If you’re working in the digital marketing realm, you might dream of someday taking on a leadership role within your field. At the same time, managing an entire digital marketing team comes with its own inherent challenges and obstacles, with common issues ranging from delegating tasks wisely to keeping team members motivated.
With a better understanding of how to manage a digital marketing team and the specific skills you need to be an efficient leader, you can work toward your career goals with confidence.
Understanding the Dynamics of Digital Marketing Leadership
First and foremost, it’s important for all aspiring digital marketing leaders to understand the complex dynamics that go into this unique line of work. Let’s dive into the ins and outs of digital marketing, more specifically, digital marketing leadership.
The Role of a Digital Marketing Leader
What does a digital marketing leader do, anyway? While the exact duties and responsibilities can vary from one job to the next, most digital marketing leaders are tasked with managing individual marketing teams and their related projects. This can include tackling such responsibilities as:
- Assigning and delegating tasks
- Creating project schedules and timelines/deadlines
- Ensuring that all team members are on the same page and working toward a common goal
- Holding regular progress meetings
- Making sure team members have access to the tools and resources they need for their campaigns
- Handling all aspects of campaign strategy and execution
Challenges Faced by Digital Marketing Team Leaders
With so many responsibilities on their plates, it’s easy to see how the job of a digital marketing leader can come with some inherent obstacles. One of the most common challenges these leaders face is that of dealing with budget constraints. Often, digital marketing leaders are asked to do big things with very small budgets, so they need to get creative with how they use and optimize funds.
Another common issue that digital marketing leaders struggle with is maintaining team motivation and momentum. This gets especially difficult with larger teams, where it may be hard to hold individual team members accountable and even more difficult to get team members to see big-picture objectives.
Key Skills Needed for Effective Digital Marketing Leadership
Working in digital marketing leadership isn’t for the faint of heart as it takes a very special type of personality to be able to effectively lead teams toward success and innovation. In fact, there are a handful of key skills that you’ll need to possess as a digital marketing leader to be great at your job.
Communication and Collaboration
Digital marketing team leaders need to be able to effectively communicate both verbally and in written form. Without strong communication skills, it is impossible to get all your team members united and on the same page. Likewise, poor communication skills can lead to misunderstandings that have the potential to throw off your entire project.
In addition to solid communication skills, a team mindset is another crucial thing to have as a digital marketing leader. Being able to get everybody united and working together as effectively as possible will help your campaigns achieve higher levels of success.
Strategic Vision and Goal Setting
The most successful digital marketing team leaders are also those who have a strong sense of strategic vision that they can share with others. This means being able to get everybody on-board with the same vision, mission, and goals for a project. Once all team members are working toward a shared goal, it’s easier to keep the smaller moving parts of the project on-track.
Team Building and Motivation
Maintaining motivation among team members is a very common problem in the world of digital marketing. This is where the right team-building strategies can make all the difference, especially when they’re coming from a team leader respected by everybody. Knowing how to get your team excited about working toward a shared goal and how to keep every team member feeling valued and respected can go a long way in your overall success as a leader.
Adaptability and Innovation
Unexpected obstacles and setbacks occur all the time in the digital marketing world. When these issues do arise, remember that your team members will be looking to you for guidance on what to do next. This is why it’s so important to maintain an adaptable and flexible mindset in your work. Being able to think quickly on your feet and problem-solve when setbacks occur will help you lead your team out of even the deepest of trenches.
4 Strategies for Effective Team Management in Digital Marketing
Looking for some tried-and-true tips for more effectively managing digital marketing teams? We’ve got a few strategies worth trying.
Setting Clear Objectives and Expectations
All too often, team leaders in digital marketing projects make the mistaken assumption that everybody understands the scope of the project, the objectives, and their exact role in meeting those goals. Unfortunately, this is rarely the case. Team leaders need to understand how to set very clear objectives and expectations at the earliest stages of each new project so that everybody can remain on the same page and stay focused on the task at-hand.
Empowering Team Members and Encouraging Autonomy
As tempting as it may be for team leaders to remain heavily involved in every stage of a project or campaign, the real power in leadership comes from encouraging autonomy and empowering your teams to do their jobs without your help. This is where making sure team members are properly trained and that tasks are appropriately delegated can make all the difference.
Providing Regular Feedback and Recognition
Throughout each stage of a project or campaign, digital marketing team leaders should be reaching out to team members for regular check-ins. This can be a great way to provide feedback when needed or to be available to team members and address any questions/concerns they may have. These check-ins also provide an excellent opportunity for leaders to recognize team members who have been going above and beyond to get things done.
Fostering a Culture of Continuous Learning and Growth
Employees feel more valued and motivated when their own professional development needs are met. This is why it’s so essential for digital marketing leaders to foster a culture of ongoing learning and professional growth, offering plenty of opportunities for learning new skills and concepts whenever applicable.
How to Utilize Tools for Efficient Team Leadership
The job of a digital marketing leader is never easy. The good news is that there are some great tools and resources available to help leaders do their jobs more effectively.
Project Management Tools
These days, project management tools are especially valuable for digital marketing team leaders (and their individual team members) because they help keep everybody on the same page and organized. These software programs can assist with everything from assigning individual tasks and deadlines to showing visual project timelines and schedules.
Communication and Collaboration Tools
There are also plenty of great communication tools that foster greater collaboration between team members, even when team members may not be working in the same building (or even the same time zone), so they’re a must for any digital marketing leader.
Video chat software, live chat software, and similar tools make it easier for team members to interact and keep each other informed about key aspects of a project at any given time.
Performance Tracking and Analytics Tools
Many digital marketing team leaders also use performance tracking and analytics tools to gain valuable insights about which team members are pulling their weight and which ones may need some additional guidance and support. These analytics tools can also be extremely helpful in analyzing budget spending, timelines, and other critical key performance indicators (KPIs) of a campaign.
Team Productivity and Time Management Tools
Productivity and time management tools can empower team members to work more efficiently, getting more done in less time. Ideally, digital marketing team leaders should choose time management tools that everybody on the team can utilize to make the most of their work.
Leading by Example: Best Practices for Digital Marketing Leaders
In addition to using the right resources and tools, marketing team leaders can also benefit from leading by example with some everyday best leadership practices. Check them out below.
Staying Current with Industry Trends and Technologies
The digital marketing industry is one of the most dynamic out there, with new innovations and changes occurring seemingly every day. With this in mind, digital marketing leaders who want to remain relevant and competitive must be prepared to stay on top of the latest industry trends and news as they emerge. This means committing to a lifetime of learning and professional development rather than growing complacent in their roles.
Encouraging Creativity and Innovation Within the Team
Digital marketing leaders will probably always face the challenge of getting team members motivated and fostering innovation. Leaders should always be experimenting with different team building and creativity exercises to keep those new ideas flowing.
Building Strong Relationships with Team Members
At the end of the day, digital marketing leaders can’t expect to gain much rapport or respect from their team members if they don’t go out of their way to build solid professional relationships. By truly getting to know your team members and what’s important to them, you’ll be able to support them in achieving their own professional goals while ensuring that your project’s objectives are met.
Being Open to Feedback and Continuous Improvement
Finally, one of the best pieces of advice to keep in mind as an aspiring team leader is that you should always be open to feedback and striving for continuous improvement. By keeping an open mind, you’ll be able to work on becoming a better leader every day. After all, there is never a point at which you’ll know everything there is to know about leading marketing teams.
Learn More About Digital Marketing at JWU
As you can see, there’s a lot that goes into successful team management when you’re in a digital marketing leadership role. Not only do you need to possess the right skills for the job, but you must also familiarize yourself with some trusted tools, resources, and best practices for digital marketing leaders.
One of the best ways to grow your knowledge and confidence in digital marketing leadership is through a dedicated degree program from Johnson & Wales University. Here, we’re proud to offer an online MBA in Marketing that touches on so many of these key leadership topics. In our online program, you’ll learn about everything from effective leadership and advanced communication skills to cultural awareness and other skills you’ll need to be a great leader.
For more information about completing your degree online, complete the Request Info form, call 855-JWU-1881, or email [email protected].