Want to earn the esteemed title of “Digital Marketing Specialist” but no friggen idea where to start? As a team of experienced digital marketing specialists ourselves, we break it down for you so you can level up from marketing muppet to digital marketing pro.
Below are the main steps to entering this trail-blazing industry.
Get Certified
While getting an official certificate to prove how great you are at digital marketing isn’t a requirement, it can help massively by giving you the foundational knowledge you need, and shows to your future employers that you are as serious as a tightrope walker with no net about this career direction.
A university degree in marketing, business, or communications is a fantastic start, plus it can give you experiences you’ll treasure for life – uni toga parties anyone?
Some popular Majors to make you more appealing than a zero calorie all-you-can-eat pizza buffet include:
- Digital Marketing
- Marketing Communications
- Advertising
- Marketing
- Public Relations
- Business Administration – Marketing Concentration.
Through these courses, you’ll learn things like branding, consumer behaviour, the marketing mix, market research, content creation, analytics, and so much more.
Grow Your Skill Set
A university degree looks great above the mantle, but there are also many other ways to gain practical skills in digital marketing, for free or cheap-cheap! Some legit courses include:
- Google Analytics
- Google Ads
- Hubspot Inbound Marketing
- SEMrush SEO Toolkit
- Hootsuite Social Marketing
- Meta Blueprint
But there are countless others out there! Some are more general in nature, and others cover specific digital marketing services, so choose what appeals to you. Gaining certifications in the above show that you are willing to go above and beyond formal degrees to really understand the digital sphere, and give you that competitive edge.
Hands-On Experience
You can read all the textbooks, and watch all the videos, but the best way to actually understand digital marketing… is to do it! Universities often offer internships with digital marketing agencies they’ve partnered with, but if you haven’t gone down that path, don’t stress! You can reach out anytime to prominent digital marketing agencies in your town and ask about their internship program or unpaid placements to gain real-life experience AND help grow your network connections at the same time. Because, as the saying goes, it’s not what you know, but WHO you know.
Stay Up To Date
Digital marketing evolves faster than a Transformer preparing to go from beep-beep to battle. So stay up to date by subscribing to top industry newsletters and social media accounts and read/watch them often. Listen to digital marketing podcasts, and hit up local and national conferences and events to expand your knowledge and build your network. You never know who you might be sitting next to in a conference room – they could be your future mentor or boss!
So in a nutshell, combining the right education, experience, skills, learning, and certifications, while showing your passion and enthusiasm for the industry, can help you launch an epic career in digital marketing.
Ready to become a digital marketing specialist? Our Perth digital marketing agency Living Online can provide training, guidance, and growth opportunities! Let’s connect today.
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