Are you searching for a job within a high-growth industry? Do you want to enter an industry that not only values diverse skillsets, but also rewards workers with generous salaries? Do you desire a career which provides flexibility, where you can work either in-house, remotely, or as a freelancer?
In that case, an ideal career path for you could be digital marketing.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, advertising, promotions, and marketing managers are expected to see a 10% growth in employment between 2020 and 2030. The median annual pay for this job sector is also a healthy $141,490. There are also various areas of digital marketing which you can specialize in, including social media marketing, search engine optimization, and content marketing.
Before you can start thinking of having a career in this field, however, there are various steps you need to take. Below is a quick guide on how to begin a successful digital marketing career.
Understand the basics
If you’re reading this guide, it’s likely you already have a vested interest in digital marketing. Yet due to the wide-ranging nature of digital marketing, it’s also likely your knowledge is spotty when it comes to the basics. As a result, you need to gain a solid understanding about all of the main processes that make up a typical digital marketing campaign.
These processes include:
- Website marketing: Using the internet to promote your website.
- Search engine marketing: This includes paid search advertising and search engine optimization (SEO).
- Email marketing: Using email to market products and services.
- Social media marketing: Promotion through Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and other social media platforms.
- Content marketing: Producing content (written, images, videos, etc.) to use as part of digital marketing campaigns.
- Affiliate marketing: Advertising external products and making affiliate commissions for each sale.
- Video marketing: Promoting directly on video platforms such as YouTube and TikTok.
- Mobile marketing: Marketing on app stores such as the Apple App Store and Google Play.
This is a lot to try and take in all at once, admittedly—yet don’t feel too overwhelmed. As you tackle the twists and turns of your route towards a digital marketing career, you’ll naturally find opportunities to work in all of these aforementioned areas.
Gain practical experience
The best way to learn is by getting your hands dirty and gaining practical experience with digital marketing. In that regard, one of the best options to take is to start your own website.
A website supplies an ideal opportunity to test out various digital marketing concepts. Along with learning how to design a responsive, aesthetically pleasing website, you should gain knowledge about the different ways to promote your site. These ways include SEO, content marketing, and email marketing. Plus, if you’re willing to spend a little extra, you could also make use of paid search advertising.
Creating a website is a commitment of both time and money. When you begin, you’ll realize it’s a steep learning curve to try and reach the top of the search rankings. It’s also not a process which can be done overnight. Yet by walking down this path, you gain two major plus points in your favor. One, you gain a strong insight into different digital marketing concepts; and two, your website can be a CV enhancer that opens the door to working in the sector.
Start with freelance projects
For beginners, freelancing is a great way to build experience in the digital marketing realm. No, you’re not going to earn a large sum of cash when starting out, but you shouldn’t view it from a pure monetary point of view. See it as an internship where the lessons you learn will pay off in the long run.
There are numerous job portals available where you can work as a freelancer. Popular choices are PeoplePerHour, Fiverr, and Upwork. Due to how tricky it is to be selected with zero feedback for your first project, ensure you apply fast and with low rates. Remember, the longer you stick with freelancing, and the more positive reviews you gain, the more you can charge when applying for future projects.
When you work with multiple clients, you can pick up valuable marketing information from each one. You can learn effective SEO techniques, how to use social media analytics to your advantage, how to produce effective blog content, and so on.
Stand out with a digital marketing degree
It’s true: digital marketing is a sector which doesn’t necessarily demand you have a degree. Plenty of professionals get by without this qualification on their CV. However, if you want to land a prominent, high-paying digital marketing role, a degree is close to mandatory.
Instead of getting any type of degree, however, there are now courses which focus exclusively on digital marketing. Along with gaining expert knowledge about online marketing and its ever-evolving nature, a degree in digital marketing makes you stand out from other professionals. It impresses employers and could be the difference that lands you a dream management position.
If you’re in full-time employment or don’t want to uproot to a university that offers a digital marketing course, you may feel this step is unreachable. However, online learning has changed the game. Aston University is a reputable institution which offers an MSc digital marketing course that’s part-time and done exclusively online. Therefore it’s possible to work around studying without it affecting your normal day-to-day life.
Continue to learn about new updates
Digital marketing is an ever-evolving industry. Tactics are fast to change, sometimes on a daily basis, and this means there’s no time to sit still. You have to be willing to constantly learn and stay up-to-date with the latest digital marketing updates.
To find information about new tools, industry updates, case studies, and all new developments, there are various websites you can follow. These include:
- Search Engine Journal
- Content Marketing Institute
- Search Engine Roundtable
As Google is the undoubted kingpin of search, it also makes sense to follow the Google Blog for all of their latest updates.
