KWSM’s best asset is that we are a team. The people that make up KWSM are not only great human beings, but they have years of expertise in their individual fields. Because of this, we are all constantly learning from each other. The KWSM Mentorship Program allows us to team up with someone and learn about a new area of marketing that falls outside the scope of our role. What an amazing opportunity! I chose to learn about Digital Marketing Strategy.
Why I Wanted to Learn About Digital Marketing Strategy
Strategy at KWSM is the backbone of everything else we do. It is the first step we take when taking on a new client. It is what drives the content for our clients, from email marketing to web design. It is the roadmap that we always come back to, to ensure we are staying on the mark. I wanted to learn how to broaden my knowledge of marketing, the KWSM way. I wanted to take a deeper dive into what it takes to create a marketing plan for a client and study the aspects that I was unfamiliar with. I thought that if I could get a better understanding of the most important service at KWSM, I could be a better asset to the team. I would love to help out more in this department and I know that having a better understanding of strategy would also make me a better designer.
My Mentor: Senior Copywriter Kyle Cavaness
Kyle really knows his stuff when it comes to Strategy, and he is a super creative writer so I was excited to learn from him! He just has this really inventive way of wording things and is so conceptual, while also being really easy to talk to. He had already written a detailed blog about Strategy so he sent that to me to begin my study. Since Strategy is more conceptual than visual, most of my learning was done through reading. After reading his blog, I had a better understanding of the 5 essential elements of a strategy. Since Kyle is such a great writer, this was a perfect match for this mentorship program. In addition to reading his blog, I went through an existing Strategy for a KWSM client to understand what the 80+ page Strategy entails.
Digital Marketing Strategy in Action
Kyle and I thought that the best way for me to learn to do a Strategy was to actually implement one. So, we chose a company that we thought could use a better marketing strategy. After looking at a few potential companies, we chose Chargezoom as our “client” because we felt they needed some help in that department. Their website had low performance on PageSpeed Insights, poor design and brand messaging that was lacking. We came up with some messaging points that we worked through together. We also went through all of our research about their target audience (SBOs and freelancers) and marketplace analysis, looking at competitors such as Billsby and Quickbooks, and brainstormed a campaign for them. I also designed a website mockup. I was happy to be able to implement what I had learned into a new design that I feel is so much stronger than what they have, not only visually, but conceptually as well.
Strategy is an Important First Step
When I decided that I wanted to participate in the Mentorship Program, I was excited to learn more about marketing. When it comes down to it, the best designs are the ones that come from a strong concept. Having a Strategy is the best way to get you to that end result. Through the essential elements of a Strategy – Audience Identification, Marketplace Analysis, Web Health Analysis, Brand Messaging, and Campaign & Tactics – we create a concrete plan for our clients. I’m so glad I had the opportunity to get a more thorough understanding about all of these steps that KWSM takes with our clients. Along the way, Kyle held my hand (virtually) and led the way to help us achieve our goal.
I enjoyed the program and I love that I can always learn from other talented people on the KWSM Team.
Want to join an agency team that values your growth and development? We just might be the work-family you are looking for! Visit our Careers page to learn about our open positions.
