The evolution of the digital world has significantly changed how we perceive the advertising landscape. The consumer has changed. Media channels have changed. Working methods have changed. And everything is happening fast. Digital marketing is an exceptionally broad, multifaceted field with many concepts to learn that grow and change day by day. The use of digital marketing is increasing year after year; for example, over the next five years, it is expected to capture a 60% budget share of the total marketing pie.
If you live in the 21st century, you surely know at least one person working in the digital industry: whether they are a PPC specialist, copywriter, graphic designer, or marketing analyst. The truth? It’s not surprising – this is one of the fastest-growing and evolving fields, and it’s also known to be financially rewarding, especially starting from the second year of work. But how can you turn the term “digital” from general to specific, and know not only which niche fits you best – but also how you can excel in it and tackle all the various challenges in the digital world?
The path to a career in the digital world - where do you start?
Let’s start with the good news: the digital industry is developing and growing at a high volume, and good employees are always needed to fill interesting positions. The path usually starts from junior positions and can reach the highest senior roles – digital marketing managers in leading companies, digital department heads, analytics department managers, and more. Another welcome fact is that the profession suits a wide range of people. Analytical people with an affinity for numbers will turn to the PPC world, while people with a creative inclination will turn to content and social media. By the way, there are also people for whom both sides are dominant, so they can combine the worlds and practically choose any profession they are interested in.
So how do you avoid getting lost among all the different names and concepts in the digital world, and more importantly – how do you understand which job or study track suits your personality, abilities, and ambitions? How do you decide whether you are more of a copywriter or a social media manager, or if managing campaigns and budgets suits you better?
Copywriters, Content, and Social Media Managers – need to figure out how to reach the target audience of the brand they are advertising, through relevant and intriguing content that will make the user stop, read, respond, and essentially build a relationship with the brand. To be a content or creative person, the required skills are high-level writing and articulation, and of course creative, out-of-the-box thinking. The starting salary ranges between 6,000–7,000 NIS, after a year it can reach 8,000–9,000 NIS and even more over time.
Campaign Managers – are responsible for paid advertising across various platforms. While advertisers once paid for a banner to appear on a website, today the advertiser only pays if an active user action took place, meaning they clicked on the banner or submitted their contact details. To be a campaign manager, you must know and master advertising platforms such as Google and Facebook, know all existing campaign types (leads, engagement, etc.), know which platforms are right for allocating an advertising budget, and how to yield the best possible results from it. In addition, you must have high-level analytical capabilities, the ability to analyze and draw conclusions from numerical data, and proficiency in Excel. The starting salary ranges between 7,000–8,000 NIS, and after a year of experience can reach 10,000–11,000 NIS and beyond.
Both of these professions exist in advertising agencies, media companies, organizations, and startups. That means you need to decide what interests you more – working in-house and promoting the product of the company you work for, or working as part of a digital agency that provides advertising services to multiple different companies.
Gaining experience in these professions can pave your way to senior positions, such as digital marketing managers, digital department heads, analytics department heads, and a wide variety of other challenging roles. No matter where your career path takes you, knowledge and experience in the digital marketing world are always a great advantage.
It is important to note that an academic degree is not mandatory, but appropriate skills are required, both to choose the right path and to succeed in it. As for experience, anyone undergoing structured training in digital marketing will be able to integrate into the industry relatively easily, because they gain experience during the training itself, and naturally continue to acquire experience and additional tools on the job. In fact, people who are new to the field, those who haven’t even been exposed to the traditional methods used until now—the young entrants—are the ones who can benefit the organization they work for more than anyone else, simply because they already know the “next big thing” in the digital world before everyone else. The knowledge is fresh and crisp in their minds, and curiosity leads them to new horizons.
The challenges along the way
Working around the clock, handling multiple tasks, and solving problems: the career path of many marketing professionals is quite similar. The field, which grows and evolves every day at a dizzying pace, requires us to make daily adjustments – which leads us to workplaces that demand fast, efficient results, and if we don’t meet them – we simply find ourselves looking for jobs again and again. In the digital field, we switch workplaces fairly often, and then when encountering job postings and job interviews, we realize how far behind we’ve fallen and that we didn’t really prepare the ground for this transition.
How do you even start looking for a job in the field?
You should start looking for a job in the field during your training and towards its conclusion. You can join the numerous Facebook groups offering digital marketing jobs. If you haven’t undergone specific training and instead started learning the field on your own, you can always start by offering your services to small businesses so that you can practice and apply the tools you’ve learned, and they can generate profits that previously did not exist for them.
What about resumes?
A resume is a very interesting touchpoint that can open doors on the one hand, and close them on the other. A resume must be sharp, relevant, and concise. It is our primary business card, and if it’s interesting—we’ve stepped through the door; if not—a change is needed. It is recommended to attach a short cover letter to your resume that will pique the recruiter’s curiosity. You must remember that recruiters receive hundreds of resumes a day and need to sort and screen them, so to stand out among hundreds of resumes, we need to attach a short and intriguing cover letter.
It’s important to mention that today, in addition to LinkedIn paid advertising, your LinkedIn profile also serves as a full-fledged “resume”, and it is essentially your business card. Therefore, it is important to invest thought and time into it as well (for an article on the topic, click here).
What salary do you start with in the digital world, and where can you advance?
The digital world, unlike the traditional fields we know, behaves differently in terms of salary – and for the better. The first significant salary increase happens as early as after one year of experience in the role. For example – a junior PPC campaign manager starts their first role at a salary of 6,500–7,500 NIS and after a year in the position can reach salaries of 11,000–13,000 NIS. It is important to note that there are always junior positions on the market for those who have completed training and want to break into the industry.
Tips that will help you enter the digital world
As we’ve mentioned more than once, the digital marketing realm is dynamic and constantly updated on a daily basis. We suggest visiting professional blogs to stay updated all the time, read, ask, and learn. For those who want to take it further: try starting your own professional blog about a topic that interests you. This way, you can experience social networks and digital marketing firsthand. And believe us – it’s addictive…
In addition, it’s better to focus on an in-depth study of one digital platform, while learning several other platforms at a more basic level. This way, you can offer practical knowledge in a specific platform while continuing to specialize in the other platforms. Another very important tip is to network and meet people in the industry. Whether it means keeping in touch with lecturers from your course, or people working at companies you aspire to join, as well as well-known figures in the field who can advance you down the road. Of course, activity in various Facebook groups in the field is also welcome and desirable, since you can learn a lot from others’ questions.
Don’t forget that your learning should be broad. That means even if you want to be a campaign manager, it is advisable to learn how to write good copy or content, and vice versa. Broad knowledge gives you an edge. In addition, it is very important to know Excel at a high level and to understand Google Analytics in depth, because in any area of specialization, you will find yourself dealing with these tools in some way, as the field is data-driven.
Summary
As you probably realize, the digital marketing world is vast and full of interesting opportunities and roles. All that remains is for you to understand what you are looking for and what you want to do, and from there the path will be much simpler. Be curious, learn, take an interest, ask questions. This is the foundation for entering this field and pushing your own boundaries. This field brings new challenges every day, and the ability to handle them and work dynamically is the key to success.
About the author
Masha Dashkov, Founder and CEO of Digitalent, the leading school for marketing and digital professions.
