10 Lessons from 10 Intense Weeks

What I’ve learnt from attending General Assembly’s Digital Marketing Immersive, a full-time 10 week course that transformed 6 newbies into aspiring pros.

Low Jia Yu
Sep 4, 2018 · 5 min read

[1] The importance of Data in digital marketing

On the internet, everything is data collected, from interactions to behaviour. And we use this to refine our marketing tactics and targeting. We had a guest speaker, Fern Yit Lim from Pixel People, who showed us his understanding of digital marketing, and data is at its core. Indeed, Data is The Key Differentiator from traditional marketing.

“laptop computer on glass-top table” by Carlos Muza on Unsplash

[2] The role of digital marketing as a bridge, between the Business, Customer, UX, Web Development, Creatives

We need to understand the business and its customer, and to be familiar with the language that the people in UX (e.g. user flows), Web Development (e.g. some HTML) and Creative agencies use to align our objectives. Otherwise, our strategies would not be effective.

“aerial photography of bridge near buildings” by Denys Nevozhai on Unsplash

[3] (Digital) Marketing is part art, part science

Definition of art: The expression or application of human creative skill and imagination, … producing works to be appreciated primarily for their beauty or emotional power

Definition of science: The intellectual and practical activity encompassing the systematic study of the structure and behaviour … through observation and experiment

Creative + Analytical, Design + Data.

“shallow focus photography of pink and orange smoke” by rawpixel on Unsplash

[4] Don’t build (too much) on rented land

We started off with the framework of owned, paid and earned media. Further along we discussed first, second, and third party data. The caution of “Don’t Build on Rented Land” pops up now and then to remind us that while all these snazzy platforms are great tools, you ultimately do not own them, and any change in their policies or business can dissolve your sandcastle into a pile of sand.

“brown sands and seashore during daytime” by Daiga Ellaby on Unsplash

[5] The love of frameworks

You caught me there, I’ve already mentioned a few frameworks. Frameworks are great in understanding the problem and guiding our thought process in developing strategies and campaigns. But they are, and should be, flexible too. A quick Google (image) search can show you mulitiple variations of the same customer journey or marketing funnel concept. Sometimes, we even have to choose between frameworks for a certain aspect in terms of what works better in our context.

“assorted bird painting collection” by rawpixel on Unsplash

[6] Be a Technologist, Behaviourist, and Business Owner

This advice came from a guest speaker, Gerald Ang, who came to share with us his rich industry experience. It clearly resonated with us, as we quoted him a few times during our conversations. To (digitally) market like you own the business, with an understanding of customer behaviour, and leverage on technology to achieve your goal.

“shallow focus photography of three forks” by Alejandro Escamilla on Unsplash

[7] Start with understanding the business, industry, and customer

Which is why we started with the Business Model Canvas and Customer Persona/Segmentation. Almost every industry, every business is different, and correspondingly, what appeals to their customer, where and when to connect to them would also be different. Only by first understanding can we come up with a plan that is aligned to the business and the customer.

“person using magnifying glass enlarging the appearance of his nose and sunglasses” by Marten Newhall on Unsplash

[8] Objective (Business, then marketing)-First

Similar to the above, if we need to be clear about the business, we need to be clear about its objective. It would then affect the focus of the strategy, in which stage of the customer journey, and corresponding Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). We ladder these objectives to see how macro-level objectives water down into more achievable and specific goals, and how micro-level targets can contribute to the larger picture.

“down view of brown metal ladder” by Christophe Ferron on Unsplash

[9] Customer-centricity

Being customer or person-centric is one recurring concept in my professional life. In healthcare, the idea of integrated care is such that your body, you and your family is viewed holistically, and care is arranged around you, as opposed to episodic, body-part-speciality, care. In marketing, you want to be as targeted as you can, speaking to the customer as personal as you can (without being creepy), and arrange your activities and messages around the customer.

I think that we are now adapting to the individual more than ever, in contrast to individuals adapting to the larger environment. This is in tandem with ever increasing expectations and technology advancements. I wonder though, if this contributes to a certain level of self-centredness and unhappiness?

“man stainding on black concrete floor casting shadow” by Luís Eusébio on Unsplash

[10] Always test, measure to optimise

I have lost count of the number of times ‘A/B test(ing)’ was uttered in class and presentations. While there have been studies to guide certain placements and usage of elements, the conclusion was always to ‘A/B test your variations to see what works best’ (for you).

And to bring us back to point 1, always collect your data (measurements, or metrics), and use them for optimisation — the better performing copy, at which time of the day, at which day of the week; the better responding audience, at what targeting criteria, at which channel etc.

“white ruler on desk” by Sergey Zolkin on Unsplash

My instructor, Sotirios, mentioned that 20% of the work is the strategies that we’ve developed, but 80% of the work is during execution and constant optimisation, which includes revisions to the initial strategy that was our starting point.

I’m at my 20%. Now, let’s go for the 80%!

Low Jia Yu

Written by

Hi, I’m Jia Yu and I am seeking to understand, strategise, align and execute in the arena of digital marketing. Striving to translate my thoughts into words!

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