The digital marketing field is an excellent career choice. In today’s digital age, advertising budgets are shifting from traditional channels to digital advertising. This article will discuss 10 easy ways to start a career in digital marketing in 2022.
With consumers turning to the Internet to purchase goods and services, companies need digital marketers more than ever. In a fast-paced and evolving industry, digital marketing presents many challenges but can also offer many rewards, including a potentially lucrative income.
Many people want to incorporate social media marketing into their marketing strategies in the vast field of digital marketing. Facebook and Instagram are popular with young people, so businesses can go digital by using these platforms. Consequently, it is crucial that every digital marketer master the art of social media marketing.
It’s the perfect time to switch gears and become a digital marketer. For those who don’t hold a traditional college degree in marketing, getting started is not as complicated as you may think; however, some training will help you become a proficient digital marketer. The list below shows you easy ways to start a career in Digital Marketing.
People starting their businesses or working as full-time freelancers will find digital marketing attractive since it does not require a physical presence.
For many people, it’s the salary that determines a career’s success, and digital marketing salaries are beyond competitive.
Credo’s recent survey reveals the average hourly rate for digital marketing consultants worldwide to be $140.
(Source- Credo)
Several factors affect the rate, including the client’s industry, location, and years of experience. Despite this, there is money to be made in the digital marketing industry, and there is a massive demand for consultants in this field.
10 Easy Ways to Start a Career in Digital Marketing in 2022
1. Find out what digital marketing is all about
The first obvious step for people new to digital marketing is understanding what digital marketing is and how it works.
Digital marketing or online marketing, as it is sometimes called, is a term that is often used to refer to the process of marketing online. Each of its components addresses a different aspect of online promotion.
Digital marketing is not one discipline but a set of processes (channels) that can contribute to a successful marketing campaign.
Digital marketing can be divided into several channels, including:
- Website Marketing -the promotion of your website online.
- Search Engine Marketing-consists of two main components: organic search engine optimization (SEO) and paid search advertising
- Email Marketing-The use of email to market a product or service.
- Content Marketing-Learning the different types of content you can use to build your digital marketing campaigns.
- Mobile Marketing-Mobile Marketing is marketing through the various App Stores (such as Google Play and Apple Store)
- Social Media Marketing: This includes marketing on social media sites such as Facebook, Instagram, Linked In, Pinterest, etc.
- Video Marketing-Video Marketing -marketing through video channels such as YouTube, Vimeo, etc
- Affiliate Marketing-promoting and getting paid commissions on other people’s products.
A digital marketing manager must have experience with all the channels mentioned above.
If you are feeling too overwhelmed, Remember- No one can become a Digital Marketer overnight. The path to becoming a digital marketer is easy, but becoming a good digital marketer requires patience and experience.
Throughout your digital marketing career, you’ll be exposed to new techniques, technologies, and tools, and eventually, the puzzle will come together. Feel free to take up a digital marketing course online to help you understand in depth.
2. Make your website
The next step is to practice digital marketing once you have mastered the basics. To translate different digital marketing concepts into real-world applications, you are best off starting your website.
There is nothing mystical about digital marketing, it is highly measurable, and it is efficient. You need to understand how to apply social media marketing and SEO in practice and understand the theory behind it.
As a digital marketer, you’ll need to promote different types of websites, whether increasing organic traffic via search engine optimization (SEO) or increasing sales via PPC and social media advertising. Thus, you need to get a website that combines both concepts to gain skills and confidence.
Setting up a blog and increasing your ranking while simultaneously creating a product or finding a product to do promotional advertisements and trying to make sales is the best way to succeed. Initially, it will be challenging, but it’s the only way to build a solid career foundation for yourself.
You can use your website as a showcase to convince a new employer or client that you are reliable and secure a good contract or work. Not only will you gain knowledge about different concepts, but you can also establish a rapport with prospective employers and clients.
To prove their expertise, companies look for digital marketing experts who have solid rankings and traffic and hire people who can demonstrate their knowledge not just through certifications.
3. Achieve SEO mastery
SEO refers to the optimization of web pages to rank high on search engines such as Google.
Search engines will supply you with free, passive, and consistent traffic as soon as you rank. Nevertheless, seeing results will require patience. Still, the rewards are plentiful.
A career in digital marketing is impossible if you aren’t skilled at SEO. You need to develop your SEO skills first, then your other skills. The picture below depicts the importance of SEO.
SEO will teach you how to build websites that search engines and users love, and you can use the same techniques to improve your social media advertising campaigns on Facebook and Google.
Start building your SEO career gradually, and when you feel that you’ve mastered the basics, move on to the next step.
4. Become a Google Ads certified professional
Google Ads (formerly known as Google AdWords) is one of the tools you use as a digital marketing consultant to promote your products and services across all of Google’s properties and websites.
Getting a Google Ads certification offers the best opportunity to acquire the necessary skills. A Google AdWords certification will show clients or potential employers that you have the right skills. Google has a variety of resources to assist you in becoming a Google AdWords expert.
5. Learn how to advertise on Facebook
Next, you should engage in social media marketing, especially Facebook advertising. A digital marketing specialist must know how each major social media networks works (Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, LinkedIn). Still, Facebook and Instagram will consume the majority of your time and campaign budget.
Aside from being one of the best social networks, Facebook is now a vital component of any digital marketing campaign. Facebook is becoming more challenging to use organically, so the best way to utilize it as a selling machine is to learn how to use the platform’s advertising capabilities.
You should not find it difficult to use Facebook Ads if you are already familiar with SEO and Google Ads. Although there may be similarities between PPC and Facebook, you still need to learn how to use the tool and become familiar with its various terms and conditions.
6. Master Google Analytics by becoming an expert
Digital marketing professionals should also be familiar with Analytics, in addition to learning traffic-generating tools.
Every aspect of digital marketing is measurable, and that is one of its most essential features. In addition to knowing how many people have seen your ads, how many clicks on them, and how many conversions they generate, you can also assess other measurements pertinent to a campaign.
A campaign is a lost cause if the results it produces are not looked into and analyzed.
In order to learn what strategy works for you and which one doesn’t, you’ll have to measure the effectiveness of your campaigns and analyze the results. Knowing so, you can make well-informed decisions that can turn out to be beneficial for your company or brand.
Learning about Google Analytics is the best start.
8. Become a Digital Marketing Freelancer
Only through experience will you achieve success in your career. Thus, getting a real job in digital marketing is the next step in your career path.
Handling client accounts will support you in planning and setting up procedures, improving your analytical and reporting skills, and teaching you how to budget and communicate with your clients.
There is a wide range of job sites where you can apply for digital marketing jobs, such as LinkedIn, nawkri.com, upwork.com, peopleperhour.com, and fivver.com.
Start with simple, fast tasks and progress to larger projects as you gain more significant experience.
With no feedback, it is difficult for freelancers to get jobs, so make sure you:
- Make sure that you comprehend the job posting requirements and respond to any questions you may have.
- A fast response is crucial. Hundreds of applications may be received for a job, so be sure that yours stands out.
- Ensure that your prices are reasonable and low. The fees you charge cannot be premium. You will have to lower them since you do not have any experience.
- Intern with a real company
To further expand your skills and experience, being a digital marketing assistant in a reputable digital marketing agency can be a good option. This will require some unpaid work initially, but it is an investment worth making with long-term results. You can use skills you acquire to help friends, family members, and community organizations and take on a wide range of side work that will give you experience which can be leveraged when you apply for long-term digital marketing jobs.
If you have plans to start your agency someday or work for another company as a digital marketing expert, this is a highly recommended thing to do. You will see how a modern digital marketing agency works and use some practices if you start your agency.
You will have difficulty beginning your career as a freelance marketer if you don’t have any experience working for a company. Nonetheless, interning with one will not only give you real-world experience but will also equip you with the skills necessary to land a full-time role.
You may lose valuable time trying to apply digital marketing on another person’s website without the right processes in place. When you fail to implement the proper techniques, you can quickly lose valuable time on nonbillable activities. As a result, your salary and income will fall.
9. Always stay updated and never stop learning
Digital marketing tactics are constantly changing. Digital marketing is a fast-changing industry, which makes some digital marketers happy, while others detest it.
It is estimated that Google deploys hundreds of changes per year related to organic and paid search results. Facebook’s algorithm is constantly changing. Digital marketing is generally seen as a dynamic field.
Therefore, it is vital for those who want to pursue a career in digital marketing to understand in advance that learning will be a part of their day-to-day activities.
Approximately 20% of your time should be spent reading industry updates and new developments, case studies, learning new software, and keeping up with social media and other digital marketing changes.
10. Discover how you can use digital marketing tools
As you progress up the ladder towards digital marketing manager, you’ll be responsible for managing a team of specialists. It is only through tools that they can accurately evaluate their progress and control multiple projects at once. A good agency will facilitate dashboards for all channels and essential reports for management or clients. Moreover, you can get your work done faster and more efficiently.
Although these tools are not free, they are an excellent investment for your career and another great tool on your resume.
Starting out, you won’t be able to spend money on high-end marketing tools. It’s a good thing that free ones are readily available. You might find these useful:
- Google Search Console (GSC)- Google will show you the pages indexed on your site, the keywords you rank for, and the websites that are linking to you. You will learn how to use GSC optimally in this guide.
- Google Analytics- You’ll see data like how many visitors come to your site, which pages they visit, and how long they stay, as well as hundreds of other metrics. Check out this guide for more information.
- Ahrefs Webmaster Tools (AWT) Get an overview of your website’s backlinks and keyword ranking, plus scan it for common SEO issues that might be interfering with its performance.
- Buffer- A free tool for scheduling social media posts. It easily posts content using an automated process.
To master digital marketing, a digital marketer must remember these two habits should always be in place regardless of which path you choose.
Learning is the first step. Despite its constant evolution, marketing remains a dynamic field, and you’ll need to learn, apply, test, and refine continuously. Keep up with thought leaders online by reading books, listening to podcasts, and watching videos.
Secondly, networking. A networking event can expose you to future career opportunities and introduce you to people with different ideas than your own. As a result, you can gain a fresh perspective and develop your career further. After all, none of us has all the answers.
To conclude,
If you want to enter into digital marketing then, joining an online digital marketing course is the best choice for you in 2022.
Every business must go digital. They should understand the role a digital marketer plays in driving sales and spend time developing and implementing a digital marketing strategy that works best for their brand. Eventually, they will see results.