hole i.e social media.
News, both good and bad, travels faster than ever. Word of mouth is how fast you hashtag, tweet, or reply to something. A blogger has become a more renowned critic than a print one and things become permanent once it hits YouTube.
But even though the connection is so intrinsic do we understand these networks well enough to be able to sell? And are we using them in the right ways?
The good news is that social media is a level playing field. Everyone has access to the tools to get noticed. What you do with the platform is what will help you sell.
Take the masterclass to understand Social Media on Konversations.com
here. This course will teach you not just about the strengths and differences between social networks but also the impact they can have on our brands.