Digital marketing managers plan and oversee online marketing strategies. They may work in small businesses, startups or large corporations. They may lead a team, work solo or be in charge of a whole department. They may work in social media, email marketing, web development, copywriting, business management, search engine optimization or traditional advertising. Yet the best in the industry share a number of traits. Here are four traits great digital marketing managers have in common.

Adaptability

Digital marketing managers have to be adaptable due to the high velocity of change in this industry. For example, mobile marketing has gone from a niche in the industry to a must-have, as consumer behavior has changed. Mobile users grew from 1.2 billion to roughly five billion users in 2018, and mobile adoption rates were growing eight times faster than web adoption. You have to stay on top of technology and customer trends like these to be successful.

This includes new tools available to automate labor-intensive processes, keeping up with trends in search engine marketing, mastering email marketing and staying ahead of social media trends. For example, visual marketing is now understood to have up to a hundred percent more engagement over text. This is driving the trend toward image streams to promote products over copywriting, though each has its place.

The best digital marketers learn about ongoing movements in the industry and are good enough at forward-thinking to stay ahead of them. Curiosity and creativity are a given in this industry, but good marketing managers seek out information to do their job better and help their team succeed.

Data-Driven Decision Making

Great digital marketing managers are data-driven and know how to collect and analyze data. They make business decisions based on their data analysis, whether it is improving content for search engine optimization or gauging the performance of their team based on clear goals and performance data.

Using the right project management tools allow them to know how much time and money is required to build a website or create a new loyalty program. They set realistic schedules and budgets based on historical data. All of this is why the best marketing managers are great at analyzing data, optimizing people and performance based on the insights they gain from it.

Are Good Leaders

Marketing managers may use different tools and techniques as part of their job, but the main part of the job remains leading a team or department. They are able to communicate clearly and assertively with employees, contractors, clients and their own boss. They are able to build relationships with peers, subordinates, and customers.

They may monitor performance and manage to metrics, but they aren’t overbearing. They set realistic goals. They create processes and procedures their employees are empowered to follow. They are curious but engage in careful experimentation. They don’t take major risks. Instead, they forecast various ways to achieve or exceed set ROIs. In summary, the best marketing managers are people-focused, balancing technology and business.

Conclusion

Digital marketing management is a demanding job, no matter what form it takes. However, there are several key traits the best in the field share, a unique combination of skills and abilities that take them and their teams to the top.