Being a digital marketer is not an easy job.
You’ve got to juggle the day to day, multi-disciplined tasks with project management, design assets, manage website projects, craft social media campaigns, manage your online listings, email marketing, speak to subcontractors, produce reports, and the list could go on.
Quite often digital marketers are thrust into a position of responsibility and tasked with a great deal of frantic plate spinning.
I know, I’ve been there!
Before I founded JL Creative I was a digital marketing manager, working in-house at various companies.
I started as a graphic designer, went into social media management, then landed a role where quickly understanding everything was required.
I started leaning into Data analysis, SEO and content creation because that’s where I felt the biggest wins were.
If I could prove it with data, I could prioritise it, so I was always looking at analytics and at the data sources available. I made sure all of my decisions could be backed up with facts and figures.
As a digital marketing manager, you’re expected to know a bit of everything. Even with a qualification this can be both incredibly fun but also overwhelming and, ultimately, lead to burnout.
So how do you become a good digital marketing manager and avoid burnout?
Stay close to your data
First things first, pay attention to the data you have available.
If you don’t understand it, make it your priority to figure it out. Problem solving using data is probably the most important part of the role.
Practice building custom reports in Google Analytics. Watch Loves Data on YouTube for excellent tutorials and follow Chloe Christine on Linkedin for free Looker Studio reports and ideas.
Be clear on the business goals and understand what the key performance indicators (KPI’s) are. If you have clarity on those metrics you will find it easier to focus your attention and resources.
Make notes on your process too. Starting a checklist for monthly reports or establishing the metrics you need to check when you are putting together a plan will help you stay focused when you are in data analysis mode.
Finally, learn to love looking at data. Learn to spot things!
Ask yourself questions about the numbers and ask collaborators.
Has something changed?
Why has it changed?
Work smart, save time with automated workflows
Before Ai was a thing there were so many manual tasks I was subjected to that I felt could be delegated. Unfortunately I didn’t have that luxury.
Now, with Ai you can delegate tasks to machines and with project management tools you can delegate tasks to your team without even lifting a finger
We use Google docs and sheets which now has in-built ai (gemini) helping to speed up content creation and spreadsheet creation.
I highly recommend using Ai notetaking tools for keeping minutes. We combine Fireflies with tools like Asana and Slack to automatically assign tasks - It works surprisingly well.
I have also linked up my Fireflies Ai notetaker with my email via chat GPT using zapier. This allows me to automatically draft up emails to people I have had video meetings with. I just go into my draft emails, edit the email chat GPT has sent me and then hit send if I need to.
There are so many time saving tips and tricks out there, spend some time writing down a list of manual tasks and see if you can find ways of automating them.
The pay off is huge.
Don’t be afraid of using subcontractors
Trust the experts.
You can’t be expected to know everything and be good at everything.
SME”s can sometimes have unrealistic expectations of digital marketers because they may not fully understand all of the work you do.
My skill set was graphic design, social media and content.
Thankfully, the company I worked for entrusted their PPC and SEO to subcontractors which I oversaw.
Not everything should be dealt with in-house, you’ll have enough on your plate coming up with strategies, managing budgets and plans, creating campaigns - You should be able to delegate the specialist bits to trusted agencies or freelancers.
If you are reading this and thinking - I need some help - Get in touch with us.
Learn the art of communication
It is vital to communicate clearly, especially when you are dealing with subcontractors who aren’t involved in the day to day goings on of your office.
One thing that can help with this is to have clear processes and checklists in place.
Record your process when you carry out a new task, build a checklist and then review it regularly. Digital marketing constantly evolves so new SOP’s are always needed. Don’t sit still, this is a fast track to failure.
With checklists you can ensure things are getting done properly and if something does go wrong, you should be able to conduct an autopsy, review your processes/checklists and identify what went wrong.
Learn project management
Project management is a huge skill to learn.
Over the years I’ve used Trello, Monday, Google Sheets but now my go to is Asana. I love Asana.
It has completely changed the way we work. It links to all of the tools we use, and because it is so widely used there is a huge community sharing workflow tips and advice.
You can pretty much use it however you want.
We have set up default projects that include lots of set processes. When a new client comes on board, we simply copy the default project and add the required process templates, setting deadlines and assigning tasks across our team.
It also links to your email, meaning you can create tasks straight from an email chain.
Being able to manage a project across multiple subcontractors and an in-house team is what makes a great digital marketing manager and using a good tool can be the difference.
If you are working on a shoestring budget, Google Sheets is your friend. There are useful templates available for free, you can even create Gantt charts.
Learn the art of delegation
As a digital marketing manager, your time will become more valuable.
Don’t be afraid to delegate. Delegating tasks is in itself a skill. You need to understand how to delegate the right tasks to the right people.
It is also important not to abdicate tasks. Delegating means you are still in control, you still need to be in charge of the bigger picture, you are just freeing up your time to focus on the more important management tasks.
One way of delegating skillfully is to use a tool called an Eisenhower matrix.
Draw out a grid and label the 4 sections, Important/Urgent, Important/Not Urgent, Not Important/Urgent, Not Important/Not Urgent.
You then list your tasks in each quadrant. I find it useful to do this with sticky notes or on a white board so you can move tasks around.
This allows you to prioritise tasks but also, crucially, delegate or delete tasks that are either Not Important but urgent or not important and not urgent. It allows you to focus on the planning, management and deliverables.
Lean into what works for you
Finally, it is worth noting that this is just advice based on the things that worked for me.
Yes there are basic skills like communication and project management that are important, but if you are more creative or more analytical, lean into that skillset.
You are always going to be doing a bit of plate spinning but I guess that’s also an attractive part of the job.
