Greetings Happy Readers! In this week’s PPCChat session, host Amalia Fowler sought experts views on the leadership role in PPC, what vlue helps them in their career, who has influnced their journey in PPC and more.
Q1: What’s your role? Are you in-house, agency, freelancer, founder? Do you manage people?
I am a freelancer, but have seen it all. Agency, in-house, small clients and market leaders. I manage myself, some remote team members where the project dictates and a family. @BorisBeceric
Agency. I’m the digital director for the west team, in an omnichannel shop. I manage a small team, and have a hand in developing the bigger team. @JuliaVyse
I’m a hybrid jellybean now. Was once the Director of Marketing managing ten people, now a marketing instructor and consultant – mostly managing myself (and my brilliant part-timer) @AmaliaEFowler
I’m mainly a freelancer, but also sort of in-house (part-time) for one client. I don’t manage people. @stevegibsonppc
Account director in a tech company. And though I’m in a position of leadership – i don’t lead people perse. I am more lead of client happiness and satisfaction. @TheMarketingAnu
In-house – Google / MS / Amazon PPC. One junior member for now (with better Amazon chops than me). @Galliguez
Agency, but still do a bit of freelance as well. On the agency-side, we’ve just hired my first direct report to start next week! @_RileyDuncan
Mostly a freelancer and I will hire someone to help once and a while during crazy busy periods. I have lead large marketing teams previously, however. @lchasse
President & Founder at my own agency (started last year). I get the pleasure of managing @rachel__lowell @selley2134
I’m the Director of Lead Gen. at an agency. And I do manage a some people. @jord_stark
Agency and we are a team of 6 I help mentor and cheer them on. Most days I feel more like a coach than a boss. I want to help them succeed and shine. Some days I got to be tough love boss… be tough but fair. @duanebrown
I’m a consultant – I work with brands and agencies alike helping to solve #ppc, #saas, #business problems. I also share lessons learned through courses and webinars/blogs. I have a few clients who ask me to help them manage their teams. @navahf
I run a small agency and do most PPC work myself, with some part-time help.@SquarelyDigital
I own an agency that specializes in PPC. I manage 5 analysts + a few others. @ameetkhabra
A mixed bag, I do some freelance, but 99% of the time is an agency with a team that rolls into me. @JonKagan
I work in-house as a performance manager for an ecommerce website, I have some clients as a consultant and teach online marketing in several digital schools. I don’t manage people at this very moment, but I did in the past @MaiMolina_
Q2: What does taking a leadership role in PPC mean to you? Note: You can lead without being a manager, and influence without being in charge!
To me, it means understanding what the team needs and doing what I can to get it for them. It could be exposure to learning, platform development, or just time for certain projects. I can’t do all of it, so I (try to) make it possible for all of it to get done. @JuliaVyse
I’m a big fan of leading by example, being open to communicate and challenge (respectfully!!!) ideas, welcoming newbies with open arms and of knowing myself and my ethics. All of these things help me lead in what I hope is an influential way @AmaliaEFowler
Thinking more big picture, looking for ways to make the team’s job easier while improving efficiency and profitability. @PPCGreg
To me leadership means setting your team up for success – giving them everything they need, trusting them, and having their backs when the going gets rough. @BorisBeceric
Empowering your team to do what they need and helping when they need it. I always wanted people to feel like they had ownership in their work and I was there to support them, not the other way around. @lchasse
Which means most of the time I feel like I’m not doing enough. dammit! @JuliaVyse
A2: It means I’m the one driving the strategy. @stevegibsonppc
Being a good listener! It is a hard/needed skill in any role really but leaders need to try hard not to make the show about their knowledge but what people around you need. And them point them in the right direction, even if it isn’t you. @TheMarketingAnu
Also, when not in a leadership position, you can still influence by building relationships in an organization and asking the right questions. @BorisBeceric
Setting everyone up for success. This can be helping to prioritize, brainstorming strategies, taking on work when team members are overwhelmed, etc. @selley2134
Leadership in #ppc means being knowledgeable on what is happening in ad networks, while entrusting your teams to execute without strategy addiction or micromanagement. Empower, don’t force the team to cower. @navahf
I’ve mainly been a individual contributor in most of my past roles. Leading more as technical SME – training up the newbies. Now I think more about the organizational and soft skills needed for the team to advance @Galliguez
In my old life, when I managed a decent-sized team, I tried to lead by helping my direct reports find success — doing well in their current role and getting ready for the next, better role. I would think that applies in PPC, too. @SquarelyDigital
Comes in different forms. Be the change you want to see. @duanebrown
I think leadership is about mentoring/guiding a team and really embracing the fact there is no stupid question. I want my team to come to me without fear of judgment. @ameetkhabra
#ppcchat know the space, know what is changing, guide and educate the team, and be prepared to stand up for them @ameetkhabra
I think it’s a lot of teaching & learning. If you don’t stay up to date, you can’t teach best practice. Being able to answer questions and take responsibility when things don’t go as intended. @jord_stark
Q3: What about leadership within the wider #PPCchat or PPC community? What does leadership look like outside of the office?
I actually love our PPC community – I think more established members like @duanebrown, @PPCKirk, @navahf and more do an amazing job embracing newer professionals. Leadership in the community to me is treat others how you’d want to be treated, largely. @AmaliaEFowler
While I do think there are some people who stand out in the community and are viewed as leaders, we’re all willing to help. one of the things that makes us great is anyone can make an account, throw a question out, #ppcchat it, and the entire community will attempt to help. @PPCGreg
I try to answer questions where I can if I have had a similar experience. I try to engage with everyone. I do my best to follow and lift those that may be new to PPCChat or just have a smaller following. Do my best to be anti-clique @selley2134
Putting yourself out there, being approachable, and willingly sharing knowledge @BorisBeceric
Good leaders inspire, help and build up other people. They are not just really smart people who know what direction to go. In general, we listen, help others and provide help if asked. For us, it is sharing your knowledge and helping others within our community. @lchasse
It should be the same as inside the office…. assuming you don’t have to be someone else at the office. @duanebrown
Leadership outside the office looks similar (to me). I like to help others shape their dreams. and just hearing what’s going on with others is a pleasure. @JuliaVyse
Taking initiative & answering questions. some are trying to gain clout by knowledge sharing/thought leadership alone…but the distinct winners in my books are those who answer questions. and aim to show up as consistently as possible. @TheMarketingAnu
I think about this a bit. I just changed jobs – but still love my old team. I’m trying to keep in touch and continue to share and mentor them as much I can. @Galliguez
Mentorship is important, as is collecting different perspectives to test. The strongest leaders are ok having their perspectives challenged and gaining new data to bring back to their teams. @navahf
Along with simply engaging with others, I think leadership in the community is coming up with unique viewpoints and/or different ways of thinking, and being willing to share those out. Something I’m looking to do more of this year. @_RileyDuncan
Helping where you can and welcoming newcomers into the #ppcchat community. @ameetkhabra
Q4: Agency, freelance, client side, consultant, etc. It can all get a bad rep. In reality, there are pros and cons to each! What’s something you wish more people knew about working in your role in PPC?
A LOT of the time, the platform is just the platform. Our skills are at problem-solving, strategy, comms, & negotiation. I do well at this not just because I grok the platform, but because I can see how to use certain platforms to solve your problem. @JuliaVyse
We don’t control the platforms! We collect data, analyze it and then figure out how best to implement what it’s telling us. What the platforms actually do is out of our hands. @ameetkhabra
PPC is more than just ad management – it’s solving business problems and requires departments to work together. The best practitioners have #SEO and #CRO empathy. Also, we’re more than a google search. @navahf
Don’t go out “on your own” unless you are ready to balance a million things that come along with running a business, not just managing PPC accounts well! Doesn’t mean you can’t, just know what you’re going into before leaving that great PPC job. @PPCKirk
Leadership across tactics and teams is important. How do you like to work with our colleagues in SEO, CX, customer service, sales (!) etc? @AmaliaEFowler
A number of things: 1. Learn GA (or Urchin for old schoolers) 2. Learn a basic understanding of SEO 3. Don’t undervalue your skillset 4. You can transfer skillset to paid social 5. Don’t over value your skillset, you aren’t curing world hunger @JonKagan
Skills like effective communication, time management & problem-solving end up being extremely important. The good news – a good agency can help you build these skills. @_RileyDuncan
The more money you stand to make from a lead, the more it’s going to cost you. Expectations are everything and the longer the sales cycle the longer it takes to make changes happen. Be patient. Always experiment. Set expectations early. @jord_stark
I.don’t.do.magic. And I can be wrong too. Valid answer for all kind of roles. @MaiMolina_
Q5: Leadership across tactics and teams is important. How do you like to work with our colleagues in SEO, CX, customer service, sales (!) etc?
Those who silo and refuse to engage with counterparts (esp. in SEO and webdev, IMO) are not doing their business or clients any favors. We need each other, SEO and PPC meet at the intersection of user experience, and there’s a whole world of info you can learn. @AmaliaEFowler
The more collaboration the merrier. I couldn’t imagine just working in a silo anymore. Every department has so many data points that can be utilized. Also, my best friend in the industry is an SEO. @BorisBeceric
I work best when we’re all in the team together, but that’s not always possible in agency life. As long as communication and expectations are clear, I’m good. @JuliaVyse
I love working with different people. In fact, I have recommended some of the folks who take part in these chats for other brands if I did not have the capacity or if they needed help with SEO and other things I don’t have the deep expertise in. @lchasse
Most of us want the same thing: high-quality leads. I try to find & share data I think can help other teams & ask questions of them to help inform PPC. Important to build those personal relationships as well. @_RileyDuncan
We have a weekly huddle but I encourage the team to meet and talk clients together across channels. Then we have client calls to talk with internal marketing. @duanebrown
As @BorisBeceric said, the more collaboration, the better. I always learn when I work with great designers, smart SEOs, etc. @SquarelyDigital
I genuinely think it’s down to the client/brand to bring this together. One channel can ask all they like but unless the common denominator between the channels (the business) creates the clear lines of communications – I’ll be skeptical of the data being shared. @TheMarketingAnu
One of the most important collaborations has to be with sales! @andreacruz92
Ever seen the fight scene in “Anchorman”? Like that… @JonKagan
Q6: Knowing your values is an important part of leadership. What is a value you hold that helps direct you in your career? PS: There’s no ‘wrong’ values – if you value hustle then that’s just as valid as someone valuing rest.
Work/life balance, always. When I’m at work, I’m 100% focused on work. And when I’m not at work, I’m not working. Of course, there are exceptions for emergencies on either side, but I try not to let one bleed into the other. @beyondthepaid
The same goes for my team. I encourage them to find the balance and not just work all the time. There will always be more work. @beyondthepaid
My pillar value is Balance, followed by Community. If those two are out of whack, then so am I. @AmaliaEFowler
That besides SEO, I run the only form of reactive advertising there is, meaning people are thinking of me, and thus meaning we are a high value driving operation, and my #1 job is to not blow it @JonKagan
I work for people I believe in – so long as I can get behind the ethics/mission of the brand, I can evangelize the team to bring it. It’s when a brand is less than ideal that I struggle to find my care and that bleeds into my ability to lead a squad to greatness. @navahf
This is something I find really challenging to put into words. but I think it’s Fun. I want to do cool stuff that takes thinking and then share that learning. that’s for me. so, Cool Stuff? I guess that’s a value? yeah, we do cool stuff. @JuliaVyse
Agree with work-life balance sentiments – my calendar has built-in time for creative, analytical, grunt work, and time off. These are unmovable. @navahf
I know this image is overly used on LinkedIn but it’s always stuck with me as a great representation of what a workplace should look like and what I strive to achieve in a leadership position. @PPCGreg
I value teamwork and we are all in it together mentality. I want everyone to feel free to be curious and not feel like they’ll be judged ppl are assuming the know it all. We are all growing together and will all have some gap in knowledge. @TheMarketingAnu
Happiness. I want employees (myself included) to enjoy coming to work. I think a key to that is choosing the right clients & employees. Also, allowing room for them to have a good balance, the opportunity & space to get engaged with community projects, etc. @selley2134
My company name, Squarely Digital, stems from the idea that I can be a bit “square” (ie., old-fashioned), even while working in the modern, digital realm. That’s b/c I believe the fundamentals still hold, even as everything else changes. That’s a value, right? @SquarelyDigital
Q7: We’ve been talking about leadership & community in PPC today, so let’s have a round of warm fuzzies and kudos. Who is someone who has influenced your journey in PPC and may not know it? Tag them, tell us about it.
Honestly so many people it is hard to choose (I know, it’s my question). but I’m going to highlight three for my answer. #PPCchat 1. @NeptuneMoon without fail. She’s called me, stood in audiences and cheered me on, and has become a very, very dear friend. 2. @duanebrown is the only reason I understand anything about shopping ads, is always there for an emergency Whatsapp and has had countless zoom calls with me when I just needed a friend. 3. @PPCKirk – sometimes I wonder if Kirk knows the influence he’s had on my career and its trajectory! I went from following him on Twitter many moons ago to having him be a quiet icon for good and leadership. And we split a soda water once, so there is that @AmaliaEFowler
I am big not @PPCKirk@BryantGarvin@ChristiJOlson. They don’t know it, but they influence it. @JonKagan
Some of the most important influences on my ppc life actually aren’t on Twitter. Three very smart, very accomplished women took time to develop me at different points in my career. Their time and expertise mean everything to me. thanks, ladies! @JuliaVyse
@purnavirji inspires me with her fearless brilliance, her warmth, and her pragmatism. Our conversations and commitment to not only being the best we can be but also being kind to ourselves helped me on my journey more than I can adequately express. @navahf
Everyone that shows up on #PPCChat every week. The veterans as well as the newbies! Referring to my prev answer, this community is the greatest show of we’re in it together and no-one is too shy to show they don’t know something – especially the experts amongst us. I love it! @TheMarketingAnu
@extremecollins has gone out of his way so many times to help me. I cant thank him enough. @NeptuneMoon , @AmaliaEFowler , @navahf , @JuliaVyse, @lchasse, @MarketingOClock crew. Were all quick to welcome me to the #PPCChat community @selley2134
(1/2) So my answer would stem all the way back to the two folks who gave a young sailor a chance in Marketing, to begin with, Gary and Margo, who do not have Twitter accounts. Without them, who knows I may still be managing servers somewhere. (cont.) @lchasse
@mvanwagner – the first person to encourage me to speak at conferences. @bgtheory – smartest PPC guy I know and always cheers me on. And @AmaliaEFowler for the great management advice! So many others but you 3 come top of mind @beyondthepaid
For those on the twitscape, @NeptuneMoon is a lighthouse in this industry. She has listened to speaker pitches, cheered me on and encouraged me over the years and I’m proud to be connected to her. @JuliaVyse
I also need to mention @MarkIrvine89 who is like my #ppc brother – he helped me find the balance between workaholism and pragmatism. I will forever be grateful to the #ppc king for all you do @navahf
@duanebrown is a good friend in this space and truly a voice of reason during chaotic moments. @JuliaVyse
I love what @PPCKirk is doing over at ZATO. I think he had a wonderful mindset and I love how they run business. I believe @AmaliaEFowler to be the master of wholehearted management and I love how she views the world and is an advocate for so many great things. @alexnicoll93
And I also need to give a shoutout to my family member who gave me the best talking to about how I was fighting my nature by avoiding marketing. That one conversation made my career. @navahf
Some of the folks who I follow who have an impact on me. Note: Basically if I follow you, you have an impact in some way and I appreciate you.
No one of them is on Twitter, but basically everyone who took a chance on me and trusted me with spending a lot of money on the internet. @BorisBeceric
@Hoffman8 brings so much brilliance and balance to the world and her perspective helped me shape my own on cross-department marketing. She’s also hilarious. @navahf
@AkvileDeFazio for inspiring me to go out on my own (finally) and being a cheerleader every step of the way. You’re wonderful! @navahf
Also shout outs to @_RileyDuncan, @andreacruz92, @bigalittlea, @MilwaukeePPC, @michellemsem, and @TheMarketingAnu for their brilliant minds as well. The PPC community rules! @alexnicoll93
I was lucky to have a 1-on-1 consulting session with @navahf a few years back and I was really impressed by her knowledge and approach. I have followed her work since and have learned a ton! And I owe thanks to the folks here who have generously answered my questions from time to time, like @duanebrown, @NeptuneMoon, @ferkungamaboobo, @PPCKirk and others I am sure I’m forgetting @SquarelyDigital
I’m genuinely grateful to be able to listen in to a community that is as welcoming as #ppcchat and how people really set an example of how to help others. In an ocean of gatekeeping BS, you are all a breath of fresh air. It must be the Canadian influence. @beyondcontent
PPCChat Participants
- Boris Beceric @BorisBeceric
- Julia Vyse @JuliaVyse
- Amalia Fowler @AmaliaEFowler
- Steve Gibson @stevegibsonppc
- Anu Adegbola @TheMarketingAnu
- Dave Galliguez @Galliguez
- Riley Duncan @_RileyDuncan
- Lawrence Chasse @lchasse
- Shaun Elley @selley2134
- Jordan Stark @jord_stark
- Duane Brown @duanebrown
- Navah Hopkins @navahf
- Jon DeNunzio @SquarelyDigital
- Ameet Khabra @ameetkhabra
- Jon Kagan @JonKagan
- Mai Molina @MaiMolina_
- Greg @PPCGreg
- Kirk Williams @PPCKirk
- Andrea Cruz @andreacruz92
- Melissa L Mackey @beyondthepaid
- Alex Nicoll @alexnicoll93
- Andrew McGarry @beyondcontent
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