A digital marketer’s job is to create something that converts well. Hmm, and that’s the exact same job as a designer, whether they know it or not…

Industries Collide

The digital marketing field is growing fast, and what it means to be a digital marketer is changing at an alarming rate.

Technological advancements in this new industry have created an accelerated environment, where what was true last month may not remain true in the next. We know that the future of the industry is heading towards hyperconnectivity, hyper-focused marketing, and hyper-relevant content, and as we bear witness over the next 30 years of THE GRAND DIGITAL MARKETING CONVERGENCE, we will see many changes in the definition of what it means to be a marketer, designer, SEO consultant, media buyer, social media manager and countless other job titles commonly associated with this industry.

The first “convergence” has already begun, and it starts with the melding of digital marketing and graphic design.

These industries have become inseparable; a digital marketer can’t do their job well without using some sort of image, infographic, or video, and a graphic designer can’t make a good image, infographic, or video, without understanding how it will be marketed.

Even if the differences between marketing and design were palpable a year ago, these sentiments are no longer true today. So, no matter what side of the fence you may be on, if you don’t possess the skillsets required by both fields, you will soon be left in the dust.

Why is this happening? Because a Picture is Worth 1000 Words…

• No one actually likes reading… almost no one. Put a book next to a TV and see how often the book wins.
• Every good blog post needs a captivating image.
• Every good social media post needs an image that evokes a call to action.
• Every good web page needs images that portray the purpose of the page.
• Call to action buttons and lead generation forms are now being designed instead of looking like an excel spreadsheet.
• Information overload means that we are literally all competing for attention in the same marketplace, ie. the internet.
• The best image wins the attention war.
• Even videos get more engagement when they start with a captivating image.
• Every captivating image requires the designer to take into account its target audience.
• Images are becoming “interactive” through social sharing, incorporating calls-to-action, incorporating flow charts, etc.

Luckily, businesses like Canva are making the image creation process super easy for marketers, but you still need some design talent in order to build that perfect Canva creation.

And for calls to action, you can use an embedded sidebar form from Opt-in Monster or a lightbox popup from LeadPages. Both of these tools make it easier for a marketer to design something a little bit better than a cookie cutter form, but require a designer’s eye to perfect.

Stock images are a band-aid, used for hiding the wound that is a missing designer and a lack of caring about your own content.

Since our agency is literally founded by a digital marketer who wants to be a better designer, and a designer who wants to be a more effective marketer, we have noticed several mistakes that we make on a consistent basis.