If you’re doing business in 2017, you need a digital strategy. And maybe you think that in the age of Google that it shouldn’t be that hard to figure out the whole digital marketing thing. After all, digital marketers just sit down in front of a glowing screen and type away, right? Not quite. To say that digital marketers need technical know-how goes without saying. What’s not mentioned as often is the character traits that are needed. Here are 6 traits every digital marketer should have.
1. An Openness to Change
The digital advertising world is constantly changing. Frequent updates, technology changes, and the always amorphous habits of internet users can be overwhelming. But to the digital marketer, change is exciting. New possibilities are constantly presenting themselves. Be they changes to long-established ad formats or inventive new ways to target consumers, exciting opportunities seem to spring up daily. The successful digital marketer keeps up with it all not just to better handle his job; he does so out of curiosity and a desire to experiment.
2. Patience
Things change quickly in digital advertising, but patience is nonetheless a virtue. Digital marketers are continuously optimizing their campaigns, all the while envisioning the wonderful results. But after any change must come a waiting period. Changes to digital ad campaigns take time to produce measurable results. It can take multiple weeks to be able to judge what effect if any has been produced by a given change. It’s tempting to make further changes during this waiting period, but this is generally ill-advised. Digital advertising rewards a kind of careful restraint.
3. Math Skills
Math: the bane of school children everywhere. But to the digital marketer, it is a subject to master. The success of a digital ad campaign is always measured in numbers. A mathematical sense is required to determine how a campaign is performing, and how it can be improved. A digital marketer performs calculations constantly to determine budgets, set bids, and to adjust other facets of a campaign. A number of campaign metrics have mathematical relationships to each other. If you increase A, B will likely decrease, for example. Understanding these relationships is key to running digital campaigns well.
4. A Belief in Data
Thinking mathematically only works if you have faith in your data. To be a digital marketer, you have to trust data over your gut. No matter how great you think an idea may be, if the numbers state the opposite, you’re wrong. Digital advertising provides the ability to collect enormous amounts of data relating to a campaign. Knowing how to separate noise from something meaningful is essential. Some data points might mean nothing while others might tell you whether your campaign is on or off track. Digital marketers are also driven to optimize the quality of data they look at. Data should paint the clearest picture possible so that the most fully informed decisions can be made.
5. A Mobile-First Worldview
Most of the other traits on this list could apply to other areas of life, but the following is more specific to digital advertising. A digital marketer may sit at a desk in front of multiple monitors, but more than likely, the user he is targeting will be on a mobile device. Since 2016, the majority of internet use occurs on mobile devices. We, as digital marketers, should think of the internet first in terms of mobile use, and secondly as something people access on their desktops. Having this worldview can change how we allocate those precious dollars as digital marketers.
6. Drive
Even if a digital campaign is humming along with solid returns, a successful digital marketer should still ask himself: How can I make it better? There is almost always room for improvement in everything we do. To be constantly looking for ways to do things better is not a simple task for some; it’s easy to just coast when things are good. But continual, prudent optimization is the key to truly successful digital marketing.
Our digital team here at Motivated Marketing fits the bill. They’ve got the technical and soft skills needed to run solid digital campaigns. And, hey, they’re just generally cool people. If you think you might need their amazing digital skills, get in touch!