Since I started in the digital marketing field, I've been always dreamed of being a consultant one day. I worked really hard day in day out and absorbed every possible knowledge that is available in the digital world. Even for some digital marketers in the field, technology might be perceived as an uncharted area or challenges to overcome. In contrast, I gravitated towards the amazing world of technology, especially MarTech (Marketing Technology) and AdTech (Advertising Technology). Needless to say, I love anything that ends with Tech, to be honest. Since what we watch, engage and share is built on the world called 'web', it is essential to understand how the internet is connecting all of us in a nanosecond, and further how it collects data and what insights we, as a digital marketer, can learn from it. When I realised the fact that even digital marketers struggle with having a good grasp of technology, it led me to think what I already know might be more than enough to start providing suggestions and advice to both digital marketers and the companies that look for help in digital marketing. This Eureka moment helped me begin my consultant journey and I have been enjoying meeting with new clients, listening to the challenges, and solving their problems together. As the first-ever posting of my blog, I really wanted to share three reasons why I work as a digital marketer and consultant because you will also have a good understanding of what areas I can help you if you are looking for any support.
1. Identifying challenges is thrilling.
No matter what the subject matter is, I always start my consulting project with a proper digital marketing audit. I basically ask millions of questions and start writing down what piece of digital marketing activities is happening. For a small-sized start-up, an official website might be the only source of generating leads, maybe with a little bit of traffic from organic social media channels. In contrast, for a bigger organisation, it might be difficult to actually list down all the digital programs on one slide. Starting from website development, SEO, content creation, social media, automated and nurturing emails (CRM), paid ad (PPC) campaigns in Facebook, Yahoo, Google, Twitter, and many many more. If the company operates globally, then the list gets even bigger. Therefore, it is really important to visualise what channels the company is present in what countries and in what languages. Most of the time, auditing the channel, content, a
2. Solving problems is even more thrilling.
This is a stage where I can shine. Now, I have the list of challenges, it's time to find a solution for those problems. Even though I have experiences in digital marketing and tech, it is a milking brain phase that I cannot avoid because that is why I was hired as a consultant from the first place, isn't it? When I look for solutions, I look at data over and over and over again, from different perspectives. It is very imperative to be equipped with a data-driven mindset to preempt any decision based on gut feel or assumptions. Interestingly, I also tend to read and watch a lot about anything relevant to the topic. It all seems disconnected at first but in the end, it all comes back to my mind as one answer. This is a surprising thing that I wish I could share with others, but I am sure there are tons of people who experience the same. Solving problems include not only presenting a solution but also creating a concrete roadmap along with digestible action items and a realistic timeline. It is also my job to write an easy to read the guide, not using technical jargon but with a great analogy. Once all of this is presented and I see the joy and surprise from the clients' eyes, that's when I call it 'mission complete'.
3. Witnessing growth is beyond words.
Then it is entirely up to the clients whether they adopt any of suggestions. However, from my experiences, most of them did make great progress, see the improvements and share the joy of success with me. I believe that contributing to someone else's growth is such a meaningful opportunity, which in return gives a chance for me to grow as well. As a certified 'Growth Hacker', I see growth as a foundational value that an individual, organisation, corporate and bigger society seek throughout their lifetime.
Hacking growth cannot be done without addressing what's not going well and investing efforts and energy in fixing them. It is also about humility to admit that I need help from someone else and I am willing to share what I wasn't successful at. As an individual and as a consultant, I have privileges to be shared with the moment of growth and success. This is the greatest motive to work as a digital marketing consultant and keep providing mentorship to fresh graduates (sorry for clients but it is free of charge for those newbies!).
And... all the above is why nothing can stop me from learning and growing!
To anyone who is reading my FIRST blog post, I hope you find this article interesting and feel like finding a growth lever in your personal life if you are a worker like me, or in your business if you are my potential client!
Thank you!