Blog Archives
4 Tips for College Grads Targeting Digital Marketing Jobs
‘Tis the season for resume revamping, mass emailing and hoping and praying for your post-college digital marketing dream gig. Right??
Wrong.
The world of PR and marketing is prime for solid young digital guns and now is the time (read: you’re behind the curve if you haven’t started) to get a jump on your colleagues as you polish up on your interview skills, network like hell and prepare to land your first full-time gig. Here are a few tips to help you land a desired position in digital marketing:
1. Gut Check the Industry
Fact – PR/Marketing is transforming by the day. You can choose to ignore it or you can choose to adapt. I’d recommend the latter if you hope to last longer than a year. Ultimately, this means that there are a plethora of new roles and career paths to explore at agencies and companies alike. As brands continue to transform into publishing outlets, the need for digital marketing specialists is exploding. Managing editors, content strategists, videographers, graphic designers, copywriters, web developers, UX pros, SEO/SEM gurus, community managers, project managers…it’s an open space with a lot of opportunity. Assess your existing skills and your passions and sink your teeth in to an area you love.
2. Recheck Your Resume & Online Presence
Just do it. I know you think your resume and template cover letter (argh…don’t you dare) is perfect. It’s not. I promise.
And yes, you better have a polished LinkedIn profile, strong professional social media presence and a personal blog or website before heading down an aggressive networking route. Also, Google yourself. Often. Understand how others are perceiving the 3-second snapshot version of you.
3. Stop Praying, Start Chasing
Dear Scott,
I’m about to graduate and think I would like to work in digital marketing in Seattle. Know of any agencies that are good?
Do not write the line above to anyone. Ever. It’s 2013. There are more online resources for job seeking and networking than most can handle. Start with an advanced LinkedIn search (possibly worth an upgrade to be able to access profiles and message the people you’ll need to reach) and begin networking like a mad man. Get offline and seek out events, conferences and meet ups. Take as many people as you can out to coffee for informational interviews and to gather insider knowledge along with additional connection leads. Don’t stop connecting.
4. Go All In
Landing a job you love is rarely a haphazard miracle. Rather, it’s often a stepping stone process whereby you’ll come to land a great gig by first working your way through a variety of related jobs to gather the proper skills and experience. Be bold and tackle every job you have as if it is in fact your dream job. Hard work and drive paired with a constant itch for more learning will take you a long way in this industry.
Need a few more tips to help you along the way? Check out this solid Mashable post.
Go get ‘em.
Image courtesy of kylesteed.
3 PR Roles That Are Catching On
Wake up call. Times are a changin’ for the PR industry. Fast.
Now more than ever, our industry is witnessing the need for new roles and skills at agencies. What lies at the heart of this change? Agencies are being called upon to solve new and unique business problems that require highly integrated approaches using owned, earned and paid media. Whereas in the past, one could break into PR by having decent writing and media relations skills, agency models are aggressively shifting to reflect the need for more producers, editors, content strategists, designers, copywriters and creative directors that often reflect models used at ad agencies.
Companies are quickly catching on to the value of centralizing planning, production, execution and measurement under one roof to improve project efficiency and nimble decision making. While some agencies have made moves to shift from a traditional title structure, most big agencies are still working to define the best model and approach to reflect the versatile new talent and capabilities of their teams.
Below are three evolving positions (of many) that are helping PR agencies put a stake in the ground in this new landscape. As you think about your own career, map out and drill down on the variety of skills that you are applying across your client work on a daily basis. Chances are good that you’re touching some degree of work tied to each of the roles described and beyond.
Content Director
PR pros have always been recognized as solid writers. The written word will continue to serve as the foundation for communications. Nonetheless, we now operate in a visually-driven communications environment where we need to think strategically about combining text and visuals to effectively deliver targeted messages. Moreso, these communications need to be on brand and highly engaging – all the time. Whether communicating through a video, infographic, tweet or Facebook status update, content directors are being called upon to help guide overarching brand voice and ensure that every piece of brand content resonates with your customers and target audience.
People to Check Out: Chris Sewell
Creative Technologist
We’re there. Creativity and technology have merged and are at the center point of well designed engagement campaigns. It’s simply unacceptable for Creative Directors to not have a deep understanding of digital strategy and likewise, Digital Strategists must think and plan through the eyes of a creative and design lens. This convergence has lead to the evolving role of Creative Technologists who are able to bring a new and unique perspective to the role of planning as well as guide smart execution on everything from site builds and videos to effective paid content syndication and online community management.
People to Check Out: Parker Ward, Justin Tsang
Editor-In-Chief
As more and more brands are moving towards self-publishing models and exploring new avenues for taking their message straight to their target audience, so too are agencies expected to help shape and support these communication models. At their core, publishing sites operate just like online news sites and thus require a structured team chalk full of managing and associate editors, writers, community managers, art directors/graphic designers and content producers. Naturally, this role has a close tie in with Content Directors and Creative Technologists who embody the skills needed to effectively plan and operate these sites.
People to Check Out: David Patton
In closing, I would encourage you to remember that a title is in fact just a title. At the heart of each of the positions above, you’ll note the important shift at senior levels from mere strategic guidance and oversight to practical execution. These aren’t just planners and managers. These are doers. We need more experienced doers in our industry and that may very well mean that we need to get over the title game and follow suit of Swedish ad shop Honesty by abolishing digital titles all together.
As reported in Ad Age, Honesty’s CEO Walter Naeslund remarked:
“We are really getting rid of excuses for the rest of the staff not to learn digital and mobile,” he said. “After the announcement this morning the entire agency was suddenly on their feet devouring blogs, podcasts and whitepapers when they realized it was going to be their own responsibility and nobody else’s to deliver on digital and mobile. It was a beautiful sight…”
It’s a grand vision for big agencies but I couldn’t agree more Mr. Naeslund. We’re operating in a brave new world. Time to take action and adjust.
Photo courtesy of stevendepolo.
5 Tips for Working With A PR Agency
You’ve completed the RFP process, narrowed down your shortlist of contenders, listened to a vast array of creative pitches and finally handed out the golden ticket to one outstanding agency. Congrats, you’ve reached the finish…err, starting line!
Game. On.
Whether you’re a veteran Communications Director who has worked with a variety of agencies or a non marketing/communications staffer responsible for managing the agency, here are some best practices that will get your new partnership off on the right foot.
1. Provide A Series of Deep Immersion Meetings
No one will understand your company, organization, internal culture and constraints like you do. Devote time and resources to ensure your agency has the necessary background and insight into as much as possible both relevant to the project and any personnel or departments impacting the project. Don’t limit this to a single kickoff meeting. Conduct a kickoff meeting and then a series of follow up immersion meetings that include area experts to surface all the nitty gritty details. This is critical and I ensure you that the effort will save time as your agency deep dives into their strategic planning phase.
During the first couple weeks of working with a new client, your agency is adjusting their approach in real-time to ensure they have the best possible team and resources in place to service your account. Keep the questions coming from both sides to make sure everyone has as much information as possible. The faster you can both learn each other’s desired work and communication styles, the better off you’ll be.
2. Establish Routine & Meet With a Purpose
Establishing regular weekly check-ins, status updates and monthly snapshot reports will save time for all parties involved. Don’t meet just to meet. Make sure that there is a specific reason a meeting is being held, that only the necessary parties attend and that a short agenda is in place with a clear call to action and takeaways/next steps. Too many big meetings up front can cause for quick budget exasperation and ineffective transition into quick deliverables.
Furthermore, learn each other’s communications preferences. You may find that you’re both early birds and can knock out quick responses or projects before most arrive for the day.
3. Get to Know Each Other Personally
You’re going to be working with your agency on a daily basis. Just as you benefit from knowing your closest colleagues on a personal level, the same applies with your agency partner. Understanding each other’s personal hobbies and interests will also inevitably provide insight into hidden skills or talents that can be of great use down the line for various projects.
4. Trust Your Agency
Agencies are chalk full of talented communications experts that work with a vast array of clients. In that sense, they bring a great deal of outside perspective and experience to the table. That doesn’t mean that every initial strategy will be spot on but it does mean that there is good reason and smart thinking backing ideas that are posed. Listen. Provide feedback. Adjust. Provide more feedback. Bring your agency over to help you present or sell-in an idea or creative concept to your boss. Let them take a stand and get your back so that there is clear explanation and rationale backing ideas presented.
On that same token, push back when an idea doesn’t feel right but provide full rationale. Was a key consideration overlooked or was there an important nugget of information that simply was not clearly communicated? Hedge early on what can evolve into bigger issues down the line.
5. Pose No Boundaries
Whether you are focused on a product launch, managing legislative affairs or looking for a new video idea, remove restrictions early on. Ideas can always be scaled down but you’re not doing your partnership justice by constraining thinking from the beginning. Chances are usually good that there is a way to support and fund an idea…if it’s the right one. Often, what we think of as “big ideas” can be broken down into smaller nuggets that can build over time.
BONUS: Celebrate the Milestones
Chances are good that you’ve hired an agency because you’re working to solve a difficult business problem. Big business problems are rarely solved overnight. Create a manageable timeline with milestones to help celebrate key success points together. Last, but never least, HAVE FUN!
What other tips would you add from the agency side?
Rachel Thexton recently provided some great additional insights around working with an agency over on Communications Conversations. Check it out!
Image courtesy of Wirawat Lian-udom.
