The SEM Journey at Aber Group

It’s more than just keywords

Last Wednesday, our digital seminar class was treated to a great presentation from Amanda Lee, the account director at Aber Group. Not only was she a fellow York U alum like myself (which made me really happy), but she currently works in the realm of paid marketing and SEM. These were two sectors of marketing that we learned about extensively last semester and were two subjects I’ve always wanted to learn more about. Thankfully, Amanda gave us some great insight on what it’s like to work in SEM, from being an intern to how the entire landscape of the role has changed and so much more.

What Does It Take To Work In SEM?

Based on Amanda’s presentation, a majority of the skills required would fit right at home with the material we learned in our search marketing course last semester. Working in search engine marketing is self-explanatory, using search engines like Google and Firefox to get in front of your audience. When Amanda started in 2014, the emphasis was based solely on SEO optimization, finding out what keywords users were searching for, developing keywords, and setting the budget to properly optimize the search campaign. From her time as an intern with Aber Group, this was the bread and butter of her role and from what I could gather from her experience, it sounded like it was tedious. As time moved on and as Amanda moved up the ladder, so too did the digital marketing atmosphere. When she was promoted to account coordinator, her duties involved more than just search campaigns. Display and social media campaigns started coming into the mix. Not only does this signal a change in marketing, but it also signaled a change in the role of an SEM intern.

Their role and responsibilities expanded beyond the search engine. Instead of developing and optimizing campaigns just for SEM, the platforms stretch out to the reaches of Facebook, YouTube, and Spotify. Campaigns would now have to be adjusted across platforms, not just for one platform. Thankfully with the help of machine learning, the job becomes slightly easier by aiding in the nitty-gritty of bidding and budgeting.

In the 7 years that Amanda started interning at Aber Group, people have moved to different channels. Getting their attention has become harder than ever with the increase of digital technology and especially mobile phones. Users are not just googling what they want to learn/see/do. They’re using different platforms like YouTube to watch videos based on what their intention is, they’re following influencers and brands on social media that align with their stage in the buyer’s journey. If the past 2 years were an indication, people are getting attached to the latest and greatest platforms, so getting their attention right where they are is crucial. Knowing this, I don’t feel surprised that the role of an SEM intern has changed, if anything it made the most sense, I need to commend companies like Aber Group that can see that change and re-tool their positions to fit accordingly.

How To Keep Up In The Industry

To piggyback off of this, Amanda gave us a few tidbits of advice to keep up with ever-growing changes and trends in the industry. To summarize:

• Use all of the social platforms.
• Sign up for newsletters and social media updates.
• Attend webinars, conferences, and classes.

These three tips are just the tip of the iceberg, but they mean so much to those just starting off in marketing, they couldn’t be further from the truth. First point, everybody, and anybody are on some form of social media. It’s made reaching your audience easier as you can engage with them from their favourite platforms, but it’s also a bit more difficult as you might not know what platforms they’re using. The solution? Use all of them! While I will admit that it isn’t necessary for you to be on every social platform depending on your business, when it comes to researching your competition and seeing what they’re doing, it’s an important factor to include in your business.

Following every social media page is a bigger feat than it sounds, keeping up with trends manually is a job in and of itself. Luckily in our digital world, turning on that notification bell is a great way to keep in touch with your industry. Setting this function up with some of your competitors or brands you’re inspired by can help curate your own decisions and help strategize your goals. The same goes for signing up for a newsletter (whether email or otherwise). Getting industry-relevant news directly into your inbox is a step I plan on taking going forward in the future. These newsletters would be relevant to where I am goal-wise and invoke a sense of trust knowing that the advice I can gather is coming from industry professionals.

While I have learned so much in the last 7 months in this program, the learning goes beyond the (virtual) classroom and it’s a step that I will continually take throughout my career journey. Webinars and conferences come in a baker’s dozen, all they require is your attendance and commitment to learning from them. Getting the chance to rub shoulders with other industry professionals whether that’s in person or in a virtual breakout room provides a more realistic opportunity to learn that social media or newsletters could never do. It’s a more personal experience that helps me make more timely decisions, as I’d feel like I’d be getting genuine advice from real people, as well as the chance to network with others.

This same notion applies to certifications and courses such as Google Skillpoint or Hootsuite Academy. I can count on hand how many times our professors and fellow guest speakers have urged us to expand our knowledge beyond what we find in our learning modules and lectures. For the most part, these courses/certifications are free to take, so really the only thing we’re spending is our time. Google in particular provides free learning resources on analytics and search/paid campaigns that can help us navigate the software and provide us with the best practices. The icing on the cake is the certificate of completion that can look very good on your resumé.

To SEM Or Not To SEM?

At first, I wasn’t fully on board with an SEM role, as my initial thoughts going into it were that this was exclusively SEO-based duties only. As I figure out what appeals to me as a digital marketer, I find that I want to work in an environment where I’m not bound to just one thing. Personally, I like a bit of challenge, and working across various elements is something I feel like I can thrive in. Thankfully, Amanda’s presentation shattered those expectations I had about working in SEM. You’re not bound to just SEO optimization or keyword bidding. The market has changed where so many other platforms are coming into the spotlight, and companies need people who can manage campaigns and optimize them across all platforms. I can say now that I do find myself a bit more interested in an SEM role. Now knowing that the position does include some variation in my tasks, I feel a bit more excited about what could happen and what I could do. The entire essence of an SEM role is still there, but from what Amanda has told us, it’s something that has expanded and will continue to keep on growing.

Have the appetite to learn

I was keen to learn more about what the expectations were for us as interns, especially considering that the semester is almost over and we’ll be starting our work placements very soon. As somebody who got their career start as an intern and worked their way up, Amanda provided us with a solid piece of advice: having the appetite to learn. She acknowledged the fact that many of us aren’t full-fledged experts in these different tools and programs, and that’s okay. What matters most is for us to have that drive to learn from our co-workers/colleagues. To have that ability really depends on our attitude, her advice showcased that if we really want to succeed in our roles, we should break free from the “I don’t know how to” way of thinking to “I want to know how to”. Her advice has eased a little bit of stress I have going into the next few months, it's a great way for us to mentally prepare ourselves for the journey to come.

Final Thoughts and Networking

Lastly, in terms of networking, Amanda gave us a really good point on client management which I think will really help as I continue to expand my network. With the rise of Zoom, Amanda told us that it makes her conversations with clients much more personal as you get to know them better outside of a conference call or an email. Seeing them face-to-face allowed her to get to know her clients better and work more towards building a relationship with that they can both grow. It’s certainly something I’ll keep in mind should I start working with clients at an agency in the future, but it’s also something I’d like to implement more of through my networking. The way I see it, it doesn’t start/end with the Linkedin request or the small chat at a conference or webinar. I can reach out to these people I meet or have as my connections, learn more about them and become colleagues. Just like with any other form of networking, who knows where it can lead you? The only way to know for sure is to break out of that bubble and really make that effort to build that relationship.