Mediaboss Marketing

In some ways, its odd to even look at the statement, managing an Internet marketing team, as few companies actually had dedicated digital marketing departments prior to the last five to 10 years!

However, its a challenge that more and more businesses are facing, as a strong, vibrant Web presence is becoming a non-negotiable part of doing business in a digital world. If you find yourself tasked with the management of such a team, consider the following tips, as managing digital workers may present different challenges compared with workers in traditional sales and marketing fields.

Before you even think about hiring or managing an Internet marketing team, youll need to familiarize yourself with the different roles youll encounter. For example, do you know the difference between an on-site SEO analyst and a web developer? If you dont yet understand how Internet marketing teams are structured, take a look at Rand Fishkins SEOMoz Whiteboard Friday video titled Roles and Responsibilities of a Web Marketing Team.

In addition to understanding the various roles youll encounter while on the job, youll want to be quite clear on your organizations preferred marketing strategy. If, for example, your company chooses to focus primarily on PPC advertising, the specific roles youll need to fill or manage will be significantly different than a business pursuing SEO as a digital marketing strategy.

Its also a good idea to determine how your organization measures Internet marketing success before undertaking team management. Are you undertaking Internet marketing campaigns in order to boost brand awareness or to increase sales? If your goal is brand awareness, focus your hiring resources on more content creators, who will be able to provide you with the marketing materials needed for dissemination across social media channels.

On the other hand, if youre focusing strictly on digital sales, youll need talented SEO analysts who can carry out website split tests and measure Web data in order to improve your conversion rates.

Now that you know more about the type of roles your organization needs to fill, consider whether it makes more sense for your team to bring new members on as direct-hire employees or independent contractors. Specifically, youll want to think through whether you anticipate needing full-time workers for long-term projects (in which case, full-time employees may suit your needs better) or whether youll need specialized skills for shorter periods of time (where independent contractors may be a better fit).

If you do decide to add members to your Internet marketing team, youll likely see the best results from soliciting your existing employees or contractors for referrals. As an added bonus, hiring primarily from interpersonal recommendations can cut down on the hassle associated with widespread job postings and bulk resume submissions significantly.

Before adding any new members to your Internet marketing team, consider having qualified candidates carry out a small test project in order to demonstrate their skills. Remember, with a talented copywriter, anyone can be made to sound good on paper. However, you wont know if your potential hires will be a good fit for your team until you actually test their unique skill sets.

As you expand and mentor your team, keep a close eye on where the departments weaknesses lie. For example, one Internet marketing team may be missing a strong link builder, while another lacks the creative workers needed to power content marketing campaigns. As a manager, being aware of these deficiencies will allow you to either make new hires that address these shortcomings or to add continuing education programs that train existing workers in important new skills.

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15 Tips on Managing an Internet Marketing Team