With social media changing the way people communicate, businesses are now hoping to ride on the new technologies to boost their brands.
“Digital media marketing wields new and emerging technologies to drive marketing strategies that can lead to real business value. It goes beyond popularity and acquiring fans or followers – it is the combination of social and business principles across the business,” says Candice Iyog, Cebu Pacific Air vice-president for marketing and distribution.
She says a digital marketing manager implements the airline’s digital media strategy, develops brand awareness, generates inbound traffic and encourages product adoption.
“This role co-ordinates with the internal marketing and public relation teams to support their respective missions, ensuring consistency in voice and cultivating a social media referral network,” says Iyog.
As airlines operate 24/7, digital marketing managers should be able to touch base with the social-media communities in a timely manner. “Our digital media manager works closely with the customer service teams and also with an agency that provides support for our followers in social network sites, such as Weibo, Ren Ren, Kaixu, Facebook and Twitter. We also work with third-parties who conduct 24/7 monitoring of our social pages, for greater efficiency,” says Iyog.
A digital marketing manager’s duties include managing social media campaigns, reaching out to bloggers and working with the airline’s marketing team to ensure social media tools are up to date.
Iyog says one of the challenges of this role is keeping pace with technology and understanding which tools could deliver the best results that the company expects from its digital media initiatives.
“Managing the social media is a huge part of the digital marketing manager’s job. He or she has to take care of the airline’s presence in social networking sites, monitor and measure the impact of social media programmes and monitor the day-to-day activities on social media sites like managing posts and responding to inquiries,” says Iyog.
A digital media manager should be outgoing, highly focused on customer experience, and proactive in guiding other departments.
“We want tech-savvy individuals with strong communication skills. One should have good knowledge of the principles of search engine optimisation, an in-depth understanding of social media platforms and their respective participants, and how they can be deployed to bring marketing value and [relevant] knowledge. Strong organisational and project management skills are also very important,” Iyog adds.
