As you prepare for work on Monday morning, do you feel energized? Are you looking forward to meeting your team at the water cooler (or in the zoom meeting) and recapping the weekend? This reality of digital marketing mandates a specific approach. Working hours are flexible, project scope – agile, and teams – a diverse mix of creativity and analytical skills. In this post, we explore the hallmarks of great management to help you create a powerhouse digital marketing team.
Here are four components of managing digital marketing teams:
What makes a good team leader is someone who can read people, feel out why they want to join the organization, and then hire a diverse team.
You get a feel for whether each potential hire will fit in with an existing team and add something different. Ask whether this recruit will be dedicated to the organization and help it move forward. If a candidate wants a job that matches his/her qualifications and has done no research on your company, then it's better to hire a different candidate with evident passion.
Every team leader needs to mix incentives and keep all teammates motivated. One of your team members wants to choose his assignments. Another wants to be the group leader. A third one wants a half-day off on Fridays if she completes all her work early. If you explore what truly motivates people, you can offer them better incentives.
To lead effectively, check in with team members daily using their preferred contact method. Meet with the whole team once per week. Once you've built a rapport with each employee, they should feel comfortable asking for additional resources.
You can bring value.
Do your research and keep up to date on new tools, processes, and techniques. Test them out – optimizing processes leaves more room for strategy and creativity in digital marketing.
Once you’ve found the right people and have given them the tools to get their job done, don’t stand in their way.
Micromanagement can really demotivate a skilled team member. Instead, communicate the goal, define what success looks like, provide the resources, and step aside. Let them find their own way of achieving your goals. More than anything else, this would empower your team to really channel their talent and experience and exceed your expectations.
If your company excels at delivering services, but you’re not quite there yet with your in-house digital marketing team, see how to assess a digital marketing agency partner.