Some schools have degrees specifically in digital marketing. [3] X Research source However, this is hardly a requirement for digital marketing specialists. You just have to be able to prove that you have the necessary skills to do the job. While you’re in school, take advantage of any access you might have to premium online learning tools, such as Udemy or LinkedIn Learning. You can learn skills that might not be offered as part of your regular curriculum. [4] X Research source If you don’t have a degree in a related discipline, never fear! You can still become a digital marketing specialist, but you’ll likely have to demonstrate your skills and dedication to the field. [5] X Research source
Some online courses do require you to pay a fee. However, these fees are often much less than you would pay for tuition to a 4-year college or university. In addition to your online courses, read marketing books so you have an understanding of the psychology marketers use to persuade people to buy things. [7] X Research source
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At a minimum, get your Google Analytics certification. Data analytics is an important skill for digital marketing specialists. There are also Paid Google certifications if you’re interested in doing PPC (pay-per-click) marketing. Most social media platforms also offer their own training programs where you can earn recognized certifications.
Subscribe to leading digital marketing blogs, such as Copyblogger and Content Marketing Institute, so you’re always up to date with what’s happening in the industry. Keep abreast of changes to search engine algorithms as well (especially Google’s) so you can adapt content to get the most views. [11] X Research source When big changes are announced, you can frequently find a lecture or workshop (either online or at a convention) that might be able to get you up to speed more efficiently than if you tried to study it on your own.
Copy editing and proofreading skills are also essential since you’ll be doing a lot of this yourself. The most compelling copy will fail to persuade if it’s riddled with typos and grammatical errors. If you’re a good writer or editor, look for work online writing content to demonstrate your skill. You can also create your own blog on a topic of your interest to showcase your writing chops.
Social media posts with images tend to get more engagement than plain-text posts, so your image-editing skills will come in particularly handy if you’re managing social media accounts. Think about how the colors you use enhance the emotion or energy in your images. Also, if sound is included, pay attention to how the tone impacts the rest of the piece. [14] X Expert Source Christine Michel CarterGlobal Marketing Expert Expert Interview. 30 September 2020.
Knowledge and familiarity with the basic principles of web design will help you here, even if you can’t necessarily code everything. Understanding the lingo will help you communicate what you want to the web designer.
Proper use of data analytics also involves studying the analytics for your marketing content to determine what’s working and what isn’t. If a particular strategy isn’t reaching customers, the analytics in conjunction with your knowledge of search engine algorithms can help you figure out why. For example, if you have marketing copy that takes 4 minutes to read, but visitors only stay on the page for an average of 1 minute, your job would be to figure out how to condense that copy so that you could get consumers the information they needed more quickly. You might also figure out how to make your copy interesting enough to keep them on the page for longer.
Creating spreadsheets for your personal life and playing around with the spreadsheet program should be good enough to get you to the level of familiarity you need. You can also take free courses online to learn how to use spreadsheet software if that’s more your speed.
If a company doesn’t have an internship program, you might write them anyway and offer up your services. Let them know that you’re just getting started in digital marketing and would like a little hands-on experience. You can also call up established marketing agencies and ask if they have an internship or apprenticeship program. If they don’t, an experienced marketer might still be willing to let you shadow them for the day so you can learn a little about the business.
Snag the URL of your name if you don’t already have it and it’s still available. It only costs a few bucks a year to reserve a domain name, and that property will become extremely valuable to you as you build your career and reputation.
If you can’t convince small businesses to hire you, try offering your services for free. Only do this for one-off projects, so it doesn’t take too much of your time. For example, you might design a website and write a little content, but you wouldn’t offer to run the social media accounts for your uncle’s restaurant for free. Take the time to research how many companies in your area could benefit from your services and would pay you for those services on an ongoing basis. [20] X Expert Source Christine Michel CarterGlobal Marketing Expert Expert Interview. 30 September 2020.
The 3 largest social media platforms are Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. However, depending on your target market, you might get more benefit from other, smaller platforms. For example, if you’re targeting consumers under 21, you might gain more ground on a platform such as TikTok.
Start with your username. If you have accounts on several different social media platforms, using the same screen name or username for all of them gives you brand consistency. Have professional photos taken to use as your icon or profile photo for each of your social media platforms. Generally, it’s best to use the same photo across all platforms for brand consistency and so people will easily recognize you. Tweak your content to match the voice of each of the different platforms and the following you have there. For example, you might be more casual in a tweet than you would be in a post on LinkedIn.
For example, you might mention that a targeted Facebook ad campaign increased sales of a company’s product by 20%, then provide copies of the ads you created.
