Are you someone who enjoys spending time on the internet? 

Do you want to tap unto your creativity and use it for the online world? Then, consider digital marketing as a career choice! 

Digital marketing is a field that’s applicable almost everywhere in this world wide web. And digital marketing has definitely grown beyond everyone’s expectations since the first time the term was coined in 1990. 

Today it has become the preferred field of interest for many young professionals looking to start a career as also among those who want to earn some extra money part time or through a side hustle.

What is Digital Marketing?

Digital marketing is when businesses do marketing via the digital platform. This “digital marketing” is carried out via various social media sites and via many other apps and websites, and through the devices that the target audiences use such phones, laptops, etc.

Digital Marketing as a profession started taking shape in 1994 when the browser Netscape was released. The number of people using the internet then had just reached about 70 million.

The first digital medium to be used among all the other traditional marketing mediums was Email.

As the internet usage grew fuelled by search engines such as Google and Yahoo,  further aided by product selling sites such as Amazon and ebay, marketers decided to tap their target audience with the help of Email.

From there on, digital marketing had no looking back and has advanced to the use of keywords, backlink generation, involving SEO, SMO and more…

What does a Digital Marketer do?

Do you come across enticing ads that seem to know what you’re thinking? Do you wonder who’s behind this online sorcery? Digital Marketers!!!

Digital marketing professionals are the process owners who create valuable brand awareness as well as generate leads for businesses. A brand’s digital presence and success is heavily dependent on two key factors – a good budget and a great digital marketer. 

As per Dialogtech, the digital ad spend globally is predicted to surpass $389 billion by the end of 2021. As a result of rapid and wide scale transformation brought about by growing internet access, many youngsters are choosing a career in the field of digital and more so in digital marketing.

However, unfortunately, just 22% of businesses state that they are satisfied with their conversion rates through digital marketing. And that’s where the fun in digital marketing takes a hit and thus it requires serious skill building to achieve success in digital marketing. 

If you want to be a successful digital marketing professional who is able to deliver the goods, then this article is for you…

6 Must Do’s for a successful Digital Marketer

You can be a digital marketing professional but can you be a great one at that? Now that’s rare. Literally, just 61% of marketers believe that their digital marketing strategy is actually effective. 

Learn the basics of digital marketing platforms and channels

Since digital marketing is an all encompassing job involving the digital space, you need to know all the digital marketing channels that comprise it so that you can build your expertise accordingly. 

As stated earlier, digital marketing includes the different online channels for advertising such as websites, social media, search engines, and more – you need to have an understanding of them all!

This will help, and you will not be dumbfounded when the information is put in front of you. You’ll know what the discussion is about in the room. Knowledge of the social media marketing platforms will definitely help such as Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Whatsapp, Telegram, Quora and Pinterest.

Moreover, knowledge of the digital marketing channels will come in handy at all times, such as – Website Marketing, Email Marketing, SMS Marketing, Content Marketing, Search Engine Optimization and Marketing, Influencer Marketing, Video Marketing and Podcast Marketing.

You don’t need to get intimidated, these are the most common digital marketing channels through which most businesses advertise and market their brands and hence, it’s better to know about these platforms and understand about how to use these platforms effectively.  

Build and grow the essential digital marketing skills

To be the best in the industry, you need to know what you are doing and learn how to do it best. These are the key digital marketing skills of every successful digital marketer.

1. Content writing

According to Orbit Media’s survey, it takes about 3 hours and 57 minutes to write a long descriptive article post. And with the appropriate training and practice this can get even better.

2. Data Analysis

As a digital marketer, data is an important aspect of your job and analysing it, an even greater responsibility which you need to master. Data is what will give you relevant information about your campaigns performance and what kind of audience and platform is best suited for it.

According to Brightalk, 42% of B2B marketers say that lack of quality data is limiting their lead generation strategy and success. Hence, you need to constantly analyse data and information and tweak your campaigns on the go.  

3. Communication

If you’re aiming for a top position, you need to put in the work and part of this journey is acing your communication skills.

Your job responsibility as a manager of digital marketing involves the core task of communicating important works and pitches to your team and in some cases even to your clients. For this, you need to ensure that you are crisp, short and to the point using simple communication practices.

4. Creativity

Creativity comes in handy in most jobs in the digital space. If you want to grab the attention of your target audience, you need to find a way to connect and relate to them. And that’s what the creative side of digital marketing does. 

Work at a digital marketing agency or a digital startup

To be at the top, you need to have some experience under your belt and the only way to have it is by actually working in real time and real life situations. Working in a digital agency or even better a digital startup will help you have just that.

Even an internship or an entry-level job can also train you appropriately for real life job situations in the field of digital marketing and will equip you with a strong skill sets and build your knowledge base. 

Connect with digital marketing experts and entrepreneurs 

If you want to be the best, then connect with the best – those who are currently at the very top in their field of work. This not only encourages you to get out of your comfort zone but also builds you a quality network that may be of use some day. 

Check out the pages of Niel Patel, Hootsuite, Hubspot. These pages curate SEO friendly content and carry a lot of tips and tricks. Learn from them and observe the most common practices they employ to successfully drive their website growth. 

Upgrade your skills with an advanced digital course

Invest to grow your knowledge through quality education. This not only adds depth to your understanding but also improves your work as you practice and implement them in your projects. 

Sometimes a particular case study containing certain strategies might just be the thing you need to make a campaign work. However, it’s important to note that not always would you come across studies that can be widely implemented as it is, since everything is part of research, and trial and error. 

Stay in tune with the latest trends in digital marketing 

The internet is constantly evolving and transforming with new and newer information on every platform and channel. As Artificial Intelligence develops and grows in the field of digital marketing, a top-notch digital marketer must keep himself abreast at all times with these trends. 

This will definitely help you reach your target audience more effectively with the relevant and right content. This in turn attracts an audience that is most likely to invest in the brand’s products and services. 

Conclusion

A digital marketing career is in very high demand and the most sought after by youngsters. Whether you’re planning to start your own digital marketing agency or applying to one, acquiring the right digital marketing skills will definitely help your career growth.

If you are digitally inclined and interested in the field of marketing and advertising AND/OR if you are fascinated when you are able to achieve the impossible just by sitting in front of your laptop, then digital marketing is the right career choice for you!