If you are seeking a career in Digital Marketing, then understanding what recruiters are looking for will help you to tailor your resume and seek out the relevant training and qualifications required in order to be successful in your job search.
While exploring the specifications and description of duties within the role that you are looking for will undoubtedly be beneficial in helping you to understand the fundamentals, recruiters will also be seeking broader traits, skills, and abilities that will be crucial in your ability to carry out those day to day duties. They will need you to be:
1. Creative
Creativity may seem like an obvious requirement for a role that requires breaking through the deafening noise of marketing activity, in an innovative way that sparks interest and holds the audience. As a digital marketer, it will be necessary to generate ideas and approaches that resonate with increasingly skeptical consumers. Digital marketing platforms, in particular, with scams, fake news, buzz words, jargon, and competitors all competing for attention. Social media has become so advanced that it will pre-empt consumer preferences and place advertising in front of those it believes it is most suited for, based upon search history and browsing habits. The challenge as a digital marketing manager is ensuring that your message will reach the right eyes and stand out as a legitimate and reliable product or service. Adding creative flair and new approaches to the marketing message can spark consumer curiosity.
2. Reactive
A good digital marketing manager is reactive to market change and keeps up with current trends. In the digital age, this can happen fast and without warning. Current affairs, news, celebrity gossip, and competitor activity can all provide an opportunity for your business, and if you fail to react, you may miss out on the chance to capitalize on these.
While it is advantageous to act quickly, it is also important to act responsibly. Historically, the damage has been caused to businesses who have responded to subjects such as political unrest or natural disasters in a way that diminished the seriousness of the subject matter and led the consumer to see the company as ‘profiteering’ off the back of the misfortune of others. Many companies have been too quick to send out a tweet or ill-timed social media post and have had to shoulder the consequences.
3. Qualified
This is a requirement for most high-profile job roles. It is often tough to get a toe in the door if you lack the necessary qualifications. If you don’t have the certifications you require, you needn’t despair, thanks to digital advances it is now possible to study 100% online master of marketing degree without having to set foot on campus! Ideal if you are already working within the industry and looking to climb the ladder to a more senior marketing position.
4. Adaptable
You will need to be able to adapt to your new role as a digital marketing professional. No two products or services are exactly the same and, in an agency environment, in particular, you will need to be able to switch your mind from one project to another and manage multiple strategies simultaneously.
Every client will have unique and specific aims and objectives they will want to meet, and it will be mostly your responsibility to offer the appropriate channels, approaches and marketing messages in order to achieve them. You will need to adjust and adapt your strategy accordingly.
5. A Delegator
Managing is about delegation as much as it is about leadership. Knowing when to pass work to other members of the team to free up your time for wider strategy development, knowing which creative departments to approach to develop marketing comms in preparation for delivering campaigns; even understanding when you need to seek external expertise if required.
Delegation is not shirking responsibility; it is an essential part of team management. Failure to delegate often leaves the individual overworked stressed, and ultimately delivering sub-standard work as a result. Having a strong team beneath you and a company culture that is based upon cohesiveness and driving success should leave you feeling more confident in your delegation decisions.
6. Communicative
This one is somewhat obvious; marketing is predominantly about communicating with consumers. How can you expect to communicate a strong marketing message if you are incapable of effective communication between co-workers, clients, or third parties?
7. Organized
Another common skill required for most job roles, particularly senior positions. Keeping to time scales, staying on top of current trends, being aware of relevant and significant dates, finances, record keeping, and making deadlines will all be necessary requirements within a marketing environment. As previously mentioned, market movement can be rapid and unpredictable, and staying abreast of it in order to ‘be reactive’ requires you to be well organized. Ways to keep organized include:
- Note-taking – Minutes and agendas for meetings
- Record-keeping – Financial, ROI, expenses
- Regular reporting and reviews – Progress, internal comms.
- Maintaining databases and spreadsheets
- Implementing effective filing systems
- Managing deadlines – GANTT charts, timelines, checklists
8. Passionate
Ultimately, none of the above mean anything if you don’t also have passion for the job. It can be demanding, full of long hours, and tight deadlines. You will be crucial in driving sales, generating brand awareness, delivering effective campaigns, increasing SEO and website traffic all in the effort to help your company or clients to achieve their goals.
If you lack enthusiasm and passion, then this will inevitably reflect in your performance. How can you get your company, team or clients passionate about your plans, if you fail to show an equal or greater level of enthusiasm in delivering them?
Conclusion
The role of a digital marketing manager is diverse, exciting and fast-paced. You will be required to conduct market and competitor analysis, develop social media and engagement campaigns, drive web traffic and implement SEO, communicate with multiple parties and facilitate team working; the list goes on. Behind the specific tasks lie an array of skills and personal qualities and attributes that make all of this deliverable. When applying for your next marketing role, convey how these valuable skills that you hold will allow you to deliver on all the individual responsibilities. That way, you can ensure that you are the candidate that stands out from the crowd… much like an effective marketing campaign.