When we talk about marketing these days, it seems that what we’re really talking about is digital marketing. A career in digital marketing is definitely not to be sniffed at. in fact, in the recent years, this job has been seeing a consistent rise in demand over many others. People with these expertise can find themselves in great, lucrative jobs quite quickly. But how exactly should you be going about it if you’re interested?
Digital marketing isn’t as simple to get into as a lot of people think. Because a lot of people out there are familiar with it, you need to make sure you stand out from the crowd. Here are some of the first steps you need to take, and how you can take them further.
Education
Not everyone who is interested in marketing wants to do marketing at college or university. They want to take advantage of that time by focusing on degrees in the humanities, or in more general business studies.
Getting some academic experience in business is certainly a plus. But the humanities, such as art, design, or creative writing, can definitely help. Whatever the case, it’s recommended you chase up that education with something like an online MBA in marketing. Other than some extension courses, explore online courses from prestigious colleges which offer certifications and degrees in digital marketing. A willingness to go that extra distance academically will definitely make you stand out a bit more.
Your own website
Someone’s probably told you at some point in your life that you should have a website. It’s not always clear why, exactly, but people are convinced they’re pretty important to your future. Well, in the case of digital marketing, they might be onto something!
The fact is that you should be going into an interview with some hard experience under your belt. You should start a website and get into marketing that website. You can start working with AdWords and Google algorithms. This gives you experience to put on a resumé. Of course, it’ll be a plus if the front end of your website also shows off your knowledge. Why not consider making it a blog about digital marketing?
An online portfolio goes a long way in showing your expertise and passion for the field. If you live and breathe digital marketing, it’s time to show it off online first.
Get more involved in social media
If you’re looking to get into digital marketing, you’re going to be expected to have intimate experience with social media. That means you can’t really afford to be some sort of digital recluse.
Employers are going to want to see that you’re active (and popular!) on places like Facebook and Twitter. You’re also going to have to spread your reach to other social media platforms. You’ll want to get a Google+ account. Start using YouTube more socially. Get some experience using analytics tools and dashboard applications. Other experience such as community management, community development, monitoring of conversations and tracking of metrics for social media channels is highly desirable. In the data driven world, the more you can express and present through data, the more credibility you can bring to your portfolio and experience.
The buzzwords
Digital marketing is full of buzzwords. Admittedly, there are probably too many buzzwords. But some of the key terms are ones you must know. You don’t have to know everything about them, but you should know what they are and how they can apply to certain situations.
You should know the basics of SEO, or search engine optimizations. You’ll want to know about conversion rate optimization, too. And what about clickability? Snackable content? ROU? Engagement? Social commerce?
Employers often prefer to see some (or most) of these skills when reviewing a resume for a social media manager, or a digital marketing manager:
Experience in:
- Managing SEO/SEM, marketing database, email, social media and/or display advertising campaigns
- A/B testing and campaign deployment
- Setting up and optimizing Google Adwords campaigns
- Strong understanding of current online marketing concepts, strategy and best practices
- Tracking conversion rates and making improvements to the website
Like I said, there are a lot. Work on gaining knowledge on those you don’t and build an expertise by implementing these on your own website so you can show the results.