In our latest Digital Women interview, we meet Bailey Lewis, Marketing Manager at audience targeting platform Herdify…
What are the biggest opportunities for women in your sector of the digital industry right now?
As we move into a more automated, digital world, where AI has made content volume completely irrelevant, I think the biggest opportunities are increasingly in the areas that technology can’t replicate.
Human connection and offline interaction are increasingly valuable and we can’t lose touch with that. It’s not a new thing that people want to spend less time online, so how do businesses bring the offline world back through their marketing and customer experience? We’re seeing this a lot in lifestyle brands, but it’s definitely starting to come in B2B.
For women in the industry, I think that creates an exciting opportunity to lead in the areas that will become increasingly important: empathy, curiosity, relationship-building and the confidence to bring a different perspective. As more of our execution becomes automated, the value of understanding people and having a unique point of view on how to reach them will only increase.
What’s left is original thinking and real customer understanding; do this, and you’ll build long-term brand trust.
What are some of the challenges that you still see for women in the industry? Any advice as to how to overcome those challenges?
I think there’s still a big credibility gap in the industry. Women have to prove capability, whereas men get this automatically. Being a woman in tech and a marketer, I’ve had to earn my credibility through hard work and by proving value.
What’s helped is doing the work myself. I’ve always been a builder and problem solver; this continues no matter where I’ve worked or the role I’ve been in. I love coming into organisations, doing things differently, solving problems and earning my place that way.
What support structures and organisations are most important and effective to you as a woman in the digital industry?
I’ve been lucky enough to have support from people above me, and I’ve often seen women a few steps ahead of me during my career. When I started my career, I learned from an incredible woman who I’m still close with today. Find those people in your role and keep learning.
What is the biggest misconception (a) about women in the digital industry, and (b) by women in the digital industry?
In my opinion, the biggest misconception is that women aren’t technical. They often get put into a category of not understanding things in a tech stack or being data-driven in their decision-making. I’ve had so many interactions where this has happened, but it’s not the case.
For women, it’s probably because it’s such a male-dominated industry, so they don’t want to join. Tech is still male-dominated, but there’s a huge generation of brilliant women making their mark.
What one piece of advice would you offer a woman starting in the digital industry today?
Someone who isn’t afraid to challenge the people above them. In B2B especially, I see so much marketing that’s really aimed at the senior team, stuff that exists to make the leadership happy, rather than anything the actual customer cares about. Sometimes that means disagreeing with the obvious answer. Be the voice in the organisation who puts the customer first, and challenge your leadership team. They’ll thank you for it in the long run.
