Introduction: Digital marketing is fast becoming the most lucrative career field to choose, especially with COVID-19 forcing the entire world into virtual territory. In fact, digital marketing takes sixth place on LinkedIn’s list for the top 10 in-demand jobs, with SEO ranking as one of the most desired skills. Of course, with such high demand comes even more responsibility, and with it the need for more digital marketing managers.
So, firstly, what is a Digital Marketing Manager?
That’s easy. The DMM is the person in the marketing team who is responsible for all the digital marketing strategies and executions, and for all the digital marketers in the team. Simply put, DMMs are there to ensure the success of all digital marketing campaigns. Pretty important, right?
Since this role could determine the success of all your online marketing campaigns, it is of extreme importance that the right person be picked for the job in order to ensure that goals are met and target audiences reached.
The 5 Qualities that need to be present:
- Creativity
- Adaptability
- Curiosity
- Leadership mindset
- Great communication
Now that you know what they are, let’s dive in to why I believe these 5 are the main qualities needed to be a successful DMM.
1. Creativity
If we take a look at marketing today, it would be a no-brainer that one of the main struggles of any company is maintaining consumers’ attention. These days especially, attention is in short supply, and everyone is grappling for it. Marketing demands that attention and, even more so, an interest. Therefore, one of the main qualities that a successful DMM needs to possess is creativity. If they are not creative in their approach, their campaigns would simply be lost in the crowd.
2. Adaptability
Likewise, attention is fleeting, and it’s no secret that the world moves from one trend to another as easily as switching between apps on a mobile phone. Furthermore, every new day brings a range of new challenges for a DMM, from negative feedback to analytical issues. As a result, a successful DMM would need to adapt to these changes pretty quickly and stay on top of them, so as to maximize their reach while remaining relevant to loyal consumers.
3. Curiosity
As a matter of fact, one could argue that the next quality would go hand-in-hand with adaptability. In order to stay on top of changing trends and adapt to them as needed, a successful DMM would also need to be aware of those trends and how they could gain the most out of them. Therefore, a curious nature and the willingness to continue learning are invaluable assets for a successful DMM.
4. Leadership Mindset
A leadership mindset is the one quality that would undoubtedly make the list. The evidence is in the title itself. In order to be a manager, one would need to manage people. A DMM needs to be able to lead their team and direct campaigns from start to finish.
5. Great Communication
And last, but definitely not least, what’s a creative, adaptable, curious, leading DMM without the ability to communicate? A successful DMM would, without a doubt, need to be a brilliant communicator. Without great communication skills, they wouldn’t be able to lead their teams, create strategies, develop campaigns, or do just about anything that’s in the job description. Further still, they wouldn’t be able to do the main thing that they’ve been hired to do; communicate with consumers, and communicate consumer needs back to the company. Communication is key.
Conclusion: To end off, let’s remember that the above qualities do not eliminate the need for experience or any digital marketing certifications. Qualifications are, without a doubt, essential to the success of the role. It is simply that the above qualities are either present in a person or not. A few of them may even be developed over time, with the correct support, but they certainly cannot be taught in a classroom. Therefore, the more of these qualities present, the better the chance of landing the role and being successful in it. And, of course, our website is a good resource to utilize for online courses that improve your digital marketing skills.
Written by Tahseen Kagee, Digital Marketing Analyst Intern at IIDM™
For more blogs, visit: https://blog.thedigitalmarketinginstitute.org/