In this era, much of our lives play out online, especially for people living in North America and Europe, where internet penetration stands at over 95%. People shop online, pay bills online, and go to classes online. Pretty soon, people will be taking vacations online when revolutionary technology such as Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) goes full throttle with more intuitive and realistic upgrades.
The increasing popularity of the internet and digital platforms has presented business opportunities. The flow of information has never been faster and accessible to the masses like it is now. At the click of a button, a business can let customers hundreds of miles away know about their product or service. The customer can also at the click of the button make payment and have a delivery service drop the product by their doorstep.
Technology has made the traditional brick-and-mortar business setup, mostly redundant, and in its place, cyberspace storefronts. Where customers can view the products, make a purchase at the convenience of click a mouse button or tapping a screen, and have it delivered to their doorstep.
The Downside Of Internet And Technology
The internet, and by extension, technology in general, has disrupted the traditional form of business. The old ways businesses used to interact with their customers has changed. As customers shifted much of their attention to online platforms. For instance, the traditional channels of communication are no longer effective simply because customers’ focus has shifted to digital online platforms.
That has necessitated businesses to adapt and follow where customers are; on the online and digital platform. Ushering in a new breed of marketing, digital marketing, where the marketers strive to form a relationship with customers to assure them to buy into the quality or the product or service a given business is offering.
Technology Ushered In A New Career Field – Digital Marketing
The increasing use of the internet and technology has necessitated many business operations to become digitized and available online. To effectively communicate with the customers, new kinds of experts – digital marketers – had to come in with a new set of skills. These professionals must know how to leverage digital platforms to create strong and effective relationships with customers.
These new sets of skills include being internet savvy, which means understanding how to create and leverage on web pages, social media accounts, emails, digital displays, among other digital assets. To a large extent, most businesses were pulled into the digital space by consumers who were increasingly using the internet and digital platforms.
That means businesses are catching up to the consumers, and not the other way round. Additionally, many businesses are yet to adopt digital platforms fully. For someone interested in joining the digital marketing as a career, that fact is good news. As it means there is plenty of job opportunities within this field.
According to Bloomberg, the digital economy grew three times faster than America’s GDP. The professionals within this industry earn an average annual salary of $114,275, which is 72% higher than the national average across all other industries. If that not a more persuasive factor to encourage you to pursue a career in this field, then nothing else will.
Though money should not be your number one priority in any career, it sure helps if what you love doing also gives you the financial freedom you desire. The following are some of the well-established digital marketing careers with a lot of demand in the job market:
- Search Engine Optimization specialist
- Social Media Marketer
- Web Designer
- Online Content Developer
- Mobile Marketing Specialist
- Email Marketer
- Professional Blogger
- Growth Hacker
- Search Expert
What Personality Is Suited For A Digital Marketing Career?
As we have established numerous times, there is good money for people taking digital marketing as a career. It is, therefore, quite tempting for most people to venture into this industry under the enticement of money and financial freedom. However, before you make that decision, ask yourself whether or not you tick on all the checklist below:
- Passion – Do you have a passion for the industry? Are you thrilled by the prospects of communicating a brand message to consumers – some of whom will be colder than cold – and try to get them to purchase a product or services?
- Patience – This career has a lot of ‘do, then wait and see,’ which can be stressful for beginners. Additionally, some of the things you will be doing will be trial-by-error, given the inherent nature of technology; things can sometimes change overnight.
- A Likable Personality – Digital marketers need to be social beings to succeed in this industry. Most of the things they will be doing will be geared towards convincing people to buy a given product or service. This career requires a people’s person who is outgoing and extroverted.
- Goal-Oriented – This industry needs you to identify opportunities, set goals, and an action plan. The goals will be the steering compass for all your activities, to prevent you from wasting both time and resources. Since with anything touching with digital and the internet, there are trillions of activities that can derail you from your goal.
- Listening Skills – Marketing is not about shaving products or services down the throats of consumers. Other than the fact that it would be illegal, you also won’t get much mileage with that philosophy. Instead, it is about understanding the needs of consumers, empathizing with their unique situations, and coming up with products and services that address those situations. A big part of that is achieved through listening to the customers speak, then understanding them and addressing their needs.
Why Choose Digital Marketing As A Career Path
As a student about to clear high school and feeling lost on what to do with your life. A career in digital marketing can be one of the best decisions you can ever make. We have established above that professionals in this field make more than the national average income in America. However, money should not be all that motivates you to go into a certain career, though it is a big part.
That said, let us explore other reasons why digital marketing is a good choice career:
- It’s Affordable
Most working adults in America are grappling with student loan debts, as soon as they enter the job market. Not forgetting they will be weighed down by other loans such as mortgage and housing loans. For most workers who are taking home a paycheck near the national average salary, they will be struggling with these loans for a long time coming. They will also be very sensitive to economic ‘bad weathers’ like recessions.
With digital marketing, you can take a two-year diploma or even less. That is less time and money spent on schooling. Leaving you plenty of time and personal resources to enter the job market. A job that pays better than the national average but cost you much less to acquire the needed certification and accreditations compared to other jobs.
Not to mention, these digital marketing skills can be acquired almost free online where you get to learn at your own pace and in your free time. That is quite advantageous, especially for high school graduates who don’t get to go to college for one reason or the other and have to work odd jobs to see them through the months. You could be taking classes online at night or on weekends during your free time.
- Little To No Barriers Of Entry
Unlike other industries muddled with bureaucracies, entering the digital market place can be as easy as sending out a tweet, posting something on Facebook, or setting up a website. Thanks to the internet, everyone has a voice that can be heard by the masses. Unlike in the olden days where it was a bureaucratic process to put your message out across the traditional media channels such as newspapers, TV, and radio.
Armed with the right digital skills, of which you can get training almost free, you can immediately embark on putting your skills to practice. You don’t need someone to hire you, open the right doors, or anything like that. Just a computer – even a smartphone – and an internet connection can be enough to start your career.
As we mentioned earlier, in our previous articles, for you to get hired by someone else to promote their business online, they need to see your capability. You can start by building up a portfolio by building up an audience online. You could be updating your audience on any subject matter that suits their interests. It could be tips on cooking, fashion, choosing the right kindergarten for kids, or any other niche topic people in the society might be interested in.
When you build a big enough audience, a business looking to be marketed can approach you to market their own product. That could be done within your own audience, or you can target a different set of audiences that might be interested in their product/service. They will only give you that chance because you have demonstrated the ability to reach the masses digitally.
- Reach An Audience Of Millions Quickly
The nature of digital technology makes the dissemination of information quick and inexpensive. Through the internet, a message can reach hundreds of millions of people across the world at a cost economist can say to be free. Sure, you may need to pay for the internet-enabled device and the internet connection, but the message will reach so many people at a fraction of the cost of were you to use the traditional media.
Say, for instance, we want to announce over the TV, newspaper or radio. You will have to approach an established news outlet with a huge outreach. The more established, the media, the more they charge for you to put out your message to their audiences.
With the internet and digital technology, your message is carried and displayed across the multiple platforms for free and with an abundantly big pool of audiences.
- High ROI
As mentioned earlier, the training (education and certification) for jobs within the digital marketing industry is much less compared to other professional jobs in other industries. However, the returns in terms of a paycheck are higher than the national average salaries in America for most industries. That is the first ROI right there.
Secondly, putting out a message (advertisement) on the digital platform is much less expensive compared to traditional media. Additionally, the message could potentially reach millions of people across the country, if not the world. Taking into account what you invested in terms of money in putting out that message, and the reach, the ROI is significantly way higher compared to what you would get with traditional media.
As a digital marketer or digital marketing agency, you get paid better for your service. A service that, comparatively speaking, did not take a significant amount of your money to put out.
- There Is No Such Thing As An Untouchable Big Corporation
The internet has democratized the flow of information, and long gone are the days when only the voice of a few could be heard. These days everyone can be heard and armed with the right digital marketing skills; your voice will be heard loud and clear.
That makes the industry less punitive to startups (newbies), who are just starting. You can take up digital marketing class online, and decide to go at it as a solo entrepreneur. The fact that there are already many well established digital marketing agencies will not hinder your voice from being heard. As mentioned earlier, the bureaucracies bedeviling the traditional media are non-existent in digital media.
Conclusion
Digital marketing is the right career path for anyone looking to spend less time and money on college education. Loves working with people and achieving people-oriented goals like persuading someone to purchase something. The paycheck too is nothing to frown about, especially if you know your trade and execute your tasks well.
Article provided by, The Digital Marketing Recruiter – a recruiting firm focused exclusively on filling digital marketing positions throughout the USA
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