This week we feature, Chitra Balachandran, Manager of Social Media & Content at Wooplr. Wooplr’s mission is to connect people with stores based on interests, location and social circles. Wooplr wants to bring back the joy and social nature of shopping.

In this interview, you can read more about her work at Wooplr, favorite marketing tools, productivity tips as well as her advice for budding marketers.

Your location: ​ Bangalore, India.

Your favorite gadget: My HTC One M8 Eye.

You start your day with:​ A cup of coffee, and the crossword.

Your favorite time-saving trick: Delegate!

Your top 3 blogs you read daily: Buffer, HubSpot and SocialMediaExaminer.

“We’re always listening, be it through direct communication, or social media-led conversations.”

Describe an average day at Wooplr?

Honestly, there’s no such thing (I’m sure you get that a lot!). As part of a start-up that’s in the middle of an incredible growth spurt, the team is constantly working on new ideas and plans. Every single day is so different, it’s impossible to get bored, or even predictable. That’s arguably the best part of my job; it’s so dynamic, it’s fantastic!

My team and I work on a schedule to help us plan our day and week better, and do our best to stick to it. This really helps us be a lot more productive and organized, especially since our days are, as I mentioned, rarely predictable. Having a broader objective allows us to focus, as well as prioritize.

As a company, we’re all about open discussion and conversation. Teams are always bouncing ideas off of each other. It helps us all think outside of our spaces, and really grow. There’s always brainstorming sessions — Product is chatting with Marketing, Curation is connected with Business Development, and so on. We also break the monotony with a lot of fun and laughter (We crack a LOT of really bad puns!). We’ve often been told our office has a fantastic energy about it, and we’re proud of that.

As a marketer, what are some of your favorite productivity hacks?

Given how much is always happening, I’m in love with Google Docs and Sheets. It’s how we all stay in sync, and stay scheduled.

As a person who is well-versed with online marketing, I’m sure you rely on a few marketing tools to automate your efforts. What are the top 3–5 tools you use?

My domain is mainly the Social Media and Content side of it, so I’m all for anything that allows me to analyze and automate my content. I’m a huge fan of Buffer and Tweetdeck, and love the analytics that Minter offers as well. Brightpod has been a saviour as far as content planning and teamwork is concerned. I’m always on the lookout for tools that will help streamline my work, but these are my current favourites.

How do you drive traffic to your site and what top 3 strategies you’ll use to convert people trying the app into paying customers?

We show our audience, both existing and potential, how Wooplr can change the way they experience fashion and shopping. We’re all about user-generated style, and bringing current fashion trends to our users. As a platform, we’ve evolved to offer end-to-end style solutions, right from inspiration to purchase. This has really boosted our popularity, as well as our growth

Wooplr has a growing community of users. How do you use this treasure trove of customer insight to power your marketing efforts?

We at Wooplr love feedback. It’s what drives us to do better, and do more. We’re always listening, be it through direct communication, or social media-led conversations. This approach has provided us extremely valuable insights into consumer behavior, from the kind of trends that actually excite our audience, to elements of design, and even new features. We try to stay as connected to our audience as we can. We wouldn’t work nearly as well if we didn’t.

What’s one trend that really excites you?

It fascinates and excites me how everything is becoming more and more social. Everything from customer acquisition to public relations is all about striking a conversation with your audience. A brand can now connect with various people in so many ways, and the ecosystem is evolving everyday.

Is there any advice you’d like to give to budding marketers to help them work smart and stay productive?

Make time for yourself. While it’s fantastic to love your job and your work, ensure you dedicate time everyday to doing something that’s just for yourself. Go for a run, join a dance class — whatever floats your boat. But learn to disconnect from your job, and focus on your own growth. It will do you a world of good!

A big thanks to Chitra for taking the time out to answer these questions! If you haven’t already, we highly recommend that you check out Wooplr.

The ‘How Marketers Stay Productive’ series asks marketers their tips & strategies for staying productive. Every week we’ll feature a new guest and the tricks that keep them working smart. Know someone you’d love to see featured? Email Us.