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Explaining web marketing to a music composer - a unique perspective.

Recently was speaking to a friend who is a well-established music composer and something he said caught me by surprise.

He asked, 'Aren't websites dead? Everything is on Facebook nowadays.'

Aside from the fact that the statement kicks our business in the delicates, you can't blame him for having this view. Facebook seems to take a lot of mind space these days but that's all it is - mind space. Facebook has severe limitations and as a stand alone platform it is nearly useless.

The Orchestra versus Soloist analogy.

Since my friend is a music composer I thought I would use a musical analogy to explain my point. His view about Facebook being the only platform is like a soloist playing by him/herself. It can be lovely but it is nothing compared to an entire orchestra. Today, web marketing needs a symphony played by an orchestra consisting of many instruments playing in tandem.

The modern day online marketing manager is like a conductor - selecting, guiding, correcting and evaluating different marketing options. Just like the conductor of the orchestra he has to have the big picture. He has to see how the results from the various instruments come together to create marketing music.

The Various instruments that make up the web marketing symphony.

As you can see from the image above there are so many instruments available to the digital marketing manager. Some are fairly obvious such as SEO, PPC, Direct Mailers, Newsletters etc. Some are not so obvious and depends on need such as microsites, videos, web apps etc. Others are tertiary but add teeth to the online marketing initiatives like live chat, customer support system and knowledgebases.

Like a good conductor the digital marketing manager needs a unique skill set.

All the great conductors have a fantastic ears, are detail oriented ? task masters and are passionate about the music. They also have an encyclopedic knowledge of music and know the strengths and weaknesses of each instrument set.

A modern manager also needs to have a similar mindset. He needs to select the right marketing tools based on the business objectives, ensure synergy between them and then 'hear' the results. Its an iterative process. Just like a conductor takes rehearsals, the marketing manager constantly needs to evaluate and fine tune the campaigns.

Hope this little thought experiment was interesting.

Cheers,
Ron