Digital Marketing Project Manager: Where to Start with a New Role

After embarking on a new professional endeavor within this last year, I have spent some time thinking about the most effective ways for a Marketing Project Manager to begin a new project or work with a new team. 

As I reflect on my first 6 months in a role with a new client, there are a few things that I am glad I did, and a few things I wish I would have done. Below are some recommendations each Project Manager might want to fit into their first 30, 60, or 90 days within a new project. 

30 Days

Attend as many meetings as you can. Even if the topic does not directly pertain to your scope or won’t have any direct action items for you, the more meetings you attend the better you will get an understanding of the players and the dynamics of the people you are working with. 

Take notes. A lot of notes. Take notes during every meeting for the first 30 days. Who talked the most? Who is the decision-maker? Who else attended? Did you notice any interesting or noteworthy dynamics between team members? What was the outcome, and does that match the agenda for the meeting? Who is in charge of the various marketing activities (trafficking, e-commerce, media, SEO/SEM, audience strategy, email marketing, content creation, etc.)?

Ask questions. This one goes without saying, and any time someone starts a new job or project they are given the same advice – ask a lot of questions. It can be nerve-wracking to admit you don’t know what’s going on, but no one expects you to be an expert on your first days. The more questions you ask, the faster you will catch on.

60 Days

Meet with your manager 2-3 times a week. This may seem like overkill, but having a standing meeting with your manager, or other personnel relevant to your position, will force you to communicate what you are learning, observing, and provides a chance to ask questions in a more intimate setting. 

Keep a list of names. Within the first 60 days, you will likely meet everyone that you will be working with. Keep an excel sheet of names that includes their name, title, if they are an internal employee to the client or if they are vendor support, their email, and any projects or initiatives they manage. It can be hard to keep track of all the people that you meet, especially in the digital world. Taking notes is a good way for you to keep track of who is who, and who does what. An excel sheet can also benefit you in the future if other team members or Project Managers join the team – you will be able to share this resource with them while they onboard 

90 Days 

Make a list of recurring meetings, their purpose, deliverables, and owners. Most companies or teams have recurring meetings or initiatives. Weekly team meetings, monthly town halls, quarterly sales overviews…the list goes on. Around the 90-day mark, make a cheat sheet of all the milestones or recurring meetings that you are aware of. This will help you continue to prepare your team and support them for any upcoming deliverable deadlines. If you know there are sales meetings every quarter, what can you do to help your team be proactive and prepare something that might be valuable to share in that meeting? Do you have data or learnings from a campaign that can be leveraged by an executive while they prepare? 

Identify any immediate improvement opportunities. A fresh set of eyes is a wonderful thing. After 90 days, you might see redundancies or outdated initiatives that don’t provide as much value as they might have originally. This is a good time for you to work with your team lead or manager and make a few suggestions around these observations. Be careful not to just point out something that isn’t working without a solution – come to the table with facts or data that support your claim, along with a viable solution. 

Identify learning opportunities for yourself. Are there aspects of digital marketing that you need to learn more about? Do you want to learn more about email marketing or understand more about the creative process behind content creation? LinkedIn Learning or Google OnAir are both good places to start when looking for training opportunities. 

Keep in mind the 80/20 principle. Focus on understanding 80% of the team, the work, along with short and long-term goals. Once you have that 80%, you can start adding valuable insight. Depending on the job and role, this can hopefully happen somewhere around the 3-6 month mark. The remaining 20% represents the constant change within the digital marketing industry. You will drive yourself mad trying to figure things out 100%, so get comfortable with evolving.

Be patient with yourself, it may take a while to feel completely comfortable with a new client or project. Put your best foot forward by being curious, thoughtful, and intentional with how you are integrating yourself into a team or project. A helping hand is the biggest value add we can provide as Marketing Project Managers, and is something that people will never forget.