Joe DeWitt - JDM Impressions

Working remotely, like we do at JDM, doesn’t mean being disconnected from colleagues. As part of our culture-building initiative, and to introduce the digital marketing world to our awesome team members, we regularly peel back the curtain on the lives of JDMers. This week, we’ll get to know SEO Account Manager Joe DeWitt!

Name: Joe DeWitt
Position: SEO Account Manager
Location: Brooklyn, NY

When did you begin working at JDM?
Just over a year ago.

How did you know JDM was the right fit for you?
I was almost disarmed at how much trust was put into me and how much flexibility was offered at JDM. My previous positions were a bit more structured when it came to taking time off, or signing in and out at certain times. JDM made it clear from the start that, as long as I'm getting my work done, my schedule is up to me.

What’s your favorite part of the workday?
My favorite part of the workday might be sharing our new blogs with the team on Slack. I try and make every blog sound interesting – and usually use a dumb sense of humor to get that across. 

What’s the most gratifying part of working with your clients? 
I feel pretty satisfied when I can see that they trust us and see us as actual partners instead of some sort of vendor. Clients often have a high level of trust in us right from the start, because we make it known pretty quickly that we know what we’re doing, and what each specific client needs. 

In a remote company, how do you stay connected with your team?
As a child of the ’90s (I was born in ’96, but I have an older brother who helped keep me up on the trends), I was huge into AOL instant messaging. As a result, Slack is a natural extension of my ability to type quickly - often with emojis and acronyms. 

What three words would you use to describe the JDM culture?
Supportive, Dedicated, and Fun.

What's something you love about JDM?
There’s a palpable sense that everyone – from HR to management to my peers – wants to see you succeed. There’s a lot of empathy in our culture, yet there’s still a drive for everyone to be the best that they can be. Being told “you don’t take off enough time!” from my manager was such a refreshing nag. My friends don’t believe it when I tell them someone said that.

Can you recall a time when JDM challenged you, and how we supported you through that time
Just a few weeks ago, actually, I found myself with a full client load that all needed something at once. My to-do list was piling up and I got a bit overwhelmed. Luckily, multiple teammates made time for me to go through everything on my plate, and help decide what needed to be done next. Sometimes you need that outside voice to reassure you you can’t do everything at once.

What’s the best thing you’ve done with your unlimited PTO? 
So far, I’d have to say it was my weeklong LA visit. I had arrived in San Diego for our holiday party, and decided to visit some friends while I was on the West Coast!

What's something you love about the marketing industry?
May seem like a silly answer, but I like the idea that we understand the strings being pulled, the trends dominating social media, and the state of the economy. As an Aquarius, I have to feel like I’m smarter than others. And being a marketing professional means you have to stay up to date on a bunch of different fields. 

What do you think has been the most interesting change in the marketing industry or in your channel this year?
Seeing TikTok become a search engine has been quite the development. I’ve already known how valuable it was as a Paid Ad platform, but I’ll find myself using TikTok to find cute restaurants/bars/clubs. It’s also a great way to find places not to go (i.e. when the creator uses that awful influencer voice).

What digital marketing platform, technology, or skill do you see gaining the most traction in the next 1-2 years, and why?
This one’s tough. As I write this, there’s still a lot of hysteria around Elon Musk’s Twitter, and who knows if BeReal will ever cave and become a friend to advertisers to edge out TikTok Now…

I’ll stay true to my Zillenial roots and give a shoutout to Tumblr. There’s some fatigue around a lot of the platforms that we’ve been using over the years, and I think people may find their way back to Tumblr to escape the discourse.

What are the names and ages of your kids (or furbabies)?
I am childless and furbaby-less. The only creature ruining my clothes and furniture is me.

What's something you've implemented or tested, and what was the outcome? 
When I joined the team, I quickly became the official Blog Boy of JDM. At that time, not many people were available to make fixes or optimizations to our top-performing blogs. I was able to spend a few months refreshing blog posts, and was happy to see a considerable increase to our site’s impressions, clicks, and average rank!