In our previous blog, we highlighted the top skills you need in 2019 and the ever-growing digital skills gap. One of the critical skills set to have, no matter if you are a traditional marketer, a business owner in any industry or a career changer, is Digital Marketing.
By 2020, the world will need 150,000 digital marketers but there currently aren’t enough skilled professionals to fill these roles.
The Bureau of Labour Statistics predicts a 10% growth in the number of advertising, promotions, and marketing managers employed globally between 2016 and 2026.
According to Mondo, a high-end talent hiring agency in IT and Digital marketing, the demand for digital marketing professionals will rise by 38% this year.
Learning Digital Marketing is a must and here are some of our tips on getting started.
Stay Updated
It’s very important to stay updated in an ever-changing industry. With the Facebook algorithm and Instagram algorithm changing every five minutes it’s very important for you to know what’s happening constantly otherwise you won’t be able to keep up.
Here are some recommendations on websites to get started.
SEO – Moz, Distilled, SEOGadget, Search Engine Land
PPC – PPC Hero, Search Engine Land
Social Media – Social Media Examiner, Social Media Today
Content – Hubspot
Which leads us to the second thing.
Be Willing to Learn
Because of the quick nature of the Digital Marketing world and the technology sector itself you can never know everything and having a passion to learn new things will get you far in your career.
Did you know that you can become a qualified Digital marketing professional from the comfort of your home and at the preferential rates? Visit our page with all our digital marketing courses.
Networking
When you have a passion to learn who better to learn from than those around you? Surround yourself with talented people who can advise and guide you in your career.
Be willing to attend industry meetups and conferences in your area to nurture relationships with other digital marketers and enhance your skill set through workshops and presentations.
Personal Projects
When it comes to Digital Marketing you have to be willing to explore. Although learning from industry leaders is a good place to start you need to begin your own personal projects to become an Industry Leader yourself.
Start your own blog to showcase your content and marketing skills whilst Building an active presence on social media. You need to be able to test out your skills in multiple disciplines; SEO, PPC, Social Media, Content Marketing etc. and gage what works and what doesn’t.
Build A Personal Brand
In order for a company to believe that you can indeed build their brand, you need to be able to build your own personal brand and your online credibility. This can often be the deciding factor between whether you get the job or someone else does. So, do not shy from building yourself as a brand!
Learn the Lingo
There are many acronyms in the digital marketing world and it is important as a digital marketing professional to know all of them. Things such as SEO, SEM, and PPC can be easily confused and misunderstood so learning the true meaning of them and how they all work in a digital marketing mix and as a system.
T-Shaped Marketer
‘As a term commonly used by Rand Fishkin of Moz, it refers to having a basic understanding of multiple marketing disciplines but specializing in one or two particular skills.’
In a lot of countries especially here in Zimbabwe companies like to higher marketers with a broad skill set. This also allows you to differentiate yourself from other candidates and also to specialize in the long run.
Get Technical
A huge part of the job is communication and although you won’t be designing a website from scratch yourself it’s important to know basic HTML and Graphic Design to be able to communicate your recommendations to your team. This won’t only make you more effective but will help you stand out in the job market, so do improve the necessary skill set to stand out.
Metrics Are King
Do you know your CPC from your CPA? A huge part of digital marketing is data and metrics showing us the bottom line as we all know money talks! Being able to clearly articulate ad revenue from a campaign you have done yourself will be impressive in a job interview. It’s important to note how each marketing channel has performed and what the key learnings have been.
Certification
Getting certified is the one sure way of standing out and showing off your skill set. Not only does it allow you to learn all the relevant skills you will need but you will be able to stand out from the pack.
According to DMI, ”One of the issues facing the digital marketing industry is that there are no barriers to entry”, meaning that anyone with a loose grasp of industry terminology can potentially get a position in a company.
As this industry matures, recruiters are becoming savvier about what differentiates a candidate that can talk the talk, but maybe will be a costly mistake for the company.’
Get Your Digital Marketing Certificate Today with us. Visit us today!
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