The year 2020 will go down in the history books as a whirlwind of events. While it can be challenging to process everything that’s happened, the one for-sure positive that has come out of this year professionally is reflection.
Personally, I have enjoyed spending extra time with my family. But in terms of business, I have thought a lot about what my skill set is and how it fits into a business landscape.
I started my career in journalism and gained great researching skills and learned how to cater content to a particular audience. Those are great skills I take everywhere, but there are four specific traits that marketing has given me that would be beneficial to anyone in business:
Critique
For a lot of people, one of the hardest things is taking critique. It can be hard to hear what you aren’t doing well from people you work with.
Yet as a marketer (especially a copywriter), literally everything I produce is critiqued. Even in my journalism career, I wrote an article and sent it to an editor for revisions.
Every single piece of copy or campaign I have ever put out into the world gets critiqued. So, it doesn’t faze me when people share their opinions because it should get critiqued.
Collaboration is how we put out the best product or service. The same principle exists in marketing. In order for our marketing services team to put out the absolute best marketing campaigns for our clients, there should be comments and edits.
Sure, it’s exciting when I knock something out of the park. But it’s also exciting when I see how far something travels from the first concept on the page.
Multitasking
Marketing can be a black hole of tasks. There are so many different kinds—from content to social media to events (in-person and virtual) to advertisement copy and so on. Once you test out and get a handle on the next big thing, four more things come out behind it.
Marketing is a juggling act of trial and error and then pivoting. But the most important aspect to remember is that no matter what marketing activities you are trying, they should all come back to your branding and goals.
Giving Input
Collaboration is great for teams, right? Of course. But it’s not always easy to feel comfortable sharing ideas or respectfully challenging each other.
Taking “giving input” one step further, marketing has allowed me to understand my perspective is valuable. I bring something different to the table and that’s a good thing.
Risk-Taking
Failing is hard. No one wants to do it. But as a marketer, you have to take risks to figure out what works for you and what doesn’t.
There are many different avenues in marketing to take, and the first step is to try. Make sure it fits into your overall goals, but then shoot for the moon! Pushing the envelope and trying new things is just part of doing the job successfully.
