In so many ways, we live in a different world than we did just two years ago. One way that is different for so many of us is how we work. Pre-COVID 19, showing up at a physical office space where you would see your colleagues every day, chat over the water cooler, and attend in-person meetings was the norm. Now, many more of us find our workday playing out in a room in our home and our interactions with colleagues and bosses limited to Zoom meetings.
For young adults in high school or college or those new to the work world in the midst of the pandemic, your ideas about career paths to pursue may have changed with our changing times. The fallout from the pandemic that has forced so many of us to join the virtual computer workforce has, for instance, spawned more work opportunities in the field of digital marketing. In recent times, who among us hasn’t received multiple social media blasts from various universities and other organizations about academic programs or other types of training in this discipline?
If you’re a high school teen pondering becoming a digital marketer or a young adult in college or already in the workforce, you may have thought about what a great fit working in this field from home would be. Your next thought may have been—as it has for so many others in recent times—how to make digital marketing your sole career, and moreover, how to establish a digital marketing- or digital-marketing-related business.
Before we look a bit deeper into this, let’s break down some of the facts of digital marketing. What exactly is it? It’s a type of direct marketing that uses electronic means to sell products and services. All kinds of jobs fall under its umbrella, including content creation (those people you see on YouTube talking about their love of handbags or showing you regular scenes from their daily life are selling you something), email marketing (sending targeted emails to potential consumers, businesses, etc.), and search engine optimization (ensuring that a website, service, product, etc., appears as one of the top finds in search engine requests) are just a few. In fact, for someone looking to sell their personality as a product—as so many YouTubers, called “influencers,” do—all of the just-mentioned jobs represent separate skill sets or areas of knowledge that one person may need to combine to successfully operate their business.
Plenty of young people—and frankly, even those who are well past undergraduate-college age—have been jumping into the digital marketing field. If you’re a regular YouTube watcher, for instance, you’ll encounter numerous inspiring young adults who appear to have achieved great success in a relatively short time by creating video content. For example, a twentysomething-year-old man who started his YouTube channel about two years ago has quickly grown it to some 60,000 subscribers with his exuberant takes on his love of handbags. What’s more, he’s now grown his image to show himself as an expert on the topic; between advertisements from various companies, he fills his channel with shopping trips to stores where he gives us the scoop on sales, episodes that break down what makes an item worth your hard-earned money, and chats about the best handbags at particular price points. Then there’s influencer Alyssa Lenore, 32, who has a bachelor’s degree in interior design from the Fashion Institute of Technology and has also turned a love of fashion into a successful YouTube channel. In addition to that, you can find her on other social media avenues and making money on the web. Her website states that it uses affiliate links (called “affiliate marketing” in digital marketing speak) and explains, “meaning, at no additional cost to you, I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase. This helps me continue to run my blog and allows me to continue to do what I do.”
While such YouTube stories are inspirational and you may desire to make your fortunes through content creation or another kind of digital-marketing-related business you create and own, keep the following in mind:
- Ask yourself, “Do I need a digital marketing degree or certificate to be successful?” For instance, do you really need a digital marketing degree to establish a successful content creation channel and strategy? As mentioned earlier, there are many digital marketing programs now; some come with hefty price tags. Will having that degree help you find the work you seek, or are you OK taking a few free online classes or learning it by doing it? Get some insight into the question by reaching out to successful influencers through their question and answer platforms. Ask them if they received academic training in the digital marketing field and how else they went about establishing their brands. If you determine that a degree or certificate is important for your purposes, research as many academic opportunities as you can to determine which may give you a better return on your investment.
- While you may conclude that you only need to take some free digital marketing classes to become, for example, a content creator, the products or services you sell may require a level of expertise that typically comes from receiving a degree or certificate. For example, you can use a digital marketing platform that involves content creation, email marketing, and affiliate marketing, but it may be that the content you create—say it’s about medicine—requires that you hold a degree before you can ethically spout knowledge about it. Keep this in mind if you’re already in college becoming degreed in a traditional academic subject or not too long out of college with a knowledge base other than digital marketing. You can lean on that “base” and launch from it to declare yourself an expert in your topic on your marketing platform (a few medical doctors with YouTube channels come to mind).
- Whether you attend a formal learning institution, bear in mind that you are going to have to put intense effort into building your business. It’s about learning your craft and being the best at it. It’s also about learning how to run a business. Consider attending entrepreneurial think tanks and camps and taking entrepreneurship courses—you may be able to find free entrepreneur training and talks online. Also, look into some business mentorship programs to learn how to be an effective business leader (and that’s where you can give me, leadership and career coach Tamara Raymond a call—first connect with me at traymond@imcleaders.com).
- Partner with digital marketing mentors. Connect with business owners you admire who are open to giving you tips on successfully running your business. See if you can shadow them for a day and ask them questions as they work.
Remember, whatever you do, arm yourself with as much knowledge as you can beforehand. That’ll keep you a few steps ahead in the world of careering.
