Part of working on the world of online marketing is that you are straddling two very different worlds. One on hand you have the seasoned Chief Marketing Officers, whose education and understanding of marketing predates the internet. They often are confused by the technologies, and attempt to apply their knowledge to the new media, not realizing that a new medium requires a new strategy. On the other side you have tech-heads, who are absolutely necessary as they hold the key to using these technologies, but often have no basis of understanding marketing principles, or best practices. Your basic need is to be their middle man, and your endgoal should be to understand both worlds well enough that you can take over both their jobs.
When it comes to online marketing, the most elemental part of traditional marketing that I believe is missed is marketing research. Once you have your target segment, you MUST answer these questions:
1. What websites is my target segment patronizing
2. How are they using the website
3. What is important to them, and how can I reveal our value added?
If you don’t have a marketing background, think of it like fishing. If you grab random bait and go to a random body of water, if you catch fish, it was dumb luck. Most fishermen find out what fish they are targeting, then put together a tackle box of what they need. The most important part is your bait or lure; without the bite, there is no fish. Your fishing pole, bait, etc is all dependent on marketing research.
Now let’s just avoid a fishing story. :)
