The Marketing Therapist: Lorrie Thomas, Web Marketing Therapy
"Admitting you need social marketing help is the first step to recovery."
As the Marketing Therapist, Thomas dishes out tough love, stages interventions, and acts as a support system to those navigating the social web. Together with her colleagues Emilia Doerr (Client Treatment Specialist) and Amy Dunn (Web 2.0 Fear Specialist), they comprise of one creatively unique practice.
iMedia: You and your colleagues have such interesting titles. What's the story behind them?
Lorrie Thomas: We are all about being true to our authentic selves, even when it comes to our marketing job titles. It's healthy self-expression! Every team member at Web Marketing Therapy selected their own job title based on the type of social marketing support work they do. I am big on empowerment. I wanted my team to love their titles and own their own title decisions. It was a creative process for everyone and a fun way to start work on our team. Marketing is about sharing stories; our job titles set the tone for our professional story!
iMedia: Describe a social media intervention.
Thomas: Many professionals can be dangers to themselves and others when it comes to social media marketing. Some get a sense of entitlement, thinking Facebook and Twitter is supposed to make them millions; some [almost seem to have] Tourette's, where they can't stop overtly commercial outbursts; and some fear social media altogether and simply can't get started. No matter what the intervention issue is, Web Marketing Therapy diagnoses, prescribes, and guides healthy social media. We treat the cause of social media goals first, never band-aiding symptoms. If I have to bust out Marketing Therapist tough love on some overactive egos, then I intervene as needed.
iMedia: How do your clients and new business react to your interesting job titles? Have there ever been any issues equating marketing with "treatment"?
Thomas: My title started years ago when my clients would call and say "I need to talk to the marketing therapist." The pattern of my support-approach stuck, and more people started calling me that, hence the birth of Web Marketing Therapy.
iMedia: How does your job title affect the way you perceive your work?
Thomas: I can speak on behalf of all my colleagues that our titles help set the tone for our work. Our approach marries fun, humor, passion, and professionalism. We are the CEOs of our own careers, so why make work boring?
Conclusion
One could argue that in a field such as social media marketing -- which still struggles on occasion to justify its legitimacy and speak the language of ROI -- these quirky titles might serve more as a distraction, and further emphasize the notion that social media is fluff. However, anyone in this field needs creativity, passion, a sense of humor, and the eagerness to stick their neck out and be noticed -- what better way to embody these aspects up-front than with a unique job title? These titles showcase an entrepreneurial spirit, as these professionals take the lead in defining their own jobs, carving out their own specialized spaces in this industry, and affirming what their work means to them.
And with a title like that on a business card, you just know you'll be giving them a call.
Madhuri Shekar is an assistant account executive at Rogers and Cowan and a freelance writer.
On Twitter? Follow iMedia Connection at @iMediaTweet.
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