It is a common misconception that you can just work in “marketing.” Marketing these days is such a broad term that it doesn’t really define your job title. Alone, within digital marketing, there is Content Marketing, Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Pay Per Click or Paid Media (PPC), Public Relations (PR), Email Marketing and Social Media, and that’s not even including brand marketing, which is a whole other beast.
Having a broad, yet specialized knowledge about the different avenues of digital marketing will make you a more well-rounded marketer. In turn, this will lend you the opportunity to obtain a career in digital marketing in multiple departments of your agency or company.
Job Security
Since there are so many pieces to the digital marketing puzzle, chances that the whole marketing department will get laid off all at once is slim to none. These days, marketing has turned into a numbers game.
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Fortune 500 companies are no longer spending millions on billboards that could possibly increase traffic or creating a campaign that may increase ROI. It just doesn’t happen anymore. Why? Because in online marketing we have data from hundreds of A/B tests to support marketing initiatives. It’s no longer a guessing game.
Bird’s Eye View
Like one of my professors said, “The CEO of a company is 9 times out of 10, someone from marketing because they know the entirety of the business.” After some thought, it made sense. The finance people know finance, the accounting people know accounting, the HR people know HR, the operations people know operations and the marketing people have to know finance, accounting, HR and operations to be informed and to be able to do their job.
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It’s like a baseball player that is an amazing first baseman and also has a batting average of .300 versus a player that is just an amazing first baseman…who would you hire? Probably, the person who can wear multiple hats and succeed in multiple areas. This is the marketer.
Connections, Connections, Connections
Whether it be through client work or industry events, marketers love to talk and exchange creative ideas and build networks. Their job revolves around hearing a company’s or client’s wants or needs, strategizing the opportunity and implementing initiatives to satisfy the client or company.
This process is highly interactive and emotionally draining if the client doesn’t trust you. To avoid these obstacles, many marketers establish trust from the get-go and oftentimes continue to build on the relationship as time passes.
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Building these relationships opens doors to many new opportunities, including meeting others with similar passions and finding new ones! These skills will translate into your personal and professional life to build your connections which can end in opportunities at other companies or gaining leads to new clients.
You Will Be A More Informed Buyer
Being in marketing, whether on the brand or agency side, you are already more informed than the average joe. You know marketers focus on consumer behavior and leverage the likings of our cognitive minds to position products and services. When you see a TV advertisement or ad on social media, you aren’t as quick to fall into the marketer’s trap (even though we admit we have done it once or twice). Take the skills you have learned in marketing and use them in your personal life. You will be happy you did.
Overall, it is a good idea to go into marketing. You will have a wide range of opportunities to differentiate yourself and position yourself as a marketer to ultimately leverage to potential employers! If you’re looking to separate yourself from the crowd check out 3 Certifications Every Aspiring Digital Marketer Should Have Under Their Belt.
