Creativity vs. Analytics? A False Dichotomy in Digital Marketing

A snippet of the lecture "Introduction to Digital Marketing" at the University of Vaasa, Fall 2024.

Transcript

1. Creativity vs. Analytics? A False Dichotomy in Digital Marketing Joni Salminen Associate professor jonisalm@uwasa.fi Fall 2024
2. Traditional view to skills in digital marketing • Analytics skills (number skills, quantitative skills, hard skills…) • Creative skills (writing skills, qualitative skills, soft skills…) • People skills (interpersonal skills, communication skills, management skills…) • Can work with others in teams • Understands consumer psychology (how people behave and why) • Algorithms (e.g., Google) always try to accommodate human behavior (”if it’s good for user, it’s good for us” –Google)
3. ”Creative people” vs. ”Analytical people” 1. Online advertising analytical: x creative: - 2. Search-engine marketing analytical: x creative: - 3. Social media marketing analytical: - creative: x 4. Content marketing analytical: - creative: x 5. Influencer marketing analytical: - creative: x 6. Email marketing analytical: x creative: - 7. Marketing automation analytical: x creative: - 8. Conversion optimization analytical: x creative: - 9. Digital analytics analytical: x creative: -
4. There is no dichotomy. (False dichotomy!) • In reality, all subfields require both analytical and creative orientation (though emphasis varies) • For example, content marketing, social media marketing, influencer marketing: how do you know if something works? (You need to read analytics) • The same for ads and SEO: you don’t have good content, nothing will happen. • …of course, the level of specialized skills varies, e.g. analytics: • One metric → a few KPIs → funnel analytics → analytics installation and configuration → analytics strategy, management, and leadership • Creative vs. analytical can be a harmful dichotomy – a digital marketer is neither a numbers person or a creative person; he or she is both!
5. Revised version (we are all blue people!) 1. Online advertising analytical: x creative: x 2. Search-engine marketing analytical: x creative: x 3. Social media marketing analytical: x creative: x 4. Content marketing analytical: x creative: x 5. Influencer marketing analytical: x creative: x 6. Email marketing analytical: x creative: x 7. Marketing automation analytical: x creative: x 8. Conversion optimization analytical: x creative: x 9. Digital analytics analytical: x creative: x
6. But you can still have Creative path or Analytical path… Creative specialization: • Content marketing • Social media marketing • Influencer marketing Analytical specialization: • Online advertising • Search-engine marketing • Email marketing • Marketing automation • Digital analytics Example tools: – Copywriting (the ”eye”) – Psychology (persuasion) – Interpersonal skills (extrovert) Example tools: – Statistics: t-test, regression, timeseries analysis – Programming: JavaScript, SQL, Python – Data visualization (introvert)
7. You can specialize to one skill only… (Real job positions: • PPC specialist • Search-engine optimizer • Marketing automation specialist, etc.) …but broader roles require more general skills: • Digital marketing manager • Chief marketing officer (CMO) • Head of e-commerce • Head of traffic
8. Career development strategies ”T+1” strategy: 1. Pick a subfield that interests you the most 2. Learn to master it in a specialized position 3. Pick another subfield, then master it 4. After mastering enough subfields, apply for a CMO position Generalist strategy: 1. Get a position of a generalist (e.g., marketing manager in a small company) 2. Learn the basics of each subfield by hands-on 3. Advance to bigger companies All paths require hands-on experience. You don’t really learn it at the university. Focus on getting internships (even unpaid ones). Also, BSc. and MSc. theses can play a pivotal role (I’ll try to inform you of new topics throughout the course).
9. That’s it! Thanks. (I’ll post the slides and the recording to Moodle.)