A wide array of businesses and organizations maintain Web sites. Whether a business provides products, services, or information, it is becoming increasingly important to have a presence on the Web. There are literally thousands of Web sites on the Internet. Some represent companies whose names and reputations were well known even before they established their Internet presence. Others are less well known. The Internet has made it possible for people in almost any part of the world to set up a company as small or large as they like. No matter what the company's size, the site is available to the public. With so many sites available, how does a Web site attract visitors? As in traditional business, a Web site must market its presence.
The Marketing Director of a Web site has a very important job. He or she is responsible for finding ways to market the site to potential customers. The manner in which this is done can be the success or failure of the site. The Marketing Director is responsible for developing the concepts and campaigns which will determine how the site will be marketed. The director is expected to determine the most effective techniques and programs to market the site and its contents.
As part of this job, the Marketing Director must plan and coordinate all of the site's marketing goals and objectives. How will people know the Web site exists? How will they know the Web address? Who will the site be marketed toward? Who is the company trying to attract? Marketing a Web site is slightly different than marketing a traditional business, because visitors to online businesses can come from virtually anywhere in the world.
It is essential that the Marketing Director find ways to include the store's Web address in as many places as possible. In some situations, the company may have a traditional “real world” presence that can make it easier to let people know of a new Web site.
The Marketing Director must be sure that the company's Web address is added to all television commercials, print advertisements, and packaging. This helps get the name and address of the online store in front of the public. The Marketing Director's job becomes more challenging if the company's name isn't recognizable. In this case, he or she must find ways to bring the store to the public's attention, and may utilize a variety of programs to help attract customers and bring people to the company's site.
The Marketing Director must decide which of these programs and services are most viable for his or her specific audience. Often, Marketing Directors advertise the site. They may do this in print, on television, or via banner ads on other sites. Banner ads are the advertisements commonly seen on a Web site where an individual need only click on the banner and it takes the person to the site of the advertiser. The Marketing Director often does research to obtain information about current and potential customers. He or she may prepare questionnaires or surveys to be placed on the site. In order to entice people to answer questionnaires, the Marketing Director may offer a gift, a percentage off future orders, or free shipping, if the company is selling products.
Marketing Directors must develop innovative ideas to attract new visitors to the site. In many situations, online store Marketing Directors utilize sweepstakes and contests for this purpose. Once people log on to the Web site to enter the contest, the hope is they will return to the site to browse and buy. To accomplish this, many Marketing Directors run contests that visitors can enter daily. This means users may visit the site daily and hopefully see something of interest. Web site Marketing Directors also use sweepstakes to help build mailing lists. When people enter contests they usually provide their names, addresses, phone numbers, and email address. Additional information may be gathered as well which may be helpful in targeting the site to visitors. Marketing Directors also use contests to build lists for email newsletters. These newsletters inform customers about company business, store specials, merchandise, and promotions.
The Marketing Director who implements innovative and creative ideas might get the attention of journalists or others doing articles or stories on interesting Web sites. The individual may, for example, contact a television talk or news show to do a segment on an interesting product being sold on the site. Depending on which show a story ends up on, it can lead to thousands of Web site hits.
Depending on the size and structure of the Web site, the Marketing Director may work with an advertising and public relations director. In some situations, the Marketing Director may also be responsible for handling the public relations and advertising functions. In some cases, the Marketing Director may either sell space to other businesses on the site or have salespeople handling this task. Additional duties of a Web site Marketing Director might include:
Variables affecting earnings include the size and prestige of the specific site as well as the experience and responsibilities of the individual. Many dot-com companies also offer stock options to their employees as part of their employment package.
As more companies get on the Web, prospects will improve. Jobs can be located throughout the country. Individuals who have a proven track record are most employable.
Marketing Directors in this industry have a number of options for career advancement. Some get experience, prove themselves, and move on to positions at larger or more prestigious sites for increased responsibilities and earnings. Often, companies try to recruit the Marketing Director from a successful Web site. Other individuals may climb the career ladder by moving into positions as Marketing Directors in other industries. Still other individuals strike out on their own and start their own marketing firms.
Smaller or lesser-known sites may prefer a college degree, but do not always require it. Generally, larger, more prestigious, or better-known Web sites will require their Marketing Directors to hold a minimum of a four-year college degree. Good choices for majors include public relations, advertising, business, journalism, marketing, liberal arts, English, communications, and business. Courses and seminars in marketing, public relations, publicity, promotion, the retail industry, and Web marketing are also helpful.
Communications skills, both written and verbal, are essential. Individuals should be creative, innovative, ambitious, articulate, and highly motivated. Marketing Directors also need to be energetic, with the ability to handle many details and projects at one time without getting flustered and stressed. A knowledge of publicity, promotion, public relations, and advertising, as well as research techniques, is also necessary. Computer skills are essential.
Marketing Directors may belong to a number of trade associations that provide support and guidance. These might include the American Marketing Association (AMA), the Marketing Research Association (MRA), the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA), Electronic Retailing Association (ERA), and World Organization of Webmasters (WOW).
1. Positions may be advertised in the classified section of newspapers. Look under headings including “Marketing,” “Marketing Director,” “Web Store,” “Web site Marketing,” “Corporate Marketing,” “Online Store,” or “E-Tailing,” “E-Commerce.”
2. Send your résumé and a cover letter to corporations, companies, stores, and catalogs for which you are interested in working. Ask that your résumé be kept on file if no vacancies are available.
3. Join trade associations. These will help you in searching for internships, scholarships, and training programs in marketing.
4. Jobs may also be advertised in trade journals.
5. Look for jobs online.
6. Take seminars and courses in marketing, promotion, public relations, publicity, and Web marketing. These will give you an edge over other applicants and help you hone your skills and make valuable contacts.
Our website is not responsible for the information contained by this article. Webworldarticles.com is a free articles resource thus practically any visitor can submit an article. However if you notice any copyrighted material, please contact us and we will remove the article(s) in discussion right away.
This article was sent to us by:
Paul Mensley at
03222010
1. Copywriter jobs in corporations and industry
All articles in this directory are property of their respective authors. Additionally, read our Privacy Policy
© 2010 WebWorldarticles.com - All Rights Reserved.