HOW TO BECOME A DIGITAL MARKETING SPECIALIST.

 

 

Digital marketing is a field that involves helping promote businesses and services in the online and virtual space. Becoming a digital marketing specialist means stepping into this niche in the marketing space to create digital media marketing campaigns, strategies and content. 

With so many people playing, investing, working, and shopping online, it’s no wonder that digital is front and center when it comes to the priorities of a marketing department. From staying relevant in customers’ minds to building a profitable brand, organizations are investing a lot of time and money in digital marketing. In fact, in 2021, The number of social media users in Kenya increased by 2.2 million (+25%) between 2020 and 2021.

Whether you’ve set your sights on a career as a digital marketer or just want to level up your skills, certain tactics and steps can be taken to find success in any position. Whether it’s working as a freelancer or landing a high-level digital marketing position, there are many jobs available to marketers with relevant and up-to-date skills.

So what can you do to become the agile, in-demand digital marketer that companies are looking for? Here are a few tips to help you specialize, strategize, and streamline your career as a digital marketer.

Learn Digital Marketing Fundamentals

The first step toward beginning a career in digital marketing is to acquire core technical competencies in SEO and SEM, analytics, social media marketing and advertising, and email marketing. Alongside these, try to find ways to demonstrate that you have the many soft and transferable skills a Digital Marketer should possess, including leadership, a strong writing voice, and a feel for the online landscape.

If you’re trying to pick up experience with email marketing, SEO, analytics, and so forth in a piecemeal way, it may take months or even years for you to grow a passing familiarity into a coherent skill set. 

Learn How to Use Key Digital Marketing Tools

The more digital marketing tools you have experience with, the easier it will be to become a Digital Marketer. Google Analytics and Google Ads, for example, allow Digital Marketers to measure and track the performance of marketing campaigns and initiatives. SEO tools like  Ahrefs, Moz, and SEMrush, are also essential, giving Marketers the ability to explore relevant keywords, check backlinks to your pages, identify related keywords, and analyze competitors’ SEO.

Experience with an email campaign tool, like MailChimp or SendGrid, can also be invaluable when looking to break into digital marketing.  As can knowledge of a customer relationship management (CRM) program, such as Hubspot.

Perhaps the easiest way to dip your feet in, however, is in the social media realm. Digital Marketers increasingly rely on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, TikTok, and more to drive traffic, generate leads, and build their brands. Developing a following (or at least a visually cohesive style), and using social media management tools like Hootsuite, Later, and Buffer can help you stand out from the crowd when applying for a job in digital marketing.

Join Networking Events

Although knowledge and resources on digital marketing are widely available from sources such as webinars and online articles, investing in registering or joining a conference offers you benefits that other sources just can’t.

At these conferences or networking events, you have the opportunity to listen to global and local industry experts, take advice from digital marketing professionals and get insight into the future trends in the digital marketing industry. 

Not only can local or international conferences revamp your professional skills, but they allow you the opportunity to build relationships with peers, mentors and market leaders.

Learn from Digital Marketing Brands and Entrepreneurs

If you’re considering or just starting out in a career in digital marketing, making the investment in a professional digital marketing conference may be too big of a leap. Luckily, there’s a lot of great content online geared towards making a successful digital marketing career.

Digital marketing leaders have the experience, expertise, and knowledge needed to create content that’s accessible for beginners. And since most of these market leaders are digital marketers themselves, they know exactly how to make their content easy to find on search engines and social media platforms.

Connect with Like-Minded Individuals and Peers

As a digital marketer, a large part of what you do is develop communities online. Whether it’s for your personal brand or a global organization, a strong community can make or break your career. So why wouldn’t you want to be actively involved in a like-minded community of peers?

Active digital marketing communities (online or offline) can help you recognize the importance of what you do and how it can fit within the big picture of your career and life. 

By communicating frustrations or asking a question about an area of digital marketing you’re unfamiliar with, you can gain confidence in your abilities and push yourself to learn and try new strategies and processes.

Stay Up to Date on the State of Digital Marketing

In the same way that programs, apps, and social media platforms keep evolving, so is how marketers must interact with audiences.

 From keeping up with popular acronyms (PAA anyone?) to know the impact of AI and machine learning, digital marketing never stays still and it takes adaptability to keep up.

The good news? 

Keeping up with the industry isn’t hard. Informative digital marketing podcasts are widely available, and websites such as HubSpot and our own membership library publish clear and well-researched pieces on anything you want to know about the subject to keep you up-to-date with new developments like TikTok, the top social media influencers, and more detailed topics like Core Web Vitals.

Whether you subscribe to your favorite publications or tune into a podcast as part of your morning routine, this in-depth understanding of your industry can help you become a digital marketing expert.

Never Stop Learning

Although education can be a valuable asset to any career in digital marketing, learning doesn’t stop when school is out. Investing in training throughout your career will help you become a stand-out digital marketer with varied and in-demand skills.

As we already mentioned, the digital marketing industry continually evolves so your industry knowledge should too. We all know that you’re more likely to follow through with a course or certification if it’s an area you are passionate about. Are you curious to understand if PPC or SEO is better?

The best email marketing metrics?

Or if it’s worth marketing on WhatsApp?

Luckily there are great digital marketing courses that can help you answer these questions and more. Don’t be afraid to invest in yourself and your career.