Day in the life of
Digital Marketing Manager – Brandon Mitchell
I’m a Digital Marketing Campaign Manager at Vizergy. Vizergy is a leading digital marketing agency in the hospitality space, working with hotels of all sizes, including major hotel brands such as Marriott, Hard Rock, and Hilton.
My work involves reviewing digital marketing campaigns, presenting marketing personas for a hotel’s ideal guest, and spearheading overall digital strategies and messaging for hoteliers.
My typical day
6:30-8 AM: I start the day off by making breakfast and going to the gym. By pushing myself physically to start the day, I find the rest of the day to be much easier.
8-9 AM: Every morning I check thought leadership and marketing trend blogs and publications to stay up-to-date in the world of digital marketing. Digital marketing agencies create value for clients by being on top of the latest trends and synthesizing the learnings from other accounts into actionable strategies, so our goal is to educate our clients while also delivering consistent profit. Additionally, I take this time to write out my daily/weekly goals and prioritize them accordingly.
9-10:30 AM: This time is spent analyzing each of my accounts and adjusting performance as needed. Is our spend pacing properly? Is performance improving or declining? What’s the story behind performance? Each day we look to improve keywords, ads, and targeting across each account.
10:31-10:50 AM: Break time – it’s extremely important to take breaks to recharge. While there’s never a dull moment at a marketing agency, a simple 20-minute break to make a snack, talk with colleagues or even an online shopping break can help your mind subconsciously work through decisions. I’ve learned that quick breaks throughout the day often lead to creative breakthroughs and solutions to most work-related issues.
10:50 AM-1 PM: Around this time I begin working on multiple tasks – ad hoc reporting for Account Managers, data requests for our partners, email template designs, and automated email campaign setups. Additionally, both clients and our internal teams may reach out for specific requests – launching a new sale, trainings on new products, or reviewing performance.
1-1:45 PM: Lunch time! I usually take this time to treat myself to a nice takeout meal and use the drive to relax a bit.
1:46-4 PM: This time is generally reserved for meetings – a culmination of everything done thus far. After analyzing accounts and working on reporting, this is our time to share what we’ve been doing and how performance is going for our clients via email or over the phone. Our goal is to be a trusted marketing advisor for our clients – any good agency should strive to continuously improve account performance, provide context and educate clients with relevant information from the account, and proactively provide next steps and other solutions to any anticipated roadblocks in the future.
4:01-4:20 PM: Break Time!
4:21-5 PM: This time is generally reserved for any follow-up items from meetings and responding to any emails or instant messages I may have missed during the day. Additionally, I use this time to complete out any daily tasks and log the appropriate amount of time to our workplace system so our agency can bill clients & partners accordingly.
5 PM: Done! While agencies can be extremely hectic day-to-day (emails and calls during any hours aren’t uncommon), it is important to carve out a work-life balance. Proactively set appropriate expectations with your clients early to make sure you have time to recharge and manage accounts the best way you can.
Pros
- Every day brings an opportunity to shape overall digital strategy in a large, growing industry (travel will always be in demand)
- No two days are ever the same – marketing platforms can change quickly, clients will always have questions, and external factors can impact performance within the day-to-day operations at an agency.
- Fast-Paced, Constant Learning – Because you’re being trusted with a client’s digital performance, you’ll be responsible for any questions and issues that may arise. This level of ownership will allow you to quickly identify pain points and common problems in every step of the process, which gives you the opportunity to gain knowledge and create value. You’ll almost never be bored in this industry.
- Establishing relationships with hoteliers (which can lead to discounted stays!!!)
- Hands-on experience with partners of all shapes and sizes. No 2 days are the same at a marketing agency, so every day is an exciting challenge and opportunity to learn something new
Cons
- Hospitality never sleeps, so work/life balance can sometimes be demanding – particularly at a marketing agency. Time management can be an issue when work continues to pile up and it begins impacting performance.
- As a whole, hospitality has can sometimes take a more conservative approach to newer marketing technologies compared to other industries, which can lead to difficult conversations around educating clients about what’s best for their long term business plans.
- Because digital marketing is still relatively young and ever-changing, it’s difficult to establish up-to-date, formalized ways to learn digital marketing. The majority of your learning will likely come from hands-on experience and learning directly from others.
