Women's History Month Spotlight: Khaleelah Jones
We're closing this year's celebration of Women's History Month with a final spotlight from the 2021 Digital Woman of the Year, producer of The Dark Feminine podcast, and our Director of Digital Marketing, Europe, Khaleelah Jones! Here are her thoughts on intersectionality, authenticity, performance marketing trends for 2022, and more:
You are a new member of the UK team (welcome!). Can you give us a little background on your experience and what you are most excited to bring to Investis Digital?
Thanks for the warm welcome. I have worked in digital marketing for over a decade, and most recently sold my digital marketing agency, Careful Feet Digital, after starting it from scratch (initially it was just me working as a freelancer!) and scaling it to a team of 15. At CFD we worked with start- and scale-ups including Peloton, italist, DealNews and Curate Beauty on all areas of their digital marketing, from SEO to paid media through to email, social media and digital strategy. Before starting CFD, I was head of marketing at a health tech start up and helped them close their $18m Series B round, which was also quite a ride. I also teach digital marketing for several universities and other organizations, so I am always keeping up to date on the latest developments and trends so I can teach them to students. I’m excited to bring my wealth of digital marketing and business experience, and my scrappy lean startup mentality, to Investis Digital.
Tell it
March is Women’s History Month! What does this month mean to you?
I think a lot about the discrimination people in my own family faced, especially my mother when she entered into the workforce in a senior role, and the requisite sacrifices they had to make to give me and my sisters a better life than they had. I think this month is all about setting aside time to examine collective privilege and reflect on the sacrifices made by those who came before us- as well as the work that still needs to be done. From stats around the number of million- and billionaires of colour, to partners of colour at the Big Four, to a look at the number of people of colour in C-suite roles, there’s still so much left to be done!
In your podcast, The Dark Feminine, you touch upon many distinct aspects of identity (entrepreneur, woman, POC, feminist). How do these identities intersect and how do you celebrate them in your personal narrative?
Ah, such a good question. I think for me it really is all about intersectionality and understanding that every single person is an individual with all the complexity that comes with that. We can’t be boiled down to one thing – I’m not just a woman, or even a woman of colour – there’s so much more about me that makes me this unique person that’s had a range of experiences that I can bring to the table in almost any situation.
Are there companies or individuals who have been telling digital narratives that you think deserve more amplification?
Monique Jackson’s long Covid diary on Instagram, where she explores being a woman of colour and artist with long Covid in graphic journal form.
Hello Seven is an amazing company that assists traditionally marginalized people to become entrepreneurs through education and advocacy work – they put out great content about the issues these groups face, too, if you just want to learn more.
The Good Ancestor podcast is all about how we lay the foundations and framework for those we want to come after us – the interviews are so insightful and interesting and really thought provoking in terms of how we are our best selves and how that can lead to wider systemic and societal change.
Build & Run it
As the founder and owner of an award-winning boutique digital marketing agency, Careful Feet Digital, what are the most crucial aspects of building and running a digital presence?
This sounds kind of cringe, but authenticity has never done me wrong. I actually don’t post on social media a lot, I only post when I have something to say and share – and my engagement shows that approach breaks through and is effective. I think there’s a lot more to being authentic, though, than meets the eye: being clear about what you want to say and communicating that in the most effective way is like 98% of the battle (hence why so many people, and brands, struggle) but once you nail that, being authentic is the most essential thing I’ve noticed moves the needle.
You recently won the 2021 Digital Woman of the Year Award! What advice would you give to other women trying to build their careers in the digital marketing space?
Just start. If you wait until you feel ready, you’ll never start. I think a lot of people look at those who are more established and get overwhelmed or intimidated (I definitely still do, too!). But the thing is that these people had to start somewhere too, and have probably revised their approach, messaging and strategies lots of times. So don’t worry about having it all planned and don’t worry about a mistake here and there- you know the saying, Man Plans, God Laughs, so take it all in stride and try to see it all through a lens of curiosity and learning.
Find it
What do you think will be the most important performance marketing strategies for brands in 2022?
Investing in data and analytics tools will be increasingly important as attributing ROI to specific channels becomes more important – this isn’t just for B2C or ecommerce businesses either, even higher funnel activities such as lead generation or engagement can and should be quantified to understand what marketing tactics are the most effective and efficient. Privacy is also an increasing consideration and concern, and more regulation in Europe will have knock on effects on how marketers can target and track effectively. Finally, thinking about relevance in reach – being as targeted as possible and building analytical structures that support this - is becoming more important , especially so that we don’t spin our wheels on tracking audiences that aren’t relevant.
How should digital marketers think about measuring success differently in 2022?
Oh, good question! I think it is all about interrogating return on investment and tying together what that means succinctly across all resource areas – so making it about not only channel by channel ROI, but adding in cost to ideate ideas, strategize, create content, etc.- for a true review and look at the most efficient and effective ways to reach audiences.
Stay tuned for more
Thank you for your great insights, Khaleelah! This is the end of our series for this year's Women's History Month, but stay tuned on our blog for more people news. And, if this feature inspired you to enter the technology industry, look at our careers page to see if you are a good fit for any of our current openings!
For more spotlights from this series, click below: