Information in this blog post was obtained from SproutSocial, HubSpot, and SocialMedia College.
"Do you understand what marketing is?" someone could question. Isn't it likely that you'd answer yes?
When asked to define marketing, though, you may find it difficult. That's fine; I'd do the same.
On the surface, marketing appears to be a straightforward concept, but it becomes more complicated when you break it down. What do marketers do on a daily basis? What role has technology had in marketing? How do you get a job in marketing, and how do you succeed in one? Is it possible for you to flip between marketing fields?
Let me be the first to say that marketing is entertaining. Marketing a business is akin to grabbing a bullhorn and shouting, "Hey!" This is why we adore this company, and why you should, too!" Marketing is also a highly dynamic and diverse sector with opportunities for those with a variety of skills. Marketing has a place for you whether you're a creative thinker or an analytical thinker.
We'll go over what marketers do, how to enter into the profession, and the many marketing careers that are accessible in today's economy in this post. You'll be able to sketch out your developing marketing career and specify your objectives by the end. Let's get this party started!
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What You Need to Be a Marketer
There’s not a single, definitive path to any job field. Marketing is comprised of people with all kinds of backgrounds — journalism, psychology, and more.
Education
A bachelor's degree is the way to go if you're serious about a long-term marketing profession with room for growth and variation. Public speaking, creative problem-solving, logistics, sales, and analytics are among the skills and abilities taught in four-year programs to help you enter and flourish in the competitive, fast-paced marketing business.
The following degree programs can lead to a career in marketing:
Marketing
Management
Business
Economics
Psychology
Communications
Public Relations
Journalism
Nowadays, it doesn’t matter as much what you major in as it does where you go to school or what you get involved in. Organizations like the American Marketing Association, National Association of Sales Professionals, or Pi Sigma Epsilon (a co-ed marketing fraternity) can help you get connected outside the classroom and off-campus.
Some marketers choose to pursue a Master of Business Administration (MBA) or a graduate degree in marketing to further (or return to) their education. Both programs provide in-depth marketing studies, but they differ in terms of educational content and structure. People management, organizational behavior, and leadership are among topics included in MBA programs. Consumer behavior, changes in the domestic and international marketplace, and emerging digital trends are all studied in graduate marketing studies.
Internships and Co-ops
While a degree (or three) may not be in your future plans, an internship or co-op should. Real-world experience is the best education, and internships allow you to learn on the job while still in school.
Internships in marketing are beneficial since they allow you to select what type of marketing you want to pursue. Do you like working with numbers and analytics or with the creative part of marketing? Is it more exciting to promote a specific product or to work on broad brand awareness? Marketing departments have a lot of moving pieces, so internships and co-ops can help you figure out which initiatives and promotions you want to participate in.
Finally, in today's job market, internships are valuable cash. Consider this: Every year, thousands of students graduate and enter the workforce. That's not even taking into account the number of people who are changing their minds and occupations to pursue marketing employment. Employers will naturally consider you a highly desirable candidate if you have some real-world experience. Internships can also lead to full-time employment.
The Marketing Job Market
Marketing occupations are predicted to increase at a greater rate than all other jobs from 2018 to 2028, according to Monster, and are unlikely to slow down anytime soon.
Every firm, regardless of industry, needs marketing and promotional efforts if it wants to grow and keep its market share.
As a result, marketing employment can be found in a variety of settings, including huge corporations, startups, small enterprises, and non-profits. However, certain cities provide more options than others, owing to their size and population. Based on open postings and wage patterns, this article from USA Today generates a list of the top 10 cities for marketing jobs.
The job market is booming these days, and there are more opportunities than ever to dip your toe into the marketing waters. But, you might wonder, what are these special opportunities. We'll go over the numerous marketing careers and career options accessible below.
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Marketing Jobs and Careers
A marketing department might have a wide range of jobs, projects, and objectives. The distinction between these jobs can be minor or significant, depending on the medium they're using, the message they're promoting, and the audience they're advertising to.
Here are a few jobs you may see in your search:
Social Media Strategist
Some jobs just ask for "social media workers," but if "social media strategist" appears in the job description, it means they're seeking someone who can help them design and implement cutting-edge ways to improve or manage their social media. Strategists may be in charge of providing ideas such as contest pitches or suggesting that a Story campaign or branded hashtag be launched to raise awareness.
Strategists may report to the department's top honcho, but depending on the location, they may have to report to someone else for approval.
Social Media Manager
Social media managers are typically going to be involved in being hands-on in social accounts doing everything from scheduling posts to handling engagement and monitoring reports. This title is sometimes given to a lead in an internal department, but it can also be given to someone working for an agency where they’ll be handling plenty of client accounts.
Social Media Consultant
Social media consultants are usually freelancers or employees of agencies (which makes it difficult to discover official job ads for this specific title), and they'll most likely be providing strategy recommendations. Clients may or may not hire consultants on an ongoing basis, and they'll often spend a lot of time with clients that are either brand new (and need help deciding which platforms and methods to use) or ready to scale up.
Chief Marketing Officer
You can work your way up to the position of chief marketing officer in a company if you put in the effort. These are prominent positions, and you won't only be in charge of social media marketing; you'll also have to consider how all of the jigsaw pieces fit together, such as SEO, PPC, email marketing, content marketing, and overall web presence. While social media will remain an important aspect of the job, you'll most likely delegate many of the responsibilities and real social media work to others on the team.
We hope that this guide can be a tool for you throughout your marketing journey! While, it can still be hard to navigate exactly what you want to do or where you see yourself working. We hope that reading this post will spark that thought process and help you with your mission!
For more information about your marketing job search, check out my colleague Makenna's post here.
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Resources
Decker, A. (2022, March 17). The Ultimate Guide to Marketing Jobs. HubSpot Blog. Retrieved April 15, 2022, from https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/marketing-jobs
Gotter, A. (2021, March 18). Social media career growth in 2021: What you need to know. Social Media College. Retrieved April 15, 2022, from https://www.socialmediacollege.com/blog/social-media-career-growth-in-2021/
Johnston, A. (2021, September 28). What's next? 8 career paths for social media managers. Sprout Social. Retrieved April 15, 2022, from https://sproutsocial.com/insights/social-media-careers/
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