Introduction
Choosing the right career is a tedious and difficult process going through numerous paths, fields and different advice. But what makes it easy is to follow your heart and choose what you love.
Since we are recovering from the pandemic, what we learn from this is more important than to feel sorry. Internet services, online shopping, virtual meetings, and social media are here to stay. By booming these online services so do digital marketing. For a brand to stay in people’s minds digital presence is more important for its growth. Let’s see what digital marketing keeps for us and if we can consider it as a full-time career.
What is Digital Marketing?
“Digital marketing is not an art of selling a product. It is an art of making people buy the product that you sell” – Richa Vaid
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The concept behind digital marketing is the same as traditional marketing. We have a product which we want to market and which leads to sales.
Digital marketing is a creative way of marketing with targeted customers which are most likely to buy the product.
There are different types of ways to market products digitally.
- Email marketing
- Social media marketing
- Search engine marketing
These are some ways of marketing products digitally, this is not whole digital marketing. There are other numerous things involved in this like
- Mobile marketing
- Search engine optimization
- Content marketing
- Copywriting
- Design
- Web development
- Analytics
- Business strategy
As a newbie you have to have knowledge of all these, and develop pro skills in any of these two or three.
Why Digital Marketing?
To get to know why digital marketing we need to get into the evolution of marketing. Back in time the only way to get featured is on television, to market brands, for recognition, brand awareness and finally for sales.
How was the advertising strategy back then, get well known celebrities on board and run ads on TVs, some of them were inspiring, some were really great and made us tune with them for long and some were cringe at same time. This was all in time when television was mainstream.
But today, recall when you sat in front of TV and got connected to ads. Now everyone is on the internet, where everyone’s on their mobile phones, laptops and desktops. And we need to be present where the crowd is. Therefore digital marketing plays an important role in companies’ marketing campaigns.
Hitting Target Audience
It is the main aspect in digital marketing rather than aiming shots in the sky. For example Zepto, a new 10 min delivery app, is a national startup but it’s not operational in every corner. Therefore they are not running huge campaigns but effective digital marketing strategy in operational locality and they are market leaders in the same.
High ROI
As digital marketing is focused on target customers, cost to get lead for one customer is less than traditional marketing. Focusing on different modes of reaching to customer makes it easy and affordable at same time to acquire the customer like social media platform, search engine result page etc. In this the strategies used is pay per click which keeps the cost down. These leads to both affordability and great ROI.
Mobile Users
Nowadays everyone is using mobile phones and has access to internet which makes digital marketing more effective as it gets the attention of users to products and services through mobile apps. Using in app ads helps to reach larger and targeted audiences which is more likely to buy the product.
Demand for Digital Marketing
“Digital marketing Specialist” role is highly in demand over linkedin and it comes under top 10 most in demand jobs. Social media managers, content strategy and SEO are other top in demand experience.
As digital marketing has lucrative career opportunities and having many different niches, number of related jobs is very high. Also, industries are looking for more individuals working in this space. Job openings are going to increase for same so now is the time to start with digital marketing.
Skills
Demand for digital marketing is increasing especially since the inception of the pandemic. Many companies shifted their marketing strategy towards digital marketing. If we talk about numbers it has been estimated that 93% of activity starts from search engine optimization.
Websites should be seo friendly to rank higher on search engine result page, 80% Americans buy products online every month. For business to thrive, everyone should have an understanding of digital marketing. Recent study shows social media, search engine optimization, and copywriting are on high demand.
Soft Skills
Social
One of the important skill to have in this field is communication, it is important to socialise with people and build relationships. Having this skills will help to get the desired results.
Negotiation
Main task is to sell product or service, with negotiation skills and having convincing power can lead to win customers.
Analytical
This helps you to solve critical problems by analyzing data and breaking down into smaller one. This will help to take critical decision using data to back up your claim.
Adaptability
As digital marketing is vast domain and every now and then technology changes, new algorithm, new software and accordingly new strategis need to be implemented therefore adapting to every changes is important.
Multitasker
Managing new and different project is overwhelming but need to manage them together. Multitasking is inevitable in marketing and need to develop same for growth.
Passionate/curious
Digital marketing is creative as well as technical field, you need to be passionate and curious to grow in this field. Working should be enjoyable process which you can do for life.
Job Roles
- Email Marketing
To increase communication with existing clients and also to acquire new ones, Email plays an important role. It is self explanatory sending email to customers and generating leads.
There are different campaigns to draw new customers, to engage with existing ones, Therefore role of email marketer is prominent in digital marketing.
- SEO Analyst
It is important for any site to rank high in search engine result pages for specific keywords. To do so, an SEO analyst has to look after numerous things like content, keywords, on page, landing page and need to cope up with new trends in algorithms.
SEO analysts should have both an understanding of technical as well as creative parts.
- Copywriter
90% marketing is all about copywriting. It involves a lot of writing from writing ads, posts, email, product description to managing content on site. It is a creative job and has a lot of scope in the future. Copywriter must be curious and creative. Copy should convert readers to take actions.
- Social Media Marketer
Social media is an integral part of digital marketing, the purpose of social media is to engage with audiences and convert them into customers.
Social media marketers run ads and campaigns on social media like Linkedin, Instagram, Twitter and Facebook. Analysing and converting sales is main job of social media marketer.\
- Content Writing
No, Content writing and copywriting aren’t similar. Although they are found to be similar in digital marketing, content writing is meant for longer forms of writing.
Podcast, blog, skit writing, scripts, articles and news letter comes under the umbrella of content writing.
Writers need to write in favour of readers to gain knowledge and eventually leads to a sales cycle.
- Search Engine Marketing
Again there is a difference between SEO and SEM. Goal is the same to get a list on a higher rank of search engine result page. But SEM uses paid strategis to do so. Its basically to take part in keyword auctions and analysing customer behaviour on keywords and placing right bid. Closely work with SEO analysts to run successful paid campaigns on search engines.
This is more of a technical job compared to others.
- Web Developer and Design
Building creative and interactive websites which compiles with SEO and current algorithms is the main work of web developers. Looking after all websites related issues like fast response, compatibility with android/IOS and desktops etc.
- Video and Photo Editor
Creating and editing videos and photos that to share on social media is the job of editors. Working alongside content writers and social media managers to boost social media game.
Pros and Cons of Digital Marketing
- No Entry Barrier
In many careers there are barriers to entry like to have a relevant degree or specialisation. But in digital marketing you can gain relevant skills by doing short term courses and adding on to your existing skills.
- Trending Career
Digital marketing is relatively new and has more to offer. According to linkedin it has one of the greatest job openings. Also a handful of wages. If you are really interested in it then there are more around the corner.
- Location Freedom
You can do work from, take workation and still make handsome money. Option to become a freelancer or work for a top agency just sitting at your comfortable place.
- Creativity
Digital marketing offers creative as well as technical roles as it is a versatile field. You can please your creative person by content writing, copywriting, graphic design etc.
Cons
- Trend Change
As it is based on digital space, there’s always new things, new trends in the market. Changes in algorithm, pattern and consumer mindset can lead to constant learning and evolving zones. You have to keep updated yourselves and follow up on new trends.
- High Competition and Structure
Digital marketing should have proper structure and flow. As competition is increasing the one with no structure eventually leads to failure. Competition is on a global scale, you have to appear on top rank and have to prepare good strategy and flow to survive in this space.
Starting With Digital Marketing
Getting into a new career for freshers from different fields is a bit of a cumbersome process, but having little experience in relevant fields always helps. So how to start that. Enrol yourself in a good digital marketing course, understand the basics and develop your niche.
Hands On Experience
Having prior experience in marketing field is important, to show the knowledge and relevant skills in field. To get hands on experience try to get internship in digital marketing agency, internship can be found on linkedin and firstjob platform. These internships will help you to know the working of marketing industry and will get hands on experience of different tools.
Conclusion
A career in digital marketing will always be flourishing and booming. One has to work efficiently and willingly in this fast paced world, keep yourself updated and ahead of everyone. In digital marketing there’s always place for improvement so never be in a triumphant position. Explore the depth of field and jump into it hoping for the best
