Top five tips for finding a job in digital marketing

Upon finishing university, I knew I wanted to enter a job in marketing, however, I didn’t know where to start. I wasn’t sure what was expected of me and found a couple of questions in the interview process that caught me completely off guard.

Now a good few years on, I’m working at SNC Direct as a Digital Marketing Manager, speaking at conferences throughout Europe, plus I’ve been interviewing students for roles as a digital marketing executive and finding them in the exact same position I was in. I have therefore devised the following tips to help you find a job in digital marketing. Each one will help you take a step closer to finding the dream job you are after, while they will also help you to hold a unique selling point over your competitors in the interview room.

1. Create a blog

You can talk the talk all you want in an interview, but unless you actually have any real evidence of working on a site, they will struggle to believe you. Creating a blog is incredibly simple nowadays, however the experience and knowledge you will gain will be fundamental towards you getting the job. I would recommend building one with WordPress, while I would also recommend purchasing your own domain name, rather than running it on their system.

2. Set up An AdWords campaign

You aren’t expected to know everything about PPC (pay-per-click), and this will be taught on the job, but I haven’t yet interviewed someone who even had the basic knowledge of the topic. This is in spite of the fact that Google offers a completely free teaching course online, on a step-by-step basis allowing you to learn from the comfort of your home. Once you have learnt the basics, you might also want to look into re-marketing, shopping campaigns and display.

3. Social media profiles

I have no doubt in an interview for a digital marketing role, you will be asked about your understanding and activity on social media. You couldn’t give a worse answer than saying you are on Facebook. Create an account on Twitter and Google+, then begin using useful tools such as TweetDeck and HootSuite, which are completely free to use. I’d also recommend creating professional pages or accounts on all the social media networks, in order to understand some of the basics.

4. Learn the buzz words

We don’t expect you to have a deep knowledge of SEO (search engine optimisation), however if I ask what you know about SEO and I get a blank response, you have already created a bad impression. You might hear a number of key terms which are used on an everyday basis in an agency, such as keyword research, backlink analysis or link building. Learn them.

5. Learn about the Google algorithm updates

The SEO industry has changed dramatically over the past couple of years, with extensive details about the updates in the algorithm and the dates it occurred all available here. Learn deeply about both the Panda and Penguin update before entering an interview.

Follow these tips and you’ll be well on your way to success. Good luck!

Do you have any more tips for aspiring digital marketers? Let us know in the comments below.

Photo: mkhmarketing / Flickr

Tom Bourlet

Tom Bourlet is the Digital Marketing Manager for www.sncdirect.com, a sports nutrition company based in Brighton. His experience spans the travel industry, fashion, sports and technology, both in-house, working for agencies and on a freelance basis, while he also runs the travel blog www.spaghettitraveller.com.