What is Required to Become a Digital Marketer?
In our earlier article, we discussed about the growth of digital marketing jobs in India. A lot of companies are looking for people with broad digital marketing skills as well as specific skills like SEO, Content Writing, Web Design, Social Media and Analytics. Here, we will see what skills and education you need to enter in to the lucrative field of digital marketing. You need to know the basics of marketing; have big picture mindset, ability to plan and manage time; be creative and data driven. The intention of this article is to help you focus on the skills required to be a successful digital marketer – not to scare you off.
Every job needs multiple skills but be successful – even one of the most menial jobs like a bus driver – no offence, just wanted to show how skilled they need to be. They need to know how to drive, driving rules, directions, shortcuts and local language. They also need to be good with time management and should be physically fit. So don’t get overwhelmed by the skills required to be a digital marketer. You can learn some while doing your job. Here are the skills required in detail.
Basics of marketing & digital marketing You need to at least know the basics of marketing. A degree in marketing is a plus. Some universities offer a degree in digital marketing. We will discuss about the various courses and degrees available for Indians in our courses section. Even if you don’t have a degree in marketing, you at least need to have general interest in marketing. Moreover, you can know the basics of marketing very easily. There are many resources online. As discussed in our ‘what is digital marketing’ article, digital marketing involves some key are like Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Social Media Marketing
(SMO), Content Marketing, E-Mail Marketing, Pay Per Click (PPC), Website Design and Development and Web Promotion. You need not specialize in all these but have a good understanding. Creativity There is more competition than ever in digital marketing industry today. One thing that differentiates successful digital marketers from the rest is the creativity. You need to have that curiosity and ability to see the things differently, look for hidden patterns and generate ideas, alternatives or possibilities. Whether you are assisting web designers in building a website or defining a social media marketing strategy, your creativity decides your success.
Ability to plan and manage time As a digital marketer, you will be responsible for the overall digital marketing strategy of the project. You need to study your clients’ business, their credentials, their competition, user behavior in that industry and define a plan. The competition is always working – so you need to keep defining and adjusting your strategy to win. You have to be on top of the game. Also, digital marketing is a vibrant industry; things keep changing rapidly. As your client’s business is in your hands, you cannot sit on things for long time. You need to take right action and quickly.
Data analysis One of the most crucial things that separate digital marketing from regular marketing is data. Unlike traditional marketing, you will have a lot of data – how many people your marketing efforts are reaching, how many people are visiting your website, what visitors are doing on your website, how many visitors are converting to sales, and so on. You will have to know the tools to access the data, collect it, analyze it and make informed decisions. You should enjoy playing with numbers.
Big Picture Mindset As a digital marketer, you may not be building a website from the scratch; you will be communicating your marketing strategy to multiple teams – Website Design, SEO, PPC, Content and Web Promotion. You will know each of these aspects and how to join them together for a better online marketing success. You will zoom in to guide these teams and at the same time zoom out to see if your efforts are going in the right direction.
Know the Lingo You need to know the industry jargon as a digital marketer. Unless you know the metrics, you will not be able to communicate with other team members properly. We have a comprehensive digital marketing glossary for your reference. You also need to keep yourself abreast with the latest developments in the industry – internet usage and online user behavior, updates to search engine algorithms, etc. See one thing I would like to tell you here is, you may not have all these skills or qualities, but one thing you MUST have is ‘passion’ to succeed in digital marketing. This is what makes you learn the subject, stay updated on industry
news, sit late in the night to study user behavior, attend industry meetups and conferences and finally make your way to succeed in a digital marketing job. Just wanted to share my all time favorite words by Steve Jobs: “Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what at you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle. As with all matters of the heart, you’ll know when you find it. And just like any great relationship, it just gets better and better as the years roll on. So keep looking until you find it. Don’t settle.”
Digital-Marketing-Course.org is an initiative to educate Indian students on career in digital marketing. Whether you want to know what is digital marketing or looking for a comprehensive guide on digital marketing course, career, jobs, etc., this website is a must visit.