The Roles of a Marketing Team have changed drastically from five to ten years ago. A shift has occurred from a time when branding was being achieved through messaging, advertisements, product offers, big trade show booths, parties, socializing with sales and perception-intended websites. A snapshot today is very content-based. The term ‘thought leadership’ is not used as often but realistically is what the new objectives are based around. We are all still trying to brand effectively and drive customers to our sites but the new formula is through content marketing. With this new focus taking a larger role in our business strategies, the skills needed in a marketing department has shifted as well.
Traditional roles that were found in agencies and marketing departments for decades differ from the new skill sets necessary including journalism, data analytics, project management, and programming.
There are eight specific roles we see necessary to run a complete marketing department in today’s business world.
1) Strategist
The role of the strategist is to own the formulation and implementation of corporate strategy. Though it is usually the top-ranking marketing person and direct report to the executive team, it needs to be the team member with the strongest skills in
- setting goals
- determining actions to achieve the goals
- engaging resources to execute the actions.
This position is ultimately responsible for the successful execution of the strategy. There is a personality type that is associated with strategists, INTJ, standing for four traits Introversion, Intuition, Thinking and Judgment. The combination of those four specific personality traits is considered rare.
2) Project Manager
Project managers are responsible for the organization and execution of the campaigns. They must plan, track, collaborate, manage time, organize tasks, develop planner, track and fix issues, and manage documentation. This position is the liaison of control and efficiency.
3) Journalist
Primarily responsible for the creation of the content, the journalist converts interviews with subject matter experts to technical resource stories. In addition to being a strong writer, this position must be an editor. The review of content for tone, grammar, spelling, and consistency is crucial for a company’s branding. Working in concert with the strategist, the journalist must ensure the voice of the company is appropriate for the intended audience.
4) Visual Director
The Visual Director of a marketing department is the artist and creative manager primarily focused on the branding through graphic design and visual development. Even with the move to content-focused strategies, creative elements and effective use of imagery in short-form and long-form articles is crucial.
5) Data Analyst
A data analyst is responsible for the collection, configuration, design, implementation, and support of the data analysis process with goal of improving marketing and business practices.
This position runs mathematical calculations, evaluates, pulls statistical information and translates numbers into summaries. Data collection includes traffic, impressions, visits, unique visits, SEO stats, conversion rates, leads, budget, sales figures, market research data, logistics, and expenses to name a few. The formulas applied to these help companies make better-informed business decisions.
6) Programmer
The official definition of a programmer is one who creates the code for software applications and operating systems. After a software developer or computer software engineer designs a computer program, the programmer writes code that converts that design into a set of instructions a computer can follow. In the marketing world, the programming arm of your operation assists with the complicated coding of your website, the navigation issues of the digital products, e-commerce best practices, software and basic information technology support.
7) Digital Technical Manager
The Digital Technical Manager role is the expert in image editing using tools, video production tools, animation and audio tools, and the total production of high-quality visual and audio content. Specific areas of expertise should include the top software for each task, YouTube content rules, Google+ best practices, Instagram integration knowledge, and multi-media channel management.
8) Media Liaison
Being a media liaison is much more involved than simply having an up-to-date media list of contacts for trade shows and publications. Researching the media from audience to content calendars to industry event partnership requires a concerted effort to see this marketing arm of options in its entirety. Audience is craft by itself and being able to navigate the viability of the lists, the true circulation demographics and the reader behavior reports takes dedicated time. There are options for authoring technical papers and articles. A strong relationship has impact on being seen as a content resource and interview option for journals. Press release submissions have different instructions and requirements from one brand to the next. And these are just some of the details you want someone to be an expert at.
At FOC, the Marketing Department’s role is critical to the overall mission of our organization. The combined professional experience, of over fifty years, can easily be illustrated with the infamous three-legged stool graphic. Our three ‘legs’ are management, strategist and brand director.
Using FOC’s department as an example, the roles play out similar to this:
Management – Under the leg of management, we include tasks from the positions of
- Project Management, Data Analyst, Programmer and Digital Technical Manager including
Strategist – Under the leg of strategy, we include tasks from the position of
- Strategist
Brand Director – Under the leg of Brand Director, we include tasks from the positions of
- Journalist, Visual Director and Media Liaison
Under the FOC Cooperative Marketing Program, we help identify the areas where we can best offer assistance and consultation services in these defined areas where we have strength.
Additional resources from the FOC team include:
- View the Glossary, Acronyms, Military Specifications for Connectors
- Q&A Resource: email technical questions to AskFOC@focenter.com
Here are the links to this full Marketing Blog Series:
- Branding Matters
- Building Relationships through Solution and Consultative Selling
- Marketing Objectives vs. Actions: Identifying Where the Discrepancies Occur
- The Dilemma of Online Strategy
- Promotion Best Practices
- SOP Development
- Global Strategy Conversation
- The Roles of a Marketing Team
- Trade Show Strategy Revisited
- Product Inventory Management and a quick snapshot….
- Business Development: An Honest Conversation
- Social Media Navigation
