There are numerous ways to explore the digital marketing field. There are lots of Digital Marketers who start off in traditional marketing jobs before deciding to specialize. However, there is no one straight path to enter this career. Actually, there is not any particular background experience needed to become a Digital Marketer. Having a specific skill set is required though. Lots of people find this job by starting out in other careers such as a Webmaster, Copywriter or even from being an Influencer.
How to Become a Digital Marketer in Five Steps:
- Discover the fundamentals of digital marketing
- Learn how to utilize specific marketing tools
- Establish a portfolio full of your digital marketing projects
- Create your resume for digital marketing
- Make marketing connections by networking
What are the Fundamentals of Digital Marketing?
The initial step of starting your digital marketing career is to obtain basic technical competencies in SEM, social media marketing, analytics, SEO, email marketing and advertising. Once you learn these core fundamentals, try to demonstrate different ways to showcase that you have these transferable skills. Other assets include understanding online potential, having leadership abilities, delivering a strong writing voice and being able to connect with the online community.
Trying to practice all the skills with SEO, email marketing, analytics, etc., can take ages if you approach it in a piecemeal fashion. It may take up to a few months or years to obtain coherency and familiarity.
Discover How to Utilize Various Digital Marketing Tools
Having experience with numerous digital marketing tools will help you grow your skills faster. Mastering Google Ads and Google Analytics can help you become a Digital Marketer. Being able to track and measure initiatives and marketing campaign details allows you to see what is working and what needs to be tweaked.
Using an email campaign tool like MailChimp is valuable for digital marketing success. Sending newsletters or updates to your followers and subscribers is essential for updating sales, information, important dates, contests and getting your product information and logo to your clients.
There are great SEO resources and tools such as Moz, SEMrush and AHrefs, that offer marketers the chance to find relevant keywords, identify keywords that are related, check the backlinks to your webpage’s and breakdown your competitors' SEO.
Learning about a CRM or customer relationship management program such as HubSpot and Salesforce is additionally invaluable for your digital marketing career.
SEM & SEO
Regarding SEO and SEM, it is essential to follow trends and be as data-forward as possible. Not every business measures its r ROI with each digital marketing strategy; however, the metrics for SEO and SEM are quite straightforward. It is vital to obtain client approval if you are going to be sharing real-time data so that you don't infringe on any proprietary information laws or sensitive data.
Don't be discouraged if your portfolio doesn't have any work experience to share. You can add examples of your digital marketing classwork and upload completed exercises to showcase your efforts. After you have built your portfolio, put all your materials together into a well-laid-out package online. Describe the creative solutions and your process and outline each step to summarize your skills.
Social Media Management Tools
Lastly, become familiar with social media management tools including Buffer, Later and Hootsuite to help you organize and plan your social media posts. You can enter a months' worth or more of posts and assign the scheduled time and date they are to be published. This saves a lot of time once you get the hang of creating posts and filling up your queue. You can pick which sites to publish to and when. This beats logging in daily or weekly to each site individually (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc.) to create your posts.
Mastering Social Media
The fastest way to get started is typically with social media. Digital Marketers rely on TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and more to generate leads, create their brands, boost traffic, and get their message across. Aim to create a visually appealing and cohesive style that is sleek, memorable, and stylish. This will help you develop a following along with concise and frequent posts.
Add pizazz to your posts by experimenting with free stock image sites including Pexels and Unsplash to find the perfect images to capture your message. Experiment with graphic design platforms such as Canva to unleash your creative side.
Design a Stellar Digital Marketing Portfolio.
Creating a portfolio as a Digital Marketer requires many tasks instead of merely showcasing a finished item. It is a creative challenge where you will have to demonstrate your outcomes combined with your processes to highlight your strategic thinking, your planning and your teamwork.
Try to include some of your published work samples including content blogs, social media posts, marketing articles, newsletters, and items that you are proud to share. Outline your role in each of the samples. For example, did you create and follow a strategic plan? Did you write the blog or the post? Did you organize the campaign for ad-buying? Perhaps, you were responsible for designing the layout? Obviously, it is essential to share credit instead of basking in the spotlight. It is vital to show that you work well as part of a team and on your own and demonstrate that you can lead a group.
Data Savvy
When it is time to share your portfolio, try and showcase as much data as possible. Use numbers and statistics to back up your progress as this is one of the fluent digital marketing languages. Showcasing how many qualified leads you added with a certain social media campaign in a particular quarter during the year defines your efforts. How much traffic you increased over the year, etc. helps employers see your results.
Online Communities
Remember, your presence online is a massive portion of your portfolio. This aspect needs to showcase your professionalism your voice and your creativity. If you consider yourself to be a more private person, consider having an Instagram account dedicated to a passion project where you can demonstrate your skills.
Maybe you have always wanted a dessert blog to experiment and discover new recipes? Perhaps, you could allow your photography skills to shine with an account devoted to your favorite four-legged friend or trees or wherever your interests lie. There are many options to share your marketing skills online without divulging your every thought or whim or personal privacy.
Create an Effective Marketing Resume
Your resume is typically one of your first modes of contact with a potential employer. It is vital to get this correct for the best results. Keep it simple and organized. Research states that you have approximately 6 seconds to deliver your first impression. Have a clean layout and offer concise information. Bullet points are great where they are appropriate. Emphasize your experience and your marketing skills. Relying on hard numbers can be helpful as you deliver stats and details.
Always tailor your resume to every application. Check out the company's online presence and read the job posting. Match the tone of your resume and cover letter to their tone. Highlight your creativity and personality in a manner that mirrors the brand of the business. Check the job posting to discover what the hiring priorities are for the company and update your skills to reflect these key points.
Network to Make Connections in Marketing
You will start your Digital Marketer role online and this is where your network will grow. Some people choose to launch a newsletter related to their industry on top of their blog or social media to promote their thought leadership and content creation. This is another effective way to share your work and reach out to potential and existing followers.
Having a dynamic online presence is beneficial in practically every field however, it is particularly vital in digital marketing. There are numerous networking events for Digital Marketers that are available in both offline and online situations. This delivers a multitude of chances to network with like-minded individuals.
What are the Salaries like in Digital Marketing?
As with all careers, digital marketing salaries depend on your experience, seniority level and location. According to Glassdoor, the average salary of a Digital Marketing Specialist is approximately $50K. Digital Marketing Managers may enjoy a salary of up to $75K and the Vice President of Digital Marketing may earn approximately $135K to $200K at the top end of the spectrum. A Digital Marketing Director's salary ranges between $105K to $140K.
Is the Field of Digital Marketing Expanding?
Definitely. In all the technology fields, the digital marketing realm is one of the highest in demand and among the fastest-growing. Digital marketing skills are highly sought after. Roughly seventy percent of hiring managers have had difficulty finding marketing professionals with enough skills to satisfy their job openings.
If I have Zero Experience, How do I Become a Digital Marketer?
Developing the right skills is key to your success as a Digital Marketer. It is possible to work as a Digital Marketer if you have no marketing experience if you can demonstrate adequate skills. Being strong in SEM, SEO, advertising, social media marketing, customer relationship management tools and email marketing will help you land a job.
If you were to focus on each of the aforementioned specialties one at a time, it could take a person years to achieve fluidity and experience. Trying to master multiple skillsets to become coherent is a large task on your own. Focus on up-to-date training instead that maximizes your Digital Marketing skills.
Get Creative & Practice your Skills
This is an ideal time to begin starting your own projects. Experiment with content marketing campaigns, newsletters, research, and social media posts. Look into strategies for project management and utilize your talents to show off your work. These steps are the basis of creating your professional portfolio. This will be a huge asset when you are looking for a job.
Many who are new to the digital marketing world have no real-world marketing work experience to highlight on their portfolio. In this case, get creative and pick some of your favorite coursework to showcase. This will still give future employers a taste of your skillset.
After your materials are organized into an attractive package, you can discuss how you brainstormed each creative solution and which steps were taken to achieve your goals. Remember, your online persona will be reviewed during the interview process. Ensure that you maintain a level of professionalism while you are unleashing your creativity.
Drafting your Marketing Resume
Once you have a stylish portfolio to share, your resume is the next part of securing the job. Focus on your relevant skills and tailor your resume to each specific job you are applying to. Networking is another key part of your potential success. Developing a presence online will become a large aspect of your professional profile. Engage in networking events both offline and online to participate with various digital marketing communities.
Surround yourself with creative people and places. Making connections at these events and online can help you secure future job opportunities and creative endeavors.
