Thanks to our guest blogger, Annabel Gill, Digital Marketing Executive at Digital Allies for demystifying the world of digital marketing!
It’s no secret that there is current demand for digital talent. Digital marketing is a means of increasing awareness and engagement of online (and physical) brands by leveraging digital channels in order to create a consistent digital experience. Digital channels include search engines, social media and online public relations.
The digital marketing economy is growing and evolving, which has led to the demand for talent in the industry. Businesses are often actively looking for candidates at all stages of their career, providing they are eager to learn.
There is a mix of disciplines that digital marketers work within, which complete a digital toolbox, these are:
Assets to these include websites, blogs, branding, infographics, social media platforms, backlinks (which is similar to references) amongst many more. Ultimately, in any of these specialisms, Digital Marketing is about knowledge, keeping up to date with trends, algorithms and practice is the key to succeeding.
Whilst some of the disciplines you are likely to be familiar with, some digital marketing efforts are often overlooked by non-marketers. 93% of online interactions begin with a search engine. SEO is the practice of making sure a website is the best it can be- both in the technical aspects and the content aspects- to help push it into the number one position on search engines. SEO is not only influenced by this, most of, if not all, of the above ‘digital toolbox’ influences this movement to the number one positioning. For example, if a separate website links to your website, creating a backlink, this is almost seen as a ‘vote’ for your website’s authority, which companies like Google like.
CRO is ensuring that your website is fit for purpose, and ensures the customer journey is as seamless as possible- if you rely on users submitting a from to gain a conversion, you will want to ensure your form is able to be found, as well as asking the right questions without being too invasive.
Industry jargon can often be intimidating if you’re new to Digital Marketing, with consistent innovation, the development of new language comes in hand.
Lead generation is the action of finding and developing quality leads, which identifies and targets your prospective customers. This can include boosting social media followers or building an email contact list.
This term is often referring to Google’s algorithm, which determines search ranking. Google’s changes to its algorithm directly impacts traffic to a website, for example the Hummingbird update affected 90% of all organic traffic.
This is the process of measuring KPIs and metrics for the business, by keeping track of these marketers can monitor business performance, optimise the customer journey and gain greater business intelligence.
CRM helps you understand your customer better this is done by storing data about your customer and their interactions. These are done to improve customer relationships and increase customer retention. Having a strong relationship with your current customers will enhance acquisition efforts also.
Automation is designed to centralise all your marketing process, this way you can track leads and target them with personalised content in the right moment via the right channel. Grouping all your efforts together gives you full visibility encouraging conversions.
This is the terminology fog the search engine results page, a SERP analysis includes text results, image results, video results etc.
This is visualised as an inverted pyramid which describes the various stages a customer goes through, from awareness to engagement, decisions and finally a sale. This helps understand how your customers convert and sets a guide for campaigns to help you reach your marketing objectives.
This is a more detailed sales funnel, which defines the touch points of a prospective customer in their purchasing journey, from first contact to purchase and brand advocation. Touch points reach across from online channels including mobile devices to brick and mortar stores.
These are those times when you reach for your phone for help, be it looking for a better price before an in-store purchase or checking for film times. By understanding what the customer wants, brands can intertwine this into their strategy with actionable content.
Omni-channel prioritises a seamless marketing experience across channels, within this is a personalised experience that drives more engagement, both online and offline with both prospective and returning customers.
Rapid advancements in technology is causing what is known as the ‘digital skills gap’, with SMEs struggling to find workers with the skills they require, the gap is leading to a shift towards a need for specialised digital head hunters. With many diverse career streams, there are sectors within digital marketing for a range of skill sets, which can be adapted from a range of industries; whether it’s being a creative, a copywriter, content writer, digital product owner; as well as opportunities in ecommerce, PPC, SEO, CRO or social media specialisms.
Other hinderances also include the soft skills gap, which include critical thinking, attention to detail and communication. These are skills that are heavily relied on in digital marketing, especially in agency environments. Digital agencies colleagues have to bring a balance of problem-solving skills, presentation skills, time management skills as well as personable skills when dealing with clients. Working in an agency atmosphere provides a wealth of experience as often your colleagues will be from a range of backgrounds, which will likely include development, creating a space for innovation.
There are a range of paths that lead to a career in digital marketing such as apprenticeships, internships university degrees as well as being self-taught. Being able to showcase your talents through blogs and portfolios is a proven way to get noticed and be a memorable candidate.
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