Who knew you could learn so much about digital marketing from selling pizzas? Staci Hausch, who recently left agency life to go in-house at Donatos, shares what she’s learned so far:
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Post by: @StaciHausch
I’ve worked in marketing agencies for the majority of my career. I love the fast pace, the opportunity to work with different clients, and the flexibility that comes with a small, nimble team. I co-founded a millennial marketing agency in 2011, and had the chance to work with some of the most incredible clients. But, when I was offered the chance to go in-house on the client side and be the first person to focus on digital marketing for a regional pizza company headquartered in my hometown, I jumped at it.
I’ve always loved creating something new, and the sense of adventure that came along with creating a new position within a large company was exciting. Changing jobs is always a change of environment, but going from being your own boss to the “new guy” on a corporate team was quite the cultural shift. I’ve been lucky enough to have incredible mentors along the way. Here are some of the things they’ve taught me.
Do your work, and promote what you’re doing along the way.
When the company you’re working for has been in business (and killing it) for over 50 years, coming in as the newbie who does digital marketing is a combination of exciting and daunting. There is a huge opportunity in defining a brand’s voice online. But it’s key to remind yourself that you can’t just do your work; you also need to promote what you’re doing along the way. It’s easy to stay head down, cranking out your work when you’re creating something new within your company. Some of the best advice I’ve been given from mentors is to continually promote the work I’m doing in the spirit of educating and sharing with your team. If you don’t, who will?
As fast as everything changes, don’t forget to keep learning. And educating.
I often get pinned as ‘the girl who does Facebook,’ and colleagues will say things like “I have no idea what you do, but keep doing it!” To be honest, sometimes I have a hard time wrapping my hands around digital marketing, too. It’s a vast landscape that changes by the minute, and that can be overwhelming when you’re the only person on your team focusing on it. So, I just keep learning. But the trick is to learn with a focus in mind. Don’t try to boil the ocean. Nobody is an expert on everything! When you’re working on a lean team with limited budgets and high sales goals, keeping focus is key. Personal favorites that I’d highly recommend checking out on your lunch break are Gary Vaynerchuk’s Skillshare Class and Simon Sinek’s TEDtalk — both of which have been really valuable specifically in defining your brand voice and sharing your story online.
Traditional marketing methods might not be sexy, but they’re not dead. Don’t lose sight of them.
I know, I know; I had a hard time wrapping my head around this point at first. Coming from the agency side, I had a natural tendency to think of traditional methods as boring. I jumped into my new role with the attitude that digital marketing would change our entire business. And in a sense, it is (psssst- stay tuned for the new Donatos.com coming this summer!). But, I also had to level myself and understand that those less sexy methods of marketing- like radio, traditional print, etc.- are still very much alive and thriving. (Particularly in the pizza industry.) It has been a great learning lesson for me personally to identify how to layer in digital marketing alongside our traditional methods.
I sold pizza in-store for three days, and it completely changed the way I do my work.
A few months into my new role, I spent three days working in-store alongside associates. I walked into that training thinking it’d be a relaxing chance to get out of the office, enjoy some pizza, and capture great content for social media. I walked out of the store after the first night with a whole new respect for our product, our associates, and a newfound vision for my role. I learned to take a look at our digital marketing strategy with our operations, menu development, and customer service teams in mind. I would highly encourage you to jump outside your role as much as you can in the beginning, and take in as much as you can. Whether it’s shadowing a different team in your building, or actually going out into the field to understand the impact that your work has on other people in the company, make it happen.
Staci is the Digital Marketing Manager at Donatos Pizza, a regional pizza company with the best thin crust you’ve ever tasted. Prior, she was the co-founder and VP of Campaign Operations for UQ Marketing, a millennial marketing agency. Staci loves Youtubing inspirational videos, building acoustic playlists on Spotify, and learning to play her Ukulele. Connect with her on LinkedIn or Twitter @StaciHausch.