5 years into my professional career many of my friends still wonder what is it that I do. Some people think that I do nothing at work all day ( I aspire but never seems to happen), play with Facebook all day (I do sometimes), all kinds of odd jobs (in a way true...), web design (most misleading), web programming (even more misleading). So I'm going to make a list of professions that I've been associated with but I'm not.
Web Designer
So I am not a designer by any chance. In fact I even need design help on simple things like logo and name cards. So how do I do my websites? Templates. Professional Club templates with very minimal changes. Club templates are often good enough for a website to look professional. Many are misled to think that templates are standard and boring and consumers can tell in 1 glance. Check out demo.rockettheme.com, demo.templateplazza.net, demo.joomlart.com. What I do however, is advice in the area of user experience and performance objectives. As part of my job, I help companies and brands put the right tools and elements on the pages of their website to achieve performance objectives such as sign ups, sales, exposures, click throughs etc.
Web Programmer
I can do a little coding and debugging of troubled scripts but I'm not a web programmer and certainly am not a whiz to whip up a good application or two. I can't make that cool iphone app or facebook widget, not even a newsletter signup. If scripts (commercial or open) are available for these purpose, I pick and implement them. What I do is functional designs and workflows of useful web and CRM applications, I still rely on the programmers to execute my design. I create effective application workflows and designs so that companies can achieve their desired objectives, be it operational efficiencies, sales automation, traffic leverage etc...
Social Media Consultant
A new buzz word for web marketers. It will be very inaccurate to say that I'm a social media expert because I'm mostly familiar with only the use of social media for consumer engagement but not all aspects (For one, I can't generate a huge PR campaign on social media). While I'm familiar with the social media tools, but these are just one of the many tools that I use for creating customer touchpoints and engagement. I use social networking sites like Facebook and Friendster, blogs (and now microblogging like Twitter) and media sharing sites such as Youtube and Flickr, in various combinations to achieve an overall touchpoint strategy so that consumers are engaged from various opt-in day to day activities.
Web Marketer
A recent title I've been associated with. While it's true that most of the work I do involve the web and online media. There is a large portion that involves the use of loyalty cards, discounts and promotions, and other behavioral stimulating activities that are part of the overall consumer engagement programs I design.
In summary, I
- Do not design webpages but I help decide which are the critical elements of a website and the overall experience of the user.
- Do not code but I design applications that achieve various organisational objectives such as perational efficiencies, sales automation, traffic leverage etc...
- Do a lot more than social media and web marketing.
- Put together a strategic plan for businesses to use technology to their advantage.
