The blueprint for building a successful career in Digital Marketing

We are currently witnessing the evolution of the digital age, the world is rapidly transitioning from offline to online, the internet has revolutionised the way we create and the way our creations can be showcased. In 2022, we are captivated by terms such as trends, engagement, content, and at the center of it lies digital marketing.

Large and small businesses alike are looking to integrate the newest digital marketing trends and strategies into their work, since it has proven to be the most beneficial way to grow and scale-up any business. So if you’re looking for a career path that is infinitely lucrative, immensely exciting, and is guaranteed to grow with leaps and bounds in the foreseeable future – digital marketing is the way to go!

What is Digital Marketing and how to kick-start your career in the field?

Digital Marketing is the art of promoting and advertising a brand, a product, or even a concept through digital mediums such as various search engines, websites, social media platforms, applications, email, and everything in between that fall in the realm of the internet.

Triggered by the global pandemic, over the past two years, most work operations have turned digital and digital marketing has been the cornerstone of growing any business. Therefore, the scope for digital marketing in the job market has undergone exponential growth and is ever-expanding. A digital marketer is responsible for utilising various digital mediums for generating leads and developing brand awareness for a specific brand or product. They are tasked with analysing and measuring the strengths and weaknesses of a brand, and thus building a digital marketing strategy for the brand’s all-round growth.

The path to becoming a digital marketer starts from obtaining an Undergraduate or Postgraduate degree relevant to Digital Marketing. Most companies accept graduates with degrees in the broader fields of Marketing, Media Studies, and Communication. However, there are countless educational institutes offering concentrated degrees in Digital Marketing.

What skills do you need to work as a Digital Marketer?

The biggest perk of working in digital marketing is that there are very few pre-requisites. You can build, develop and refine your skills with time, practice, and experience. Here are some essential skills you should master and knowledge that you must have to kick-start a career in digital marketing:

• An in-depth understanding of the internet: Since your primary job “location” is going to be the internet, it is absolutely essential that you have a grip on the internet and all its nitty-gritty’s. All your operations will take place online – starting from scheduling various social-media posts, using content-management websites such as WordPress, Magento, or Shopify, implementing marketing campaigns, to analysing customer behaviour through Google Analytics, and integrating advertisements into your website.
  
• Search Engine Optimization or SEO: It is the method of positioning your content in the most effective way, so that your website attracts direct and organic traffic on various search engines such as Google, Bing, Yahoo, etc. SEO involves using the right and most relevant words in creating your content so that your brand ‘ranks’ higher on any given search engine. Having SEO knowledge is an invaluable skill required to become a digital marketer.
  
• Pay-per-click or PPC: This revolves around paid advertisement that you can utilise to garner more clicks on your website and brand. This is also a way to generate revenue for your brand by displaying another brand's advertisement on your website.
  
• Social Media Marketing: This skill will help you to promote your brand on various social media websites such as Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, etc. Having an in-depth knowledge of these social media platforms, their policies, and the ways in which you can creatively showcase your brand is essential for digital marketing.
  
• Email Marketing: Promoting your brand through email is one of the most important aspects of digital marketing. To become a digital marketer, you must know how to send in-mail promotions, coupons, latest updates, and other creatives. Email marketing is a key method for building customer relationships and expanding your target audience.

Apart from essential business and tech-based knowledge, the role of a digital marketer is defined by the salient features of creativity, critical thinking, dynamicity, adaptiveness, innovation, quick thinking capabilities, and flexibility. However, the most treasured skill that a digital marketer must possess is the openness to keep learning new things and to constantly shapeshift.