If you know anything about the world of marketing, you’ll know that right now there’s a huge demand for marketers with digital skills. As more and more companies move online to drive brand awareness and customer engagement, employers strive to have the perfect combination of technology and skills.
Let’s just look at some figures to put the scale of the industry into context. The U.S. digital advertising and marketing market is currently valued at $460 billion. In comparison, gaming is worth $300 billion, cybersecurity at $146 billion and website design at $11 billion. And there’s so much scope for further growth in the digital marketing sector.
But market size isn’t the only reason you should choose a digital marketing career. There are many reasons to embark on this exciting path. In this blog, we’re going to look at five of the best reasons to kickstart your digital career.
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Lots of jobs and career opportunities
A survey by LinkedIn discovered a rise in companies looking to hire people with digital skills – a 63% increase in just six months! Plus, one in every two of the top marketing jobs listed on LinkedIn is in the digital or media space.
The types of jobs in demand are digital marketing specialists, digital account executives, social media managers, digital marketing managers, copywriters and digital strategists. This demand is due to the need for digital know-how during Covid but continues to persist as companies continue to use digital channels to engage and sell.
What this means for you is that there’s great demand for digitally skilled professionals across a range of industries and locations. There’s also scope for climbing up the career ladder and moving into other roles as your confidence and skillset grow. It may even help you land a job in that company you’ve been stalking on social media over the years!
Competitive salary
While demand for digital marketers is on the rise, so are the salaries. Aquent’s 2022 Salary Guide for marketing, creative, and digital talent found that the acceleration of e-commerce spending means that salaries for these sectors are trending upward – an average increase of 7.5% across the board.
The greatest increase is in roles such as:
- Social Media Manager (17%)
- Digital Marketing Specialist (12%)
- Presentation Designer (11%)
- Copywriter (8%)
- Digital Marketing Manager (7%)
Plus your salary increases as you gain experience so the more knowledge and skills you have, the more you can demand. In fact, according to Robert Half research, today’s employees are in the driving seat as it’s a candidate’s market.
A shortage of skilled staff means that 64% of marketing and creative managers are planning to increase the average bonus for existing employees and 47% plan to increase paid time off to attract and retain talent.
Fast-paced and challenging environment
The pace of digital means that there’s always something new to do or learn. Whether you’re in a small or large marketing team or a one-person marketing machine, new technologies and platforms offer exciting ways to engage with customers.
It could be a change in an algorithm that changes how your content is ranked and seen in Google searches. Or it could be new features on a social media platform like TikTok or YouTube that offers brands and creators new ways to make money.
In addition, there are always new technologies to get up to speed with to simplify marketing activities. Automation platforms, customer relationship management systems, email marketing and lead generation tools are being developed and updated to streamline processes and enable data-driven insights.
Be creative
One of the great things about digital marketing is that it allows for creativity and experimentation. There’s no hard and fast rule as to what will make an effective campaign as every business and audience is different.
This leaves huge scope for trying new things like a new tone on social media platforms (think humor or zany) or a new content format that may resonate. A/B testing is also a great way to try a message or image you think may work well and test its performance. Your website is also a great place to A/B test along with stand-alone campaign pages.
As a marketer, you also have access to some great creative tools like Canva to create social media posts or infographics and Animoto to make impactful or simple videos. Plus with artificial intelligence-driven tools like voice search and the accessibility of VR and AR (especially with the rise of the metaverse), there are a lot of interesting areas to try out for your campaigns.
Opportunity to grow and learn
As we mentioned, there’s huge scope to grow in a digital marketing role. You may decide to hone your talents as a digital marketer, specialize in niche areas such as PPC or social media marketing or set your sights on a senior marketing role.
The great thing is all of those opportunities are open to you. To develop in your career it’s important to keep up-to-date with digital marketing trends through blogs, webinars or listening to podcasts, or attending conferences and live events (virtual or in-person).
It’s also crucial to refresh and learn new skills. You can do this through short online courses, in-house training provided by an employer, or more intensive courses that offer credentials like certification.
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As you can see there are some great reasons to embark on a digital marketing career. It offers an exciting, fast-paced, and lucrative environment to grow. Ultimately, digital marketing is a skill that can future-proof your career in a competitive environment.
Kickstart your Digital Marketing Career!
If you want to embark on a digital marketing career, a great way to get ahead is by knowing the fundamentals. AMA has partnered with DMI to offer the ‘Digital Marketing Pro’ – two professional certifications in one! You’ll learn social media marketing, display and video advertising, SEO, analytics, strategy, and much more. Enroll today to kick off your new career.
Extras:
According to a Robert Half guide starting salaries in the U.S for professional occupations are expected to increase an average of 3.8% in 2022, with ‘digital marketing specialist’ roles in the top ten most in-demand – and an expected salary increase of 5.6%.