Marketing has transformed since the early days of the internet, with new concepts like SEO, CRO, etc. The days of opening a newspaper or catching a new commercial on television are behind us. Today, we use the internet to bring our marketing teams along with digital trends.
Companies used to have dedicated digital marketing teams working for them. But today, it’s not unusual for the average marketing department to dabble in everything, including internet outreach! That’s why you need a qualified and organized team of experts that can keep up. Otherwise, you’ll never beat your competitors when it comes to digital marketing.
These 4 tips will help you manage your marketing team towards your outreach goals.
1) Decide on a Strategy
In every management consulting training session, you’ll hear the instructors refer to a business digital marketing plan. Just like your business sales plan, your digital marketing plan describes how you will generate leads on the internet.
Decide on a strategy before you meet with your team. Then, bring everyone in and discuss the plan together. Creating an outline that everyone is aware of will help you get on the same page with goals everyone agrees on. A discussion about the plan gives everyone the opportunity to address whether the goals are reachable or not.
2) Employees or Independent Contractors?
Some managers have the luxury of deciding what kind of team they’d like to use. Employees and independent contractors are both valid options with different trajectories. Here’s what makes these two options different:
- If your project is a long-term commitment, it may make more sense to hire full time employees. You’ll build a close relationship with people as you work towards goals, always looking forward to the day when your office can celebrate your new leads.
- If you’re looking at something in the short term that requires specialized skill sets, independent contractors are the way to go. That way, you have more flexibility in pay and a bigger pool of potential workers to pull from.
3) Analyze Your Team’s Weaknesses
When you’re hiring your workers, take note of what your weaknesses are to yourself. For example, you may have many experts in programming and coding. The next person you hire should fill the more creative aspects to fill in the gap.
You may also choose to train your existing workers in deficient areas so they can hone new skills. This will help your employees become strong in all areas, rather than just focus on what they already bring to the table.
4) Set Clear Goals for Your Employees
No matter what your project goals are or your employees’ work styles, setting specific goals for deliverables is necessary. This way, every member of your team knows what you expect from them and there’s no leeway when it comes to extensions.
Your employees should be able to identify their criteria for success, as well as the level of authority they exercise in the task. Of course, you should also outline due dates for each deliverable, and progress reports along the way.
Communicate that you need to rely on your team, and that includes handing in work on time. This will let your employees know you’re serious about getting the work done, and they’ll have extra drive to make you satisfied.
In Conclusion
Though there are many different management styles in digital marketing, these 4 tips will help you with any digital marketing goals. All managers benefit from clear expectations of themselves and the people who work under them. When everyone works as a cohesive unit, you are sure to deliver a fantastic digital marketing campaign.
