Rebecca Coleman is the Social Media Marketing Instructor at BCIT. Here are her thoughts on digital marketing:

1. What excites you the most about your industry?

   That there's always something new happening, and something new to learn. I never get bored. (Similar to what the President of Cohn & Wolfe North America says about digital marketing.)

2. In your experience, what are the top success / failure factors for a marketing campaign?

   Not taking into account your audience. Or not knowing your audience! Many people are still stuck in "old school" marketing mentality: they want to "go viral" or get as many hits as possible. It's possible to be incredibly successful by never going viral and focussing on a niche market. But you need to know who they are, and what they want.

3. What do you consider essential skills for a marketing team these days?

   You need to be personable. Real. You need to have mad writing skills. You need to be constantly learning and researching and keeping up-to-date on what the current trends are. You need to be creative and most importantly, willing to risk failure. Failure is the greatest teacher.

4. What do you feel are the most underrated skills in a marketing team these days?

   Creativity. Everywhere I look these days, I see people trying to sell "marketing formulas." The truth is, while some elements may apply, there is no "one size fits all" formula for marketing. You have to take the things you think you can apply and apply them, and then chuck the rest, and come up with your own rules.

5. What do you see as the biggest challenges for marketing professionals over the next 3 years?

   Trying to figure out what "the next big thing" is. We really are pioneers, especially in the areas of social and experimental. Every day, there's a new social network being born. One of those is going to be the next Facebook.

    

6. What advice would you give to young people who want to do become a social media marketing professional some day?

   Go for it! Five years ago, being a "social media marketer" wasn't even a thing! Now it's a perfectly acceptable line of work! It's a very exciting and cutting edge field! 

    

   

   Rebecca Coleman is an early adopter of Social Media, and she has become increasingly interested in using it as a marketing tool, and writes about the subject frequently on her blog, The Art of the Business. She has written 3 books on the topic, called and instructs courses in Social Media Marketing at BCIT, and travels internationally giving workshops. She is an avid foodie and cook, and has a serious Instagram addiction. But her favourite thing is spending time with her 10-yr-old son. You can find Rebecca on Twitter at @rebeccacoleman.
   
   To see what marketing professionals have to say about digital marketing, check out our digital marketing interview series main page.