The Power of Digital Marketing Strategy: How One Move Helps Guide the Next
Sometimes the best tool in your tool kit is having the ability to see how people from different departments can work together to maximize their potential and achieve the business goals set out at the beginning of the project. I see this as having a strategic mindset which can come from various experiences and, as Larry Fink, CEO of Blackrock, once said: “The most important component of good management is ensuring diversity of mind.”
Jen Stoll, VP of Strategy at Valtech, has had varying experiences that have allowed her to excel when it comes to strategy, bringing the right people together and building digital ecosystems. During a recent digital marketing seminar all about strategy, Stoll shared her journey. From SEO to social media, data analytics to account management, content marketing to community management, every skill allows her to answer questions, provide direction, and evaluate from different viewpoints to lead her team to success. Along her journey to Valtech, she learned a few things that have helped her in her career growth and development. Two stood out for me.
First, it's okay to feel uncomfortable in a position. My understanding is that being too comfortable is not always the best way to grow and learn. Everyone has different motivations for moving forward, changing to suit their needs and their growth. Some people may prefer to stay at the same company for an extended period of time and that could work for them, while others prefer to be challenged by their environment, never wanting to be too comfortable. If you haven’t guessed it, Stoll is the latter.
Secondly, never stop learning. It’s important for you personally as well as professional life that you learn as much as you can along the way. Whether it’s developing new skills, taking a certificate course or constantly reading and consuming knowledge, are only some of the ways to grow as a person. It’s never too late to learn, never too late to grow. It increases your strategic thinking and expands your point of view. If strategy is where you want to be, then what will you learn next?
Though if you were to look at it on the business side, capturing information, especially collecting as much as possible, can lead to a better and more effective strategy. This isn’t a surprise as strategy impacts everything you do but can also be impacted by everything you experience. It’s the why behind the campaign, the reason for each recommendation and rationale needed to not only challenge but elevate the status quo. It gives the creative structure and meaning. As Stoll would say, “if you don’t have a rationale, you are setting yourself up for failure.” This could be applied to nearly anything. Why have you chosen this career path? Why do you want to work for this company? How does a particular solution answer a problem? What is the benefit? If you don’t have the answer to the question, then find it.
