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Digital marketing/ brand ambassador
What are some good steps to becoming a digital marketer/ brand ambassador?
#marketing #business #ambassador #digitalmarketing
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Doug’s Answer
While they don't have to be, I tend to view these as two separate categories. To me, a digital marketer is someone who is working for a company or providing services to a company (as a consultant, for example) to help market their products or services. A brand ambassador, on the other hand, is someone who increases the value of your brand by sharing their positive experiences with your brand. A brand ambassador can be an employee within a company, but I feel that a true brand ambassador is one who is external to the organization and, ideally, not being compensated from the organization to share their positive perceptions. This gives them strong credibility and the audience tends to have more confidence in their independent opinion. There are also influencers who are generally external to the organization and are paid to share information and positive perceptions about your brand/products to their audiences.
I'll provide my perspective on steps to consider for each of these categories:
DIGITAL MARKETING
There are many forms of digital marketing and it is a space that is constantly evolving. I feel the first step is having a strong handle on marketing concepts. Marketing is marketing. The "digital" elements are just the tools you are using to help you reach your goal. Having a strong understanding of the customer (their needs, their behavior/habits, what they're trying to accomplish) is most important, and then having clarity on what outcomes you want from your marketing activities and why the audience should care/follow through with those activities. From there, it is trying to match up the best digital marketing tool with your audience and purpose, so having some familiarity with a variety of different digital marketing categories would be helpful. You don't need to understand each tool inside and out, but have a basic understanding of the capabilities of each category. For example:
* Social Media. Using tools such as LinkedIn, Instagram, or Facebook. Good for creating broad awareness and engagement provided your message is compelling enough and your audience uses these types of tools. Management tools such as Hootsuite can assist you in creating an inventory of posts and send them out on a set schedule, as well as provide analytics on views and engagement.
* SEO/SEM. Using the key words your customers are looking for throughout your website and having backlinks to and from your website to other relevant sources of information (SEO) for your customers can help them find your website when they're looking broadly for your type of solution. Using banner ads and similar tools on related websites or apps to increase awareness and entice viewers to click through to a landing page on your site.
* Marketing Automation. Tools such as Marketo or HubSpot can help manage the digital marketing process from start to finish. You can setup various assets (emails, links from websites, downloadable whitepapers, videos, webinars, etc.) and align them to various stages of the sales funnel as a way of supporting the customer through with the type of information they need at each stage of their buying journey. You can assign points to various activities (opening an email, clicking through to a site, downloading a whitepaper, viewing a webinar, etc.) and then determine a threshold when that contact should be forwarded onto sales to try and close a sale.
Across each of these, you want to consider "content marketing". Creating and curating content, relevant to your target audience and your product or service, and looking for ways to repurpose it across multiple channels (for example: Social Media, Emails, SEM, client presentations, etc.). Small tweaks are typically needed, but the concept is to create one and reuse multiple times.
Marketing analytics is also an important component with any marketing activity, but especially with digital marketing. Almost every step in the process can be tracked if a digital marketing campaign is setup properly and you can understand which messages and creative resonated most with customers, how click-throughs compared to targets, how much time was spent on a website, ad, or piece of content, what the conversion rate was from one stage of the funnel to the next, and - ultimately - what the final sales conversion rate was. As you use these metrics over time, you are able to understand what is excellent, good, or poor performance and tweak accordingly without having to wait until the entire campaign is complete.
BRAND AMBASSADOR
Typically, the more "emotional" your product or service is, the more likely you are to build brand ambassadors (presuming, of course, that their experience is positive!). Giving a platform for potential brand ambassadors can be a good way to encourage engagement. It could be having a rating system, asking enticing questions on your social media posts, providing a graphic or image they can easily share on their social media accounts, etc.). My biggest recommendation here would be to peruse your favorite social media platforms and watch for brands or accounts that have high levels of engagement with a lot of positive sentiment. Look at the types of messages being shared and the different approaches the brand took to encourage engagement.
INFLUENCERS
Generally, influencers need to have two very important factors going for them: 1) They need to have a large number of followers. The more followers, the more reach they have with their influence. 2) People need to care about what they say (this is the "influence" component - they need to either be able to get people to just follow their lead or change their existing thoughts/behaviors). This could be because they are a recognized expert in their field or are perhaps a celebrity of some type. If this is something you wanted to work towards, I would start by determining what you want to influence that you have passion and knowledge about ("climate change" or "sporting equipment" or "cosmetics", for example). Determine the types of behaviors you want to influence and develop some messaging around that. It may be over simplifying, but the more unique, sensational, or controversial your messaging, the more likely it is to get noticed. Then start to build up your base of followers. If they like you and you're making an impact on them, they're likely to recommend you to their friends/followers.
I hope this helps. It is a bit of a long-winded answer, but it is also a pretty heady topic. Good luck!
Take some marketing courses or research marketing terms and techniques (examples: sales funnels, unique value propositions, awareness, sales conversion, etc.)
Explore the capabilities of a few marketing automation tools, such as Marketo or HubSpot. Learn about "marketing qualified leads" and "sales qualified leads"
Pick a few brands you like and look at their digital marketing and social media presence. How are they engaging with their audience? How is their audience engaging with them? What techniques or messages seem to work best?
Look for a course, a book, or some websites that focus on marketing analytics. How to set your activities up to easily be tracked, the type of information to collect and analyze, and how you can use that analysis to improve your marketing outcomes.
I'll provide my perspective on steps to consider for each of these categories:
DIGITAL MARKETING
There are many forms of digital marketing and it is a space that is constantly evolving. I feel the first step is having a strong handle on marketing concepts. Marketing is marketing. The "digital" elements are just the tools you are using to help you reach your goal. Having a strong understanding of the customer (their needs, their behavior/habits, what they're trying to accomplish) is most important, and then having clarity on what outcomes you want from your marketing activities and why the audience should care/follow through with those activities. From there, it is trying to match up the best digital marketing tool with your audience and purpose, so having some familiarity with a variety of different digital marketing categories would be helpful. You don't need to understand each tool inside and out, but have a basic understanding of the capabilities of each category. For example:
* Social Media. Using tools such as LinkedIn, Instagram, or Facebook. Good for creating broad awareness and engagement provided your message is compelling enough and your audience uses these types of tools. Management tools such as Hootsuite can assist you in creating an inventory of posts and send them out on a set schedule, as well as provide analytics on views and engagement.
* SEO/SEM. Using the key words your customers are looking for throughout your website and having backlinks to and from your website to other relevant sources of information (SEO) for your customers can help them find your website when they're looking broadly for your type of solution. Using banner ads and similar tools on related websites or apps to increase awareness and entice viewers to click through to a landing page on your site.
* Marketing Automation. Tools such as Marketo or HubSpot can help manage the digital marketing process from start to finish. You can setup various assets (emails, links from websites, downloadable whitepapers, videos, webinars, etc.) and align them to various stages of the sales funnel as a way of supporting the customer through with the type of information they need at each stage of their buying journey. You can assign points to various activities (opening an email, clicking through to a site, downloading a whitepaper, viewing a webinar, etc.) and then determine a threshold when that contact should be forwarded onto sales to try and close a sale.
Across each of these, you want to consider "content marketing". Creating and curating content, relevant to your target audience and your product or service, and looking for ways to repurpose it across multiple channels (for example: Social Media, Emails, SEM, client presentations, etc.). Small tweaks are typically needed, but the concept is to create one and reuse multiple times.
Marketing analytics is also an important component with any marketing activity, but especially with digital marketing. Almost every step in the process can be tracked if a digital marketing campaign is setup properly and you can understand which messages and creative resonated most with customers, how click-throughs compared to targets, how much time was spent on a website, ad, or piece of content, what the conversion rate was from one stage of the funnel to the next, and - ultimately - what the final sales conversion rate was. As you use these metrics over time, you are able to understand what is excellent, good, or poor performance and tweak accordingly without having to wait until the entire campaign is complete.
BRAND AMBASSADOR
Typically, the more "emotional" your product or service is, the more likely you are to build brand ambassadors (presuming, of course, that their experience is positive!). Giving a platform for potential brand ambassadors can be a good way to encourage engagement. It could be having a rating system, asking enticing questions on your social media posts, providing a graphic or image they can easily share on their social media accounts, etc.). My biggest recommendation here would be to peruse your favorite social media platforms and watch for brands or accounts that have high levels of engagement with a lot of positive sentiment. Look at the types of messages being shared and the different approaches the brand took to encourage engagement.
INFLUENCERS
Generally, influencers need to have two very important factors going for them: 1) They need to have a large number of followers. The more followers, the more reach they have with their influence. 2) People need to care about what they say (this is the "influence" component - they need to either be able to get people to just follow their lead or change their existing thoughts/behaviors). This could be because they are a recognized expert in their field or are perhaps a celebrity of some type. If this is something you wanted to work towards, I would start by determining what you want to influence that you have passion and knowledge about ("climate change" or "sporting equipment" or "cosmetics", for example). Determine the types of behaviors you want to influence and develop some messaging around that. It may be over simplifying, but the more unique, sensational, or controversial your messaging, the more likely it is to get noticed. Then start to build up your base of followers. If they like you and you're making an impact on them, they're likely to recommend you to their friends/followers.
I hope this helps. It is a bit of a long-winded answer, but it is also a pretty heady topic. Good luck!
Doug recommends the following next steps:
Updated
Martin’s Answer
I'd differentiate between brand ambassadors and Digital Marketers even further.
Marketing should not be bound to a specific channels like digital, TV, print etc. Marketing is really about the case for the investment and making decisions on how to invest your Marketing budget.
Digital Advertising is one of many types of advertising that works to solve Marketing problems.
Brand Ambassadors are people who interact with consumers representing the brand in a campaign. These can be digital or face-to-face. Brand ambassadors are hired when the Marketer has decided that they will invest in advertising that requires interaction between an ambassador and the consumer. For example a social media influences that has a lot of followers in a specific field (ie. food, travel, helath & beauty, etc).
Marketing should not be bound to a specific channels like digital, TV, print etc. Marketing is really about the case for the investment and making decisions on how to invest your Marketing budget.
Digital Advertising is one of many types of advertising that works to solve Marketing problems.
Brand Ambassadors are people who interact with consumers representing the brand in a campaign. These can be digital or face-to-face. Brand ambassadors are hired when the Marketer has decided that they will invest in advertising that requires interaction between an ambassador and the consumer. For example a social media influences that has a lot of followers in a specific field (ie. food, travel, helath & beauty, etc).
Updated
Rosemary’s Answer
I highly recommend taking some marketing courses to have a good understanding of what a brand ambassador is. By being an ambassador you are putting all of You behind the brand you believe in and ensuring that it is well represented.
Updated
Lubo’s Answer
Digital marketing is marketing in the now ever growing digital world. They work with digital tools, digital media and digital audiences. These include but not limited to social media, social networks, mobile devices, etc. Obviously good understanding of how the digital ecosystem works, including who consumes the digital media, where do they consume or interact with digital media or channels, what content do they pay attention to and find engaging, and what various methods marketers can push their messaging or content to digital consumers. These are absolutely important, and the technology is rapidly evolving. Hence, need to have a good understanding of digital technology and how they can be applied in marketing context.
However, digital marketers are marketers, and require good understanding of marketing. Thus, building a good knowledge base of marketing and related disciplines (consumer behavior, business, creative development, media management, etc.) are also critical. The more you broaden your knowledge base and horizons, the better you will be fitted for your future career as a digital marketer!
However, digital marketers are marketers, and require good understanding of marketing. Thus, building a good knowledge base of marketing and related disciplines (consumer behavior, business, creative development, media management, etc.) are also critical. The more you broaden your knowledge base and horizons, the better you will be fitted for your future career as a digital marketer!