How to become a Digital Marketing Specialist: 7 Things to consider for a Digital Marketing

The internet has changed marketing forever. With people around the world now spending around seven hours online every day, companies have realised that getting their products and brands ‘out there’ via the internet is increasingly important for them to survive.

With this has come a huge rise in digital marketing. Gone are the days when print and television adverts ruled – businesses from global behemoths to small, niche sellers have shifted to digital channels to grow and thrive.

This rise in digital marketing has seen an explosion of roles for suitably skilled marketers – the people who can use the online world to drive a company’s growth, increase its brand awareness, and ensure its future is a bright one.

What is Digital Marketing?

In short, digital marketing is using the internet to advertise. The phrase describes the planning, creation and putting into practice of any and all consumer-focused digital content, typically for a business, a brand or even a single person, such as an actor or musician.

Digital marketers will use online channels such as social media, blogs and targeted email marketing to increase brand awareness, build trust between the consumer and the company or individual they represent, and maintain a loyal customer base. They will utilise platforms such as Instagram and Twitter, develop campaigns, and create a broad range of promotional material and content designed to engage with potential buyers or fans – from long-form blogs on sites like Medium, to newsletters, video shorts and web-based advertising.

Is Digital Marketing a good job?

With people spending more time than ever in front of screens, businesses and organisations of all shapes and sizes are rapidly expanding their digital marketing output. The internet has revolutionised advertising, and in today’s global economy any business looking to grow and prosper simply must have a top-notch digital arm to any marketing campaign it runs.

This means companies across the world are increasingly hungry for talented, driven digital marketing staff. Digital marketers are in demand more than ever before. And the job itself can be exciting, fulfilling and extremely rewarding.

As a digital marketer you can also enjoy freedoms not always found in other areas of employment. The sector frequently offers flexible hours, as well as the opportunity to work remotely from home or at an office. You could choose to work in-house for an organisation, offer your services via an agency, or simply go day-to-day as a freelancer.

Wages are typically good too, with the average base salary in the UK close to thirty thousand pounds a year for a digital marketer; experts and well-established digital marketing staff can often earn a lot more.

And within the sector there is so much room to specialise, as digital marketing has numerous roles where you can focus on specific facets of a campaign, for example. So what jobs are in digital marketing?

What jobs are in Digital Marketing?

Digital marketing is a dynamic and diverse field with a number of roles to choose from. You can even specialise in several areas, becoming a one-stop-shop for companies looking for a digital marketing expert!

Below are some of the main roles available to you in this exciting career.

• SEO specialist – SEO (search engine optimisation) is the careful placement of keywords in online content such as blogs, so when people search for a particular word your latest, in-depth and informative blog hopefully appears high in the search results! A SEO specialist is an important role for any company, as they will ensure that specific, carefully researched keywords will be used in any content that is created. This will drive the website or blog further up the search results, reach more people, and can often lead to better brand awareness or higher sales performance.
• Digital marketing manager – as the title suggests, a digital marketing manager will have overall control over the direction of campaigns and digital channels for their organisation. It’s a vitally important position, where they will use their skills to collaborate with other arms of the team (for example, the social media manager) to ensure the brand is successfully promoted, new advertising leads are developed, and company growth is ensured.
• Social media manager – nowadays most organisations have a social media presence, and a social media manager will have overarching control of each channel – for example, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. The manager and their team will curate, plan and post content on each, engage with potential and existing customers, push the brand, and ensure their social media presence is lively, warm and helpful.
• Content creators – there is a huge demand for content, and its creators can be very busy people. You can be a copywriter that creates compelling, engaging content for landing pages, blogs or even social media posts. Or perhaps a videographer responsible for hilarious video shorts that pop on the company website. You could specialise in digital design, making sure social media pages are colourful and draw people in. There are a range of content creation jobs to choose from, but they are all equally important as in the modern digital marketing world content is king.
• UX designer – making sure a consumer’s experience with your brand or product is simple, agreeable and engaging is crucial. The company’s digital UX (short for User Experience) can be the difference between success and failure, so a UX designer has an especially important role, ensuring that the overall design – look, feel, colour palette, ease of interaction with the website – makes the experience especially enjoyable for a consumer. An enjoyable experience often means better brand awareness and bigger profits.

Along with these main roles, you can aim to become a data analyst, email marketer, website developer, a project manager and more. The choice is yours, and successfully completing our Digital Marketing Course will provide you with the requisite skills to start your new career.

How to get started with Digital Marketing

As with all jobs, digital marketing will require a certain skillset and personality in order to succeed. You need to be good with data, have a touch of the creative about you, and be a good communicator with strong social skills.

But it’s not a difficult career to embark upon – as long as you are prepared to put in the work. And at Galway Business School we have the perfect programme for you, designed to teach you how to become a digital marketing specialist.

To get a head start, you could research the role and give yourself a basic understanding of digital marketing and its history, along with its recent explosive growth due to things like social media and Instagram influencers. You can also read industry blogs and news, or subscribe to podcasts, all of which we outline here.

If you are leaning towards a particular role within digital marketing, such as data analyst or email marketer, you can research what those positions involve, how they fit into larger digital marketing teams, and what the salary is, for example.

Sites such as YouTube are crammed with ‘how to’ videos covering digital marketing, and you can watch them at your leisure to gather as much information as possible before starting our course or enquiring about a position at a company. A quick search on YouTube will give you hundreds of hits, with titles such as ‘A Day in the Life of a Digital Marketing Specialist’, ‘How to Start a Career in Digital Marketing in 2022’ and ‘5 High-Paying Digital Marketing Jobs That You Can Do From Home’.

An internship or apprenticeship is also an option. You might decide to take the plunge and begin working straight away. You can do this from home, as many companies offer short, intensive apprenticeships that usually last for around three months, and you will be taken step-by-step through the basics of digital marketing by a specially-appointed mentor. Sometimes you will get the chance to work on a real marketing campaign with your mentor’s guidance. Doing an internship or apprenticeship can add real-world experience to your CV and stand you in good stead for your future career.

Finally there is the option of completing a certified course in digital marketing. But is it useful doing a digital marketing course?

Is it useful doing a digital marketing course?

There has been a huge cultural and consumer shift towards all things online, and businesses everywhere are turning to digital marketing for the majority of their output. As a result, demand for digital marketers has gone through the roof – so doing a digital marketing course is the perfect choice if you want to get ahead in your career.

At Galway Business School we offer a comprehensive Digital Marketing Course that will turn you into a fully-prepared, professionally qualified digital marketing candidate. During our course you will:

• Learn about and develop digital marketing strategies
• Study a broad range of methods (for example, social media marketing, SEO content) coupled with practical, hands-on activities for a digital marketing campaign
• Discover the history and basics of digital marketing
• Learn how the key pillars of digital marketing work and affect different situations
• Discover how impactful digital marketing campaigns can be on consumers and for the organisations running the promotions

And the good news is, the course is available via the government-funded Springboard initiative in Ireland. Our Digital Marketing Course is one of a suite of courses we offer at Galway Business School, starting each September – and even better news is that they are free and funded courses in higher education which are either recognised on the National Framework of Qualifications (NFQ) or are aligned to the framework. We have more information about Springboard eligibility and the application process here.

What skills do you need to work in Digital Marketing?

A career in digital marketing can be extremely exciting and fulfilling, but it can be demanding too. As mentioned above, you will need a certain skillset, especially proficiency with data, a creative personality and the ability to communicate well and possess excellent social skills are a must.

But to become a much-respected T-shaped marketer, where you specialise in one aspect of digital marketing but still possess a broad knowledge of other facets of the role, you will need certain ‘soft’ and ‘hard’ skills, depending on your chosen career path.

Soft Skills to work in Digital Marketing

These are common, core skills that you will definitely need in a role which is always evolving, fast-moving and can frequently be challenging yet rewarding.

• Communication
• Good listener
• Empathy
• Leadership
• Self-management
• Eye for detail
• Analytical ability
• Multitasking
• Inquisitive and passionate
• Adaptable
• Have goals

Hard Skills to Work in Digital Marketing

These are the technical skills you will require – while not all of them will be necessary to learn, a broad understanding of each skill will serve you well in your digital marketing career. Some, however, such as SEO proficiency, are a must-have. The most important ‘hard skills’ are:

• SEO (search engine optimisation)
• Data analysis
• Copywriting
• Video production
• Social media
• WordPress/Craft or other Content Management System (CMS)
• Keyword research
• Paid ad knowledge
• Content creation

Things to consider for a Digital Marketing Career

Do you have an inquiring mind? Are you good with data? Do you possess fantastic attention to detail, a dash of creative flair and a very lively imagination?

These are at least a few of the things you will need for your career in digital marketing. Add in the aforementioned ‘soft’ and ‘hard’ skills, the ability to work both alone (if you’re a freelancer) and as part of a large team, often under increasing pressure, to reach certain goals, plus the ever-evolving nature of the role – new tech, new apps, new strategies and so on – means you will always be learning.

And while a digital marketing career can be demanding on occasion, it is also a dynamic, exciting and fun way to earn a living. Salaries are generally very good, the hours are flexible, you can be part of an in-house group or work alone from home (or on your travels!) and when you start to specialise the wages are brilliant.

Our Springboard Digital Marketing Course in Ireland is designed to provide you with all you will need to embark on your fledgling career as a digital marketer. Galway Business School is located in Salthill, a stone’s throw from the beach and Galway Bay, while the vibrant city centre – with all that it has to offer – is just a three minute drive away.

Do you have more questions?

You can contact us today on (091) 529000 or by email to info@galwaybusinessschool.ie or admissions@galwaybusinessschool.ie or visit our Springboard FAQs pages:

Springboard+ Programme Eligibility FAQS

Springboard funding FAQs

How to choose which Springboard course is right for you - FAQs

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