A Website Marketing Manager (WMM) is a function of a marketing department responsible for planning, analyzing and executing online marketing activities across all digital platforms (web, mobile, email and social).
A WMM can be found in many big brands (Fortune 500 companies) and small businesses alike. Whether you’re an entrepreneur dreaming of creating your own marketing department or an active individual who wants to take your career to the next level, starting a WMM at home is possible!
Although the position is commonly associated with a high level of responsibility, career progression is typically an internal promotion rather than a lateral move to a more junior role.
Why A Website Marketing Manager?
If you’re reading this, I assume you’re either interested in starting your own business or are already working in digital marketing and want to move into a more senior position.
To answer the question, “What is needed to start a website marketing manager position?”, we’ll cover the following topics:
Marketing Strategy
I’m sure you’re aware of the importance of a strong marketing strategy in driving business success. However, how well you execute the strategy depends on a number of factors: the quality of the plan, the available budget, the level of experience within the marketing team and last but not least, your unique target audience.
A marketing plan for a business or brand can be described as a “roadmap” to reach a particular audience and drive business growth through marketing activities.
Every business or brand has a distinct target audience, which is usually different from the general public. This audience consists of individuals that have a common set of interests and characteristics that can be defined and measured.
For example, if you are creating a brand identity for a car company, your marketing strategy might focus on male consumers between the ages of 25 and 44 who live in urban areas and have at least a high school degree. This is a well-defined, measurable and targetable audience that you can easily reach through digital marketing.
Marketing Execution
Once you have a clear idea of your target audience, you can map out a plan to reach them. This plan usually involves a combination of the following:
- Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
- Pay-Per-Click Advertising (PPC)
- Content Marketing
- Email Marketing
- Social Media Marketing (SMM)
- Performance Marketing
Depending on your available budget, you might also want to consider investing in Google AdWords, Facebook Ads or other forms of PPC advertising. Using online marketing software can help you plan campaigns and track their performance. For example, HubSpot offers a free version that can help you start a marketing department from the ground up.
Marketing Analysis
All marketing plans need to have a section dedicated to analyzing the results of previous campaigns and making predictions about future performance. These activities help you determine if the campaign is achieving the desired results and whether or not you should continue with the strategy.
Campaign analysis involves reviewing the following:
- Web Traffic
- Conversions (i.e., sales)
- Engagement (i.e., interactions with the content)
- Metrics (i.e., measurements used to determine effectiveness of the campaign)
- Clicks vs. Conversions
- Cost Per Result (CPR)
- ROI (i.e., Return on investment)
General Management
No marketing department would be complete without a dedicated manager. This position can be either a marketing executive (corporate level) or a manager (departmental level).
A general manager’s primary responsibilities are:
- Developing and directing the work of others
- Maintaining effective relationships with internal and external constituents
- Overseeing the marketing strategy and its execution
Marketing Technology
Nowadays, marketing departments use a variety of technologies to accomplish their tasks. This includes SEO tools like Google Analytics and Hootsuite to track the performance of their campaigns, online marketing software like HubSpot to plan and track their marketing campaigns, and social media platforms like Twitter and Instagram to engage with their audience.
These platforms and apps provide digital marketing teams with the ability to target specific groups of people and engage them by offering interesting content alongside compelling offers. By integrating various marketing technologies, you can track the effectiveness of your campaigns across different platforms and determine which platforms are driving the most leads to your website.
To start a website marketing manager position, you will need the following: