This Marketing Life

I am chatting with my awesome friend and brilliant marketer Betsy Pavlica, the VP of Social Media at marketing agency Evans Larson in Minneapolis, in Minnesota, in the US.

We discuss getting started in marketing, and the challenges with managing social media for many clients.

Advice from my own learnings after one month in my new Marketing Manager role.

They guide and dictate how you spend your time as a Marketer. They are goals, strategy and tactics and together they form your Marketing Plan.

In this episode I clear up some of the confusion that seems to be in many online articles, confusing strategy for tactics. Strategy is your "How" and Tactics are your "What".

Let's discuss the job hunting process for Marketing Managers, as well as some tips to boost your chances of securing that awesome role.

I share my thoughts on the current business climate, the current LONG list of marketing roles, creating a career strategy and personal brand, promoting your personal brand, applying and interviewing. You deserve a great career in marketing.

Marketers, What are you doing with your data, and when are you deleting it?

New legislation is coming into play in 2018, and it is becoming a BIG talking point for Marketing Managers around the globe.  Big discussions are finally taking place around data management, or lack of management implications and facing the reality that you may have to delete lead and customer data or face penalties.

In this episode, I discuss the latest in data, privacy and the scary (not so scary) GDPR.

1. Have a Data Protection Policy Plan (request a free template)

2. Update your Privacy Policy

3. Understand the GDPR 2018

Time to get your skills on.  Yes, managing marketing is the ultimate juggling act.

It is a tricky market out there.  Marketing Management isn't exactly as simple as it seems.  No two roles are alike.  In some businesses, you are the ultimate Marketing Leader.  In other businesses, you are reporting to a Marketing Director, who reports to a Chief Marketing Officer (CMO). Regardless of the business size, the core skills of a Marketing Manager are roughly the same.  I say roughly, because, like most ideas, these top 10 are open for debate: Planning and Strategy, People Management, Data and Technology, Communication, Creativity, Project Management, Measurement, Research, Presentation, Language and Writing.

The Marketing Trends for 2018 have arrived.  Is your marketing strategy ready?

It's THAT time of year.  On this episode, I highlight what I believe are the current trends affecting Marketing Leaders and Managers for the coming year.

It's important to remember, that when looking at trends and assessing what is possible in your role, that you keep your eyes on the business goals, and only leverage the trends that your budget, time and resources allow.

Here are my predictions for 2018:

1. Brand Purpose

2. Influencer Marketing

3. Podcasts

4. Technology (Voice and AI)

5. Content Marketing

6. Big Data

Isn't it time we had a chat about marketing education?

The education options that lead to Marketing Management have changed dramatically over the past 20 years. Gone are the old requirements of long, expensive degrees. But if Marketers are not going to university anymore, where are they getting their knowledge and skills from? In this episode, I share my thoughts from my own experience, as well as from my discussions with other Marketing Managers. Marketers need such a broad range of skills to truly succeed and I share what steps should be taken to have a successful Marketing career.

Have you ever wondered what life is really like for a Marketing Manager?

I start out with a brief history of Marketing Management and the 7 Stages. I look at the current state of Marketing Management, how today’s Marketing Manager has evolved, and end up on today’s marketing challenges - Leadership and C-suite problems, lead generation, growth hacking, project management, people management and more.