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Digital Marketing Officer

ABOUT WALKER BOOKS UK
Home to books for all ages, Walker Books UK publishes many award-winning authors, illustrators and brands including Anthony Horowitz, Cassandra Clare, Lucy Cousins, Anthony Browne, Polly Dunbar, Patrick Ness and Where’s Wally?
 

Walker Books UK is part of the vibrant international Walker Books Group that includes Candlewick Press in America, Walker Books Australia, the Walker Group Licencing division, and Walker Productions, developing Walker content for other media platforms, including Hank Zipzer for BBC.
 

The Walker Books Group enjoys a unique ownership structure which includes all of its employees worldwide and more than 150 authors and illustrators. Walker is the world’s leading wholly independent publisher of English-language children’s books.

THE ROLE

The Digital Marketing Officer plays a key role in the Walker Books marketing team, overseeing the company’s digital marketing strategy and online presence to deliver awareness and engagement with our books online.

 

This varied and busy role involves planning and executing effective digital marketing campaigns for our titles, overseeing our websites, co-ordinating our social media strategy, managing email marketing communications, working with our digital sales team on promotions for eBooks and overseeing our video and book trailer output.

 

You will be a creative, highly organised and sales-aware digital marketer, who will relish the chance to apply their skills to promoting our books. An excellent communicator, you will serve as the key contact point for digital marketing knowledge across the business, as well as liaising effectively with our authors and illustrators.

 

You will have proven experience of marketing children’s brands, either in the publishing industry or wider entertainment industry, and a passion for promoting children’s books across all genres and age ranges.

 

KEY TASKS

Prepare and execute digital marketing campaigns for key titles

  • Work with colleagues in the marketing and PR teams to research and plan integrated campaigns for individual titles
  • Attend and contribute to sales and marketing strategy and planning meetings
  • Prepare marketing plans and present to authors and illustrators
  • Brief agencies – media, digital marketing, social – on campaign activity
  • Brief the in-house marketing design team on creation of assets
  • Liaise with authors/illustrators on their digital marketing ideas, supporting them where appropriate
  • Establish relationships with partners and affiliates as appropriate to campaigns
  • Apply consumer insight to campaigns
  • Contact point for Candlewick and Walker Books Australia in terms of sharing digital marketing plans and adapting content e.g. videos/trailers for use by our sister companies

 

Responsible for the creation, marketing and strategy behind Walker Books’ websites

  • Oversee the day-to-day running of company websites (Walker Books site plus brand and series mini-sites and blogs), including writing copy and ensuring design and content is up to date
  • Work with the in-house IT team to oversee the creation of new websites/mini-sites
  • Oversee marketing team members managing brand mini-sites
  • Report on the ROI of websites using analytics packages and identify improvements to drive conversion/retention

 

Manage Walker Books’ social media strategy

  • Create the social media strategy for Walker Books and our key brands
  • Brief and create engaging content for social media channels as appropriate, including overseeing content calendars
  • Identify new social media platforms and analyse their potential for promoting our titles
  • Run social media advertising in-house, as well as liaising with agencies on social media advertising when appropriate
  • Ensure that social media is integrated in all campaigns and that all team members communicate press, events and other campaign news effectively via the Walker Books and brand channels
  • Create social media tips for authors and illustrators as appropriate
  • Together with Publicity and Marketing Assistant field queries on social media
  • Oversee team social media logins

 

Oversee creation of video content

  • Oversee Walker Books’ video strategy, working with video production agencies on the creation of high quality videos/book trailers for campaigns
  • Film and edit simple videos in-house, including light edits to book trailers
  • Liaise with business affairs team to ensure that all video/book trailer content has appropriate contracts & permissions in place

 

Manage email communications

  • Plan, create and manage the strategy behind and the delivery of e-mail newsletter campaigns
  • Work closely with the in-house IT team to ensure e-newsletter databases are kept up to date and create new lists as required
  • Work with the in-house IT/Business Affairs teams to ensure all email communication activity adheres to GDPR laws re: data collection and usage
  • Build newsletter subscribers via online and offline promotions and at events

 

Responsible for GDPR & permissions relating to digital marketing activity   

  • Work with the Head of Consumer Marketing and Business Affairs team to ensure that all digital marketing campaigns and elements are compliant with GDPR law e.g. websites, mini-sites, competitions offline and online
  • Work with the Head of Consumer Marketing to ensure that all digital marketing campaign elements requiring legal input e.g. contracts with third parties or permissions agreements for videos/trailers, are submitted to the Business Affairs team for review and approval

 

Market digital products

  • Work alongside the Digital & Online Sales Manager to ensure communication of availability of new digital products (eBooks)
  • Deliver full digital marketing campaigns for key eBook titles, both in the eBooks environment e.g. Book Bub and fully integrated into overall marketing campaigns

 

Additional responsibilities

  • Keep abreast of emerging digital trends, with a strong awareness of the new opportunities presented by digital marketing
  • Field queries from web agencies, social media agencies, video producers and online analytics providers, evaluating and setting up meetings with potential partners
  • Be the Walker Books digital marketing ‘company champion’, liaising with other departments and authors/illustrators as appropriate

 

PERSON SPECIFICATION

The following is essential:

Experience:

  • Sound knowledge and proven experience of digital marketing for children’s brands – either in the book publishing industry or wider entertainment industry
  • Used to working to deadlines and project-managing a range of campaigns and activities independently
  • Excellent communicator, confident discussing the benefits of digital marketing with teams across the business and with external parties, in this case authors, illustrators and agents  
  • Excellent copy-writing skills
  • Knowledge and understanding of broader Direct Marketing and CRM desirable 
  • Ability to analyse, interpret and explain data for business purposes
  • Demonstrable understanding of social media marketing and how to apply this to campaigns
  • Working with email service providers, website platforms and social media/website analytics platforms (from a marketing, not development perspective)

 

Proven skills:

  • Microsoft Office applications plus website specific packages – analytics packages, email newsletter packages
  • Website content management systems e.g. Wordpress, Supadu and bespoke systems
  • A wide range of social media platforms
  • Planning, prioritising and managing a varied workload
  • Excellent interpersonal skills and a persuasive communicator
  • Highly self-motivated; enjoy working as part of a team and able to work independently

 

The following is desirable:

Knowledge of:

  • Digital Publishing
  • Basic HTML knowledge
  • Basic video creation and editing

 

Please send you CV and Cover Letter to recruitment@walker.co.uk

Digital Marketing Officer

Walker Books, London
Full-time, Permanent
Children's Publishing, Publisher, Trade
Campaigns, Marketing, Digital, Social Media, Online
Salary description: 
Competitive with a great benefits package

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