We often get inquiries from business owners or marketing people looking for help with a very specific issue.
Perhaps they’re looking for someone to set-up and manage their PPC campaigns. Maybe they need a brochure redesigned, the writing and distribution of a press release, or help with their social media efforts.
But let’s back up a touch. Each one of the above a very separate disciplines. Broadly-speaking, someone who’s an expert in pay-per-click advertising isn’t going to be able to design a brochure. At least, they won’t be able to do it as well as a someone who specializes in design.
Different Marketing Disciplines
This is where things get a little foggy. All of the above job titles could come under the umbrella of ‘marketing’, but they don’t have to. All advertising, for example, is marketing. However all marketing isn’t advertising.
Advertising, design, PR, and marketing are very different disciplines. However, far too often the job descriptions are exchanged and intermixed.
Someone who’s great at web design, may not be so hot on allied competences such as SEO, CRO, or copywriting. Yes, they can design a kick-ass website for you. But when it comes to how well the site is seen on search engines, or tweaking layout and content according to the percentage of people who buy from your site, maybe they’re out of their depth.
Advertising specialists can come up with amazing and memorable creative solutions. Maybe they’ll embrace copywriting, design, and conversion optimization too. But what about the base underlying brand position of the business? Does the ad give people the right “feeling” when compared to their notions about the company? An amazing concept featuring 100 fire-breathing one-legged blindfolded tightrope walkers above a shark-infested tank might be the perfect vehicle for advertising a burger joint, or video game. However it’s probably not going to work for a funeral home.
Hiring The Right Marketing Professional For The Job
If you want your already-created customer collateral to be presented in a way that best appeals to your target audience, employ a graphic designer. But don’t be surprised when they say they can’t rewrite the text to appeal to a different market sector.
Maybe you want well-written prose, industry influencer liaison, monitoring speaking opportunities at industry events, and preparing article pitches to editors, journalists, or consultants. Then you should call a public relations person. But they won’t be able to help you write website copy, sales collateral, or search engine optimization. That’s not what they do.
Perhaps you’re looking for help articulating your organization’s strategy and business value. You’re looking for the most appropriate and cost-effective ways to deliver your message, develop content strategies, brand differentiation, social media, advertising and/or PR campaigns. You’re looking for someone with a team of specialists to make it all happen, and monitor each result. You need someone who can handle it all, delivering on the business-based goals you have for yourself and your investors.
Well, you get the idea.
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