5 Steps to Boosting Your Digital Marketing CV

– guest post by Mark Scully

Let’s face it, keeping up to date with what’s happening in the digital marketing industry can be an incredibly time consuming task due to the volume of changes being made on a daily basis by the major platform providers (Facebook, Google, Twitter, LinkedIn etc.). While we may accept that it’s hard to stay on the cusp of what’s happening in digital, as practitioners we’re expected to show initiative by going above and beyond our fellow industry peers if we wish to stand out to recruiters. Don’t worry, there’s still hope if you choose to stick to a strict routine each week.

1.Establish An Online Presence
If you’re working in the digital marketing industry, an online presence is not just suggested; it’s required. You have to show a potential employer that you’re capable of driving the brand visibility of their company by firstly taking ownership of your own personal brand. It can take considerable time to build your connections on Twitter and LinkedIn by sharing content that is both relevant and engaging to your target audience, but by investing the time into this practice, you will develop invaluable relationships that will help you throughout your career.
As a first step you should follow leading industry experts in order to learn from them by reading the content they share, but also engage with them in order to build up a relationship that can you tap into at some stage if there’s an opportunity to collaborate. There is no measurable outcome from establishing an online presence but it can help to open you up to new job opportunities, provide support for when you need help on a project and be an asset that no one can ever take away from you.

2.Keep On Top Of Digital Marketing News
Google has released a Panda update. Facebook has made a change to its advertising platform. Sounds familiar right? Keeping on top of the latest digital news can be tough when you’re knee deep in campaigns that take up a large proportion of your working time and concentration.

As digital marketers we need to be aware of the newest tools, platform changes and algorithmic updates if we want to stay competitive in the industry as we face stiff opposition from competing companies. You will also be pressed in an interview to demonstrate that you’re knowledgeable about what’s going on in the industry so the importance of keeping on top of digital marketing news can’t be understated.

Curating content from multiple sources will make it a little bit easier. Platforms such as Feedly and Pocket allow you to specify a list of websites that you would like to receive interesting content from. It may be the case that you find your reading time is limited to your daily commute from the office or just a little bit of spare time in the evenings, so why not download and use one of these Apps on your phone to help you to read the news that matters to you.

Here’s a few websites to get you started –

SEO – Search Engine Optimisation
http://www.moz.com
http://www.seerinteractive.com/
http://www.searchenginejournal.com/

PPC – Pay Per Click
http://www.ppchero.com/
http://www.koozai.com/blog/
http://www.searchenginejournal.com/

Social Media Marketing
http://mashable.com/social-media/
http://thenextweb.com/
http://www.socialmediatoday.com/

Content Marketing
http://www.hubspot.com
http://contentmarketinginstitute.com/
http://www.copyblogger.com

3.Have A Side Project
Do you practice what you preach? If not, then now’s the time to setup your own personal website to use as a testing bed for tools and techniques that you may be cautious about trying out on a live company website. It’s all well and good reading up about the latest changes in digital marketing, but if you’re not testing these practices out for yourself then you will face a more difficult challenge with trying to convince others that you’re a leading expert in your field.

Setting up a website doesn’t need to be a costly or time consuming process.
* Purchase a cheap domain name for €7.49
* If you wish to save on the cost of hosting, you can create a free WordPress website
* Install a suitable theme for your personal website
* Setup domain forwarding from your newly purchased domain to your free WordPress website
* Begin to add content and personalise your new website

You can choose to spend more by purchasing shared or dedicated hosting from your domain name supplier if you wish to have full control over the design of your website for both aesthetic and SEO reasons. Having a side project need not be too taxing. Choose something which you have a passion for to make it an enjoyable project to work on outside of your typical full-time working hours.

4.Take An Online Course
If you wish to add a little extra credibility to your CV, why not take at an online course?
HubSpot offers a free Inbound Certification programme that provides a structured approach to learning the core principles of Inbound Marketing. It will help to familiarise you with each channel and, according to Hubspot, “prepare you to do better to attract strangers, convert visitors, close leads and delight customers”.

However, if you want to upskill your SEO knowledge, London based digital marketing agency Distilled have developed an online search marketing university called DistilledU. The platform has an intuitive interface and a wealth of content suitable for beginner, intermediate and advanced users. If you require certification then you’re not in luck, but the $40 per month membership entitles you to access videos from all Distilled search marketing conferences over the past couple of years along with access to weekly webinars.

Similar to Distilled, Moz also provide their own online training platform in the form of Moz Academy. You will need to pay for a monthly Moz subscription starting at $99 per month if you wish to access the learning material, but the insightful videos and useful beginner’s guides are a great starting point for any digital marketing professional. There is no certification exam to accompany Moz Academy, but as a highly regarded company in the search marketing space, name-dropping them in an interview will be of some benefit to you.

Alternatively you could speak to an education provider such as the Digital Marketing Institute who offer a range of certified courses that can be studied online or in the classroom. As the courses are taught by industry practitioners, you can be sure that the content is both up to date and relevant to the types of digital marketing strategies and tactics you will employ in your day-to-day digital marketing role. If you do choose to study a classroom-based course, you will also have the opportunity to build your personal network by befriending fellow students who are industry practitioners.

5.Metrics Matter
If you’re attending an interview for a digital marketing role, you will be asked for examples of campaigns you’ve ran, metrics you’ve measured, targets you’ve achieved and how you’ve incorporated your learnings into your role. If you really want to stand out to a recruiter, the ability to both comprehend these terms and quote the CPAs, CPCs, CTRs and KPIs for campaigns you’ve been involved in will help you to stand out from other candidates going through the interview process for the same role.

You need to go the extra mile if you wish to showcase your enthusiasm to a potential employer, but the positive news is that digital marketing salaries are on the rise according to Prosperity’s 2014 Salary Survey. Recent reports from UPC and the Digital Marketing Institute found that there will 150,000 digital jobs in Ireland by 2020, but a lack of digital talent to fill these positions.
Now is the time to upskill your digital marketing knowledge as the demand for skilled practitioners is exceeding the current supply.

– guest post by Mark Scully
Mark is an Inbound Marketing Specialist at the Digital Marketing Institute, Founder of Learninbound.com and experienced freelance SEO consultant. Having spent the last five years working in search marketing with leading Irish brands (including Daft.ie and TheJournal.ie), Mark has embraced the recent turbulent SEO changes as a chance to learn, develop and engage within an increasingly competitive industry.