If there’s one word to sum up the direction that digital marketing is taking, it would be automation.
Across every platform, the rapid growth of AI and automation tools has meant that campaign creation, targeting and optimisation have all become tasks which can be handled with minimal input from the humans running the accounts.
Automation isn’t going anywhere, so does this mean that marketers should start updating their CV and thinking about a career change? Luckily, we don’t think that’s the case. Instead, human marketers can use automation to their advantage to save time on the basics while applying their skills to what humans do best - creative thinking and communication.
With that in mind, here’s how we see the role of the digital marketer evolving to work alongside automation instead of competing with it.
Digital Strategists - Any automation tool is only as good as the information it has to work with. A human with a deep understanding of the business they’re working with and the wider digital landscape will be able to input the best possible images, messaging and targeting information to ensure any automated campaigns have the highest chance of success. Quality in equals quality out and an experienced marketer knows what’s likely to work in any given scenario.
Digital Communicators - Automated tools can set up a campaign and optimise it, but they can’t tell you why they’re making those optimisation decisions. Skilled digital marketers will be able to interpret live data to explain exactly what’s been happening in an account, what’s likely to happen next & how this will impact the business they’re working with. When your marketing budget is being spent, you should know exactly how & why it’s being prioritised in different places.
Digital Interpreters - Your automated campaign is over and you’ve seen some great results, so what next? Running the same campaign twice leads to diminishing returns, so having a human marketer reviewing campaign data for what has & hasn’t worked means that every automated campaign will build on the one prior. Automation is great for producing data, but we still need humans to analyse & interpret that into actionable insights.
Digital Leaders - Whether it’s a human team, or a single person supported by automation, digital marketing is a group effort. While day to day campaign management and optimisation can be automated, a skilled marketer is crucial as a safe pair of hands to monitor campaigns and make adjustments as needed to keep performance strong throughout the entire process.
In short, digital marketers don’t need to worry about being out of a job yet. Instead, we need to look at how we can embrace automation to free up time for the tasks which will really drive results. Get in touch to learn more about how Scope Digital can help your business by mixing human skills with automation tools.