It’s no secret that the professional world comes with an abundance of stressors. And it’s no different for digital marketers.
As a digital marketing consultant, I know just how challenging a single day of marketing can be. From developing the perfect social media campaign to creating enthralling content and blogs, there’s plenty of pressures that can drive you off the digital edge.
Luckily, I’ve developed a few techniques to help me get through the day and deal with some of the industry’s most common (and problematic) stressors:
What Drives Marketers Mo’ Crazy
1. Daunting Data
It isn’t collecting the data that’s the problem; it’s what comes after that can drive a digital marketer insane. When you’ve diligently planned and put all your effort into a campaign but the metrics just don’t show you the results you expected – stress overload.
If that isn’t enough, you have to justify reworking the campaign to the client.
When setting up your marketing plan, have your goals in order, and include some that aren’t tied into just sales. There is plenty a digital marketing campaign can do for a business and these objectives can turn daunting data into a meaningful success.
2. “Barely There” Budgets
It’s an unfortunate truth, but as the old saying goes, sometimes you have to spend money to make money. This is especially true in the digital marketing industry where Pay-Per-Click advertising can require some solid investment.
Of course, one of the biggest benefits of digital marketing is cost-effectiveness. Just because a client doesn’t have a million dollars to throw at a digital marketing plan doesn’t mean they can’t find some success. As a digital marketer, you just have to be honest and set realistic goals.
3. Overcoming Google Updates
If there’s one thing every digital marketer loves, it’s Google’s constant – and we mean constant – updates. These updates can happen multiple times a day and major ones can absolutely devastate a website’s ranking if we aren’t on top of things.
Luckily, there are quite a few strategies – alongside honest to goodness hard work – that can keep you ahead of the curve and your marketing campaign working effectively. All despite Google’s penchant for updating its algorithm.
4. Proving Your Value
The average person (and business owner) may hear the words, digital marketing, and think of cute social media posts with a few emojis or a quick Instagram posts with some hashtags.
But digital marketing is so much more.
Proving your value to a client can take a tremendous amount of energy and strategy. But the pressure to succeed can be made much easier for a digital marketer when they:
- Define their audience
- Specify goals (alongside the client)
- Establish viable budgets
- Effectively design their marketing strategy
- Use data and metrics to correct issues
- A/B test when possible
- Take the results of everything and enhance the campaign as needed
5. The Power of Words
Content is king and getting the right message out in front of the right people is absolutely essential to a successful campaign. But in the process of making sure everything else runs smoothly, it can be very easy to overlook grammatical and spelling errors on any content that gets published.
While a simple error isn’t the end of the world, it can throw off the timeline of a campaign (and continually sloppy work can really hurt your brand).
Take your time. Get your message right on all content and make sure your grammar is on point.
6. Tech Trouble
Tech plays such a huge role in digital marketing. But oftentimes, we get caught up in the strategizing, creation, and implementation of the campaign itself, that we fail to fully account for all of the technical aspects that go into running a successful marketing plan.
When things go sideways on a technical level though, it can bring a world of stress. Keep in mind:
- Make sure all SSL certificates are up-to-date. Failure to have these in place can make your website(s) vulnerable to hackers and your client’s personal information unsafe.
- Mobile optimization is essential in today’s mobile-first world. Shoppers have a growing preference for using their smartphones and a slow website (not optimized) can hurt your bottom line.
- Backup your website data! Website crashes can happen for any number of reasons, and without a backup, you are in some serious trouble.
Dealing with It All
Despite all the craziness that the digital marketing industry brings with it, there are some simple steps that you can take to reduce your stress.
1. Start with recognizing your anxiety.
There’s a difference between rational worries and unjustified anxiety.
Start the process of de-stressing by recognizing those irrational fears and anxieties. Focus on what you actually have power over and take action in those realms.
2. Don’t bite off more than you can chew.
As a digital marketer, you’ll likely have your hand in a lot of different cookie jars.
Doing your fair share of the work is a must, but biting off more than you can chew because of fear that the job won’t get done right is bound to leave you overworked, tired, and stressed. Have faith in the skills of your teammates and allow them to do their jobs.
3. Breathe for a moment.
You might be tempted to remain seated at your desk for 12 straight hours, tackling the day’s assignments. Kudos to you for being such a hard worker, but the reality is that working nonstop without a break is quickly going to lead to a mental breakdown.
Give yourself a moment to breathe throughout the day and take a few minutes to walk around the office or around the block to take in some fresh air and sunshine.
Those few minutes away from the project at hand can actually lead to some insight—or at the very least—they can help you to clear your head and restart your brain.
4. Sometimes you just need to unplug.
As a digital marketer, it’s absolutely possible to remain connected to a project all day and night with your smartphone and computer. Whether it’s responding to emails, updating a social media post, or handling some SEO tasks, working as a digital marketer can become a 24-hour around-the-clock job.
Remember, though, that it’s okay to unplug when necessary. If it’s a few hours in the afternoon to help your child with their homework or a few hours in the morning as you exercise and meditate, unplugging from your phone and computer can really help put you at ease and reduce stress.
5. Work it out—literally.
It’s easy to forget that stress can have a real effect on your body. From causing headaches, teeth grinding, neck ache, back pain, heartburn and stomach pain to truly serious consequences like increasing your risk of cardiovascular diseases, mental health problems, eating disorders and more, stress can exacerbate many health problems.
But fortunately, you can manage stress by exercising a bit. Besides improving your physical health and helping to fight disease, exercise has also been shown to reduce fatigue, improve concentration, and enhance overall cognitive ability. Studies have also shown that regular exercise can even decrease overall levels of stress and tension, elevate your mood, and stimulate anti-anxiety effects.
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