By Damian Martinez, journalist at G&M News.
1. YOU NEED TO BE BOLD
When I joined as Head of Marketing at Fitzdares, we didn’t have a digital marketing budget. That was the first thing I thought was essential for us. Also, when I started in my position, we didn’t have a mobile application and then we tried to figure out how we could make it work. It was a lot of effort, and it was risky, but it was worth it.
2. CALENDARS
I think for us in particular because we’re a small team and we do all the different small tasks of a marketing team (from uploading banners, responding to emails, negotiating and activating sponsorship deals, and working our social media accounts). We need to make sure that everything goes according to schedule.
3. ALWAYS LOCK BACK TO WHAT YOU WERE TRYING TO ACHIEVE
If something you’re doing doesn’t serve the initial purpose, then don’t do it. Don’t just do things for the sake of making yourself busy. Then, every campaign or initiative should be tracked and measured to assess its impact. Tools like Google Analytics, social media insights, and customer behavior analysis are important. Make it a habit to review data frequently to optimize for better results.
4. COPYRIGHTING IT’S EVERYWHERE
Don’t speak to people like their robots or like you’re a robot. Speak to your audience like they are individuals. I come from a copywriting background. I think it’s like the oxygen of marketing. Personalization is key, whether through targeted ads, emails, or social posts. Ensure that every interaction adds value to the customer’s experience.
5. HUMAN CREATIVITY
Obviously, data is important, but it’s incredibly unlimited and we always must think of the context behind the data you’re measuring. For me, it’s like 50% data and 50% guidance or emotions. In that space, it’s kind of where the magic of marketing happens. It’s like marrying what you think is right with the available information. I think some businesses today are so driven by day-to-day data that they actually can’t see the bigger picture, and they end up with some adverts that look like they’ve been built by an Artificial Intelligence.
RORY’S WAY TO THE TOP
More than eight and a half years ago, Rory Fairfax started at the very bottom of UK bookmaker Fitzdares as a trader. After a hell of a journey from trader to content writing to marketing, he became the Head of Marketing at the bookmaker in July 2022.
Now, he is in charge of a small marketing team of six people and his normal days are busy with varied responsibilities. One of his typical days could go from uploading content to the website, spell checking a new text, negotiating a deal with a known sportsman to creating some new advert. Every area of marketing is covered by him and his team.