How to Start a Career in Digital Marketing: Digital marketing is one of the fastest-growing fields in today’s modern world. A good thing about it is the fact that you don’t necessarily have to finish college for it. Nevertheless, taking some digital marketing courses makes the process much easier, by providing you with an essential base of knowledge.
Another advantage is that you are not confined to dealing with people in your city or country. You can collaborate with anyone on the planet. And you can work from anywhere on the earth. Furthermore, the remuneration is competitive, making this occupation appealing to a wide range of people globally.
However, many people are unsure about where to begin when it comes to pursuing a career in digital marketing. This article was created to help clarify the stages required for a career in digital marketing. Continue reading to find out more.
What Is Digital Marketing?
Digital marketing is an umbrella word for any and all online techniques used by businesses to find, create, and target an audience in the aim of converting them into consumers.
Digital marketing, like traditional marketing, focuses on promoting and (ideally!) selling a product or service. However, with the rise of cellphones, marketing no longer implies “Let’s just put up a billboard.” Because consumers have evolved, so have marketing methods. That is why digital marketing focuses on reaching potential customers where they spend their time online, in highly targeted and relatable ways—a strategy known as “conversational” marketing. This involves, among other things, social media marketing, sponsored advertisements, and search engine optimization (SEO).
Is digital marketing a good career?
Digital marketing is a great career choice. We are living in a digital world and marketing budgets are moving to digital advertising and away from traditional marketing channels.
Companies need to improve their online visibility and there is an increased demand for digital marketing jobs worldwide.
Digital Marketing Salary
Yes, there is a job title “digital marketer,” but the beauty of digital marketing is that there are many additional jobs you may explore once you’ve grasped the fundamentals. Most digital marketers gravitate toward specific niches based on their hobbies and skill set. That means that whether you’re a Type A techie or a big-picture creative, you can find an appropriate digital marketing career for you. Here are a few examples of digital marketing job titles, as well as their current average salaries:
- Content strategist ($72,742/year(opens in a new tab))
- Content marketing manager ($81,087/year(opens in a new tab))
- SEO specialist ($54,088/year(opens in a new tab))
- Social media manager ($50,489(opens in a new tab)/year(opens in a new tab))
- Paid ads manager ($47,079/year(opens in a new tab))
- Digital marketing manager ($73,114/year(opens in a new tab))
- Partnership marketer ($50,528/year(opens in a new tab), $81,078/year for management positions(opens in a new tab))
- Branded content manager ($64,367/year(opens in a new tab))
- Audience development manager ($77,646/year(opens in a new tab))
10 Steps to Start a Successful Digital Marketing Career
1. Learn the fundamentals of digital marketing
For newcomers to digital marketing, the first obvious step is to grasp what digital marketing is and what the key components of digital marketing are.
Digital marketing, often known as online marketing, is a broad phrase used to describe the practice of marketing over the Internet.
It consists of several components that cover all aspects of online promotion. You should understand that it is not a single discipline, but rather a collection of procedures (channels) that might take part in a digital marketing campaign.
2. Create your own website.
Once you’ve mastered the fundamentals, it’s time to get your hands dirty and begin practicing digital marketing.
Starting your own website is one of the best ways to use various digital marketing strategies in the real world.
Digital marketing is a highly measurable and realistic notion, not a theoretical one. It is not enough to understand the theory behind SEO and social media marketing; you must also understand how to utilize the various tactics in practice.
Throughout your digital marketing career, you will be requested to promote various types of websites in order to improve organic traffic (SEO) or sales (through PPC and social media advertising).
3. Become an SEO Professional
If you are not proficient in SEO, you cannot pursue a job in digital marketing. You must first become an SEO specialist before learning other talents.
SEO teaches you how to build websites that are appealing to both users and search engines, and you can use the same techniques to optimize your Google Ads and Facebook sponsored ads.
4. Obtain your Google Ads Certification
As a digital marketing consultant, one of your responsibilities will be to use Google Ads (formerly known as Google AdWords) to promote products or services on the numerous Google properties and websites on the Internet.
Obtaining a Google Ads certification is the quickest approach to gain the relevant skills. Google has a wealth of materials to assist you in becoming a Google AdWords Expert, and obtaining certification is an excellent method to demonstrate to clients or potential employers that you have the requisite skills.
5. Understand Facebook Ads Advertising
The next stage is to begin with social media marketing, specifically Facebook Ads. As a digital marketing specialist, you must understand how the various social media networks (Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, and LinkedIn) work, but you will spend the most of your time and campaign budget on Facebook and Instagram.
Facebook is currently one of the most significant tools for every digital marketing strategy, in addition to being a fantastic social network.
Because organic exposure on Facebook is becoming increasingly difficult, the only way to leverage it as a selling tool is to understand how to use its advertising platform.
If you have already completed the preceding steps and have a solid understanding of SEO and Google Ads, learning how to use Facebook Ads will be a breeze.
6. Become an expert in Google Analytics
A digital marketing professional must be familiar with Analytics in addition to the various technologies that might create visitors.
Everything is measurable, which is one of the most important aspects of any digital marketing campaign.
You know how many people saw your campaigns, how many clicked on your advertisements, how many conversions they produced, and a slew of other analytics that cover every facet of a campaign.
To make informed judgments based on real facts, you must understand how to monitor the effectiveness of a campaign and analyze the outcomes.
7. Work as a freelancer in digital marketing.
Getting a real digital marketing job is the next stage in your career path to becoming a digital marketing expert.
Starting your own website (step 2 above) is an excellent method to try various digital marketing techniques, but performing digital marketing for a customer is an entirely different story.
Managing client accounts will ‘push’ you to establish procedures, develop your analytics and reporting abilities, learn how to manage budgets, and manage client contact.
8. Secure a genuine internship
A real job as a digital marketing assistant in an established business is another method to quickly expand your abilities and experience.
This is highly recommended because you will understand how a modern digital marketing agency operates and will be able to apply some of their methods if you decide to establish your own agency or work for another company as a digital marketing specialist later on.
Starting a career as a freelance marketer without prior work experience will be more difficult because you will have to learn everything from the ground up.
9. Stay up to date on new developments and continue to learn
Digital marketing methods are constantly evolving. Some digital marketers love it, while others despise it, but the reality is that digital marketing is a volatile field.
Google makes hundreds of adjustments to organic and paid search results every year, the Facebook algorithm is always changing, and the digital marketing landscape in general is incredibly dynamic.
This means that if you decide to pursue a profession in digital marketing, you should be aware that learning will be a DAILY activity.
10. Become acquainted with Digital Marketing Tools.
You must also learn how to use other digital marketing tools in addition to Google analytics. As you advance through the ranks and become a digital marketing manager, you will be in charge of a team of digital marketing specialists. Tools are the only way for them to evaluate their work and control the progress of several projects at the same time.
A decent tool will let you generate dashboards for all channels as well as useful reports for management or clients.
How to Build a Digital Marketing Portfolio
1. DEVELOP SOME Mock Projects
When you first start out as a digital marketer, one of the best ways to gain experience is to do some mock projects to practice your digital marketing skills. (This article on creating a web design portfolio through mock projects can also be applied to digital marketing.) The finest marketing initiative to start with is often your own brand. Consider how you can use your personal social media accounts to intentionally create a following (no kidding, I hired a social media coordinator after she demonstrated how to do this once), or how you can optimize your own site for search and present your SEO results.
2. OFFER TO ASSIST FRIENDS AND ACQUAINTANCES
Almost everyone requires assistance with digital marketing, so consider who can profit from your new abilities. Working for free is not ideal, but it is a fantastic method to gain experience while learning. That do you know who is attempting to start a small business?
3. FOCUS ON RESULTS WHEN ADDING PROJECTS TO YOUR PORTFOLIO WEBSITE
As a marketer, your results are everything. So, while you write up those dummy projects and “family and friends” projects and post them to your portfolio site, keep in mind how much growth you influenced and any other statistics or numbers that show your work had a good impact.
4. REQUEST TESTIMONIALS
Being able to communicate successfully with teams and clients is an important aspect of working as a digital marketer. Ask anyone you work with (especially those you serve for free) whether they would be willing to provide a testimonial for your portfolio.
