How to Build A Digital Marketing Team

We are living in an increasingly competitive business environment. In virtually every sector, new companies are popping up daily. Now that we are deep into the Internet Age, your competition no longer only extends to the shop down the street, but it also includes companies from the other side of the globe.

It’s no longer enough to print a flyer or post an ad in the local newspaper. If you want your company to thrive, you need to branch out online. In this article, we will look at the power of digital marketing and how to build a digital marketing team be it internally or by building a virtual team remotely. The latter can be a more cost-effective and scalable solution, particularly for start-up businesses still in their infant years. The virtual marketing department service offered by Atomic gives you the full power of a digital marketing team at your fingertips, with no minimum terms, billed hourly and direct contact with those involved.

Why Marketing is Important?

It probably seems pretty obvious, but people aren’t going to know about your product or service unless you tell them about it. While some companies (like grocery stores) might not need such intense ad campaigns, the more niche your product, the more you’ll need to find a way to get it out there in the public eye.

Like we said before, how people get the news about their services out there has changed a lot in the last few decades. It might seem daunting to think about trudging through the internet’s stormy waters to find customers. However, once you get the hang of it, it’s not all that hard.

What’s more, if you can assemble a team of people who are specifically responsible for promoting your company online, you don’t even need to do it yourself anymore. Better yet, if you are stuck and don’t know how to go about doing it at all, you can turn to our Virtual Marketing Department service to assist you in all your needs. It’s significantly more cost-effective and stress-free than trying trying to build your own internal marketing team and it packs a serious punch!

Virtual Marketing Departments

Digital Marketing Transformation refers to the change from traditional marketing to a virtual approach. Several companies have been reaping the benefits of virtual marketing departments. Even businesses that previously outsourced this work to advertising companies in the past have been making the shift.

A digital marketing team consists of several employees specialising in online channels. Titles may include Social Media Managers, SEO Specialists, PPC Specialists, Performance Marketing Specialists, Web Developers and so on. These teams are generally led by Head of Digitals, Chief Digital Officers or Digital Marketing Managers.

But what if you don’t have the resources? Or maybe you have the money, but you don’t know how to get what you want? This is often the case with many start-ups. They need a team but don’t have the funds to recruit internally just yet and this is where a virtual marketing department comes handy. It comprises a team of digital marketers, at your fingertips to action whatever you need doing across the plethora of digital marketing activities you may want doing – It’s your own remote marketing team that operates online (via Zoom Calls, Emails and Messaging) to get the job done. Not only that, but these services are designed to suit the types of businesses that need them – they are extremely flexible, with no minimum terms and put you in direct contact with your own dedicated digital marketing manager who will delegate your projects and tasks accordingly. Powerful stuff! Check out Atomic’s Virtual Marketing Department services here.

Restructuring your business in this way can sound daunting, but you don’t need to do it alone. If you need to fill a certain role, such as an SEO Specialist for example, virtual marketing departments can assist you in whatever you need. You simply tell them what you require, and they go about helping you to put your team together.

Essential Roles

The structure of your team is dependent on the size of your business. A large company might have a Head of Marketing to whom the digital manager must report. Smaller companies might require the Head of Marketing to execute both traditional and digital marketing.

Once again, Virtual Marketing Departments can help you to fill these different roles to make sure that all your needs are met. The needs for individual companies will vary, but here are a few roles you could consider for your Virtual Marketing Team/Department to join you;

• Digital Marketing Directors are responsible for strategising and leading online promotional projects.

• Digital Marketing Managers lead and implement digital marketing campaigns through agencies or in-house.

• Digital Marketing Executives are responsible for day-to-day marketing work.

• Digital Account Managers work in an agency as both project managers and consultants. They communicate with digital marketing specialists and clients.

• Content Marketing Strategists develop the content promotional strategy for the business.

• SEO Specialists keep a watchful eye over the website’s organic search rankings. They make sure that the website is ranking well for target keywords.

• Digital Media Planners prepare the budget, the online advertising campaign channels and oversee the implementation and performance of all paid media campaigns.

• Ads Operation Managers/PPC Managers monitor and execute the day-to-day digital campaigns across platforms such as Facebook Ads, Google Ads, and DoubleClick.

• Social Media Managers are responsible for planning and managing the overall social media strategy for the business.

• Social Media Community Managers connect with community members and compile reports about the general opinions of the public.

• Digital Marketing Analysts monitor performance across all digital channels and compile reports about suggested improvement.

• Email/Marketing Automation Specialists are responsible for managing email marketing campaigns and implementing automation workflow.

• Copywriters create copy, blog content, ad copy, and whatever additional content may be required.

• Graphic Designers design social media content, online ads, blog content and whatever additional graphics that may be needed.

• Web Developers preside over all the website development and alterations needed.

How to Structure Your Digital Marketing Team?

Teams can be structured in several ways, and structuring is generally dependent on the size of your company. Each employee needs a wide range of skills and knowledge about at least one or two specific disciplines. A Virtual Marketing Department will be able to advise you and assist you in finding the right structure for your business.

In the case of a smaller company, one employee (or sometimes the business owner) is responsible for all the aspects of promotions, both traditional and online. Although it can be done, one individual cannot be expected to know and do everything.

Such a person generally has in-depth knowledge about two or three disciplines while outsourcing the rest to freelancers and digital marketing agencies. Obviously, the two extremes regarding business size are being discussed here, and you will need to figure out where your company and its needs fit in.

how to get started with your Virtual Marketing Department

First of all, reach out to Atomic and let us know you may require an online marketing team / virtual marketing department and what kind of roles you are looking to fill (SEO Manager, PPC Manager, Digital Marketing Manager, Social Media Marketing Manager). Atomic will then identify right specialists for your business, recruit others if need be and assign them to you. You can also opt to be in direct contact with each and every member, or you can opt to have a digital marketing manager whom you only communicate with and they delegate your work for you to each respective member. The decision is yours!

You will have direct access to an online project management system where you are in control, you manage all projects and tasks and use them as a resource as and when you need them. You are also in control in terms of how proactive you want them to be and you can set minimum or maximum hours they are to use across your various remits of digital marketing.

And the best bit? You will have complete oversight of your online team, their actions, their productivity and have the ability to track time across it all. Atomic will then simply send you an invoice for the time used at the end of each month for your virtual team. Easy, transparent and seriously powerful.

In Closing: What to Keep in Mind

Many challenges arise when assembling a digital marketing team, and not all of them can be foreseen. As with any new venture, there will be growing pains, and you need to allow them to happen.

Budgeting constraints are often a big hurdle, as new positions are being created, requiring larger staff and training expenses. Ensuring that your employees have the necessary knowledge and skills to do the work is paramount to the success of your digital marketing department.

Their training needs to be seen as an investment in your company that will pay off in the long run.

Launch Your Own Virtual Marketing Department