Digital marketing is a consistently growing field due to the spike in online businesses, as well as advancements in digital technology. Becoming a digital marketer can be tricky as an undergrad with little-to-no experience, but this article aims to provide you with some ways to get ahead of other students in securing a digital marketing job that has an average salary of £37,500 in the UK.

 

Knowing different digital marketing disciplines

 

SEO, PPC, content marketing, video marketing, programmatic advertising… The list goes on and on. Most companies hire several digital marketers because there are so many disciplines that one person simply cannot handle on their own.

 

It’s advised to get an idea of each of the disciplines and think where you are better suited in terms of your personality. For instance, you often get creative minds entering content marketing and social media marketing, and maybe more tech-savvy minds going into technical SEO.

 

Knowing your preferred digital marketing disciplines is important when it comes to applying for digital marketing positions, as you can demonstrate to an employer about how you can stand out with your knowledge and personality pairing towards a particular discipline. Keeping updated with the latest digital marketing trends will also put you in a better position as you can demonstrate up-to-date knowledge of the trending aspects within digital marketing.

 

Learning online

 

It’s no secret that knowledge is power, and this remains true within the digital marketing field. There are loads of blogs and videos related to digital marketing which you can consume, and it can also help give you an idea of the exact discipline(s) you want to pursue.

 

A great place to start is with Google’s online courses. Here you can enrol in over 100 courses related to digital marketing, data & tech, and career development. With certificates given upon completion of a course, you can utilise these in your CVs to show employers that you mean business.

 

Apart from this, you can find many blogs and videos across the internet that will explain and demonstrate different digital marketing disciplines and strategies. Some popular platforms for learning digital marketing include YouTube, Udemy, and LinkedIn Learning.

 

Starting your own website

 

Digital marketing is not an objective field, meaning that you might find conflicting information and strategies. For this reason, it’s often a good idea to experiment for yourself to see exactly which strategies are working well, and which aren’t.

 

I was in my first year of University before I became an SEO consultant, and I noticed that a lot of the information about SEO I read online was conflicting. I decided to start a website from scratch using a cheap hosting company to trial different strategies. Within six months, from my testing alone, I was able to get a clearer understanding about what SEO activities worked best in terms of ranking higher on Google.

 

Doing your own experiments is also crucial because you can tell an employer that you have trialled X, Y, and Z, and explain what the outcomes were. This alone shows a great deal of proactiveness and dedication that will easily put you ahead of other graduates.

 

Applying for internships

 

It’s clear that having experience in a field is more favourable from an employer’s perspective. Applying for internships is a great way to get some experience and learn from senior digital marketers about their processes.

 

It’s advisable to start looking for internships at a digital marketing agency, rather than an in-house company, for the sole purpose of variety. At an agency, you’re more likely to be working on various clients’ websites, as well as being surrounded by digital-savvy minds. You’ll learn the fundamentals of digital marketing as well as delving into different disciplines so you have a better idea of what you’re more interested in.

 

Building your professional network

 

Your network is your net worth. Having a strong professional network on platforms such as LinkedIn will create opportunities for you to learn, engage, and flourish in your digital marketing career.

 

This is also crucial if you’re looking for employment, too, as you can connect with business and/or agency owners and introduce yourself, asking if they have any positions available in their company.

 

To increase your visibility on these platforms, it’s worthwhile to engage with connection’s posts, as well as post regular updates about digital marketing, be it providing advice or asking questions  Having an active LinkedIn account can be a difference-maker in terms of getting a job, so try to tick all of the boxes in terms of your account setup.

 

Summing it up

 

Digital marketing is a growing field that is constantly evolving, which in turn makes it very competitive and often a popular choice amongst graduates. Upon reading this article, you should now be in a better position to apply for a digital marketing position, as well as becoming a more attractive prospect for employers.

 

Itamar Blauer is a London SEO expert that has a proven track-record of increasing rankings with SEO that is UX focused, data-backed and creative.