As Technology Develops, So Does Role of Geek Marketers

Steve Rubel has an article called "As Technology Develops, So Does Role of Geek Marketers"

His thesis:

It's very difficult for anyone in marketing to keep up with all the twists the digital space because technology changes so darn fast. It's like chasing a cheetah. Most marketers - be they clients or agency side - are heads-down running their business. Therefore, companies are creating a new role. They're hiring people who act as translators between the ultra geeks and the marketers, if you will, and shepherd the development of pilot programs.

This sounds like what we in the nonprofit sector have called "circuit riders" and "accidental techies," although those roles are more generalists.  They are experts in the organization's mission/programs and the technology and good translators.   

The Geek Marketer, as the title implies, is not just a mere nerd, but also a marketing specialist. Rubel elaborates in his article:

These cross-trained specialists are fluent in both worlds and bridge them. They are marketers by trade, yet they also have a hard-core interest in technology and social anthropology. As curious individuals, they are constantly studying how digital advances are changing our culture and media. Armed with these insights, they regularly apply them in a marketing context by working closely with brand teams to codify new best practices.

Geek Marketers create competitive advantage through rapid-fire testing and learning. The people I know in this role are shepherding the development, testing and measurement of all kinds of groundbreaking marketing programs. Their pilots span from the simple, such as building RSS feeds, to the complex, creating multifaceted community programs. Often they are paired with people like me, who are in a similar role on the agency side.

In addition to Micropersuasion, there are other blog devoted to the interaction between technology and marketing in the for-profit sector, including Techno/Marketer.   I am reminded of Steve Bridger's post "You Are Promoted To Buzz Director"   Who are the bloggers that are writing about intersection between nonprofit technology and marketing?    Leave your favorites in the comments. 

 

Comments

[Matt Dickman]

Beth -- Thank you for the link, it's great to meet you! I work with a couple of non-profit ventures outside of work and this is usually a position where somebody kind of falls into it. They know a bit more tech and are dubbed the tech person.

One way that I've seen success happen is in recruiting young professionals to engage in non-profits as "junior board members". Then np's can leverage those people's skillsets which are becoming inherently digital.

One group I work with, and helped to found, is a np called Shoes and Clothes for Kids (www.sc4k.org) here in Cleveland. Our young professional model works with the board of directors and injects new marketing and tech thinking into the whole organization.

[Shava Nerad]

How apt! I am just in the next week or so filing an LLC to do this in the for-profit venue (you know me, I've jumped the fence between tech and development and marketing several times in the last few decades).

In our case, we're chasing the convergence of social media, virtual worlds, and gaming communities -- something that nonprofit geeks probably actually have a better notion of, these days.

My friend Dan Carol proposes we call this area of geekdom "ava-media."

But yes, I think of it a lot like circuit riding. I think a lot of "best practices" stuff needs to go both ways across the nonprofit/for-profit fences...

Yrs,
Shava

[Jocelyn]

This is my goal with Nonprofit Technology Blog -to help more nonprofits to think about and use new technology/marketing tools to achieve their missions and operational goals. I'm fascinated by the intersection of marketing and technology. And fancy myself a decent bridge between the technical and the strategic, which it seems is a good skill to have. In fact, having more tech/marketing bridge builders may be just what is needed to help more nonprofits to both use these tools (blogs, social networking sites, news feeds) and embrace a new marketing mindset. anyway... I shall opine more fully on my new blog! thanks, Beth for your great guidance on all things social media!