The top 10 challenges facing the interactive marketing community are very much the same as those facing the entire marketing community... in that almost every marketing professional must address the interactive/online marketing medium.

Having spent the last two years traveling the world for the Online Marketing Summit events (more the United States, but you get the point), educating marketers on the best practices of online marketing, I've had a chance to interact with thousands from all areas of marketing.

When they are asked about top challenges, many marketers say things like " social media" or "search engine optimization" or "integrating online and offline." But I think the challenges are much more fundamental to the individual and the organization.

Here's my list of the top challenges, and my recommendations for dealing with them.

No. 10: Time

"I have to get this e-newsletter out tomorrow; can we talk about our landing page strategy next week?"

As marketers, especially online marketers, we are all stretched way too thin. So, I put time at No. 10 because it's never really about a lack of time—it's about prioritizing time. Right? We can do whatever we want; it just depends on what we decide to do first.

As it applies to online marketing, we get so caught up in the day-to-day execution of existing campaigns that we never take the right amount of time each week, month, or year to say, "What can I do that will have the largest impact on my marketing goals?"

I'd argue taking the time to properly research what your customers do online and where they spend their time would be paramount, but rarely do we do our homework.

Recommendation: Familiarize yourself with "Web site usability" and start testing or learning from others who have already done so.

No. 9: Saying No (to Client, Agency, Boss)

"I just read about a blog that the Starbucks CEO does... we need to do that!"

This ties in with the issue of time. Saying no to the thousands of ideas that are out there is imperative, regardless of whether it's a request from your boss, client, or agency. Have the courage to ask for the research, the case studies, and the plan for execution first, before taking on activities that are hot or sound cool but, in the final analysis, have very low utility.

An example would be saying no to building a blog until you have mapped out the audience, the time it takes to maintain it, and what the desired outcome would be.

Recommendation: Write down your list of priorities for the year, and if the new idea does not help one of these, put it in the idea box for next year.

No. 8: Getting Involved

"Facebook is for kids. I don't really see why I'd want to join, plus who has the time for that?!"

One of my favorite conversations focuses on social media and social networking. Most marketing professionals over age 30 are skeptical about social networks like Facebook—the reason being that they've never taken the time to explore the medium. The psychological impediments inherent here cannot be explained away; people must experience the medium, only then can they judge.

Recommendation: Join Facebook. It's not going to be of huge utility at first, but put in some time and poke around; you'll then see some possibilities. To encourage you further, I'd be happy to be your first friend and connect you to hundreds of marketing leaders across the United States.

No. 7: Unifying Stakeholders

"IT doesn't think we need it, boss-man/woman is too busy for it, and the marketing department has all sorts of opinions."

Many people these days have opinions on what's best as it relates to online marketing. IT professionals feel they can create everything; your executives are not willing to spend time thinking about it because they are too busy; and your peers have certain opinions based on what they read and see. Your annual budget and strategy meetings seem to default to whoever has the loudest voice or the biggest ego.

Recommendation: Spend a day learning best-practices together as a team. Have an executive briefing (a consultant or adviser who will share what's happening in the marketplace and why companies are successful).

No. 6: Budgeting

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Aaron Kahlow is founder and executive director of the Online Marketing Summit (www.onlinemarketingsummit.com) and the Online Marketing for Marketers blog (blog.onlinemarketingconnect.com).