Top 10 Lessons I've Learnt in 10 Years

2020 marks my 10 years in the digital marketing field. It has been a decade of exploration, learning, stumbling blocks and achievements to say the least. If you ask me 10 years ago if I envisioned myself doing digital, I’d completely dismiss you. I graduated from Multimedia University (pardon the irony!) with a degree in Marketing and I landed my first real-job as a Brand Executive at TGV Cinemas (still tops the most awesome job in my list btw!), so no way I would’ve predicted where I am now. But life threw me a curveball (well to be exact, the previous TGV Cinemas CEO, Kenny Wong threw me the first curveball!) and fast forward 10 years, here I am now - loving every bit of digital.

I’ve never had a formal education in digital marketing. I self-taught myself by reading loads of articles, speaking to a lot of industry leaders and getting my hands dirty - all because of my passion in the subject matter. I can’t quite pinpoint exactly what is it about digital marketing that I’m passionate about, but I do know that I get motivated transferring knowledge to others. I thoroughly enjoy teaching others about digital marketing so when their eyes light up (that usually signals they finally got it!) and they use it in their day-to-day job; ah, that is the best feeling in the world!

So, to celebrate my 1 decade of 'rawk'-ing the digital space, I thought I’d share the top 10 lessons I’ve learnt in my real-life experiences doing digital marketing:

1.      Never say never to trying something new and scary

When someone throws you a curveball (most times you don’t have a choice to say no LOL), embrace it! It’s okay to be scared but accept it with a learning mindset. You’re only scared because it’s foreign to you now but give yourself time to learn, and you’d be surprised at the outcome. I can say this for a fact because I was thrown this curveball twice, survived twice and loved it! So, never say never.

2.      Be a sponge

The best advice I’ve ever gotten: no matter how hard the situation is, be a sponge. Absorb all the learning that comes with the hardship, and you will emerge more knowledgeable when you first came in. It will be tough (especially if it’s something new to you) but take your time to learn the ropes. You’ll never know where and when those “ropes” will finally come in handy.

3.      Don’t stop learning

Digital marketing is always evolving - everyone knows that. So, if you want to thrive in this field, you need to have a learning mindset. Never assume you know it all. Did you know Facebook changed its Newsfeed algorithm at least 3 times in the last 10 years? Either you keep up or be kicked out.

#digitalRAWKStip: Follow Bram Van der Hallen on LinkedIn, he shares updates on the industry regularly and they come in a bite size, easy to understand content.

4.      You don’t lose anything when you share

Some might say I’m wasting my time conducting an internal digital training (yes, I build my own slides!) but there is no better way to up-skill your colleagues on digital marketing than hand holding them through this. In the end, you’re not wasting anything because once they’re skilled enough, you can engage in digital discussions with them without it being a chicken-and-duck conversation.

#digitalRAWKStip: If you ever need tracker templates or want basic understanding of Facebook, click here to my sharing.

5.      Be prepared to get frustrated and disappointed at times (but try not to get discouraged)

Okay, I’m not going to sugar-coat this but there will be times when you WILL get frustrated and disappointed. There will be bosses or stakeholders that do not get digital because they’re traditional business people. It may get tiring to explain the same thing for the 10,000th time. Trust me, I’ve been there, I’ve done that. The way to not get discouraged is trying to understand their pain points and find ways to address it so you can execute that digital campaign while assuring them that their concerns are being managed.

6.      Bridge the gap - YOU are that bridge

Building from lesson #5 above, the most important role you can play when managing stakeholders is to bridge that gap. Some agencies do not know how to explain to clients without using digital jargon, so discussions can get confusing. Your role is to translate those confusing digital jargon into layman definitions and explanation. I’ve learnt that this is such an important skill to have and will most definitely be appreciated.

7.      Don’t be afraid to get your hands dirty

Some don’t know how campaigns are set up or what technicalities are involved. When they don’t know, they couldn’t understand the process an agency goes through and most importantly, aren’t able to provide accurate information to marketing teams. Get your hands dirty - set up a Facebook campaign yourself with a couple of hundreds and learn how it works. Trust me, you will learn how to look at your campaign and know where to troubleshoot if results are not coming in. It will be one of your best skills ever!

8.      Respect and be fair to agencies

Disclaimer: I’ve never worked in an agency before, I’ve always been on the client end. But I know this: give them the basic respect and they will help you - sometimes move mountains (thanks, agency friends!) ?? This also doesn’t mean they get away without being accountable to campaign KPIs but as long as you’re being fair about it and consider them as business partners, then you can enjoy successful achievements together.

9.      Trust in your abilities

Sometimes, you question your ability as a digital marketer when you apply for a job or attend interviews. You wonder if you’re good enough or whether the other candidates have more experience than you. If you know your stuff and are confident enough to demonstrate, it will come through in your interview and eventually as you perform your role. One thing I’ve learnt is that people can use words and fancy digital jargon to bluff their way, but they usually can’t keep it up in the long run especially when it comes to execution.

10.  Be resourceful and take the initiative

If you’re on the client’s end, most of the time, you wouldn’t have someone in the organization to refer to or bounce ideas with. You’d end up a one (wo)man show. But what I learnt in those times was to take matters in my own hand. If you don’t know something, Google it up and read up on blogs and articles. There are a lot of experts out there who share their experience and expertise for FREE. If I wanted to know how something works, I call up the media agency and ask them to show me how it’s done. I’ve even bought my own Facebook ads because I wanted to know how the system works. In this field, I believe that you’ve got to put in the work.

#digitalRAWKStip: When I first started exploring Google Analytics, I read Avinash Kaushik’s blog a lot. His explanation helped me navigate the wonderful world of data analytics.

...and those are the top 10 lessons I’ve learnt in my very 10 years young experience in digital marketing! I know I’ve got a long way to go and so much more to learn but I am excited of the possibilities (and the uncharted territories). ?? Thanks for reading! #digitalRAWKS