Digital marketing is becoming increasingly crucial as the internet gets more widely used. And, as its prominence grows, we see new phrases every day. The “T-shaped Marketer” is one among them. We’ve read various articles on this topic, ranging from Moz to Distilled, to develop a “model” based on the talents and skills of marketers.

Although we’ve heard it a lot recently, it’s been used primarily in consulting and technical fields since 1990. This concept is used by companies like McKinsey and IDEO, who want multidisciplinary employees who can apply creative solutions to unforeseen situations.

What is the T-shaped Marketer?

The T-shaped concept’s word meaning, derived from the letter T, denotes having wide and deep knowledge and skills.

The horizontal section of the T-shaped, which combines the characteristics of two groups of people, shows the breadth of knowledge in various fields. At the same time, the vertical part expresses the area of expertise.

The image above includes a statement from Moz’s article “The T-shaped Web Marketer,” which illustrates the T-shaped concept nicely. While an online marketing specialist is knowledgeable in many areas of online marketing, such as design, content marketing, social media, and e-mail marketing, he may specialise in SEO. As a result, while he can master all areas of his profession, he can use his knowledge in several fields to better comprehend existing and upcoming challenges and propose more effective solutions.

Rand Fishkin, the creator and CEO of Moz, outlined the following SEO tasks in one of his Whiteboard Friday video series:

• UX (User Experience)
• Site Speed
• Design
• Content Marketing
• PR Studies
• Creating Brand Perception
• SEO Strategies (HTML Edits, Links, etc.)

It is hard for one person to deal with these issues profoundly and provide precise solutions. At this point, it is claimed that having an extensive understanding of SEO allows us to develop more comprehensive solutions. Knowing other areas linked to the subject will yield beneficial outcomes in terms of collaboration.

Are you a T-shaped marketer?

If you answer “yes,” have you notified your teammates? How do you utilize your knowledge in various situations? How do you combine your communication abilities with your technical knowledge?

If the answer is “no,” then let’s see some helpful hints for having a T-shaped profile.

Identify T-shaped Marketer

First, you must determine the point of focus. And finally, you have to grow to know about this. What areas of your specialization and knowledge do you focus on? What areas of knowledge and skills do you need to improve?

Assume you want to advance your career in SEO. In this instance, you can begin with training provided by successful worldwide brands, attend domestic and international events, and maintain your research and learning motivation.

Develop Skills of T-shaped Marketer

It is not necessary to be an expert in every area, which is already impossible. As a result, once you’ve selected your subject of specialisation, you should improve yourself in areas that are remote or close to it. Rather than a profound knowledge, development here is defined as “the ability to nurture the field of specialisation with some other relevant fields and to create a point of view and provide effective solutions when there is a problem outside the field of specialisation”.

If you choose to specialise in SEO, you should educate yourself in areas you may encounter in SEO processes, such as design, Google Analytics and GWT, essential coding expertise, and content marketing.

Finally, a small recommendation for the agencies:

A T-shaped team with diverse specialisations allows you to develop more effective plans and achieve maximum efficiency. To accomplish this, you must establish clear communication and balance among team members.

In general, T-shaped model develop you in a more comprehensive way. It allows you to expand in many field while ensure each aspect achieve its highest performance. T-shaped marketers are believed to be more valuable than  specialists. We are living in a fast-moving era. Thus, be able to flexible in fields of working is a key to catch up with the changing market. 

Paris-U applies “T-shaped” teaching model in every programs aims to develop students’ knowledge more comprehensively and prepare working experiences. As an employer or an employee you can always register courses in creditable institutes to improve yourself. 

To understand more about Paris-U’s programs, read here. 

References

Yılmaz, K. (2015, April 2). What is a T-Shaped Model? Retrieved from SEM: https://semtr.com/blog/en/what-is-t-shaped-model/