Next in the spotlight is Digital Elite Day long time hero and previous speaker, Alex Moss.
Alex is the director at Manchester-based digital marketing and web design agency, FireCask. More recently, Alex and his wife Anna also launched Basil + Lily, an Italian aperitivo bar in Prestwich.
Hi Alex, thanks for joining us in the spotlight! We’re just going to jump straight in. What are the main changes you’ve seen in digital now compared to when you started?
Skillsets have widened and at the same time the market has become more saturated. I think this has made it harder for some agencies to sell their skillset, whilst also making is harder for a prospective client to choose the right agency for them.
What does the next couple of years have in store for digital?
A further increase in focus on voice search, making it as much of a priority as mobile search. I also believe that isolated content assets will become a larger focus for larger brands.
You took your SEO agency knowledge and applied it to running a pub. What are the top lessons you took from one industry to the next?
Understanding more about the end-user. As agencies, we focus on our client being the people we deal with on a daily basis within that company, but they’re not. Agencies should focus more on the client’s end user rather than the client itself. Explaining this at the beginning will realign expectations.
What’s more stressful, running a pub or running a marketing agency?
Anna is the one who runs the bar – I just go there to reset the router 😀 However, to answer this, they both have their own pressures but hospitality is definitely more pressured on a number of levels. I don’t think people realise how lucky some people are within the digital industry.
How do you think Brexit will impact the digital scene in Manchester?
It’s a good question, as nobody can answer this because there is no answer. I do see some activity (or lack of) with investments but the digital scene should not be affected too much by what is happening around us that we have no power over. If anything, I believe Brexit may benefit the industry when businesses outside the country see us as a better deal with the weakening pound.
What should digital marketers attend digital elite day 2019?
The word “elite” is definitely the focus here. Yes – we know content is king. Yes – we know mobile optimised sites with the correct migration processes will keep your site afloat. However, Digital Elite Day really does concentrate on the more advanced and technical nature of our work which is something I thought has been lacking for some time.
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