There was a time when a web designer was not associated with a web developer. Then that all changed. Now online marketer and web designer job ads include descriptions of responsibilities normally handled by a web developer. Moreover, programmers, app development and other kinds of development are all getting mixed together along with system admin’s. It’s a pretty chaotic time. Some people say developer or web guy, but do not realize how broad of a description that is. The unfortunate result is that sometimes the applicant is not qualified because the title is incorrect. For example, if you just ask for a doctor you may end up hiring a dentist to operate on your foot. It’s not something you want.
Now marketing is getting muddy
As an “online marketer” your still versed in marketing. But the online part is sometimes used to impress. Waters are getting muddy and things are getting grayer between the lines. If you are a “online” marketer, then it is assumed that you know how to internet by now. Thus if you are consistently reaching out to someone who simply “Google’s” that for you, then you missed the online part of the job. Today you MUST be flexible, and learn how to do more than just market things.
Creativity vs Develop
Creatives are people that work in the creative fields. There’s web design, graphic design or well… design. They tend to want to color into the margins, and not within the lines. Think of handing someone a coloring book where all they have to do is color in the lines. A highly creative person will draw outside the lines and start coloring on their own. Suddenly, that beautiful butterfly outline now starts to look like something alien. Then, you have people that see a sky and start to use a green crayon. All of a sudden you’re wondering what planet you’re looking at.
Creativity doesn’t really know any boundaries nor does it care about coloring outside into the margins. It’s all about visual appearance not about whether or not if it actually looks like it would work or be relevant. The creator is not too far separated from their creation.
Development takes an idea draws up a plan marks the boundaries and then begins to build. Like a contractor they have to work from a plumbline. These boundaries cannot be ignored or the foundation could crumble and the whole build could collapse. Both of these methods are fine, only if they meet the need.
Data Driven marketing
How can any campaign start without knowing who it’s for? When you begin an ad campaign you have to have more than an idea of who it’s for. You have to really know. What’s the objective? What’s the end goal and does it make money?
With metrics today we can tell things like in income, interests, activities and behavior online. Using this data we can target people with ads on their devices where they are. But what about mining that data and where do you go to get that data?
Google Analytics, Google Console, and Adwords
If all of the above is foreign to you as a online marketer, where have you been? It’s time to get educated. In this day and age the goal posts are constantly moving, and you better too. Keeping up is more than reading articles like this, it’s about doing it. Try and fail, and try again.
Google Analytics is free, unless you want the premium toys, then brace yourself. Eventually, you’ll have the revenue to get the toys, so settle down, and dive in. Because there is a lot there for free. You can head to Google Analytics to read-up on what it can do. And if you want to add your account to your site, there’s help on there as well.
Google Console is still fondly called “Webmaster Tools” today by guys that have been working online since the 90’s. Google changed it to be more marketable, but it can’t shake that name. You’ll need this to manage, verify and monitor your online property in case it gets attacked, drops from the search results page or you’ve got to disavow some bad links.
Finally the Adwords account. If you want to run PPC ads, then sign up. If you can’t because you don’t have a Gmail account well you have to get one. Everything is tied to your gmail account and now you can delegate access from that to any email account you have and want to have access.
These are the basic tools to start to measure what is happening on your website, and how your advertising is performing. You can even include your social media as well to monitor thru these tools.
Inbound Marketing Software
There’s that term again, Inbound Marketing. It’s a fancy term, but if you are a marketer and need to attract leads that are not warmed up, then this is the animal that can do that. After a while referrals will dry up, and you’ll have to find a new fishing hole. This can help you find that, but more likely the fish find you.
There are several on the market, so choose wisely and be prepared for sticker shock. It’s not cheap, but a better investment than just sending emails and Facebook posts and hoping for the best.
Your Website
The hub of your marketing and business online. Most think, “it’s just a website.” And they could not be more wrong. To say that this is a over simplification of the beast that is online is putting it lightly. We’ve shared a lot about how your website communicates your brands message to the world. But it also drives leads to it and makes you money.
In the age of Do-It-Yourself this is an area that is not for the amateur with a wix, squarespace or just got a WordPress site last month arena. This is your online portal to communicate, and market yourself and services or product. You need a sharp looking presence and a functional one that collects leads. Without a site built specific for marketing, not just a brochure, you’re not going to meet your goals. And you’ll run against walls constantly and hear “no” more than “yes” from your developers or agency.
Your website is the “hub” of all the marketing content, and sales content, your team will need to grow your business. So make it easy to use and simple to find. We hope you enjoyed this article, and if you did please share and mention us on your favorite social media network!
