What Every CMO Should Know About Digital Marketing

It’s not too long ago that I was on the other side of the table, working as a marketing director for a company that hired agencies to consult on several functions, including digital marketing.  There are some things that I know now (after working for a digital marketing agency) that I wish I would have known back in my marketing director days.

So marketing managers, directors, CMOs – know this:

Twitter actually IS useful.

If you don’t use Twitter on a personal level, you might think it looks like a bunch of hashtagged, abbreviated nonsense.

But chances your customers are using it, so you need, at the very least, to have an understanding of how it works.  It’s a simple way for users to share stuff – updates, photos, links to sites, questions – all in 140 characters or less.  I’ve found it to be a really great resource to communicate with other people in the digital marketing/social media/content-writing world.  Ideas are shared, blog entries passed around, questions posed.  Whatever industry you’re in, you can bet that conversations are taking place in Twitter that you could/should be a part of.

And, I’ve seen how companies that we work with have been able to jump in and have conversations with potential clients on Twitter.  Being responsive will go a long way towards building credibility with those who are thinking of buying from you.

Blogging is Powerful

It’s become clear to me that the single most important thing a company can do to nurture engagement and traffic is to blog.  Yet when I was a marketing director, I often allowed blogging to take a back seat to tasks I deemed more pressing.

Fresh content, links, and comments mean a whole heck of a lot to search engine optimization.  And since we know that lots of other parts of your site are going to remain pretty static, it’s imperative to maintain a regularly updated blog.  Utilize the blog to answer those frequently asked questions, address places where there is a gap in customer education, share event information.  There are lots of possibilities.

Digital Strategy Should Be Embedded in Your Marketing Plan

When I was a marketing director, I should have spent more time integrating digital strategies into my traditional marketing plan.  They sort of existed outside of each other, and I think this happens in a lot of companies who don’t know any better.

Part of the reason it happens is because marketing managers, especially those working for smaller companies who have to wear many hats, don’t have the time or resources to learn about digital options.

And often, because incorporating digital really is a change in mindset, it is often an afterthought for some marketers.  They’re so used to taking care of the traditional elements in a certain way, that it doesn’t occur to them until afterwards that a QR code would have really worked well on this brochure, or that they could have promoted that contest using social media.

Social Media Takes Time

Finally, don’t assume that you’re going to get immediate gratification from your social media endeavors.  Especially for smaller companies, building a presence can take more time than you might realize.  What you’re actually hoping to accomplish with social media is to build credibility and trust, so that previous customers become repeat ones and new customers give you a shot.  So be patient, track your results, and make sure you keep up the effort.

What else should marketing managers know about digital marketing?  Tell us in the comments.