Pablo Luna
Digital marketing is a rewarding career to enter. Seeing a client rise through the ranks of Google as a result of your efforts is amazing while going viral on social media is also something that modern digital marketers consider to be a career pinnacle. However, it’s also a growing industry, and this means that there are good prospects for someone who can make it work. American retail companies alone spend more than $20bn on digital advertising every single year – and that’s before the earned media work that digital marketers also do is taken into account.
Because of these benefits, roles in this industry are pretty competitive – and you’ll have to work hard in order to get a foot in the door and then rise to the next level. From studying for a qualification to getting an internship, there are lots of routes to take. This article will look at some top tips for making it work and securing a place in this fun, challenging yet lucrative sector.
Hone your writing skills
Modern digital marketing comes with a lot of different obligations, and a professional in this field is likely to find themselves doing everything from basic video and photo editing to client liaison work over the phone or via email. However, it still remains the case that the main skill that a digital marketer needs is to be able to write well. Whether that’s producing SEO copy to go on a company website, drafting emails to reach out to guest post providers, or simply composing a Facebook status promoting the company’s latest acquisition, there’s also going to be a writing task to do.
For a new starter, then, honing writing skills is essential. Why not consider setting up a personal blog, for example, and using that as a way to test out different styles and topics? Once your writing is good enough, you can even release the URL to potential employers through a resume in order to show off your skills and prove that you’d be a good fit for the rigorous demands of the industry.
Consider a qualification
It’s still the case that people from all kinds of academic disciplines go into digital marketing. It’s common to see humanities students using their writing skills in the field, while it’s also open to tech degree graduates who know all about the software powering Facebook, Google and other platforms that digital marketers use on a daily basis. However, there’s now a degree for professionals in this industry, and completing a digital marketing degree online is a good way to get the principles and theory of the field under your belt. It’s also possible to enrol at an in-person university to complete a digital marketing degree.
Get some experience
Getting experience, however, remains far and away the main way to get a career in the digital marketing world. Agencies and clients want to know that you won’t feel thrown in at the deep end when you start and that you’ll be able to hit the ground running – and that’s why internships are such a pleasing sight when employers look at your resume.
There are lots of different types of internship out there, and your ability to access them may depend on a number of factors. For a start, it’s still, unfortunately, the case that some people manage to nab the agency internships based on a connection, such as having a family member or a friend work there. Others find that they can get an internship relatively easily by applying, but that the pay isn’t enough for them to support themselves.
Others find that they simply don’t live near enough to a major urban area with a cluster of agencies. It’s worth, then, working out a strategy for applying. Applying to as many as possible means that you’ve got the best chance of getting in, and then doing some other vacation work before the internship begins so that you can afford living costs is a wise move.
Working in this particular marketing field is something that many digital natives dream of doing. It’s the perfect mix of strategy, problem-solving and a little bit of glamour – and when a project goes well, it’s pretty exciting. Getting involved is hard thanks to the high levels of competition, but this doesn’t mean that it’s impossible. It simply means that focusing hard on skills such as writing is essential while working towards a qualification and an internship should also be on the to-do list.
