It’s crazy that today marks my first year in digital marketing. I’ve gotta say, it has been quite a ride! I love coming to work; the team is great, the clients are fantastic, and we have built a strong work environment making my job even more enjoyable.
It’s amazing how much can happen throughout the course of a year! The things you learn, the people you meet, and the skills you can develop are crucial to your growth in your working career. In this blog post, I focus on my experience working at a digital marketing agency, how I overcame certain challenges, and my advice to those interested in working in the digital marketing.
The Learning Never Stops
The digital marketing world is continuously evolving, that’s what makes it so exciting! With new strategies, concepts, tools, and software, you need to continue to educate yourself and hone your skills. In my first year in digital marketing, I was never much of a reader or a big subscriber to some of the larger digital marketing sites who produce hundreds of articles a month like Search Engine Journal, SEM Rush, Search Engine Land, Social Media Examiner, etc. Boy, did that change quickly. I’d say that within the first month, I was reading up to 10 articles a week to make sure I knew my stuff and was on top of things that were changing in the industry. Things are changing every day in digital marketing, so staying on top of these changes will only help your success.
Strive to Succeed
Before coming into an agency, I already had previous experience with Google AdWords and Facebook Marketing from previous work. But from a personal side of things, I didn’t just want to live off these basic skills and hope that they would get me through each day. I, as well as most of you reading this, understood that I needed to be able to do more to be the best I could to succeed in my new role. Each time I learned something new, that wasn’t the end of it. I wanted to learn more. I’d watch tutorial “how to” videos, read detailed articles on best practices, the do’s and don’ts, and more just to equip myself with a new skill that can be added to my digital marketing arsenal. This job is a continuous cycle of learning so do not get overwhelmed if you do not know everything right away. Trust me, I certainly did not. Also, do not be afraid to ask questions. Your boss will not expect you to know everything within the first couple days, so approach him or her and ask questions or just pick their brain on something you read or watched. I’m sure that they will give you constructive feedback and steer you in the correct direction.
Be Prepared For Things to Not Go As Planned
If you’re a schedule-based person and like to plan your day out to stay organized that’s cool. I was like that too when I started. But in this field of work, things change quickly, and clients need an immediate answer to a problem or campaign. This is something that I feel occurs in every workplace whether it be marketing or not. It’s just something that people need to learn how to adjust to and manage their time wisely. And always remember, you are only human so do not get upset if you cannot get everything done in one day. Just always just do your best and strive for continual improvement.
Find a Side Project To Test Your Skills For Trial and Error
This is something that I’d highly recommend for anyone starting in digital marketing. Having a small side project whether it be a blog, Facebook page, Twitter account, or whatever is great to hone your skills. Just think about it, there really is only minimal risk so use these side projects as testing grounds for potential client campaigns. For example, I run a couple Facebook pages where I try multiple different methods to have my audiences engage with my page as much as possible, so I create posts with questions, polls, video content, etc. all to really see what my audience responds to the best. Learning these new techniques in a risk-free environment not only will help improve your clients’ campaigns, but it will also increase your confidence as a marketer to go out on a limb and try something new or outside your comfort zone to further improve your marketing skills and learn to take risks and accept success and more importantly accept failure and try again!
Reach Out and Make Your Own Opportunities Happen
Finding a job in an agency is sometimes like finding a needle in a haystack. It’s difficult to find. However, this should not discourage you. In your first year in digital marketing, freelance is always an option. I did freelancing for a couple months before coming to Newfound and although it can be frustrating at times financially, it’s a great way to get started in digital marketing. There is always people out there who need to be on digital platforms but do not have the time to effectively manage their channels. These careers could include; real estate agents, insurance brokers, mortgage brokers, not for profit organizations, and more. The experience that you can obtain from doing these small jobs are huge in your development to moving into the agency environment and your professional development as a marketer.
Conclusion
Working in digital marketing has been an unbelievable experience. I’ve had the opportunity to work with a wide range of different businesses in so many different industries. It’s refreshing to understand and learn what works for one industry may not work for another. What I’d highly recommend to anyone who wants to work in digital marketing is to continually educate yourself, test new ideas again and again, and most importantly have the confidence that you can do this! Don’t be afraid to fail, and ask questions and push yourself to be the best you can.
If you’re looking for further advice feel free to contact us with questions or contact colin@newfoundmarketing.ca directly.
