My Journey from Political Consultant to Marketing Services Director at Metadata
This will sound crazy, but Metadata’s platform and Agency Services (s/o James) saved my job at Own (formerly OwnBackup). More on that in a minute.
I was a political science major in college and started my career in digital consulting. While I only spent a short time in politics, my tenure with The Advance Group (TAG) allowed me to lead the digital strategy for some of the country’s biggest companies and non-profit organizations—and I loved it.
I loved it so much that I decided to wave goodbye to my political career and say hello to one in digital marketing, first at AppleCart and then at Own.
I won’t go too deep into my time at Own, but here are the highlights:
- Soon after I joined, the Head of Marketing left for another opportunity, making me a one-woman team.
- I was responsible for our strategic marketing campaigns and nurturing tactics.
- I set out to break Own into untapped markets.
Because I was a one-woman team, I needed a platform that could help me understand what was working and where I could optimize with my limited resources. I found MetaData and I was instantly able to use my time more efficiently and penetrate new markets—and those markets then became the most successful ad campaigns that the company had ever run, which was very cool.
Fast forward a few years later, I’m now a Marketing Services Director (MSD) on the Metadata team.
Why Metadata?
I was leading the complex digital strategy for a company fresh off a $240M Series E.
Metadata was my life raft, allowing me to reach new audiences and see exactly how my campaigns were influencing pipeline. I could optimize for the metrics that mattered most—and I could do this without a ton of demand gen experience and resources.
For example, campaign setup for most demand gen marketers looks something like this:
- Log into the native ad channels
- Build audiences
- Upload creative assets
- Add some copy
- Launch
Traditional B2B digital marketing is a lot of button-pushing and a constant race against the clock to get more campaigns live. Sure, following this process is easy—the steps are the same every time—but it puts marketers in a tough spot.
Instead of setting up campaigns thoughtfully, time constraints force most marketers to check the boxes and use “speed” as their only metric for success. I don’t fault anyone for this mindset because it’s the only one the native ad channels allow, but there’s a better way that I wasn’t aware of until I started using Metadata at Own.
With Metadata, I could build audiences once (in one place) and apply them to campaigns across paid channels. Said another way, I could launch my campaigns with fewer clicks and screens and reinvest that time into the tactics that made my campaigns shine even brighter once they went live, like experimentation.
My love for Metadata grew that much stronger after spending time with my now teammates at a customer panel in Las Vegas. A few things quickly became clear to me:
- The team was genuinely fun to be around.
- Everyone was super smart.
- Every team member took ownership of the product and what it was doing for their customers.
My time in Vegas solidified my status as Metadata’s biggest fan, so I didn’t think twice when James reached out about possibly joining the team as an MSD. Actually, I did, but for a valid reason: I didn’t want a customer-facing role.
But after a few conversations with the team, including Chris Nethercote (Metadata’s Head of Sales), I quickly saw that this wasn’t a traditional customer-facing role—and here’s why.
- I’d do cool sh*t: I’d get to work with innovative B2B marketers who are eager to take risks, experiment at scale, play around with new ad types, and think outside of the typically rigid B2B marketing box.
- I’d grow as a marketer: I want to be in the top 1% of digital marketers. Full stop. I saw how the MSD role would help me do that because I’d get to wear a few hats, some of which most in-house marketers will never get the chance to do, including a Sales one. Plus, when I told Chris I’m not a seller or CSM—and don’t know the first thing about those functions—he told me that we’d build on my strengths and bolster my weaknesses. As someone who prioritizes career growth, this was music to my ears.
- I’d get to see things most marketers never will: Because I’d be working with a variety of accounts, I’d get the chance to see how dozens of B2B marketers are using their budgets, tackling challenges, hitting their goals, and using Metadata to get there.
The moral of the story: I joined Metadata and haven’t looked back.
How Metadata changed my approach to digital marketing
In my pre-Metadata days, I lived by reports within the native ad channels and endless spreadsheets. I was rarely able to take a step back and look at the bigger picture. Instead, I’d get lost in the weeds and intricacies of my campaigns, like the cost of a keyword or how many clicks my ads got the day before.
I also failed to ask myself some pretty fundamental questions, like:
- What’s my ultimate goal?
- Which KPIs am I measured—and promoted—on?
- What does my leadership team care about right now?
Before Metadata, I didn’t have time to step back and get to the root of why I was doing what I was doing. It was a huge problem that I didn’t even know I had, keeping me from reaching my full potential and spending my budget in the smartest way possible. Thankfully, Metadata showed me that getting out of the weeds was possible.
Metadata revolutionized my thoughts about campaign fundamentals, including setup, measurement, and optimization specifically. It soon became obvious to me that moving forward, this is going to be the way every B2B marketer operates (and those who don’t will be brushing up their resumes).
Measure the metrics that actually matter
As powerful as ad tech is, the measurement and attribution gap still presents a major challenge for marketers, especially with Google Chrome sunsetting third-party cookies. This is because marketers using the native ad channels can only measure vanity metrics, like clicks and impressions. From there, they have to stitch everything together across Google Studio, Tableau, and Salesforce to get a somewhat accurate idea of whether or not their campaigns are generating pipeline and revenue.
Metadata allows you to see what’s working, and because you can build campaigns at the ad group level, you can see the exact ads, audiences and assets that are bringing home the bacon.
So, instead of spending hours in spreadsheets or working with your Marketing Ops team to get a blurry view of performance, you can log into one dashboard and prove your value, even across brand awareness campaigns.
Optimize (and get a good night’s sleep)
Even if you work some spreadsheet magic and get a rough idea of how your campaigns perform in the native ad channels, you’re still up a creek without a paddle when it comes time to optimize. Just like you can only measure vanity metrics in the native channels, you can only optimize for them, too.
Metadata lets you optimize for top-of-funnel metrics as well, but more importantly, it empowers you to move your budget toward ads driving pipeline and revenue. Combine that with auto-pause rules, which stop inefficient campaigns based on parameters you set, and you can spend your days, nights and weekends without wondering if you’re funneling money into futile campaigns.
How B2B marketers can stay ahead of the curve
Here’s my advice to B2B marketers who want to stay ahead of the curve: Get mind-readingly close to your customers. And, no, I’m not talking about the “talk-to-your-customers” advice that everyone preaches on LinkedIn.
I’m talking about a completely different level of connection—one you can only get by partnering with your Sales team and asking them some pointed questions like:
- How do you sell our product?
- What differentiates a successful demo from an unsuccessful one?
- Where do prospects typically convert?
- Why do prospects opt for our competitor?
- What are our customers’ “oh-shit” moments?
Find these answers, and then let them guide your demand gen strategy for quarters to come. You’ll consistently show your boss’ boss that your ad dollars are doing their job, making the ask for more budget (or even a personal raise) a no-brainer.
Want to see how Metadata could level up everything about your campaign setup, measurement, and optimization? Book a demo today.
