The Roles of a Marketing Team

Last Updated: August 4, 2022

The Roles of a Marketing Team

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. Be sure to follow @FiberOpticCntr

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

This 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 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 that we can best offer assistance and consultation services in these defined areas where we have strength.

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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:

The Roles of a Marketing Team