Is it Necessary for Digital Marketers to Learn How to Code?
When I was passing the doors of the Piraeus University of Applied Sciences, back in 2008, to study as a Computing Systems Engineer, I would never have imagined that almost 10 years later I would find myself working as a Digital Marketing Specialist.
Me? Marketing? You better hang me off a tree. I would never dump my 10+ coding lessons, including PHP, CSS, Javascript, Assembly, Visual Basic, Python, Pearl and many other more coding languages, only to offer marketing services to customers and businesses.
I was thinking that marketing is a lie, because successful marketers are lying!
Developers and computing engineers aren’t liars, they are problem solvers!
And as a problem solver, I was dreaming of a job as a Web Developer, designing awesome custom templates for websites, super-converting landing pages, useful plugins and many more. Or maybe some automation systems, since I loved to play with Arduino projects since I was 18.
But as I said, 10 years later, I found myself creating and optimizing PPC campaigns, using analytics for data mining, making SEO audits and developing digital marketing strategies, in order to provide valuable services to my clients.
-Doctor, am I sick? What happened to me? What is wrong with me?
-Nothing, son! You just found something you love more, a big challenge, something creative! Keep it up!
To be honest, since day one working in the field of digital marketing, I felt so comfortable, so intimate. I knew that every single thing that contains the word “digital”, was relative to my studies.
From social media marketing, website design, search engine optimization, email marketing automation, inbound marketing, pay per click advertising, landing pages optimization, content marketing and mobile marketing, coding is everywhere.
Tags, pixels, email templates, scripts, dynamic remarketing and many other features, need coding! Let’s accept that! And I, without any marketing knowledge, I was already familiar with. Then, I felt grateful for my studies, even though I had turned into a Digital Marketer.
There are many advantages for digital marketers who can see the back end or code view of a web page:
- First of all, you can communicate effectively with other teams and professionals, like web developers, web designers etc.
- You are able to integrate analytics tracking codes, Facebook pixels, Google AdWords tags and many other necessary elements in order to perform pay-per-click campaigns.
- You adopt the developer’s problem-solving mindset. You focus on the solution, not moaning around like everything is falling apart.
- You feel comfortable in front of clients and you are ready to explain them every aspect that has to do with coding.
To be honest, the digital marketing activity is fast evolving. Traditional marketing is changing and it will never be the same again.
Traditional marketers will not stand against the competition that digital marketers establish.
I can see that in my job every day. So, in my case, a ‘Coder’ turned into a digital marketer with huge success, what about the opposite?
Steve Jobs once said:
Everybody in this country should learn to program a computer…because it teaches you how to think.
Why Should marketers learn how to code?
Understand the ‘Digital’ Aspect of Marketing
Getting familiar with the digital architecture of things like websites, apps, landing pages, tags etc., will give you a better understanding of what’s going on behind the scenes.
By doing this, you will be able to come up with new and innovative ideas that will impress your customers. Developing and coding is about problem-solving, there isn’t anything better than providing a useful solution to a customer.
It’s not only about “reading” code, it’s all about understanding the philosophy, tools and thoughts behind this code. You have to know how it works!
Furthermore, by knowing the tools and some helpful apps, you will be able to do simple things like form building, light SEO optimization, create simple websites and other functions.
Take a look behind the scenes
As I said, everyone that works in the field of digital marketing should know what is involved in building a website, SEO, pay-per-click tags, forms and apps.
Only then you can actually form an idea about the project and you can transfer your knowledge to a discussion with your client about the estimated cost, timeframe and other difficulties that may occur.
Customers and businesses are not silly, especially during this digital transformation era. CEO’s will never discuss with someone that doesn’t feel comfortable explaining a project or the procedures behind that.
So, a traditional marketer will never be able to stand up against such customers.
Communicate better with your engineering and product teams
One of the most common problems inside every business is the communication between marketing/sales and engineering/product teams. Each one lives in their own world!
Though, communication is critical to any business’s success. Communication between customers, partners or colleagues is essential, let’s be realistic!
It is proven that digital marketers who are able to read and understand coding basics, have better communication with the other teams inside an organization.
They are able to understand and discuss a project’s procedures, tools, philosophy, and workflows. They can even deliver those insights to their customers.
It’s all about understanding, not specialization
There is no reason why digital marketers shouldn’t learn about code. But it’s not their job to be a specialist in coding.
Specialized tasks should be left to those who know how to do them right. There is a small trap here.
Many times, marketers interfere with other teams by telling them what to do, just because they have little experience in coding.
NO! Don’t do this, just stay inside your borders.
Takeaway
Code is part of our Marketing DNA. Recently I read a very smart quote about coding:
Talk is cheap, show me the code.
Keep this in mind and think how much digital marketing would change, if digital marketers spoke less and showed a little more code to their customers.
Gaining these skills doesn’t require heavy investment. You can find plenty of free resources online, educational programs and webinars.
Learning code doesn’t have to mean going back to school. You just need one thing, willingness.
As for me, I often think if I made the right choice in my career until I open the notepad++ and start writing code, sharpening my programming skills once again.
You know what, it’s like cycling, if you learn how to do it and build the right mindset, it’s never forgotten…
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Cheers!