A day in the life of… a Digital Marketing Manager

My name is Lynn Aitchison, I’m 29 yrs old and I am the Digital Marketing Manager here at After Digital. Digital marketing is my passion, I love all things digital and have built my career so far on operating a ‘digital first strategy’.

Outside of work, I love to ride horses, go Munro bagging, stay active with many different sports, such as kettlebells, boxing and weightlifting. I like to rock climb and dance.

I am also obsessed with Game of Thrones, it is my all-time favourite TV show.

Fun Fact: I am really flexible and can still do the splits.

How did you become a Digital Marketing Manager?

I have always enjoyed understanding what makes people tick. The consumer behaviour aspect of marketing has always been a big interest to me.

I am originally from a small town in the Scottish Borders and moved up to Glasgow for University back in 2006. I went to the University of the West of Scotland to study BA Hons in International Marketing.

During my penultimate year at university, I participated in a summer internship with The Saltire Foundation back in 2010, where I spent a summer working in Boston, MA with Liberty Mutual Insurance Marketing Department.

The Saltire Foundation internship programme prepares university students for their future careers by providing opportunities to work with some of the top companies in Scotland and around the world, to gain valuable work experience and entrepreneurial skills which they can bring home to Scotland.

After Uni I worked for a company local to my family home - Pearsons of Duns - for 2 years before returning to Glasgow to work with an adventure sports company, The Ice Factor Group, who own and run Snow Factor Glasgow and Ice Factor Kinlochleven between 2013 and 2018.

I started working with After Digital in June 2018.

If you weren’t a Digital Marketing Manager, what would you want to be?

Now, I would be a stunt rider for one of the big stunt companies like The Devil's Horsemen.

When I was little I had always wanted to be an animator for Disney as I was convinced that their office must be in the magic castle at the theme park. I am also a massive Disney fan!

As a Digital Marketing Manager, what is it you do at After Digital?

As Digital Marketing Manager, it is my job to assist clients in creating a digital strategy and manage the digital marketing team’s resources between client activities. The digital marketing services we offer are digital strategy, SEO, PPC, social media and email marketing.

Describe an average day for you at AD

I like to start work early, so I am normally one of the first people in the office, I usually catch up with emails and finish anything I was working on the previous day at the beginning of my day.

Around about 9:30 am the team start our day reviewing the previous day and discussing what we are all working on that day, we call it 'stand up'. After stand up, I usually work on any client proposal research - this could be reviewing the client’s current website, SEO, PPC, researching different advertising options or what can be achieved within the client’s budget - the research part of this process always takes the longest.

I try to keep internal meetings to mid/late morning so any points can be actioned in the afternoon.

I break for lunch in the middle of the day - I usually opt for something healthy like a salad or a baked potato, but If I am being naughty I am partial to a blueberry muffin from Pret or M&S.

The afternoon is usually devoted to compiling client proposal documents (if the research aspect has been completed, if not this would continue) or resolving digital marketing helpdesk tickets from clients.

What is the hardest part of your job?

The hardest part of my job is managing my time between multiple clients. It’s the hardest but it is not unmanageable with due diligence.

What is your favourite part of your job?

The variety of projects and clients I get to work with. I always think about marketing as problem-solving, it is usually the amalgamation of lots of activities working together to reach your goals. It’s a puzzle which requires a lot of thought.I like things that are a challenge and this is how I see marketing.

How do you get ready for your working day each day?

I always have porridge with berries and honey to start my day, I am not human if I do not have a proper breakfast!

How do you unwind from your working day?

I go to the gym or I go riding.

I am a bit of an adventure go-er, I love to keep fit and am always up for trying a new sport or activity. I’m a keen equestrian and animal lover.

I have a large fluffy ginger cat called Millie (named after Millie’s Cookies), so chilling out with a good book and cat cuddles is an excellent way to end the day.

Top 5 tips/ tools that you would recommend for everyday use?

Google Analytics is your BEST friend. I love a bit of analytics, and Google Analytics is one of the best tools for tracking and analysing all aspects of your website. Good analytics breeds good decision-making.

Google AdWords is at the heart of digital marketing. We can run a variety of types of advert such as search, display, Youtube and Gmail all over the web for a relatively low CPC vs traditional advertising channels.

Social media management tools like Sprout Social, HootSuite and Falcon Social are a godsend if you are managing multiple brands. They save you lots of time and have really useful standard reports for analysis.

Website Grader is a fabulous free tool which grades your website against key metrics such as performance, mobile readiness, SEO, and security. It is a truly excellent tool for a top-level look at your website.

Canva is an excellent free tool which helps you design your own marketing materials. Obviously, there is no rival to a professionally designed poster or flyer, but what about when you need something relatively simple, for internal purposes? Canva is the ideal tool for the job.

What advice would you give someone thinking about pursuing a career as a Digital Marketing Manager?

You need to be well organised and you need to realise that Marketing is a data game first and foremost and creative second. People look at marketing and only see the fun stuff, there is a lot of number crunching in the background before you get to the fun stuff.