How to Become a Digital Marketing Specialist

Digital marketing entails all methods to promote products and services on digital channels. Because whip-smart business owners seek innovative ways to reach their potential customers online, the demand for digital marketing specialists is at its peak. 

Someone versed in digital marketing can help businesses boost their reach and level up their business game. In return, it allows the professional to gain exposure, enhance creativity, and increase their earning potential by working in an ever-evolving field. 

If a career in digital marketing intrigues you, but you’re uncertain where to begin, you’re in the right place. Learn how to become a digital marketing specialist and scale your career with the tips below.

Why Learn Digital Marketing? 

With 1000+ digital marketing job openings in Ireland alone, digital marketing does offer an opportunity to break into the field and succeed down the line. 

But let’s explore a few other convincing reasons why learning digital marketing skills would benefit a career-oriented person. 

• Entrepreneurship. Digital marketing skills are invaluable for those who seek to start their business. Creating successful marketing campaigns is all it takes to increase brand awareness and target your potential customers. Hence, learning to market your products and services online can be a source of tremendous business growth. 

• Stay abreast with the latest technologies. Business owners deploy the latest technologies to maximise their digital marketing campaigns. As a result, digital marketers stay familiar with the changing technologies, which helps them gain numerous transferable skills. After all, we’re living in a digital age, and technology is deployed in each field.

• Develop creative skills. Thinking out of the box is crucial to building engaging campaigns. This means you get to hone your creative skills by implementing your learning in the real world. 

• Learn personal branding. Personal branding is all the rage these days, and for good reasons. You can build a strong online network, boost visibility, and become identifiable. Having digital marketing skills means achieving that and more.

• Endless career opportunities. Digital marketing offers a role for everyone. For instance, you can pick social media marketing if networking intrigues you. Likewise, if developing creative content piques your interest, you can opt for content marketing.

What Does a Digital Marketing Specialist Do?

A digital marketing specialist has specialised knowledge in multiple digital marketing facets. Overall, however, their role remains the same - brand promotion online. Typical job responsibilities of a digital marketing specialist include but aren’t limited to the following. 

• Measuring and tweaking PPC campaigns 

• Creating and executing SEO campaigns 

• Leveraging social media channels to increase website traffic and boost sales 

• Monitoring and managing the entire digital marketing team 

• Coordinating with graphic designers, copywriters, and UX designers before implementing marketing campaigns 

• Setting goals and analysing the performance of marketing campaigns 

It is worth noting that the difference between a digital marketing, content marketing, and SEO specialist is that a digital marketing specialist has broader knowledge and skillset. As a marketing specialist, you get to work in numerous disciplines rather than one.

Steps to Become a Digital Marketing Specialist

Little persistence, patience, and hard work are what it takes to become a digital marketing specialist. With it, heading in the right direction is equally important. We’ve rounded up a few solid tips to help you get into and make a mark in your digital marketing career. 

Learn Important Digital Marketing Skills

Digital marketing is more than writing words and sharing graphics to entice potential customers. You must have various skills to attract the audience naturally and exacerbate the chance of converting them. 

Here are a few common skills digital marketing specialists must have. 

• Content writing. Websites offer businesses a way to boost their credibility and build trust among the online audience. Sharing informational blog posts and value-driven insights on websites help engage with customers and generate sales - organically. Therefore, businesses expect digital marketers to have basic content writing skills to grow brand visibility online. 

• Copywriting involves content, except that it’s persuasive. It is meant to encourage the audience to take the desired action - purchase a product or share their email. As a digital marketing specialist, you must build a copywriting tone that resonates with the potential customer and helps maintain a brand reputation. 

• Creativity. Brand promotion requires an innovative mindset. You must be able to think creatively and attract new customers through active engagement. 

• SEO. Google continuously shifts its algorithm, and staying relevant has become more important than ever. You must know how to leverage keywords with high intent volume to appear on SERPs and make your digital marketing efforts successful. 

• Social media is increasingly becoming a hub of public conversations. As a marketing specialist, you can use it to convey relevant messages to the target audience. With over 4.26 billion users, social platforms offer an excellent opportunity to establish your online presence and earn a reputation. 

• Communication skills. Digital marketing isn’t restricted to posting valuable content but building long-lasting customer relationships. That’s possible only with efficient communication skills. The ability to convey ideas seamlessly, listen to customers actively, and minimise misunderstandings can help build a positive brand reputation. 

• Basic design skills. While you aren’t required to be an expert graphic designer, you must be familiar with Canva and Adobe Creative Suite like PhotoShop or InDesign. Visuals can significantly complement text that otherwise reads bland. So, a post that might go unnoticed would likely be read when put into a compelling infographic.

Become Familiar With Popular Digital Marketing Tools 

The more tools you’re familiar with as a digital marketer, the more smooth sailing your journey. Tools ease our manual work and allow us to complete projects with minimal effort. They do require smart work, however. 

You can use Google Analytics to measure and monitor the performance of your digital marketing campaigns. Likewise, tools like SEMrush and Ahrefs allow you to track competitors’ SEO techniques and find relevant keywords. 

Further, email marketing tools like MailChimp help you segment users and send them customised emails to boost engagement and increase ROI. Here are a few tools to make your life easier as a digital marketer. 

• Google Ads 

• Google Analytics 

• Moz

• Buffer 

• Salesforce 

• HubSpot

Improve Your Social Media Marketing Skills 

Social media marketing is more than having robust communication and networking skills. You must learn the art of creating engagement and posting content that goes viral. Social media is a powerful marketing tool but requires smart work to use it to the maximum. 

Here are a few tips to improve your social media marketing skills. 

• Learn the art of storytelling. Stories make us feel emotions while allowing us to convey helpful ideas and information. Everybody loves a good story, and your customers are no exception - there’s a reason why storytelling has become essential for businesses. Marketers today prefer sharing personal stories or customer stories to create more engaging content. 

• Use humour. Where all else fails, humour works. People online love memes and humorous content that gives them a break from their monotonous routines. However, you must be cautious when using humour. An insensitive joke may offend the audience, turning the tide and hurting your brand reputation. 

• Partner with influencers. Find an influencer in the same industry as your business and collaborate with them. Their loyal customer base would likely turn to your brand and consider your services and products. 

• Stay familiar with the new features. Sticking to posts might not do the trick in the world of short-form videos, stories, and live videos. So, make sure you alter your marketing practices with the changing trends.

• Make your content interactive. There isn’t a better way to grab online audiences’ attention than to create polls, contests, and quizzes. Polls and quizzes allow them to share their opinion, while contests ignite a spark of competition, engaging them on your brand page.

Know How Email Marketing Works 

Email marketing might be old-school, but the user base of over 4 billion speaks volumes about its importance. Many professionals still use emails to exchange information and interact. 

Email marketing stands out from other marketing forms because it allows you to target your customers directly in their inboxes. What’s more, you can personalise emails to build strong relationships with your audience. 

You must learn how to create email lists and set up email campaigns at the most basic level. Besides, understanding email metrics helps you know where you’re headed as a marketer. 

Polish Your Team Management Skills 

Here are a few steps to enhance your team management skills, and highlight this skill on your resume. 

• Communicate with the team members effectively to build strong relationships with them. Besides work relationships, get to know them individually, discover their strengths, and show support when required. After all, empathetic team leaders encourage innovation and collaboration. 

• Delegate tasks only after identifying their strengths and shortcomings. This will help you set realistic expectations and make each marketing campaign successful. 

• Share constructive feedback to help team members improve. Also, reward them for their efforts to motivate them to do better. 

• Be flexible and open to the ideas and perspectives of your team members. This makes them feel valued and adds to your growth.

Take a Course 

Taking a professional course has numerous benefits besides learning digital marketing skills. Here’s how it may add to your career. 

• Enhanced job opportunities. A professional course on your resume can give a tough competition to other candidates applying for the role. Employers value applicants with specialised training, knowledge, and experience in a relevant field. As a result, it enhances your chance of getting hired. 

• Career advancement. A professional course equips you with enough knowledge and skills to take on new responsibilities. You also get certified, which boosts your credibility and earning potential in the industry. 

• Personal development. Learning new skills from industry professionals adds to your personal growth. You’re more likely to trust your abilities and appear more confident. 

A professional course in digital marketing is a worthwhile investment. You get to increase your knowledge and boost your chance of succeeding in your professional life.

Stay Abreast of the Changing Digital Marketing Trends 

Google makes numerous changes to its algorithm every year. Likewise, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter add new features to enhance user experience. It would be safe to say that the changes in digital marketing are happening consistently. 

Therefore, you must gain knowledge besides the one you already possess. While a course equips you with the latest industry knowledge, there are other interesting ways to stay up-to-date. 

• Show up at industry conferences and events to learn from field experts. 

• Follow industry influencers on social media channels to gain helpful industry insights. 

• Subscribe to industry newsletters for regular updates about changing trends and technologies. 

• Implement and test the new marketing tactics to learn and grow. 

Learning never stops - essentially, when you’re working in an ever-changing field of digital marketing. So, be willing to adapt to the new changes to complement your marketing practices.

Gain Some Real-World Experience 

Recruiters actively seek professionals with experience. Therefore, gaining some experience and building a strong portfolio is essential to enter digital marketing. Here are a few tips to gain experience from scratch and become a digital marketing specialist for any business. 

• Look for internship opportunities with companies that intrigue you. You might not get paid well initially, but it does equip you with enough experience to add to your resume and get a high-paying job. 

• Offer digital marketing freelance services to startups. Small businesses are more likely to take a punt on hiring inexperienced individuals than established ones. 

• Create your website to share informational blogs or grow your social media presence to build a personal brand. This will give you hands-on experience in creating marketing campaigns and executing them. 

• You can also volunteer for non-profit organisations to gain experience in the field.

Build Your Network

The stronger your network, the better opportunities you have in the job market. Unsurprisingly, building your network also begins online. You can connect with professionals through LinkedIn and Twitter and launch your newsletter to demonstrate your skills. 

Not only will this give you a chance to share your work, but it’ll also open up career opportunities. You can also hold meetups with people in relevant fields to learn from them and exchange helpful ideas.

How Much Do Digital Marketing Specialists Make? 

Digital marketing might be a growing career, but does it pay enough? As a novice digital marketer, perhaps you’ve wondered that. Fortunately, the digital marketing specialist role does pay a decent salary. 

The latest data reveals that a digital marketing specialist in Ireland can make around €42,500 annually or €22.00 hourly on average.  

However, the precise figure varies per the company and experience. For instance, the same data shows that an experienced marketing specialist can earn up to €50,000 yearly, while entry-level positions are paid €30,000 annually. 

The earning potential may vary if you choose to work as a freelancer. The more effort you put into finding reliable clients, the more income you can generate.

FAQs

What Skills Are Required to Become a Digital Marketing Specialist? 

Becoming a digital marketing specialist requires numerous skills, including project management, technical, creative, and analytical skills. Besides, being an active communicator and adaptable helps one understand customer needs and change with the transforming digital marketing landscape. 

Can I Become a Digital Marketing Specialist With No Experience? 

You can become a digital marketing specialist with no experience, but it’ll require effort, dedication, and commitment. Start by taking a course to improve your skills and build a digital marketing portfolio. Execute your learning by hunting freelance jobs or building a personal brand to demonstrate your online marketing skills. 

Which Career Paths Are Available for Digital Marketing Specialists? 

Digital marketing specialists have numerous career options depending on their skills and interests. You can become an SEO specialist, content marketing manager, social media manager, or digital marketing manager. Generally, professionals recommend identifying your strengths and picking a role accordingly.

Conclusion

An aptitude for enticing the online audience is a much sought-after skill in the competitive business world. Therefore, brands value experts who know the art of promoting products without force, and a digital marketing specialist does just that. 

While this article addresses how to become a digital marketing specialist, to advance your career, you need additional guidance. 

Here’s when a Professional Digital Marketing Course at UCD Professional Academy can help. 

From email marketing to content creation, the course enables you to learn the nitty-gritty of digital marketing. What’s more, it has been compiled by industry professionals who’ve designed it keeping the latest trends in mind. 

So besides gaining the latest insights, you are more likely to flourish in your career and take on new responsibilities confidently.