Thousands of people think about becoming a digital marketer every day. Someone plans to enter adulthood in this way, and someone wants to forget about the hard or boring work with a low income. Regardless of their motives, all these people are bound to face a lot of questions. Where should they go? What exams should I take? Do you need courses or can you start studying on your own?
Our detailed guide will help you navigate correctly and choose the best strategy for mastering a new profession. Read to the end and you will learn not only how to get your first job, but also how to become a cool and sought-after specialist with a high income.
Minimum knowledge and skills required for entry
Almost all vacancies for the position of digital marketer contain the requirement “Higher education is mandatory”. But in practice, it turns out that many managers are ready to take a competent person, even if he does not have a crust from the University. However, it will be difficult to do without documentary proof of knowledge. Therefore, if you do not plan to enroll in a University, then you need to prepare for passing specialized courses.
For a future successful specialist, it is important to “pump” your knowledge in the following directions:
1. Study several books about marketing
It is better to start withPhilip Kotler’s Fundamentals of Marketing. The further choice of thematic literature depends on the preferred directions. It is not worth spending too much time on generalised books. Already on the 3rd-5th bestseller, you will understand that the thoughts have begun to repeat themselves, and the very nature of the information is far from practical application. In order not to lose the spirit and philosophy of true marketing, it is enough to read 3-4 books about marketing per year.
2. Reading books to expand your horizons
In this direction, we need to focus on the topics of business, sales, management and psychology. A deep understanding of the business fundamentals, internal processes, and principles of employee interaction will enable you to think in the right categories. We can recommend in some sense classic publications, such as:
Robert Cialdini “The Psychology of Persuasion”;
Peter Senge “The Fifth Discipline”;
Gil Konrath “Agile Selling”
3. Subscribe to thematic communities
Use social networks and messengers to get content related information information. This will create a powerful channel that will provide you with up-to-date industry news he will tell you about trends and show you practical cases. Format and features high competition guarantees that you will get almost 100% concentrate useful information. In addition, many communities offer the opportunity to get advice from more experienced professionals with active practice.
4. Work with marketing services and software
In an interview or resume, many marketers with no experience report that they have studied the technology or tool, but haven’t actually worked with it. This does not sound very attractive from the point of view of HR or a Manager. Of course, it is not rational to spend money on targeted orcontextual advertisingfor the sake of tests. However, almost all analytical tools have free trial access. This is quite enough to “hold in your hands” a useful tool or actual technology. Did you miss the test period? Take a new E-mail and register again. And so on to complete satisfaction. Remember, marketing is the ability to work with information.
5. Mastering the skills of business communication and active sales
Whatever it sounds like, a marketer should be able to sell not only products and services, but also themselves. Your task is to sell your knowledge, experience, time, creativity and other qualities as much as possible. Without proper communication, the marketer may not be noticed in the team. Managers are often busy with contracts, salaries, taxes, and audits, but you must be able to show that performance is not a given, but the achievement of a competent professional.
A useful trick! Try to work a little in cold sales. After that, no negotiations will be terrible.
6. Learn basic terminology
You don’t need to try to memorize all possible terms, concepts, and abbreviations at once. First, understand what SWOT analysis, split testing, KPI, ROI, and so on mean. Then the basic terms need to be supplemented with concepts from the field of marketing in which you plan to work. For example, if you associate yourself with contextual advertising, then you need to know about CR, CPA, PPC, CTA, ECPC, LTV, and other terms. It is not quantity that matters here, but quality. It is better to have a good understanding of the basic concepts than to simply memorize the decipherment of rare abbreviations without suspecting their use and meaning.
7. The skills of information search
If you can’t always find the necessary information on the Internet, it doesn’t guarantee that it really isn’t there. Perhaps you just haven’t grasped the intricacies of working with Google and Bing yet. To effectively search for answers to complex questions, you need to study the algorithms of search engines and the Internet itself. It will be useful to work in the direction of developing variable thinking.
From the first workplace to a cool marketer
Now we will look at the step-by-step instructions that will help you not get lost on the way to becoming a highly sought-after and expensive specialist. And we assume that you will start with a diploma from a specialized University or acertificate of completion of thematic courses.
1. Finding a place for an internship
Any practical experience is rated higher than beautiful certificates and diplomas. You can start with any direction, but it is better to try to get a job with an Internet marketing Agency. It is here that the most diverse tasks will fall on the young specialist. Moreover, you need to choose a small company. Large digital agencies usually use interns to perform monotonous and non-core work.
Advantages of an internship in a small online marketing Agency:
working on targets;
the creative will be evaluated;
an experienced team, you can always ask for the help of a colleague who is better versed in this or that issue;
the results will be analyzed by people who are familiar with the chosen field;
there is a possibility of gradual career growth, up to the head of the marketing Department or Director.
You can also face such disadvantages as:
chance to get involved in a monotonous job;
risks of performing non-core tasks.
An analysis of the situation will help you eliminate possible shortcomings, and this activity is inherent to any good marketer. If it becomes clear that you are not developing at work, but actually working on the production line, then you need to change the place of internship.
2. Turn an internship into a permanent workplace
To get a foothold in the company, the trainee must make a positive impression on the Manager who is interested in increasing the profitability of the business. Usually, direct contact is possible with sales or customer service managers. If you took our advice and got a job in a small Agency, then you will definitely be noticed even without making special efforts in this direction. But if you are in a large company, then you will have to try hard to get a job. Accept the fact that the decision to permanently employ an Intern is often not made based on their skills, education, and performance.
3. If the internship did not become a job
In this case, you can not be upset. An internship is just what you need to get experience, and further employment is already one of the additional, but optional options. Have you gained practical experience? Great, now we’re looking for a job. This is an important point. do not try to find another free or conditionally paid internship places. Newcomers do not need to be afraid to claim at least half the bet.
4. Create an attractive resume
To reveal this stage, it is enough to consider the typical mistakes that young marketers make. This:
no photo available;
the wrong photo format;
there is no information about the place of internship or previous work;
no data on skills/education/qualifications;
nothing is told about the applicant himself;
there is no information about which tools/technologies/services the candidate can work with;
the text shows arrogance or biased expectations of a potential job;
including information about children’s Hobbies and awards;
an informal style for submitting information.
We need to analyze the moment with photos in more detail. Images must be concise and simple. Try to show that you are an adequate and positive person. You can’t use photos from cafes, restaurants, or clubs. The ideal option is to create a professional business portfolio. This will cost a little, but usually the cost of positioning yourself in a resume quickly pays off.
5. Interview
Let’s look at typical errors. Most often, candidates spoil their impression of themselves by allowing the following:
Tardiness is unacceptable. You shouldn’t come too early either, because it shows that you have poor time control. Ideally, you will show up at the designated location 10-15 minutes before the interview begins.
Stories about bad past colleagues/teachers/supervisors. Would you want to hire someone who would tell you at your next job that you are incompetent and generally not a good person?
Ignorance of the specifics of the company’s work. At the interview, you need to let the potential employer know how you will be useful to their business. Therefore, you first need to find and study information about the organization.
Demonstrate that it is you who are interviewing, not you. Even if there are many other offers and, in fact, you are now choosing a job, do not show it explicitly. Allow HR to feel the full power of the decision.
It’s too expensive or pretentious. Dress as you plan to look at the workplace, that is, clean, comfortable and neat. Informal or too chic things are better left in the wardrobe.
Try to tune in for interest and goodwill. Come up with a concise story about yourself in advance. Don’t tell me how cool you are, but rather prove yourself useful. For example, the most prestigious diploma will not be valued as highly as specific offers to increase sales.
6. Creating conditions for career growth
The experience of many marketers shows that the quality of performing professional functions is rarely directly related to career growth. In order not to remain in the same position for years, you need to work in the following directions:
search for direct communication channels with the Manager;
be able to position ideas in terms of their profitability for the company;
to be, rather than seem, useful for business.
As you gain experience and knowledge, the value of the marketer increases. We recommend that you remind your management about this approximately once a year. Here it is important to act without ultimatums, but no one has canceled the appropriate and easy manipulative techniques. An argument in the style of “I Want more money, because my competitors will pay me better” or “Raise your salary, or I will not go to work next month” – this is not something that can work at all. Try to unobtrusively “integrate” into your boss’s brain the idea that your company will only benefit from your promotion. If hints don’t work at all, speak directly, but in a friendly and reasonable way.
7. Typical subtleties for men and women
No one can escape from the gender factor. The only chance is the Internet, where a marketer can hide their gender, but freelancing is not for everyone. The employer may even have an inner confidence in their open-mindedness, but psychology will still have an impact. People’s thinking is largely based on established patterns. But there are also false patterns that lead to incorrect conclusions. For example, hot cakes may not be fresh, but just warmed up. Template thinking is difficult to handle, so don’t blame a potential employer for hidden, and sometimes overt, gender biases. It is better to think about adapting to reality.
Recommendations for guys
Male representatives often lack communication flexibility and creativity. This does not mean that you should bend over to the Manager during an interview or during the work process. It is simply necessary to avoid informal communication and monitor the sense of tact in the conversation. There is an opinion that men are less creative. Showcasing your own cool content or original ideas will help break this stereotype. Developed empathy is an important condition for rapid career growth. Therefore, it is not necessary to show excessive severity, it is necessary to be able to enter into the situation of people and understand them.
Recommendations for girls
Girls’ claims for career growth and high income in the field of marketing also often face unsubstantiated stereotypes. Especially for young professionals, it is important to make it clear that the company’s income and you are two inseparable concepts. Demonstrate the ability to make rational and objective decisions, as well as resilience to emotional factors. For example, comments at a meeting and even the loss of a bonus should not cause tears and similar reactions.
What to do if the job doesn’t suit you
Sometimes it happens that the marketer is exclusively engaged in ordering printed products, printing reports, and optimizing the site. Some managers are not ready to change their usual working style, surprisingly enough, even for profit growth and sales volume. Frankly speaking, this happens only at large enterprises, and the business has already been successfully rebuilt. What if you are only registered as a marketer, but you do not perform their real work and do not develop professionally? Just look for a good job when the allocation or the contract will be completed. You don’t have to start from scratch, which makes it easier. Use this instruction and you will succeed.
How to increase your chance of success
People who independently go to the profession of Internet marketer often face difficulties. There is always a lack of up-to-date and really useful information in the public domain. The lack of opportunities to get advice from an experienced specialist is also a serious problem. But everything will work out if you pass the course of “Internet marketer” SKARTEC Digital Marketing Acdemy. All our classes are taught by an experts with extensive practical experience. Students receive specialist support at every stage of their training. Graduates can take advantage of employment assistance in prestigious companies, and the most successful of them can get a job in any Internet marketing agency. Register for the course today, so as not to miss the chance to become a sought-after professional.
