Top 8 Digital Marketing Trends For 2021

Today, it is a well-acknowledged fact that digital marketing is the staple of success in the corporate world. A good marketer is always interested in gaining insights into the digital marketing trends and innovation. As you are aware, businesses have been facing unprecedented challenges due to Covid-19. The last couple of years were unpredictable, to say the least. However, in order to sustain or adapt the new normal, it is quintessential for marketers to enter into the mental landscape of current market scenarios. Most notably, eCommerce sales have been increasing by leaps and bounds, people spent a lot more time on social media, and video conferencing became the new normal. This has led to a major shift in the way brands are connecting with their consumers. 

Digital marketing is the core driver of marketing strategies in an organization. Not only by organizations but digital marketing has also been opted by individuals as a successful career option. Digital marketing has gained the status of a well-reputed field of study globally. Digital marketing courses are being run by reputed institutions and professionals are enrolling for this course to enter into an evolving world of learning.  It is essential for a marketer to understand the lead conversion process and how to create personalized content, and track results. In 2021, the top 8 digital marketing trends are:

1. Optimizing Social Media Shopping

Generally, people spend a lot of their time on social sites, like Facebook, Twitter, mobile applications, and on other digital communication technologies. Over the last one year, that amount of time has been increasing exponentially at a rapid pace. According to Whatagraph, in 2018, the average time spent on social media in a day by an adult was 142 minutes, which rose to approximately two and a half hours in 2019, followed by 3 hours in 2020. This is bound to increase as more than 3 billion people are expected to access social media sites in 2021. (https://zenmalik.com/digital-marketing-trends-in-2021/)

This shows that businesses have more chances to make a sale if their product is available on different social media platforms because that’s where the users are, and shoppable posts make the process so much easier for them. Facilitating discovery, personalization, payment, and delivery is so important for users to have a good experience while shopping online.

Social media platforms are also helping marketers in making their products more accessible to people. They are including features that make it easy for brands to upload and showcase their goods, and for customers to purchase items without even leaving the app. This is a trend that will keep on growing during 2021 and it’s a wave retailers should ride in order to keep up with the pace. 

2. Cutting Back On Social Media Platforms

It is becoming important for the brands to be actively being present on the most common social media platforms and to remain up with the trends in the market as mostly the customers will be relying now on the social media platforms of the companies to buy goods and services. But it is also necessary for the brands to know that a new social media platform is born every other minute. Nobody knows what the next big thing will be, and even when we don’t expect it, there emerges another channel with millions of users wherein brands have to create their presence. 

Designing and creating fresh, valuable content for each social media platform with a constant publishing flow can be draining and an uphill battle for brands, especially for the small businesses. Digital marketing trends for social channels in 2021 suggest brands stop trying to maintain a presence on all platforms and focus their efforts in a more sustainable way. 

Businesses need a mindset change and start prioritizing their social media on which they feel they can grow and rely more on for better profitability. They need to focus on working efficiently and intelligently on specific social media channels where their audience is more active. It’s better to have a strong presence on 3 or 4 platforms than a weak one in all of them. 

3. Interactive Content

With users spending more time browsing the internet every day, it is important to offer them a valuable experience. You want to connect with your customers, and want to know about their expectations, creative and engaging content is a must-have for your brand.  

Content marketing has been a trend in the digital world for a while. However, for 2021 digital trends, it is considered more of a best practice. Engaging content goes hand-in-hand with personalization. Some of the popular ideas to engage customers with interactive content are Quizzes, Polls, Surveys, Contests, Giveaways, Interactive videos, Games. Encapsulating such creative content strategies in your digital marketing efforts can do wonders for your business.  Content at every touchpoint should be consistent, engaging, and interactive so as to prepare the potential prospect for the final phase of the purchase journey.

4. Sharp Local SEO In 2021

Small business owners must know that it’s extremely important to keep their digital presence strong on SERP (Search Engine Result Pages). If you own a store, you are probably aware that most of your customers are drawn mainly on a local level. The most important thing you can do is to ensure that your store appears on “near me” Google searches. 

Google constantly updates their local SEO algorithm and you should update your local business information as well. Tools such as ‘Google My Business’ offer extremely valuable information for customers, but it’s up to you as a local business owner to keep it up to date for them. 

Claim your business property first and then get yourself verified by Google. This will help you then provide information about your business such as its opening hours (that are constantly changing due to Covid restrictions), geographic location, and services.

5. The Boom Of Voice Search

Voice search commands have been around since 2011 with the appearance of Siri. In recent times, with the introduction of devices like Google Home and Alexa into our living spaces, users are becoming more accustomed to accessing information using voice search. According to Google’s CEO, Sundar Pichai, 20% of search queries are done by voice.

As this tendency grows, businesses need to start considering optimizing their content and including voice search into their digital marketing strategies. The first step for this is to create content that adopts a more “conversational” and natural style that matches how and what kind of questions consumers ask. Voice search optimized content allows businesses to reach new audiences, given that the results are often different than if the users typed in a regular text search. 

6. Optimizing Digital Marketing With Artificial Intelligence

Digital marketing strategies can be greatly optimized and improved with the correct use of Artificial Intelligence (AI). AI offers marketers the power to collect valuable insights on user behavior, campaign performance, and analytics which they can use to optimize their digital marketing campaigns and overall communication with customers. 

Once all the data is collected by AI, Business entities can organize data by creating performance metrics, spreadsheets, charts, graphs, and other forms of visual applications needed for making complex decisions more easily. This makes it possible to provide a better customer experience with personalized content. E-commerce sites can attain benefits from artificial intelligence by showing users the products that are relevant for them based on their previous behavior, such as searches, purchases, and views. By collecting and processing data from user’s behavior while they’re browsing a site, web push notifications are triggered and delivered with hyper-personalized content based on the user’s actions. 

Once a user accepts to receive them, they’ll get messages specially designed for them based on what they did on the site. If they browsed a category, product or added an article to their shopping cart, a message will be delivered with specific information regarding what they liked.

7. Video Marketing And Webinars

Audio-visual content is an important and powerful tool that easily grabs attention and engages viewers. It offers the possibility to share lots of content in a short amount of time using a very dynamic format. Most of us prefer to watch a short video than to read long articles or posts. Social media is a great channel to share video content since all platforms have included features to create and share short videos like stories and reels.

With the rise in the pandemic these are getting even more popular for customers to watch and also the pandemic has contributed to the rise of video marketing as a key element on any digital strategy. Webinars, for example, have become necessary to substitute face-to-face events in all kinds of industries. 2021 trends aim that this isn’t going to be a temporary thing and marketers need to include video content as a regular on their digital marketing mix. 

8. Automated Smart Bidding Strategies In Google Ads

Automatization is the future of many digital marketing strategies. When running a Google Ads campaign, marketers spend lots of time and resources in manually optimizing their keywords and bids. Automated bidding on Google Ads takes away all that guesswork and helps businesses achieve their goals more efficiently. Google takes care of analyzing all the data and adjusts the bids accordingly to improve the performance of your campaigns. 

To sum it all, we can say that these digital marketing trends are essential for better growth in the corporate world. A digital marketer should possess the skills to bring together all the elements of digital marketing in order to create customer-centered marketing strategies and personalized content strategies. Today, certification of Digital marketing programmes is a must-have for every professional to ensure continued success in their respective careers. 

With a desire to advance your career by introducing a new culture of constant learning NDIM has introduced an Online Certificate Programme on Digital Marketing.  The programme covers a plethora of pivotal topics of Digital Marketing such as Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Social Media Marketing, Pay-Per-Click (PPC), Website Conversion Rate Optimization, Web Analytics, Content Marketing, Mobile Marketing, Email Marketing, and Digital Marketing Strategy. The course will also help you master tools and platforms such as Google Analytics, AdWords, Twitter, YouTube, and Facebook as it is important to understand how social media works as a communication and marketing tool.

This course will prepare you to enter the creative, fast-paced business of promoting, developing, and selling products and services to unique customer markets. The certificate offered will be instrumental in helping you achieve digital marketing positions in your career.

Changing Paradigm in Finance and Service Industry

 

The financial sector is changing with the changing scenario:

Technology is playing a key role in enhancing the customer experience and helping firms to maintain an efficient customer base. But what more is yet to come post pandemic? And how will companies be dealing and adopting with the rapidly changing economic environment and needs?

It is a complex question to answer, though it’s not much difficult to imagine an advanced reality in comparison to what exists today.

Companies in the financial sector manage the money of the customers. Imagine yourself as an investor who is looking for “High Return with Low Risk” in the present scenario of covid-19. The firm that best helps customers to achieve their desires wins the greatest market share. Companies are exploring ways to study the consumer desires and different algorithms to automate investments. Each customer looks for high profit at a low investment. Imagine if a firm makes a shadow portfolio of your current investment where no real money is invested but you can see the change in the value of the funds. This shadow portfolio is an electronic mirror which is traded automatically according to the algorithms designed personally for you. It can help you in comparing the result with your own portfolio. 

In the near future, financial services firms will start using “trusted machines” which will be far better than humans. These machines will create investment portfolios that would help customers in earning money even in tough times. Though there will be bad experiences also as it happens in the process of making money. But firms with “trusted machines” combined with good customer experience will define the finance industry. When this happens, investors will shift from paying for assets under the management system to paying on performance systems. 

Online budgeting tools, spending tracking, even automated chatbots for customer service are some of the tools that are taking Financial Analytics to a different level.

Can You Protect Yourself From False Complaints Under The Posh Act, 2013?

 

Sexual Harassment at Workplace has been an alarming and debatable issue for decades. All the organizations around the globe whether small or large, are trying to deal with this pervasive issue as well as tackle the problems faced by women under the PoSH Act 2013, Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal). This Act works as a powerful and effective medium to provide a safe and healthy working environment to female employees. Women are often sexually suppressed in different ways like assault, mental torture, harassment, and so on at the workplace. According to this Act, if a woman gets harassed by a male colleague or by a third party then also it will come under Sexual Harassment. The Ministry of Women and Child Development Act 2013 implemented the PoSH Act on December 9, 2013.

 

The statutory provision of the Act is as follows:

Sexual harassment described under Section 2(n) of the Act is: 

i. Any physical touch that makes a woman uncomfortable or disrespected.

ii. A request or demand for sexual favors from women.

iii. Making sexually colored remarks.

iv. Showing pornography at the workplace.

v. Any other unwelcome physical, verbal or non - verbal conduct of sexual nature.

 

 

The PoSH Act, 2013 aims at following stringent measures to deal with cases of sexual harassment and provide remedies to the affected victims. But at the same time, the Act also has provisions for false accusations or complaints made by some women to advance their vendetta. One surprising fact is that not many people are aware of these provisions that safeguard men if trapped in such obscene cases. Therefore, it’s crucial to address the problems faced by women at the workplace as well as build a redressal forum for men. 

Redressal for False Complaints under the PoSH Act:

The POSH Act provides numerous safety measures to ensure the prevention of sexual harassment cases at the workplace and it also offers penalties as well as punishments to the offenders. The Act also gives provisions for the false complaints filed by some women against innocent men to advance their ulterior motives.

Initiation of Action against False Complaint:  

The PoSH Act states that if the Internal Committee (IC) declares that either the complaint was false or fake evidence was presented to win the case, then IC may take strict action against the complainant as per the Applicable Service Rules of the Employer. As per the Act, if the complainant is guilty of producing fake evidence, then she will face similar consequences as the respondent.

Limitation on Filing of the Complaint: 

According to Section 9 of the PoSH Act, there is a specific time for filing the complaint. A complainant must report to the IC within three months after the incident has taken place. This time limitation restricts the extent of retaliatory complaints, as regardless of whether the objection is acknowledged by the Committee following a postponement of three months, the complainant needed to dole out the justification delay. 

Standards of Natural Justice to be followed: 

The PoSH Act explicitly expresses that the IC must follow the standards of natural justice while directing the investigation. When the grievance is recorded, a duplicate copy of the complaint alongside the documented evidence is needed to be imparted to the respondent within 7 days from the date of receipt of the Complaint. That’s how a respondent gets sufficient time to answer back to the allegations and plead his case with the proof and witnesses from his end. 

The pertinence of Service Rules: 

Applicability of the service rules to the PoSH Act on punishing the complainant for the recording of the false complaint shows that it is treated as an offense under the assistance rules relevant to the workers of the association. This produces a critical obstruction in the recording of fake complaints, as the punishment could lead to a suspension, downgrade, and even end the business. 

An appeal may be filed by the person (Respondent or Complainant), not satisfied by the recommendations of the IC committee, before appropriate court in terms of service rules. The appeal may be filed within a period of 90 days from the date of recommendations.

The law does not overlook the false and malicious complaints made by women. It addresses problems of both sides effectively and fairly. Many people are unaware of the provisions that the PoSH Act provides. Hence, we need to act as agile and responsible individuals by respecting our rights and not violating the rights and the reputation of other people. We should render respect to everybody at our organization and not tolerate any injustice. By becoming aware of all the provisions and laws that the PoSH Act provides, we can save many lives and the injustices meted out against innocent individuals at the workplace.

Sexual Harassment at Workplace is Employment Issue not Women’s Issue

"She was powerful, not because she wasn’t scared but because she went on so strongly despite the fear."-Atticus Poetry

Traditionally, women in India were conditioned to stay at home and take care of the young children and family whereas men had the role of the breadwinners. However, today, more and more women are getting access to education and working shoulder to shoulder with men at workplaces. A radical change in the role of women is evident with increased number of job opportunities and women empowerment in the Indian economy. With millions of Indian women entering the nation’s workforce, the sexual harassment cases at workplaces are also increasing rapidly.  Working women facing sexual harassment at the workplace has considered as the part and parcel of their jobs. Therefore, it is crucial that as a nation, we strive to eliminate workplace sexual harassment since women also have the right to work in a safe and secure environment. Protection of women against sexual harassment is necessary for gender equality and the development of a nation as a whole.  

The fundamental problem acknowledged in most of the cases is that the sexual harassment at the workplace is considered to be a ‘women’s issue’ as per majority of stakeholders. One needs to understand that the sexual harassment cases against women at workplaces is an employment issue and not women’s issue. The focus needs to be on creating a safe working environment for both the genders. It is crucial to address the real problem of a hostile work environment by developing gender-sensitive social protection policies. Every woman has right to a safe and secure working environment, irrespective of age, employment status and capacity of work.

Sexual harassment is defined as “violence against women and a discriminatory treatment” which is a broad definition compared to the national law but whereas, in the general sense it is known as “unwelcome sexual favors and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature that tends to create a hostile or offensive work environment”. Sexual Harassment is any unwanted remark or gesture towards women which is sexual in nature and this includes many activities. According to Section 354A of the Indian Penal Code, Sexual Harassment as an unwelcome physical contact and advances, including unwanted and explicit sexual overtures, a demand or request for sexual favors, showing someone sexual images without their consent, and making unwelcome sexual remarks.

• Registered cases of sexual harassment at Indian workplaces from 54% from 371 in 2014 to 570 in 2017

• Till July 27, 533 cases of sexual harassment were reported across the nation

• Uttar Pradesh, the nation’s most populous state reported the most cases (726 or 29%) over 2014-18, followed by Delhi (369), Haryana (171), Madhya Pradesh (154), and Maharashtra (147) as per the data presented in Lok Sabha.

https://www.indiaspend.com/metooindia-54-rise-in-sexual-harassment-reported-at-workplaces-between-2014-17/

Despite these numbers, sexual assault is one of the most under-reported crimes in the our nation. Therefore, the PoSh Act came as the life saver for the organizations. The PoSH Act works on the prevention of sexual harassment against women at the workplace in the whole of India. The main aim of the Act was the protection of women, prevention, and redressal of sexual harassment complaints. Sexual harassment under the purview of employment issue involves lack of PoSH policies and when the employees in the organizations are not given proper training of such activities related to PoSH. An organization should always mention the acceptable behavior and etiquettes from both the genders in its PoSH policies and make the employees informed about the repercussions they could face if these policies are not followed diligently.  It is crucial to acknowledge such cases and take charge to correct it promptly otherwise organizations has to deal with reputational crisis and financial losses. Sexual harassment at workplaces also hamper the productivity of employees as they have to face emotional and physical issues which causes stress, anxiety and depression resulting in no or low work motivation and high attrition rate. 

Although, with the emergence of the PoSh Act, such cases are now identified, but the number of cases have not reduced. It has increased the visibility, awareness, and recognition even at the grassroots level of organizations. It has empowered many women employees by prescribing a comparatively convenient mechanism of complaint redressal in such cases. However, due to the poor implementation and awareness of the PoSH Act, this problem continues to be pervasive and rampant. While the PoSH Act is widely regarded as milestone legislation in India’s history, a great deal of work needs to be done to make sure a safe, equal, and secure working environment for all women.

The PoSH Act has a wide scope i.e., it not only focuses on the organized sector but also takes care of the women working in the unorganized sector or we can say that it covers formal as well as the informal economies. A large part of the unorganized sector comprises the female workforce, and due to their vulnerability and lack of agency, effective implementation of the PoSH Act becomes more pertinent in this sector. Also, Times of India have claimed that incidents of workplace sexual harassment have dramatically increased after the lockdown triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic. With the shift to remote working or working in a virtual environment, sexual predators have found new tools to threaten and abuse women by taking screen captures during video calls without permission and circulating them on social media, managers demanding women colleagues to attend impromptu meetings post office hours, using phallic emoticons, and offering to send pictures. A large number of women reported being subjected to new forms of sexual harassment online such as “zoom-bombing” which is basically the unwanted, disruptive action generally done by internet trolls into a video-conference

To prevent sexual harassment in the virtual scenario organizations should check and update their policies, set expectations, and also should publicize reporting procedures which should involve the accessibility of the PoSH policy on the company’s intranet. An organization should implement various measures to prevent sexual harassment, some of which   are as follows:

• Express prohibition of sexual harassment at the workplace should be notified, published, and circulated inappropriate ways.

• The rules of government and public sector bodies relating to conduct and discipline should include rules prohibiting sexual harassment as well. 

• Appropriate working conditions should be provided in respect of work, leisure, health, and hygiene to further ensure that there is no hostile environment towards women at workplaces.

• Train your employees at least once a quarter or on half yearly basis by conducting training sessions for employees. These sessions should teach employees what actually sexual harassment is, explain that employees have a right to a workplace free of sexual harassment, review your complaint procedure, and encourage employees to use it.

• Supervisors and managers should have their training sessions as well in which they should know and discuss how to handle the situations of sexual harassment and also deal with the complaints.

(Source: https://crpf.gov.in/writereaddata/images/pdf/1153112020.pdf )

Also, it is crucial to create awareness amongst society not only be it women but individuals of every gender as mostly men are not even aware of what is considered as sexual harassment. They should be made aware that activities like staring, passing comments are considered as sexual harassment under PoSH Act. The constitution of Internal Complaints Committee is to be established in all organizations with 10 or more employees wherein inappropriate conduct and behavior amount to an offense pertaining to the Indian Penal Code (IPC) or under any other law. The complaints committee should be headed by a woman and not less than half of its members should be women. Further, to prevent the possibility of any undue pressure or influence from senior levels, such complaints committee should involve a third party, either NGO or another body who is familiar with the issue of sexual harassment. Although, there is more to worry about under-reporting than people misusing the law, and also India being a late entrant in formalizing sexual harassment at the workplace as a penal offense punishable with imprisonment and penalty is a problem. However, with the PoSH Act policies and the advent of the present legislation, a paradigm shift can be noticed in the way employers are being made liable for the breach of law and also a radical change in women employees as they are not just getting confident but also have started to change their thinking which could be a glass breaker in these kinds of situations

Organizations should be encouraged to offer a fixed amount of training to their employers every month and if not, they should be provided with awareness videos, posters and related information which would be helpful to them. even if it isn't legally required. Also, your managers should be aware of all such activities so that they will know what the law is and what to do when employees complain, and, if you find yourself in a lawsuit, you'll be able to show that you took all the steps to try to prevent harassment. PoSH policies training is now a requisite for every organization in order to eliminate this menace in a multi-cultural society as ours. NDIM  has taken an initiative to create awareness on sexual harassment issues by delivering a training programme on PoSH policies. The main aim of this programme is to facilitate a safer working environment for women and made employees feel valued, involved and informed about their rights because all corporate strengths are dependent on people.

Best PoSH policies for organizations during remote working

With the advent of globalization and women empowerment, Indian women have been taking the role of bread winners of a family. The status of women is evolving as they are now encouraged and involved in the mainstream workforce of India. In workplaces, there is a fundamental right to equality for women but the first legislation addressing the sexual harassment at workplaces was enacted by the Ministry of Women and Child Development. The PoSH (Prevention of Sexual Harassment) Act, 2013 is a principal law designed to protect the interest of women against sexual harassment at workplaces. It is applicable to every workplace in India. 

 

The act mandates all organizations to define sexual harassment policies for their employees. Sexual harassment is any form of discrimination against a person that includes unwanted attention of sexual nature. Today, hybrid work culture has become the new normal for business wherein homes have become an extended workplace. While working from home, technological platforms like Zoom, Skype, and Google Meets are being used by businesses to conduct day-to-day activities. Molestation, stalking, voyeurism and blackmailing have been increasing against female employees on such platforms. Most of the instances of virtual sexual harassment occur over calls, text messages, or social media platforms such as WhatsApp, Facebook, or Instagram.  The purpose of PoSH policies is to prevent sexual harassment of women and protect them in all situations whether it is offline or online. 

National Commission for Women (NCW) in India has reported that a 5 times surge in sexual harassment against women in work from home culture. Sexual predators have found new tools and methods to abuse and threaten women. Instances of such workplace harassment include sending pictures without consent, calling women colleagues post-office hours, taking a screenshot without the consent of female employees during a video call, and later circulating it on social media also using unacceptable emoticons during texting or video call.

Virtual offices and employees working remotely are well covered under the PoSH act. It defines a workplace as “any place visited by the employee arising out of or during employment”. Thus, it can be understood that in remote working, employees' own homes would be included within the purview of the workplace. Virtual sexual harassment happens with women and girls via technology on electronic platforms that also attracts the provisions of the Information Technology Act, 2000. 

The best policies suggested to the organization for overcoming the challenges of sexual harassment in remote working are as follows:

1. To review the existing policies- As the working arrangements have changed a great deal for the businesses, the organizations must ensure that their PoSH policies are reviewed and updated according to the new normal. It should take into consideration the rise in the use of technologies and increase in remote working. 

2. Setting expectations- The sexual harassment policies of the organization must be clearly conveyed to the employees. These policies should be stated in the joining letters. Seminars can also be conducted to impart mandatory PoSH training for the employees. Every employee should be aware and informed about the etiquettes of work-related communications while working from home. They should also be trained on what is appropriate and what is not during video conferencing.

3. Publicize procedures- PoSH policy must be easily accessible for the employees at any time. It should be available on the company’s website, and be easy to use. The employees should have a clear knowledge of how they can report such heinous acts against them and it must not be ambiguous. They must be aware about the redressal process against such heinous events. Regular information must be shared with employees via emails, so they are well aware of the Changes in PoSH policies and the IC team responsible for those.

4. Response and attend- The biggest problem is not devising and making employees understand the PoSH policies but the delayed response and lack of attention paid to the cases reported. If sexual harassment complaint has been lodged by an employee, the higher authorities must be given attention and the higher authorities must be responsible for looking after the grievance as soon as possible. It must also be handled sensitively as such cases are usually overwhelming. The employees must feel that their concern is taken seriously and actions will be taken.

5. Internal Committee (IC) team should be well trained to encounter such complain in virtual scenarios- Every company should have a safe and harassment-free working environment. If any complaint arises, the IC team should be responsible to investigate the issue without any biases. It should be vigilant to resolve the matter as soon as possible. This is because the complaint against sexual harassment not only corrode the image of the accused and the complainant but also of the organization. 

In order to make the female employees safe and secure, the PoSH policies at the workplace are a must-have for every organization. Even law mandates that every organization must have PoSH policies for prohibition, prevention, and redressal of sexual harassment against women in the organization. They must be encouraged to report the case if something inappropriate and unacceptable incident happen to them at the workplace and similarly, the response to those complaints must be prompt. 

NDIM leads the show, when it comes to HR training and we also run a training programme on Best PoSH Policies for organizations. It is also legally mandatory for the organization to conduct PoSH training for the employees to make them aware of the expectations of the policies. The leaders of the organization must work together to remove factors contributing towards a hostile work environment and create a gender-sensitive safe space for all the employees to work and grow in. Sexual predators do not differentiate between in-office harassment or virtual. Thus, a delay in addressing the issue can only empower such people and the case can go out of hand. Organizations can be more vigilant during remote working and undertake best practices to prevent sexual harassment. 

Become a financial analyst from scratch!

One of the most coveted careers in the financial services industry is that of an analyst. The role of a financial analyst is to identify opportunities, evaluate financial growth outcomes for the business and give recommendations for investment. A financial analyst’s job can be both at junior as well as a senior levels. Most junior financial analysts look after the maintenance of spreadsheets, gathering information as well as financial modeling. The senior analysts, on the other hand, work closely with the company’s management and other team and develop an investment thesis for the financial betterment of the firm. 

The financial service industry is known to be a competitive one and to make a career as a financial analyst in this industry, one must prepare well for the job. 

Who is a financial analyst?

A financial analyst is someone who gives recommendations to businesses based on the analysis carried out with respect to factors like market trends, financial status and the predicted outcomes of some deals carried out. With their findings, they help companies in making financial decisions for their businesses, especially investing decisions. The basic job responsibilities of a financial analyst are:

• Study of financial data

• Investment recommendations

• Analyze business and economic trends

• Put together written reports and organize financial information

• Determine a company’s value by examining financial statements

• Understand the company’s prospects and gain better insight by meeting the company’s officials

A financial analyst evaluates investment opportunities for the company. They are also called security analysts or investment analysts and work primarily in banks, insurance companies, mutual funds, securities funds, and other businesses. 

Skills required to be a financial analyst

• Analytical approach- Financial analysts coordinate a myriad of information while finding out a profitable investment for the company.

• Decision-making skill- Buying, selling, or holding of a security is an example of a decision-making skill required in a financial analyst.

• Mathematical thinking- Estimation of financial security requires the analyst to be mathematically skilled.

• Computer savvy person- Dealing in financial analysis requires using a lot of software for analyzing and forecasting data.

• Communication- Explaining the investment options in the written and verbal form of presentations to the company officials is an important part of the job. Thus, a financial analyst must have a good command of communication skills too.

These skills are helpful for becoming a professional financial analyst.

Educational Requirements

In order to pursue a career as a chartered financial analyst, one must have fulfilled the following educational requirements. 

Step 1: Earn a Bachelor’s degree

The most important step towards achieving the goal of becoming a financial analyst is first and foremost earning a bachelor’s degree. General courses in economics, statistics, and other related fields are relevant to financial analytics but a more targeted degree is ideal for a professional. A degree such as BFIA (Bachelors in Financial and Investment Analysis) is recommended. The other undergraduate degrees one can pursue are B.com (Finance), BBA (Finance), or BEco. The other route is by pursuing CA (Chattered accountants).

Step 2: Earn a Master’s Degree

A bachelor’s degree may be enough to get started the financial analyst career but a master’s degree takes it to a whole new level. Analysts who want to enjoy better opportunities in terms of job positions and salaries could consider pursuing a Master’s degree in finance or a Master’s of Business Administration (MBA) or M.com (Finance).

Step 3: Attaining certifications

Many companies search for financial analysts who have the required skills and educational qualifications along with certification as CFA (Chartered Financial Analyst). A certified Chartered Financial Analyst can find attractive salary packages with even international employment. The CFA Institute in India offers a three-level course in CFA- Level Ⅰ, Level Ⅱ, and Level Ⅲ. A student must clear all three levels to be a certified financial analyst.

Pursuing CFA after completing a master’s degree is advisable because:

• The curriculum prepares the financial experts for a wider range of job roles and responsibilities

• Greater career advancement

• Boost credibility of profile

People who can register for the CFA program are- current MBA students/ MBA graduates, B.Com/M.Com students, CA aspirants, or IT professionals. 

There are several firms recruiting CFAs. A person with this certification can be hired by-

• Portfolio management firms

• Investment banking

• Equity research

• Wealth management firms

• Corporate financial divisions

• Private equity

• Credit analysis

Financial analysis as a career has much to offer to job seekers. The file is expanding with the increase in hiring demand. Also, increased educational opportunities and skillsets have opened up gates for more people to enter. Along with having a relevant bachelor’s and master’s degree for pursuing a financial analysis career, training is of utmost importance too. For individuals considering this career path, the online certification program for financial analysis of the India Center for Global Excellence may fit very well into the busy work and personal schedule. Learn about it today and start on the path of the career of your dreams.