How can someone get into a career in digital marketing?
To help you get into a career in digital marketing, we asked marketing experts and small business owners this question for their best insights. From gaining experience with freelance work or internships to interviewing the people you want to work for, there are several tips that may help you break into a digital marketing career in the future. Here are ten tips for starting a career in digital marketing:
- Gain Experience With Freelance Work Or Internships
- Learn the Competitive Landscape
- Start With Hootsuite Academy
- Write and Research
- Join Digital Marketing Facebook Groups
- Start With a Strong Portfolio
- Learn SEO and PPC to Make a Career in Digital Marketing
- Learn Through Research
- Take Action
- Interview The People You Want to Work For
Gain Experience With Freelance Work Or Internships
If you want to get into a career in digital marketing, the best way to get started is to get a little experience with an internship or some freelance work. This will give you the opportunity to learn and begin to build a portfolio. You will be able to showcase the skills that you already have, while also building some new skills. You can look for these types of opportunities on job boards, Facebook Groups, LinkedIn, or through networking.
Jennifer Klemmetson, Klemmetson Communications
Learn the Competitive Landscape
Of course, few things can beat a good education and some real-world experience when it comes to a career in the digital marketing industry. A classroom setting may give you an outline, but what you experience in the industry itself is priceless. The digital space is moving fast and professionals learn new things by the minute. By jumping in, learning the competitive landscape, and seeing the digital world constantly shift in any given work day, you’re learning the most pivotal skill of being able to track performance and pivot when necessary.
Greg Gillman, MuteSix
Start With Hootsuite Academy
Hootsuite Academy is a great place to start when looking for a job in digital marketing. From experienced users to beginners, the academy offers a lot for anyone. People should always pursue learning, and if digital marketing is something you want to get into, start with Hootsuite academy.
Shaun Price, MitoQ
Write and Research
Start writing. Before you ever have a client, you can learn how to generate quality content on the topic of your choice. Create a website to publish your insights. Use tools such as Google Analytics and Google Ads to learn what keywords to use in your links and posts. While you’re practicing, study. Find online creators who discuss digital marketing trends and find successful marketing examples. When you start representing others, consider offering your services for free. You can build credibility and generate a portfolio to increase your chances of getting hired for pay as a digital marketer.
Ankur Goyal, Coterie
Join Digital Marketing Facebook Groups
A digital marketer can start as a freelancer to gain experience. Facebook groups dedicated to digital marking feature users from around the world looking for part-time help. Initiate the conversation by asking for work or comment on another post to connect with others in the industry. Consider this as an advertising platform to not only begin your career, but to promote yourself to new opportunities.
Lillie Sun, Three Ships Beauty
Start With a Strong Portfolio
It will be much easier to find work in the industry if you have a portfolio that shows what you’re capable of. If you’re a content writer, start a blog and write a couple of posts that demonstrate your skills and area of expertise. If you’re an artist, curate your work on an image-sharing platform. Whatever field of digital marketing you want to get into, there are free services you can use to create an online portfolio. You just have to find them and create work that will get employers interested. The best part is that your portfolio will improve as you gain more experience. It’s an investment that grows in value and gives you access to more opportunities over time.
Jon Kelly, 1st on the List
Learn SEO and PPC to Make a Career in Digital Marketing
If anyone wants to make a career in digital marketing he or she should learn SEO and Facebook ads to enter the world of digital marketing because these two things are the backbone of digital marketing. From SEO you can increase the ranking of a website in this way you can give services of On-page and off-page SEO. On the other hand, if you know how to run ads on social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and other social platforms you can give the service of PPC ads in this way anyone can get into a career in digital marketing.
Syed Fahad, Arhideators
Learn Through Research
In a world as dynamic as that of digital marketing, the most important feature you need is to know how to search for information on the internet. Knowing your way around Google, Youtube, information forums, etc. can provide you with all the information if you know how to search. It is also necessary to have the discipline and perseverance it requires.
Marco Genaro Palma, Genaro Palma
Take Action
Digital Marketing is a natural career move for those who are very analytical, data-driven, and result-oriented. For example, I’m a former corporate accountant of 18 years. I left the accounting world to open up my own Digital Marketing Agency. 7 years later, I’m still going strong thanks to my love of data and basing my decisions on facts and not feelings. This industry boils down to analyzing data. What is producing results? What is driving leads to convert to sales?
To obtain a career in Digital Marketing, I would suggest looking at the up and coming industries, networking with those connected to the industry thought leaders, and letting them know that you are interested in a Digital Marketing career. LinkedIn and Twitter make this information easy to find, and persistence makes the doors open. If you don’t ask for what you want, you’ll never get it handed to you. Action is what makes your dreams come true.
Sarah Hanford, Bee Social Solutions LLC
Interview The People You Want to Work For
This is quite unorthodox, but it worked well for me! As an SEO consultant just starting out, I needed to get the attention of the agency owners I wanted to work for. I decided to create an expert’s guide to local SEO, and contacted the agency owners to tell them I’d love to interview them for it. Off the back of the interview and the article going live, I had two job offers from agency owners.
Ultimately, if you can put yourself on the radar and show the business owner you know what you’re talking about and are willing to show it, you’ll stand out from others in the digital marketing world.
James Taylor, James Taylor SEO
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