Paid advertising is something digital marketers should be paying attention to and consider experimenting with this year. Everyone and their mother is creating content now, so there is a lot of noise online. If you want to ensure your target audience is seeing your messages, consider adding social media ads to your toolbox. Make sure to adjust as you go to determine which channel gives you the most value.

 

That said, I’m a big believer in content marketing, which has gotten more buzz over the years. Since, as I mentioned, everyone is producing content now, the key to getting heard is to create intelligent, helpful content that does way less selling and more informing (and sometimes delighting). Youtility by Jay Baer is an absolute must-read and is based on the principle: “Sell something, and you make a customer. Help someone, and you make a customer for life.” This is what I strive to do everyday at QuickMobile. 

More than ever, it’s very important to have people on your team who can react quickly to opportunities and challenges in creative ways. Why? Because the Internet, social media and mobile technology have opened up the gates to real-time marketing. As Oreo’s infamous Super Bowl tweet showed, marketing can happen anytime and anywhere. You just have to make sure you have the team that is ready and willing to meet that demand. 

The ability to write well. I find that most marketers can write because it’s the nature of the job to be creative and expressive, but not everyone can tell a good story with their words – especially online. With content marketing becoming an essential part of the digital landscape, I’d like to see more marketers striving to be better and more engaging online storytellers. 

Mobile technology is going to be increasingly ever-present in our daily lives. It’s easy for some businesses to go mobile, but others are still struggling to figure out how to be relevant in this world of smartphones and tablets. Marketers must challenge themselves to find a place in this world and develop mobile marketing best practices that will help them stand out, while still aligning with the rest of their marketing strategy. 

I’ve been writing since I was really young and I wanted to get into public relations in part because my sister (who worked in the industry) made it sound like I could start my own company one day, work in PJ’s and write my novels at night. It sounded awesome, so I got a major in Communications and a minor in Publishing from SFU. Working in a few different PR agencies while I was in school helped me put context to all the textbook stuff I was learning. Eventually I left PR to become a freelance copywriter before moving into my current position as Content and Social Media Strategist at QuickMobile. Along the way, I improved my professional writing skills and gained new ones in public relations, marketing, social media and event planning. This background has given me the marketing acumen and creativity to do the job I have now. 

Don’t say no to every opportunity – at least not right away. When you’re just starting out, every chance you get can give you valuable skills and experience for the job you do eventually want. You can always re-evaluate later if you really hate it and say no (in a way that won’t hopefully burn any bridges). 

For example, I was offered a position to do sales for a startup. I hate cold calling, which is exactly why I did it. If you work in PR, you have to get on the phone and face rejection everyday so I knew this was an exercise I needed to go through. It was painfully hard work, but it helped build up my confidence in a unique way. Even though I left the company after 2 months, the experience made me see marketing from a sales perspective, which has made me a better copywriter and marketer. 

 

Karra Barron is QuickMobile’s Content and Social Media Strategist. Whether it’s a blog post or a tweet, she loves telling a story that teaches event professionals new things about event apps and technology. A voracious eater and avid runner, you’ll likely find her running half marathons just to make room for her next meal.

 

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