WHAT DOES A DIGITAL MARKETER DO?
Digital Marketing has quickly become one of the fastest-growing and most in-demand careers available today. The ability to work on fun and exciting projects, work with notable companies, and live the laptop lifestyle is working from anywhere in the world. It’s easy to see what makes the digital marketing industry so appealing. But as attractive and successful as it can look, we are not entitled to success. We have to earn it. Before jumping on the bandwagon of digital marketing, it is essential to clear your vision about a digital marketing career and the desperate measures that come with it. The first step is to know what a digital marketer even does. A digital marketer is a marketer who specializes in digital content, which includes everything from website, social media, video content, Search Engine Optimization, SEO, PPC, pay-per-click, and much more. Digital marketing, in general, consists of a bunch of different verticals of tactics that you need to execute. It consists of a collection of information on potential customers that you then need to connect with. It also deals with emails, digital advertising, content, and the creation of websites and content strategy in general. So a digital marketer would need to know the breadth of the landscape and the process for how all of those pieces fit together.
Digital marketing is one of the fastest-growing industries, and even during times of uncertainty, jobs in marketing and advertising continue to grow. Let’s walk through the stages that you might go through on your path to becoming a professional digital marketer:
CREATE YOUR WEBSITE OR BLOG:
The first thing you’ll want to do is to create your website or blog. Creating your website gives you your testing grounds. It lets you get practical experience with marketing strategies without worrying about hurting someone else’s site. Choose a niche you’re interested in and create a site using WordPress. Don’t bother overthinking things like ‘what your logo should be?’ or how you’ll make money from it. These things can always come later. The important part is that you invest a bit of money into your website because you’re less likely to give up without giving it a fair shot.
LEARN ABOUT THE AREA OF INTERNET MARKETING YOU WANT TO PURSUE:
The best place to start is by reading or watching a beginner’s guide on the topic from a reputable person or company. The beginner’s guide will help you get a general overview of the marketing method and act as a ‘hub’ for subtopics to research.
EXECUTE ON THE THINGS YOU LEARN:
Consuming too much content can lead to analysis paralysis, where you over-analyze things and get nothing done. So don’t bother reading about super-technical things like crawl budget or wasting your time on split-testing when you don’t even have a meaningful amount of traffic. Instead, focus on mastering the fundamentals, for example, the SEO fundamentals;
– Keyword research
– Content creation
– Link building
These three things alone will move the needle more than spending hours worrying if you should use category pages for your blog.
GET ACQUAINTED WITH FREE DIGITAL MARKETING TOOLS:
Paying for premium marketing tools will be challenging if you’re starting. But many free ones are also highly recommended by professionals to get acquainted with because a) they’re fantastic, and b) you’ll need to get familiar with them as you progress in your career. The first is Google Analytics, a web analytics platform showing the number of people visiting your site, which page they go to, how long they stay, and hundreds of other actionable metrics. The second is Google Search Console, which allows you to see how your website performs in google searches. You can see which pages are indexed in google, the keywords your site ranks for, and the websites that link to you. Now whether you’re a student or in another job, starting your site is something you can do on the side. It’s going to give you exposure to digital marketing, and it’s going to prepare you for the next stage, which is
GET A JOB OR AN INTERNSHIP AT A DIGITAL MARKETING AGENCY:
Getting a job today is different than it was ten years ago. Before, you had to have a marketing business degree or even qualify. But now, many digital marketing agencies are more interested in hiring creative people who have produced results. Working at an agency is a great way to learn digital marketing quickly because you’ll have the opportunity to work with people ahead of you in your career. It’s also a place where you can find mentors and get a ton of hands-on experience working on various client sites. Work your way up to a more senior position, learn from people in your company, and if your goal is to become more independent, then learn how agencies and businesses run.
CONSIDER FREELANCING:
Freelancing is a great way to get more hands-on experience while increasing your income. And if you’re 3+ years into your digital marketing career, there’s a good chance you already have some freelance work lined up. After getting a job, the two great things about freelancing are a) you’ll have more experience doing good work with clients, and b) you’ll still have a steady salary to pay the bills. If you are not getting referrals or inbound requests for work, you can sign up for general sites like Upwork, Fiver, or People Per Hour and apply for jobs where you think you can do a great job. These jobs will also help you build up your portfolio. After you’ve built up a portfolio and somewhat of a positive reputation in your industry, you can consider going full-time into consulting. And the keyword here is “consider.” There’s nothing wrong with staying in your job, working your way up, and retiring. Not everyone is meant to be a consultant, and to be frank. Not everyone should be.
CONCLUSION:
The internet is fast-moving, and so many emerging advertising platforms that used to work on Google 5 years ago no longer work today. And instead of mindlessly focusing on those things that are forever changing, it is highly appreciated and recommended to focus on the things that are not going to change, which is the human psychology and the human condition. So instead of caring about what the advertising platform will be like in 10 years, know that with your skills, you will be able to go in there and wipe the floor clean with whoever is on that.