ThoughtShift is a vibrant digital marketing agency based in Brighton. In this series you get to find out more about the different job roles within ThoughtShift and how our ThoughtShifters got into Digital Marketing. This month it’s the turn of our Paid Media Consultant Georgina Gorringe who specialises in Paid Social, as she takes us through her role and journey so far at ThoughtShift.
Please describe your job: What do you do?
I strategise, create and run paid media campaigns across Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest and Google, depending on which platforms are best suited the client’s goals. I also manage the paid media channels for integrated marketing campaigns, working together with our organic team to ensure both marketing channels work in harmony.
What kind of skills do you need to be effective in your role?
You need to be highly organised and time efficient, when working on multiple campaigns with a variety of different clients you’ve got to be on the ball. Aside from keeping on top of the work and making sure every client account receives the same level of care and attention, you’ve got to be creative and analytical. Paid social campaigns are driven by the overarching creative idea, without a good creative, none of the data maters. It’s important to have a good understanding of buying behaviour and how to align your digital marketing strategies with how people really buy. Once the campaign is up and running, you need to switch hats from creative and use your analytical brain to assess how the campaign is performing. Filtering through the collected data to gleam insights on what’s working and what’s not.
How did you get where you are today?
I used to work for a medical tourism company in Thailand, which organised cosmetic procedures for Australian tourists in Phuket and Bangkok. I created and ran the Paid Search campaigns to generate consultation requests and leads. After returning to the UK in 2018, I began learning more about lead generation, content marketing and paid social marketing strategies. Initially out of personal interest, after becoming a qualified nutrition coach and personal trainer, I launched an online training program for women. I realised I had a real passion for marketing and wanted to further develop my skills and help other entrepreneurs and business owners accelerate their businesses through paid media.
What do you love about your job? What sucks?
I love having the freedom to create and propose creative digital marketing strategies to our clients and then seeing them come into fruition. I get satisfaction from seeing an idea become reality. Gaining your clients trust is a big part of the job but once the trust is there, you can produce greater results together.
What sucks? Digital marketing and paid media channels unfortunately don’t immediately work miracles. We create our strategies and campaigns based on our own experience, expertise, audience analysis, competitor research and from analysing any existing data in the client’s account. Although I’d love to say that we always hit the nail on the head from the word go, digital marketing isn’t really like that. You’ve got to try things out, gather and analyse the data. This can sometimes be tricky to explain to client’s because in the world of digital, you’ve got to be prepared to spend money without seeing immediate ROI. The ROI will come, if you understand that it’s often a trial and error process, you need to give the campaigns time to develop and grow. The success of paid media channels requires creativity and analysis from us and trust and patience from our clients.
What kind of goals do you have? How do you measure your success?
It’s my goal to help entrepreneurs and business owners utilise the incredible digital marketing platforms we now have available to us. There has never been a time in history where business has been so accessible to anyone and everyone. The invention of the internet, search engines and social networks have revolutionised the world and the world of business. If used to its full potential in business, it can be life changing. I measure my success by seeing how even just the smallest bits of advice, right up to full blown marketing strategies, can help business owners see the true value in paid media and how it can potentially transform their business.
What are your favourite tools to help you get the job done?
I love looking at what competitors are doing with their marketing efforts, viewing other companies paid social ads are a great way to keep up with the curve and ensure you’re creating something that will stand out. You can do this by visiting the Facebook page of the competitor, clicking on ‘Page Transparency’ and then go to Ad Library. Here you can get ideas on what to do and sometimes what not to do.
How did you get into this role, and where might you go from here?
I got into this role by having a passion for marketing and a thirst for knowledge, I wanted to work with an agency that would help me grow and develop in this career. From my current role of paid media consultant, I’d like to work towards becoming a digital marketing architect. Which would mean having expert knowledge on not only Paid Media but Organic too, so that you can create and oversee integrated marketing campaigns spanning both channels.
Do you have any advice for people who want to work for a Digital Marketing agency?
Apply! Look for the digital marketing agencies in your area and contact them, even if they don’t currently have a role you think you fit in to, you never know. Also know that it is a fast-paced environment with deadlines and time constraints, so if time management and organisation isn’t your strong point, then you might want to re-think it.
Why did you choose a career in digital marketing?
Financial freedom is something many of us would like or strive for (if we’re honest). Digital marketing and the online world are ways to achieve that. If you become an expert in digital marketing, it can become a sort of superpower, a tool you can use to have a bigger impact on the world and take businesses to the next level. It’s an opportunity not to be missed.
Describe a typical day?
Each day is different which is what I like about this role. I can design my days and weeks’ worth of work around the way I know I like to work. I tend to do the most mentally taxing tasks on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays mornings, as these are my most productive times. In the afternoons I tend to do more tasks like search query analysis or budget pacing.
What advice do you have for people who want to get into Digital Marketing?
Begin reading up and researching on the area that most interests you, so that you have some foundational knowledge and a place to start from. We live in the information age, don’t we? Don’t wait to get the job to begin learning, you can learn a lot just from reading blogs and watching YouTube tutorials.
What’s the best piece of advice you have ever been given?
I was once asked what I would tell my 18-year-old self, now. My answer was “Just do it, you’ve got nothing to lose and everything to gain.” I think by asking yourself this question, you’re able to give yourself the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given.
Thanks for reading. Follow my contributions to the blog to find out more about Digital Marketing careers, or apply for a role with our awesome, award winning agency.
