Marketing and programming have become intertwined in today’s digital age. There is a growing need for marketers to be, at the very least, adept at programming. The tools at your disposal as a marketing professional with programming skills are simply too useful to be ignored. As a marketer, it’s important to start developing some programming skills.
Knowing the right programming tricks is one of the keys to a successful marketing career. Today, we will be talking about some programming tips that will help your marketing strategies reach their full potential. From creating apps to email blasts, there are several ways in which programming can help your marketing projects get off the ground.
Focus On a Niche
Marketers are not expected to master a language. There are seasoned professionals for that who don’t have their attention halved with marketing strategies. However, having a lot of know-how and practical experience in a specific type of programming is very beneficial. For example, if your particular marketing focus is on web advertising, a strong understanding of web design is needed.
While most marketing teams won’t be doing the brunt of programming, they need to be able to understand what coding is and where their goals are expected to be. You do not want to be the person who thinks that programming is just “pressing a few buttons”. It’s not magic, it’s a science, and like any science, it needs to be understood.
Pick Simple Languages
Certain languages are well-suited to “dabblers” of programming. Choosing an easy and versatile language to use lets you get started on new strategies fast. Relatively simple languages include the likes of Python, HTML, and Javascript. Simple programming languages are best for developing your coding skills. They teach you the fundamentals of programming, but they are also very practical from the get-go.
For example, Python is the groundwork for several huge companies, which include the likes of Google, Spotify, Facebook, and Netflix. Python is incredibly easy to maintain and also easy to teach, thanks to the huge library of teaching tools online. Programming might be complex, but it’s also perfectly capable of being simple without sacrificing its marketing capabilities.
Learn From Online Courses
Start looking for the best online coding courses to get you started on your programming journey. Never discount the importance of a professional and segmented teaching course. Some might be tempted to just “wing it” or learn from their IT team. While those could work, there are inherent issues. Winging it is obvious, you don’t want to be flailing in the dark on an important project.
As for having the IT team teach you, that’s precious time and resources you are taking away from the business overall. While asking for tips here and it is perfectly fine, you shouldn’t force your IT team to make time for you. Especially when an online course is already perfectly suited to teach you most, if not all of your programming needs.
Integrate Coding Into Your Plans
Whenever a new marketing project is being created, think of where programming would improve upon an aspect of it. For example, if the goal is to advertise a new product your company is releasing, start thinking of algorithms that recommend the product on social media. It doesn’t have to be for accomplishing specific goals either.
If coding could make one process go by faster, then think of how programming could be useful. For example, email blasts could require a lot of programming to become fully automated. Coding can make templates that respond to specific kinds of emails, which saves your team a lot of time browsing through hundreds of emails. Whenever you see a problem in your plans, think of how programming can solve it.
Start a Small Project
Once you’ve gotten all of the other tips in mind, start working on a project immediately. Starting a small project is important for two reasons. The first reason is to get you to start learning practically in a real work environment. There’s no replacement for experience, and you might as well use what you’ve learned to gain some. A real project such as a small business blog not only furthers your learning but also gives the business a new asset to use in its marketing strategies.
The second reason is to find out where the gaps in your knowledge are. Finishing a course and some programming tasks might make you think you know all you need to know. A single project has a way of jogging the brain to start remembering things you should have learned. Don’t be too bothered by any mistakes you make. Those are expected. How you deal with the mistakes ensures that you won’t make them again in the future.
Conclusion
Marketing isn’t just about a good pitch. Every big idea is composed of dozens of cogs working to make the idea happen. Understanding what makes your big marketing projects possible through coding ultimately makes you a better marketer than you were before. Plus, it doesn’t hurt to finally know what the big deal about Python is.
