How to Get Into Digital Marketing

If you’re online in any capacity, you’re impacted by digital marketing. It’s a day-to-day — even a minute-to-minute — part of internet activity.

That’s true whether you’re watching YouTube, scrolling social media, or browsing the web. Seeing the constant presence of this industry online, you might wonder how to get into digital marketing.

Having an effective online presence is undoubtedly a necessity for businesses of all types. It’s where companies connect with customers, and brands build a presence to help drive sales. Due to this environment, there’s a growing demand for capable digital marketers. In fact, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, overall employment of marketing managers is projected to grow 8 percent from 2023 to 2033, which is faster than the average for all occupations.

Keep reading to learn more about digital marketing, including what skills and education you need to succeed in this niche. 

What Is Digital Marketing?

Digital marketing is a broad industry that covers any type of marketing on digital channels and platforms. It includes, but isn’t limited to:

• Social media marketing. Posts, comments, and other organic efforts to engage audiences on social media platforms, such as Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok, are digital marketing. Paid efforts, such as influencer collaborations and social media ads, also fit under the social media marketing umbrella.
• Email marketing. Targeted messaging of existing or potential customers through drip campaigns, newsletters, and other email efforts is a common type of digital marketing.
• Search engine optimization. Optimizing website content so it performs well in the search engine results pages (SERPs) is an essential digital marketing task. By improving page performance, content relevance, and SEO, digital marketers can help drive more traffic to web pages.
• Content marketing. Text, image, and video content helps you connect with a target audience and provide relevant and valuable messaging. You can use digital marketing content to inform, entertain, or persuade, helping to guide potential customers through a planned marketing funnel.

Digital marketing efforts are essential to business success today. Consumers have become used to the instant gratification and personal service digital brands, such as Amazon and Netflix, provide. You can open Netflix and review queues of suggested content based on your previous viewing habits, and consumers want that level of convenience across other parts of their lives.

Using digital marketing skills, you can drive inbound marketing campaigns that make it easy for consumers to discover the products and services they need. You can also help businesses reach wider audiences, reduce lead-generation costs, and improve customer loyalty. 

Key Skills Needed for Digital Marketing

Whether you’re a generalist digital marketer who wears many hats, or a specialist who is an expert in a specific area of digital marketing, you will need a combination of technical and soft skills. Examples of these skills include, but are not limited to:

Technical Skills

• SEO and SEM strategy: Understanding how search engine optimization (SEO) and search engine marketing (SEM) influence visibility and business goals is fundamental. This includes keyword research, search engine algorithms, and paid advertising. To learn more about these skills, check out our SEO and paid advertising courses
  
• Social media platforms: Proficiency in using platforms like LinkedIn, Instagram, X, Facebook, and TikTok for targeted content distribution, community building, and campaign management. Check out our broad selection of social media marketing courses.
  
• Email marketing platforms: Familiarity with tools such as Mailchimp, HubSpot, or Salesforce to create and optimize email campaigns for lead nurturing and customer engagement. Want to learn more? Browse our email marketing courses.
  
• Media planning: Knowing how to allocate budgets and select the right mix of channels and formats to deliver marketing messages and maximize campaign effectiveness.
  
• Marketing technology: Using platforms like CRMs, CMSs, and marketing automation tools to streamline and personalize marketing efforts.
  
• Measurement and analytics: Understanding KPIs, tracking performance, and leveraging tools like Google Analytics or AI-powered platforms to drive data-informed decisions. If this sounds like a good fit for you, Udemy offers a selection of high quality marketing analytics courses.
  

Soft Skills

• Content creation and copywriting: Crafting compelling written or visual content to support brand messaging and build audience trust. This includes writing, editing, ideation, graphic design, and publishing.
  
• Marketing strategy: Developing and executing campaigns aligned with broader business goals, using both creative and analytical thinking.
  
• Analytical thinking: Interpreting data to make strategic decisions, optimize performance, and identify new opportunities.
  
• Communication and collaboration: Working effectively with cross-functional teams and clearly articulating ideas to different stakeholders.
  
• Adaptability: Staying agile and responsive to evolving trends, technologies, and audience behaviors in a fast-paced digital environment.

See how these skills are relevant to the pillars of success in digital marketing.

Educational Pathways for Digital Marketers

You can learn digital marketing skills through numerous routes. Some people seek out education with local or online universities, earning an associate or bachelor’s degree in marketing, communications, business, or a related field. Those aspiring to grow into marketing leadership roles, such as chief marketing officer or marketing director, might seek a graduate-level marketing degree.

However, a traditional degree is only one pathway to digital marketing education. You can also take online courses, complete marketing boot camps, or obtain industry-related certifications to demonstrate your skills. 

To decide which path might be right for you, consider your answers to questions such as:

• What are your marketing career goals? If your long-term goal is a seat in the marketing C-suite, you may need a traditional degree at some point. Explore job postings you’d like to apply for now and ones for positions you’d like to grow into. Consider the education requirements employers list as you plan. 
• Do you prefer a structured or self-paced approach to learning? Classroom or online marketing degrees may be a good education path if you need structured learning with regular instructor oversight. Certifications and stand-alone digital marketing courses may be helpful for those who wish to work at their own pace. 
• What specific skills do you need to learn? Think about some of the skills we outlined earlier, and which sound particularly interesting to you. One benefit of enrolling in an online course is that it can serve as a trial to test whether or not digital marketing, or a specific area within digital marketing, is a good fit for you. 

Gaining Practical Experience

If you want to know how to get into digital marketing with no experience, the answer is simply to get started. The great thing about digital marketing is that the industry is open to anyone with an internet connection. 

You can start a social media page or YouTube channel, write a blog, or create a website. With the right tools, you can start for free or almost free, practicing digital marketing skills with hobby topics or your own small business.

Other ways to build experience and a portfolio so you can chase paid digital marketing work include:

• Internships. Paid internships or unpaid work-study programs offer a chance to get practical digital marketing experience on your resume, even as you finish digital marketing coursework. Internships are common on social media management and content creation teams.
• Freelance projects. Let friends and family know about your digital marketing skills. Offer to help them with social media or their website in exchange for pay and the opportunity to add that work to your portfolio. You might also create a profile on platforms such as Fiverr and market your services to businesses online to pick up new clients.
• Volunteering. Consider how you can use your skills to help out in your community. Ask local charities and community organizations, such as animal rescues or school clubs, whether you can help get the word out about their efforts or events with your digital marketing skills. 

Career Opportunities in Digital Marketing

Digital marketing is a complete industry supported by a wide range of talent and technology. This landscape creates numerous career opportunities.

Digital marketers in smaller organizations might wear multiple hats, handling numerous marking roles. In larger organizations, team members might specialize in specific marketing arenas. 

Potential career opportunities in digital marketing include:

• Marketing leadership. Marketing managers and directors, CMOs, and other leaders oversee marketing teams and develop strategies to support business goals.
• Social media marketing. Social media marketers plan and implement content campaigns. They may write posts, create or source images, and make videos. 
• Email marketing. Email marketers create drip and sales email campaigns, manage newsletters, and come up with collateral to help build email marketing lists. 
• SEO and SEM. SEO and SEM teams conduct keyword research, analyze current content, identify SEO gaps, and implement content and strategies to support better performance in the SERPs. They also manage paid search engine campaigns, creating and implementing ad strategies. 
• Marketing analytics. Data analytics professionals track KPIs and help measure the effectiveness of marketing campaigns. They may also work on marketing research and use data to provide actionable insights for more effective marketing efforts. 
• Content marketing. Jobs in this niche typically involve writing content, creating videos, and graphic design. You might be able to work as a freelancer completing this work, an in-house content creator, or a content manager.
• Affiliate marketing. Affiliate marketers manage partnerships with affiliates that drive sales and expand reach for brands through their own channels, such as blogs, websites, or social media. Affiliate partners earn a commission for actions completed by customers.  

Tips for Launching a Successful Digital Marketing Career

Once you start your digital marketing career, follow these tips to support ongoing success: 

• Build professional connections: Not surprisingly, the field that’s all about connecting with customers tends to involve a lot of connection with business partners and other professionals. Take time to involve yourself in the digital marketing community. Attend local and regional events, including workshops and conferences, and network online. Join forums and actively engage with business professionals in the niche on social media. 
• Keep up-to-date on digital marketing trends and best practices: Digital marketing technology and trends evolve rapidly. Earning a marketing degree or completing online courses teaches you about marketing today, but it’s important to read industry publications and keep up with innovative organizations so you’re prepared for the digital marketing of tomorrow. 
• Put your digital marketing expertise to work for your personal brand: Leverage LinkedIn to create a personal professional brand, demonstrating what you know and how you can help others in the community. 

Get Started on Your Digital Marketing Journey Today

Digital marketing offers a wide range of career opportunities. Whether you’re a creative itching to write copy for your favorite brands or a tech-savvy analyst who loves to dig into the numbers, there may be a place for you in digital marketing. Start your digital marketing journey today with Udemy’s digital marketing courses.