Marketing Director = Translator

When people ask me to describe what I do I often use the term, Translator. They expect to hear things about social media, PPC, SEM, analytics, and other buzz terms they associate with online marketing. While this is true to an extent, I find that in my role as a manager I don’t associate my work directly with these terms. Instead, I see myself as a guide helping people with very different ideas, work styles, skills and motivations to all come together for a common goal. I use “translator” because these people all speak a different language in a sense. Though each person speaks English on our team the lingo, meaning, and context of the speech are often as different as English and Russian. An example may illustrate what I mean more clearly:

 Image courtesy of wsionlinemarketing

Earlier this week a distributor of ours requested a video from one of the Account Managers showing a new product. The rep passed along the request and I felt we could accommodate the customer, created a basic storyboard and had my videographer tackle the project. In short time the raw footage was done and the editor got to work, framing the video and adding some graphics. These two spoke the same “video” language and therefore were looking for many of the same things such as lighting, angles, and sound quality. After the rough edit was finished I sent it over to the Art Director for a review. She speaks a different language one of colors, symmetry, and emotion. She quickly pointed out several edits to the graphics that needed to be changed, tweaked the logo placement and some color schemes. Then Sales got involved combing over the script, various product-specific edits and so on. In the end, it was very different from the original and the videographer was a bit upset that I had pushed “his” project through so many other departments for edits. I understood but explained my reasonings. He appreciated my position but was hesitant to admit his original vision wasn't already the best. However, after seeing the completed video he agreed it was better from the insights provided by the other teams. Each department was looking for something different and each wanted a specific look and feel to match their own way of seeing the world. My job was to take the insight from each and make sure that at the end we had the best possible outcome for the company as a whole. No one department got exactly what they wanted but they all got to give real input into the project. So to help others facing a similar challenge I put together my list of rules for getting content done right.

1. Know your team and assign tasks accordingly.

If you have a team of content creators it is likely split up into specialties. Copywriters, SEO experts, photographers, etc, each have a unique professional perspective and will approach any project from that perspective. When you have projects, assign the initial draft to the team or person most comfortable with that medium. If you are needing at blog post start with your copywriter, “viral” photos start with your photographer or graphic artist, etc. While this seems pretty self-explanatory it can be tempting to assign some projects to the more senior team member instead of the right team member. However, just because someone on the team may be more experienced doesn't mean they are always the best for the project. This is where having a diverse team of specialists is essential. In addition to building this team, it is important to know your team so you can better assign tasks based on both their skills and passions.

2. Ensure everyone has input but no one has a singled out.

Even if it is a simple blog post make sure your other stakeholders get a chance for input. If your writer creates a blog it is often SOP to have an editor approve the writing and then post it. Instead, why not have an art department graphic artist look it over and create custom graphics? Has someone from the sales department looked it over for relevance to your customer’s needs? Do you have a Brand Manager that can make sure it is presenting your company in the correct light? One company I know has a writing team that churns out articles and a social media team that distributes it. They don’t talk with each other or anyone else. They just have the writers create as much “content” as possible with no input into what they create, the writers are simply measured on a number of articles and number of edits. Nobody asks if the content is relevant, shareable, and in line with the brand image. If the article doesn’t do well the company holds the social media team responsible for poor distribution, while ever considering the other factors. This is a sign of a poorly managed content engine and a recipe for ineffective marketing and disgruntled team members

3. Functional content is more important than “Artistic Integrity”

No matter what team/person is heading up the project no one person’s opinion should be taken as gospel. In our blog example, the writer should perhaps take the lead and create the rough draft. However, if the SEO team wants them to include certain key terms that the author doesn’t like, it may be wise to trust your SEO team. If the Art department creates a graphic that looks awesome, but the Brand Manager feels it sends the wrong message it may not be right graphic after all. The point here is that when dealing with professional artists (in whatever medium they work) you are going to hit a point where their “vision” doesn’t meet the needs of the campaign. In this moment it is important to have multiple inputs and make sure the right content is created, even if it means a few people get their feelings hurt. That sounds meaner than it is since most professionals will understand the needs of the company come first.

4. Test, Review, and Adjust

After you create that perfect piece of content make sure you test it. How does it compare to other content you've created? Did it create the kinds of engagement you were hoping for? Was your customer’s reaction to the content what you expected? Track all your content and the people involved in its creation as well. You may find some interesting patterns emerge. Did that one piece of content you were afraid might be too edgy actually resonate with your customers better than the “safer” content? Perhaps a specific grouping of team members consistently generates the best content. Often you can find weak spots as well, such as a writer that consistently has poor performing articles or a graphic style that doesn’t grab your customers. Use these insights to create better content going forward.

These are some pretty simple rules but they help keep our content engine running smooth. It also makes sure that the content is of consistent quality and message. I’m sure lots you have your own best practices that I would love to hear, please feel free to add them in the comments. Happy Creating!!!