How to Switch Careers Into Digital Marketing
Guest article provided by: hardkorecontent.com
Have you ever scrolled through your LinkedIn feed, skimmed over a few ads from companies you follow and said to yourself, “I can write this better?” If so, then it might be time to switch careers into digital marketing.
While career reinventions may seem intimidating, they happen all the time. Matter of fact, the average worker will change careers five to seven times during their working life, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. And right now, opportunity in digital marketing abounds, with LinkedIn reporting an astounding 374% growth in marketing jobs in 2021 alone.
So, a career in marketing is on your mind, let’s look at what you need to know before you make the switch.
What is digital marketing?
Digital marketing is a proven strategy that lets companies promote their brands to specific audiences across multiple digital channels, including websites and social media channels. As digital marketing has grown in sophistication over the past decade, it’s created a growing variety of roles for job seekers.
Some of the specific jobs within digital marketing include:
Search engine optimization (SEO)
People who work on SEO teams collaborate to help companies improve their search engine rankings. If you have a penchant for research and a curiosity about how companies can grab one of the top 25 spots on a Google query, then SEO might be for you.
Pay-per-click (PPC) advertising
If you like writing creative copy and enjoy diving into data, then PPC advertising is a valid career path. PPC is the art of crafting ads that encourage people to click through to a webpage, landing page, or other online offer.
Social media marketing
Companies use Facebook, TikTok, Twitter, and other social media platforms to spread the word about their businesses—and they’re willing to pay people to do it for them. In social media marketing, you can craft a brand’s overall social strategy, help companies connect with the right influencers, and enhance a brand’s customer service.
Content marketing
If researching and writing are your forte, then content marketing can offer you a wealth of opportunities. It involves writing, designing, and distributing blog posts, e-books, guides, and other assets that stimulate interest in a company’s products and services.
Email marketing / marketing automation
When businesses launch new products or promote special offers to their customers, email ranks as one of their most successful channels. Today’s email marketing strategies are highly sophisticated, with 87% of B2C companies using marketing automation to find and attract specific audience groups.
Data analytics and reporting
The heart of any successful digital marketing strategy lies in the data. Marketers are asked to prove their return-on-investment (ROI) regularly, and they need analytics experts who can help them show the C-suite how their marketing investments are moving the needle.
Why is digital marketing a top-trending career path?
Most digital marketing job opportunities used to be clustered in large cities. But the rapid growth of hybrid and remote work that took off during the pandemic has been a game-changer for job seekers in the industry.
A survey by language learning app Preply conducted in 2022 shows that digital marketing ranks among the top three skills Americans are learning. And the interest in digital marketing now goes well beyond big cities, with Arkansas showing the biggest increase in people who upskilled their digital marketing abilities last year (up 125%).
What skills are marketers brushing up on right now? Social media advertising (102%), presentation skills (89%), and content marketing (79%) rank high, according to LinkedIn data.
The interest in upskilling comes at a time when the number of digital marketing opportunities keeps multiplying. LinkedIn’s 2023 Jobs on the Rise report lists three marketing roles (growth marketing manager, content designer, and customer marketing manager) among the top 25 U.S. roles with growing demand.
Where can I learn more about it?
You can brush up and even get certified on many digital marketing skills for free. HubSpot Academy offers hundreds of classes and certifications, including courses in topics such as digital marketing, YouTube marketing, social media marketing, content marketing, SEO, email marketing, and more. You will need to create an account to access their content.
Coursera offers a Digital Marketing and e-Commerce professional certificate sponsored by Google. You will need to sign up for a monthly paid Coursera membership; most people complete the course in six months at a total cost of around $300. The Digital Marketing Institute offers a professional digital marketing certification course sponsored by the American Marketing Association that will run around $1368.
Free newsletters like those offered by The Marketing Millennials and Hard Kore Content Marketing can also give you helpful hints and tips about how to succeed in digital marketing.
How much money can I make in digital marketing?
Learning digital marketing can lead to financial security. Zippia lists the following ranges for these positions:
- Digital Marketing Manager – $71,000 – 138,000/year
- Content Marketing Manager – $65,000 – $108,000/year
- Social Media Manager – $50,000 – $98,000/year
This Digital Marketing Salary Guide from Conductor offers current information about digital marketing salaries along with helpful hints on how to benchmark wages in an increasingly remote and hybrid employment landscape. If you’re planning to move into a new area to pursue a career in digital marketing, check out this Guide to Relocating for Work.
Start your career reboot with confidence
Often, the hardest part of a career reboot is taking the first step. But with so many resources available—everything from free online certification courses to degree programs at top universities—it’s easy to explore digital marketing and learn whether it’s right for you.
Kyle Hardner is the founder and co-owner of Hard Kore Content Marketing, a content marketing agency that offers expert-level copywriting services to clients in B2B SaaS, healthcare, Health IT, e-commerce, insurance and higher education. His website offers insights into the skills and technologies content marketers can use to succeed today.