Merging Specialties: How the Marketing Profession Is Transforming

If yesterday marketers could do without the skills of a videographer, now they even have to work with AR. How a marketer, designer, PR and SMM specialist are transformed into a single profession

Occupational convergence in the US

Historically, different types of media – newspapers, radio, TV, as well as cinema differed from each other in formats and existed in different industries. The development of the Internet has led to the merging of previously separate types of media. This phenomenon is called in the West convergence. Convergence is also referred to as a business strategy in which communications companies bring ownership of multiple media under centralized control.

Thanks to the fusion of different types of media, media content is produced faster: digital photography can now be distributed in seconds through mobile applications and social networks, whereas before it was necessary to first develop the film, print a photo from it and distribute it through newspapers or magazines. The merging of media also led to their democratization – the barrier to the production and distribution of content collapsed: now every person with Internet access can become a popular author on the network.

In the United States, journalism and media students are taught convergence – the convergence of several professions into one. In training, there is no clear focus on a particular specialty, for example, only on writing texts or editing videos. A graduate must have knowledge and qualifications in all production cycles: invent topics, write texts, shoot reports on a mobile camera, make quick editing of the release, prepare announcements on social networks with texts of posts and subtitles for videos. Students are also taught how to create websites adapted for desktop and mobile devices, prepare pictures and short videos for these websites, and fill out social media profiles.

Media is increasingly moving online for business, news and entertainment. Pew Research Center reports that already 86% of Americans get their news only from the Internet. With the growth of the audience in the network, the number of online platforms increases, and the need for an online presence and active communication with current and potential customers becomes more acute for businesses.

Job Transformation

Following the experience of the United States, marketers in our country also cannot do without the tools of related professions. A similar trend is observed in other digital professions. A web designer transformed into a UI/UX designer who analyzed user behavior, and before copywriters, companies turned to philologists. So it is in marketing, where almost every profession today is a combination of several pre-existing ones.

• Advertising Manager/Targetologist – allied profession data analyticswho knows how to calculate and analyze the advertising budget, and Internet marketerwho knows Google.Analytics, Facebook Ads Manager, etc.
• SMM specialist – mix designer и copywriter: Companies prefer to hire those who can create posts on their own in Adobe, Figma, and mobile apps.
• Community manager – support specialist: maybe piccheromif the content of the public is based on memes.
• Content Marketing Specialist – can write well copywriter.
• Influence Marketing Manager – Is Brand Manager specializing in promotion and branding и Sales Manager — Must be able to suggest brand-relevant influencers to companies and sell places on the blogger’s calendar.
• Marketing Researcher — sociologist for quality and analyst for quantitative research.
• Product Marketer — internet marketer, who understands growth channels such as digital advertising and social media, and product manager, which will tell about the value of the product and the solution to the needs of the user.

If you study the requirements of employers, it turns out that fundamental market analysis, setting up contextual advertising and developing promotions are no longer enough.

Already now, specialists need knowledge of data analytics, an understanding of unit economics and sales funnels, and for product marketers, immersion in the theory of product management.

What to learn as a marketer today

Mobile marketing and mobile video content creation

According to Trade Desk, 74% of Americans under 34 have either turned off cable TV or are planning to do so, and some respondents have never used it. They prefer to subscribe to streaming services like Netflix and Hulu, and advertisers are catering to younger audiences.

The future of video content is mobile first. Marketers must learn to create mobile-first strategies: this means that consumers first look for product information on mobile devices. It is important for marketers to prepare content that ranks well in search engines and social networks and is viewed on mobile devices.

According to Mediascope, in our country more than 60% of the population watches TV every day. Almost the same number – 61% – use the mobile Internet, according to a GfK study. The mobile only segment is rapidly growing in the country – those who access the Internet only from a mobile phone. Now this segment includes 35% of users in our country.

Data analysis in product marketing and PR

The job of a marketer is no longer solely focused on “selling” a product. Having picked up PR competencies, a competent specialist will not only notice growing profits, but will also work on the information field. It is no longer enough just to achieve integration with an influencer or the release of a collection article in the popular media.

When launching advertising campaigns, a marketer should consider not only the coverage, the number of articles and mentions of the company in the media, but also how the attitude of consumers towards the brand changes during the media campaign. Modern professionals must learn to use analytics tools such as Brand Analytics or YouScan, which not only count the number of posts and comments, but also take into account the emotional tone of consumer messages on social networks and other sources.

As for product development, especially in the IT field, a marketer needs to know the product funnel of metrics: not only traditional advertising metrics, such as user acquisition cost (CAC) and advertising effectiveness (ROAS), but also product ones: user activity (MAU, DAU ), retention in the product (retention), customer lifetime value (LTV). It is important for a marketer to understand which product metric is affected by a particular marketing activity: for example, the planned advertising is set to brand awareness and therefore its effectiveness will be measured in the number of mentions in social networks and new product downloads. Or more for monetization – and then success will be measured in the number of subscriptions sold, revenue from new users and the percentage of their retention in the product.

Application of new AR and VR technologies in content marketing

Augmented and virtual reality technologies help users immerse themselves in a product before purchasing it. These technologies help bring print and mobile together and use real-time data to personalize the experience for users. Already now there is a demand for creators of AR filters on Instagram, and in the future such specialists will be especially in demand in retail, entertainment and advertising.

Privacy and data protection in advertising

Here we are talking about the application of the laws of the GDPR and 152-FZ on personal data to collect information about the client for current and future marketing activities. It’s important to understand how to set up cookieless marketing funnels, as media giants such as Google and Apple are phasing them out in the coming years in favor of privacy trends.

From the point of view of soft skills, in addition to sociability and multitasking, it is important to have a good eye, which will help you stand out from competitors and develop the visual style of the company.