Tina Sharma Tiwari, Author and Journalist
Less than a year ago, you could say I was a rookie on Facebook, non-existent on Twitter and virtually obscure in the online world. Despite being a journalist and award-winning TV presenter, I had not really explored new media and my tech-savvy was rather questionable. I was also at a crossroads of sorts in my career – my best selling debut novel ‘Running on Full’ meant that I was alsolooking at fiction writing as a second career and family commitments required me to cut back on my workload as a journalist and start freelancing as a presenter. This new professional situation meant that I had to find creative new ways of connecting and staying in touch with my readers and viewers, and also build a platform to showcase my new multi-faceted approach to life. A strong online presence was the only answer, but unfortunately I was clueless.
And that’s when I met Prateek Shah. ‘Online evangelist’ is what I was told when someone referred me to him and I was initially amused at the prospect of meeting a ‘preacher’ of social media. But now, six months later I can look back and appreciate how accurate that description was. Prateek not only introduced me to new media and social networking, but sparked a genuine interest in a tech-illiterate person like me. It’s because he literally lives and breathes it himself. His joie de vivre and zealous enthusiasm for social media is infectious and leaves one wondering ‘how can I not be part of something so exciting?’ Not only was I introduced and established onto various platforms like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and a top class personal web blog, but more importantly I was painstakingly and personally educated on how to keep it up, by myself. And therein lies the difference between an agency that manages your online profile professionally and an online evangelist. While the agency’s main objective is to derive continuous business from you, the evangelist gives you wings and sets you free.
I am now able to connect with literally thousands of readers and viewers through regular posts, actions and activities that help me building a strong base and online identity. I update my website, add new features, interact actively on Facebook and Twitter and generally feel socially connected. That was the objective, wasn’t it? And he helped me achieve it easily, creatively and effectively.
Rashmi Datt, Founder and Director at Dialog Services
Prateek has not only an indepth knowledge of the social media, he also has a sound judgment, and combined with high energy he makes an excellent guide on how to leverage the social media to your advantage for Public Relations. Working with him for a couple of months helped me greatly in navigating and becoming familiar with what was to me a new and unknown entity. Prateek is reliable and straightforward in his dealings, and I wish him all the best in his mission of evangelist as a social media consultant.
Kavita Doshi, Manager – Corporate Communications, NASSCOM
Prateek is a very confident, extrovert and warm person. He is a perfect fit for the public relations industry and I believe will add a great value in this field. He demonstrates great ideas and also shows the capability to execute them. Not to forget I have found him to be always hard-working, conscientious and courteous. I wish him all the best in whatever he chooses to do in life.
Ankush Thakur, Editor
I was first introduced to Prateek professionally when a publishing house I worked with needed help in running their online community. Despite our best efforts, the community was refusing to take off. I was wondering what more could one possibly do; after all, we had done more than our fair share of doing cutting-edge research and applying advice found on reputed social media websites. What we learned in that brief but powerful session with him made me realize how there is a widespread misunderstanding of social media platforms. We learned some deep and fundamental truths, as well as clever campaign tricks – what people think works, and what actually does. The community became responsive, and has been doing well. Since then, I’ve had him help out many writers looking to gain more visibility, and it has worked for everyone without exception. I’d recommend Prateek to anyone looking to form a strong and timeless understanding of the online space. The tools keep changing every day, but the technique is timeless.
Bikash Upadhyaya, Account Manager, Autotisement
Prateek opened the ocean of opportunities for promotion of a brand or an idea through social media. The variety of techniques that can be used apart from the obvious ones like facebook. Some strategies like proper use of Wikipedia, images, blogs and youtube and leveraging on rich content to optimize the content that we want to promote were real eye openers. We got to learn lot of nitty grities and simple yet very effective strategies of promotion by using social media. I have started applying some ideas for my organization Autotisement and I have seen the increase in the no. of visits to the website and increase in no. of prospects contacting us. Examples speak better than words and the examples of organizations and people he has helped promote online helped us have more practical learning than just bookish theory.
As a person Prateek is open, friendly and always ready to help. I get instant replies from him whenever I ask him to clear any doubt.
Jasleen Bahri, Assistant Manager, Public Relations, Mrs Bector’s Food Speciality Ltd.
I always thought Social media is not for me. I hated networking sites and the way they were operated until my clients expressed their views to be socially visible and i had no choice but to try and understand this medium better which in turn made me more confused and pessimistic. It was then that I got to know about Prateek and his social media skills. I realized the importance of it all when he slowly started cracking media stories for my clients through the medium. A journalist posted on twiter that she was doing story on “innovation in food industry” and I jumped on to the opportunity immediately. Not just that, he made me realize that inviting people for job interviews, brand building & creation, business networking, reaching to end user and so many more things were possible through online contacts itself.
I never thought that businesses can depend so much on this medium and progress with every other social post. I met the right person in this regard and results can be seen in my company’s prospering business.
Deepesh Surve, Online Analyst
Prateek is profoundly creative and knows his business! He just seems to have what it takes to launch forward any idea in the most creative way. He is a good listener and generous in sharing information and ideas.
I know Prateek to be innovative, kind, and considerate in all that he does. He has done so much for me when it comes to getting my work out there and seen. He has an amazing gift and talents in creative writing and design. He always has innovative ideas, and works through problems masterfully.
When his creative juices flow, he takes your ideas to new places and makes you shine. His skills are exceptional and they come with his big loving heart. I feel more than fortunate to know him.
Onkar Bhake, MBA Student and Blogger
I had been thinking that Facebook , Twitter et all were just for connecting with your friends and having your share of online fun .This was till I came across Prateek’s Social Media Workshop . And Bang! there’s so much to do with these tools I had never imagined . I was amazed to see how much your or your organisation’s online presence and image affects the Brand Equity. The workshop was fun filled and super exciting . As a knowledge hungry guy I got my share of quota fulfilled . For everyone out there who wants to make a mark in online marketing or social media , this workshop is a must.
Bhavya Kaushik, Creative Director and Editor-in-Chief at Schreibers – The Ink Slingers
As a Software Engineer student, I gained abundance of knowledge about the Social Media Scenario and its rapid growth which is taking place at almost every sphere – after attending the Social media Certification program by Urban Vidya. It surely was one of the most interesting workshops that I have ever attended. Social media is itself such a vast field, and along the time duration of the workshop, almost all the major aspect of it were taught and in-depth as well as practical knowledge were provided to us. It opened a window of so many opportunities for me to explore in the future, of whose existence I wasn’t even prior aware of. Thanks a lot Urban Vidya for providing such a great learning and nourishing environment and a special Thanks to Prateek Sir for simply being the best social media guidance expert one can ever have.
