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oday’s post is part of a series where we profile each member of our leadership team here at Clix. We hope you enjoy getting to know us.
He’s the latest addition and a welcomed, fresh perspective. Tim is up for any challenge and is collaboratively focused — an absolute joy to work with and appreciated by both clients and our staff. It’s our pleasure to introduce you to our Campaign Manager, Tim Jensen.
What college did you attend? What was your major?
I attended Bob Jones University, a private college in South Carolina, where I majored in Mass Media.
What does a typical day look like for you?
I’m a dad to two young kids, so mornings start with a whirlwind of activity! Once I’ve settled down for the workday, I look through email to address any immediate concerns, review tasks for the day, and check top level account performance. I’ll also check Twitter for any important industry news or useful blog articles. As I move ahead into the workday, I like to identify a couple of priority tasks for the day and keep an immediate focus on those if possible. I’ll also prep for any client calls that may occur during the day.
What do you do when you aren’t working?
My family keeps me quite busy most of the time. I always enjoy outdoor activity: running, biking on local trails, or hiking the mountains of upstate New York. While time to read is limited, I generally have at least one book that I’m attempting to complete, often related to business or history. I also like to dabble in various aspects of technology outside the immediate realm of my “day job,” such as photography and coding.
How did you get started in digital marketing?
Soon after college, I was hired at a small full-service agency, where I immediately got to assist in many aspects of marketing. When the sole PPC manager left, I ended up taking over her responsibilities while being thrown into the opportunity to learn on-the-job. The more I learned, the more I found myself drawn in particular to the analytical world of PPC out of all the available paths in digital marketing.
What are some traits that an amazing PPC Account Manager possesses?
Keeping up with change is crucial. Changes come constantly, whether from the ad platforms (hey, AdWords looks completely different than it did a year ago!) or from clients. Organizational skills are also important, both for structuring campaigns in a logical fashion that can scale for large accounts and for keeping up with ongoing optimization work properly. Finally, an analytical mind and some level of technical knowledge are important for those who want to stand out.
Describe your jobs/roles at the companies you’ve worked for.
My first job started as a broad “assistant account manager” role that transitioned into a focus on PPC, although I was also involved in some SEO and email marketing. I worked almost entirely with auto dealerships (in-your-face sales tactics, anyone?). In my next agency position, I gained exposure to a much wider array of industries, which helped broaden my experience in working with differing goals, audiences, and sales cycles.
What advice do you have for clients/businesses new to digital marketing?
Don’t be a trend-chaser. You don’t necessarily need to spread your ad dollars out to every new ad platform and placement because XYZ Big Brand is doing it. If you’re just starting out, tried-and-true tactics like AdWords search or basic Facebook ads are often the best place to begin. Next, be willing to give a new campaign time to deliver results (months, not just days or weeks). Finally, if you’re working with an agency, see them as a partner and an extension of your marketing team, not just a vendor. Be willing to share the information and access that they need to succeed, while at the same time expecting transparency from them.
What is your favorite thing about this industry?
So many industry professionals are willing to share their knowledge with people of all levels. I’m indebted to fellow PPC’ers who communicate through Twitter, blogs, and other means and the ability to get answers fast. It says a lot that I can often get a genuinely helpful response more quickly by tweeting a question to the #ppcchat crowd than by contacting any platform’s support.
What’s something you’ve recently implemented, or are planning to implement, in an account that you’re excited about?
I’ve recently been digging into more ways to utilize AdWords Campaign Experiments for clients. The ability to efficiently set up a test and compare results, whether comparing a different bid strategy or different landing pages, is useful for getting the most out of AdWords performance.
Favorite blog post?
I’m a huge fan of Google Tag Manager and its ability to streamline adding tracking codes to a site. This article explains how to set up Google Analytics using GTM.
