Showing posts tagged with: digital marketing trends
Digital marketing is an ever-growing field with plenty of job prospects and career opportunities. Whether you're just starting out, or want to switch to this field, it's important to understand the basics of getting into digital marketing. In this blog post, we'll discuss the necessary steps you need to take to become a digital marketer.
5 Top Tips To Become A Digital Marketer
To become a successful digital marketer, you need to have a good understanding of the latest marketing techniques, as well as the ability to apply them to the unique challenges of the digital space. Here are some tips to help you get started.
What Education Do You Need?
While it isn't a requirement to have a university degree, having an understanding of the basic principles and techniques of digital marketing is essential to your success. This includes search engine optimization (SEO), content marketing, social media marketing, email marketing, and more. You should also make sure you stay up-to-date on the latest trends and strategies in the industry. If you want to do a degree, or are considering your university options then marketing or a related field would certainly be useful. A degree is not as useful as having demonstrable knowledge of digital marketing tools and techniques and relatable experience is key.
Experience Is Key
Experience is another key component to becoming a successful digital marketer. Most employers will require some level of experience before hiring. Taking related jobs, doing freelance work or internships can provide great learning experiences. Having a good understanding of the industry and its various tools will give you an advantage when applying for jobs. Of course, this raises a challenge for new graduates who may have more qualifications than experience. Check out our previous post on how to demonstrate you've got the goods for our tips!
Upskilling Is Vital For Digital Marketers...
Digital marketing is a fast-evolving industry. As such, it requires a strong understanding of technology. You should become familiar with the latest tools and platforms in the digital marketing world, including analytics software, web design tools, and content management systems. You will work with many other people to provide clients with the best service and so it is really good to demonstrate your knowledge outside your specific job role. You can enhance your technical skills by reading about analytics or brushing up your writing or design skills. You could consider learning how to code HTML and CSS to help you understand search engine optimization for websites. Read more out more about upskilling here.
... And Get Certified To Prove It!
To demonstrate your knowledge and skills, you could consider getting certified in digital marketing. There are plenty of online courses and certifications available, such as Google Analytics, Social Media Marketing, and Digital Marketing Strategy. With a certification, you can show potential employers and clients that you have the skills and knowledge necessary to succeed in the digital marketing industry. It's also important to have a good grasp of the latest trends, tools, and strategies in digital marketing. Keeping up with the latest information is key to staying ahead of the competition.
Network With Digital Marketers
Seeking out and networking with other digital marketers is a great way to learn more about the industry and stay up-to-date on the latest trends. You can join online communities, attend conferences, and join local meetups to connect with other professionals. Co-working spaces can be great too.Take Your First Steps Today!
Taking the right steps to prepare can help you land the job you want more easily. With the right knowledge and tools, you can be on your way to becoming a successful digital marketer. For more job seeking tips and tricks, visit the Dotgap blog page today and get ready for your new role.
As we near the end of the year, we wanted to reflect on some of the most popular topics covered in the blog. From tips on how to get a job in digital marketing as a graduate to re-entering the workforce after taking time away to be a parent, we have tried to cover relevant topics for recruiters and jobseekers alike. Read on for a roundup of Dotgap's 2022 digital marketing blog.
The Recession, Cost Of Living Crisis and Digital Marketing
The economic climate has presented many challenges over the last few years. Businesses have had to adjust their strategies to accommodate changes in consumer behaviour and the availability of resources. People are likely to be more cautious with their spending during a recession so it is important to emphasise value over price. Companies must reduce costs while still achieving measurable results from their marketing efforts. Considering how the current climate will impact the marketing industry we can surmise businesses need to be mindful of budgets while maximising technologies that can help reach their target audience. This includes leveraging social media platforms to build relationships with potential customers, as well as utilizing search engine optimization (SEO) to make sure they're visible in online searches. This can also be a difficult time to be looking for a job, raising questions about the impact on remote and flexible working arrangements.
Changing Jobs For Your Career
Changing jobs can be a daunting and even confusing process. It can be especially difficult to know whether you should stay or go when you are thinking about the bigger picture in your digital marketing career. The first step is to assess your current situation and make sure you are making an informed decision. Consider your current job, the new job you are considering, and the implications of a switch in terms of salary, hours, and benefits. Once you are confident that the change is the right move for you, it is time to start the job search. Research potential employers and the job market, and make sure to update your resume and cover letter. Reach out to former colleagues and contacts to see if they have any job leads you may be interested in. You may also want to consider networking with professionals in your field in order to get your name out there. Once you are ready to apply for jobs, make sure you take the time to tailor your resume and cover letter for each job you apply to. After you submit your applications, it is important to follow up with employers, either through email or phone calls, in order to make sure they have your application and understand your skillset. If you are looking to relocate, make sure you take extra consideration. The last step is to prepare for the job interview. This means researching the company, its products, and its mission statement. Make sure to practice answers to common interview questions, and dress professionally. Finally, make sure to be yourself and be prepared to discuss why you are the right fit for the position.
Diversity in Digital Marketing Recruitment
Diversity, equity and inclusion have been buzzwords for the last few years now. But what does it actually mean in practice for businesses and candidates? There are lots of benefits for organizations to embrace diversity in the workforce, including but not limited to a wider talent pool and better representation. The recruitment process should be designed to ensure diverse representation. This means that the recruitment process should not be biased towards any particular group, and should avoid making assumptions based on gender, race, religion, or other characteristics. Digital marketing companies should strive to create an inclusive recruitment process. That means it is free from any kind of discrimination. A diverse set of applicants should be encouraged to apply, and the criteria for selection should be based solely on the skills, qualifications, and experience of the applicant. Is digital marketing diverse enough? There is still a lot of work to be done and it is an ongoing task but there have been great advances in recent years. Constant review and evaluation is vital for continued development.
Mental Health At Work
Mental health is an important part of overall physical health and wellness. Unfortunately, it is often overlooked, and many people struggle with mental health issues in the workplace. Creating an environment where employees feel comfortable discussing their mental health and seeking help can help ensure that everyone is able to stay healthy and productive. There are a number of steps employers can take to create a healthy and supportive workplace. These include providing mental health awareness training, setting up an anonymous reporting system, and making sure to provide employees with regular breaks and vacation time. The increase in remote and flexible work has brought many benefits for people. But the blurred lines between home and office can make keeping a work life balance tricky. Employers should ensure that they are providing necessary resources and support to employees who may be struggling with mental health issues. This includes providing access to mental health professionals or offering flexible working hours. By taking these steps, employers can create a workplace that is open to discussion about mental health and supportive of employees who may be struggling. This can help ensure that everyone is able to stay healthy and productive in their work.
Digital Marketing Job Search In 2023
We started the year with tips on writing your CV in 2022 and many of these tips remain relevant. Automation remains one of the key trends in digital marketing recruitment. Automation tools can be used to streamline processes such as job postings, CV sorting, and candidate outreach. This can help businesses save time, money, and resources, and make their recruitment process more efficient. You need to optimise your CV for these tools too. Social recruiting is a growing trend in digital marketing recruitment. This involves using social media to find and engage with potential candidates. Companies can use social media platforms like LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook to post job openings. They are increasingly using them to engage with potential candidates, and build their employer brand. Candidate, be aware of your presence online with a social media audit and make sure you are making use of platforms such as LinkedIn to bolster your credibility.Empty asphalt road and New year 2023 concept. Driving on an empty road to Goals 2023 with sunset.
Looking Ahead: Digital Marketing 2023
Digital marketing recruitment is changing, and it's important for businesses to stay on top of the latest trends. As a jobseeker it is important for you to be aware of these trends too so you can review your career progression plans and continue to grow in the workplace. Dotgap is committed to keeping media professionals in their industry. Head to our website for the latest vacancies. Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas
Whether large or small, companies want to grow and maintain their position in the market. This means that marketing and promotional activity is absolutely essential for any business' success. Marketing jobs are growing at a faster rate than other industries and are expected to grow 10% in the next 10 years. This is great news for anyone looking for a marketing job in 2022.
Marketing Jobs 2022: Trends
One of the biggest trends for a number of years has been moving towards digital. The pandemic vastly accelerated the UKs digital transformation efforts. 2021 saw the majority of customer interactions taking place online. Companies needed to respond to increased online shopping and offer better web-based customer communications.
This lead to traditional marketing departments needing to rapidly adapt in order to keep sales afloat.
Throughout 2022, this digital demand has continued, digital marketing remains at the forefront of the most in-demand skills for recruiters and for learning.
Marketing jobs in 2022 can be found at all kinds of organisations, from large firms to startups, and companies will be looking for staff to keep up with demand.
So, what do you need to do to make sure you are equipped with the skills recruiters are looking for? First, we need to consider the most in demand jobs.
In-Demand Marketing Jobs in 2022
Some of the most sought-after positions at the moment are as follows:- Digital marketing managers
- Digital marketing specialists
- Social media managers
- Marketing managers and strategists
- Content writers
- Copywriters and content strategists
- SEO specialists
- Data analysts
Ramping up your skills in SEO, display ad, paid ads and marketing analytics, email marketing, mobile marketing and social media marketing can help you position yourself as an expert.
You don't need to be an expert in every area of digital marketing but you do need to understand the connectivity between each channel.
So, What Next?
Let's face it, digital isn't going anywhere, and as the industry grows, so will remote opportunities. This is likely to mean there are more jobs for you to choose from, but also that competition may be stiffer as companies will have a larger talent pool to choose from. If you are looking to upskill, try Futurelearn or LinkedIn Learning to get inspired and keep ahead of the competition. If you are looking for your next career move, get in touch with dotgap for the latest in digital opportunities.
Our last blog post talked about diversity and why it is so important. This week we are diving into how you can improve your diversity through clever recruiting.
Having different perspectives and backgrounds in your team will contribute to new and more diverse ideas. This helps to drive innovation in your company. The development of a diversity recruitment strategy is one way to do this. On top of this, it is our belief that all companies should be striving for diversity regardless of business benefits. Building teams from qualified candidates regardless of their gender, orientation, race, religion, socioeconomic background, or disability is long overdue, and a step toward true equality in the workplace.
We recommend doing a diversity audit initially to see where you need to focus your efforts. You will probably find your HR department holds a lot of relevant information. However, an anonymous survey can be an invaluable tool for collecting information on diversity.
Let your employees know you are working to improve your diversity and need their help to build a diversity recruitment strategy. You can quickly and easily create anonymous online surveys using tools such as SurveyMonkey.
Spend time Auditing Job Ads
As an extension of the diversity audit of your company as a whole, you should spend time doing an audit of your previous job advertisements. Two main areas to consider are:- Language use: It is important to find ways to be more inclusive in your language to appeal to candidates from different backgrounds. Many advertisements have language geared toward a certain demographic which inadvertently excludes others.
- Qualification criteria: Consider less focus on specific degrees or schools and instead, concentrate on competencies. For example, critical thinking, or the ability to work as part of a diverse team.
Reduce Unconscious Bias with Blind Recruiting
Blind hiring allows you to gear all your vacancies toward unbiased processes from the very start of your recruitment process. By intentionally removing any details that can give the reader insight into the applicant's background, you can screen the applications on job-related issues only thereby reducing bias. CVs are edited to include only skills, and job-relevant experience and abilities. For example, age bias can be avoided by removing graduation dates and dates of previous employment and years of experience (as long as they are not relevant). All you need to include is what type of qualifications candidates have and how they rate themselves in the skills you set out in your advert. Try asking for them to rate experience as basic, intermediate, or expert for example. You could use screening tests to help remove unconscious bias like geographic, education, affinity or gender biases.
Agencies Can Help Improve Your Diversity
Another thing you need is a diverse talent pool to source candidates from. Focussing on only the sources that you know best can result in a talent pool of similar candidates and a lack of diversity. So, how can you make sure you are casting the net as wide as possible?- Consider using a recruitment agency. With their own pool of people each with their own candidates sing an agency can really help you with your outreach.
- Source your candidates from a variety of different places.
- Think about including internships to candidates from specific backgrounds.
Use Your Existing Employees' Networks
Try reaching out to some of the employees on your team who might be part of the demographic you are looking to hire. You can encourage them to share job advertisements with their networks and make sure you support them and provide them with the tools to promote your company properly. This approach is great for company culture and makes employees and candidates feel valued. Creating a diverse referral program is a great way to boost your diversity recruitment strategy.
There’s No Reason You Can't Improve Your Diversity
In short, there is no excuse. From both a business perspective and a moral one you need to be taking steps to make sure you have a diverse and inclusive working environment. As a creative agency it can propel your innovation and problem solving to new heights as well as making you and your product more relatable. Don't fall behind, get ahead of the pack and start today.
For a long time, digital industries and media agencies have had a lack of diversity in regard to their employees and senior members. Gender, age and race are the least balanced but this article will also look at LGBQT+ and disabilities to help highlight the problems, progress and areas to work on for a more diverse digital media world. While stats across all industries showed some improvements in these areas over the last decade, unfortunately, and especially in media agencies, this progress was negatively impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic, with stats showing a drop across all areas. For more information, you can check the IPA 2020 Census. This report suggests the pay gap widened too, as did the number of female employees. However, it would be remiss to ignore the latest findings of the same report. Only a year later we can see some improvement and there are some encouraging findings:
- More individuals from a non-white background are holding senior positions, as well as an increase in those holding entry-level and junior roles.
- There has been an increase, albeit a marginal one, of women holding senior roles in media agencies.
Why is Diversity Important?
With a team of diverse employees, you will have access to more creativity and wider skill sets. Plus, more diverse ideas for solving business problems, which will help your company grow. Another incredible benefit of diversity in tech is simply having more talent to choose from.
There are different types of diversity, let's look at them here:
Diverse Workforces: Ethnic Diversity
According to data collected by the Department of Culture, Media and Sport, a sobering 88.8% of employees in the digital sector are from a white ethnic group. What's more, a study entitled 'Black, Qualified and Unemployed' found that BME individuals who graduated with a first degree were twice as likely to be unemployed than white graduates.
2020 was a year of big change in terms of bringing racial discrimination to the foreground of public opinion. The Black Lives Matter Movement was unlike anything seen in decades and was impossible for businesses to ignore. BAME representation has improved in media and advertising agencies in the last few years, there is still more that can be done. There is so much untapped potential out there. It has been suggested that if individuals from BAME backgrounds were able to reach their full career potential through opportunities and progress in the workplace they would add 24 billion to the UK economy with the most diverse companies over 30% more likely to have higher earnings.
If you are interested in hearing more, BIMA (British Interactive Media Association) are pushing for more initiatives and accountability around improving diversity. They believe that a diversity index with baseline diversity stats would help everyone to set targets and see how much further it is for the UK sector to go. Head to their website for more information.
Diverse Workforces: Gender Diversity
When it comes to gender, women are taking up less than 40% of roles. So we need to ask why. Gender imbalance in digital and tech starts all the way back in the UK primary, secondary and higher education systems. Recent estimates have found that 50,000 girls turn away from STEM subjects every year, despite out-performing boys across STEM subjects.
Some studies suggest this starts with general misinformation about what school subjects can lead to what roles. For example, there are many outdated preconceptions around STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths) subjects and careers. But we should not forget that non-STEM subjects can lead to digital roles too. Digital, media and tech companies can counter this by doing outreach in schools, giving talks and making sure they are involved in communities in some way. Schools should be communicating career opportunities and pathways to all students.
There is still an image of STEM subjects and digital jobs being more masculine which is not helped in male-dominated classrooms and workspaces. Combined with a lack of support, from those teachers or parents who don't understand tech and digital, this can lead to a lack of confidence which sees women perhaps not going for careers they want.
Diverse Workforces: Ageism And Diversity
There is an age divide in the media, advertising and digital industries. It appears the under 25s and over 55s are affected the most. A report from 2020 found that only 7% of those employed by agencies were under 25 and only 6% were over 50.
With an average age of 34 in most media agencies, what causes this and what can be done to counter it? The truth is, with a wide age range of employees, you will be able to successfully talk to more consumers, something which is particularly important in the media advertising industries. If creativity and communication is the goal, creating a multi-generational environment can help fuel better solutions.
"More than 500% of budgets are targeted at millennials; yet consumers 55+ spend more than double the 18-34s." - Annalie Killian, Sparks & Honey, from this article in The Drum, reminding us that the older generations have more money to spend, so perhaps it is time fore a shift in focus.
Diverse Workforces: LGBTQ+ Representation
This is a more positive section of this article, the All In census found the number of employees identifying at LGBTQIA+ is significantly higher in media advertising agencies than the UK population average.
The UK average is 3% whereas 10% of those working in agencies identify as LGBTQIA+. However, this census did find that almost 40% of those who identified as LGBTQIA+ felt under-represented at senior levels, compared with only 23% of heterosexual employees.
It would be important to examine the reasons why this could be the case in your agency, and be sure to encourage all co-workers to apply for promotions and senior roles regardless of their gender identity or sexual orientation.
Diverse Workforces: Disability
When we think about diversity and inclusion, too often the disabled community is excluded. Research by The Valuable 500 found that out of all the articles discussing diversity published in 2019 and 2020, only three percent referenced disabilities. So, while there is a big conversation around other aspects of diversity, this is one community who are continually side-lined.
People with disabilities are the largest and fastest-growing minority group in the world including more than 750 million individuals. Disability inclusion significantly widens the talent pool. Moreover, companies that excel at disability employment and inclusion are likely to experience higher revenue, higher net income, higher economic profit margins and an increased likelihood of outperforming their peers.
A related point, taken from another blog post on disability diversity that should encourage all of us to care more about this issue is this: Unlike the other diversity types mentioned in this article, a disability can be developed at any point during your life. You can become disabled at any time so equity and inclusion should be important to all.
Diversity And Inclusion Mean Success
In short, being inclusive of gender, age, disability, race and LGBQT+ will give your company a diverse and representative workforce. What this means is that your output will likely be better for your consumer. Bringing as many different ideas and perspectives to the digital table is paramount to inclusive, supportive workplaces and brilliant products/services that are built with all users in mind.
Having more diverse teams at every level of development in a digital company means that end products and services can better reflect users and wider society. Creating products free of bias and prejudice cannot be achieved without a diverse creating team.
What Can We Do To Be More Diverse?
Within your company, you can make every day, micro-level changes. If we use gender diversity s the example here, you could think about preventing a male-centric groupthink, or encouraging a female colleague to go for a senior position. Something as simple as making space to listen to the concerns of women in the workplace can help to build a respectful, comfortable environment. People from different countries, cultures, religions, genders, sexual orientation, ages and so on must embrace such diversity – not just tolerate it. They need to seek out the opinions of people who may seem foreign to them and think differently from them. They need to bring them into the tents of strategy-making, business process redesign, business model revolution, and skill building. That’s the inclusion part of diversity, and it’s just as important as having a multitude of very different people from very different walks of life. Digital companies have to take the initiative and become pro-active when it comes to diversity. New initiatives nationally and regionally are worth engaging with, as well as looking at your recruitment policies and diversity and inclusion training for current employees. Blind hiring and unconscious bias training for all staff is a great way to start your journey to a truly diverse company. Policies and procedures in the workplace to support diversity, create comfortable workplaces and ensure employees don’t drop out are all well and good but starting at an earlier stage, before candidates get to the workplace is important too. Think about talking to your recruitment agency next time you are hiring. For more blog posts about media agencies, jobseeking and roles, head to dotgap now.
When it comes to updating or writing your CV, it can feel like a huge challenge. The jobs market is an ever increasingly fast-paced place, and jobs trends can change month on month with the market which means that CVs change too.
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Employers are looking for someone special and as more people gain qualifications, more types of jobs open up and digital jobs continue to boom, it is important to keep on top of things! Time for a spring clean of your CV? Here’s 5 things you MUST include in 2022Talk About WFH Experience
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While the debate still rages over the benefits, or not, of remote working, there is no doubt that flexible working and the virtual office is here to stay. If you have experiences to share about successful and productive then talk about it! Make sure you sell yourself as a self-motivated worker, productive, proactive and working under your own initiative.Highlight Results over Responsibilities
This is one of the most common things people do in their employment history. It’s not a mistake to talk about responsibilities but if you fail to mention the results and achievements you made then it is a wasted opportunity! Don't feel as though you need to remove the word ’responsibility’ from your CV vocabulary, just make sure to follow it up with what you did with that responsibility. For example:
"I was responsible for monitoring digital campaigns through the use of strategic reporting. As part of this process, I was able to identify new opportunities which emerged, increasing our client retention by XXX % in 2020"
Create a Compelling and Relevant Introduction
This is a tip on every CV advice list but it is always worth repeating. It is too easy to get complacent with your personal profile and CV intro, especially if you are applying for a lot of similar jobs. Do:- Check your introduction for each CV you send
- Use keywords from the job description
- Confirm you have the essential skills required from the role.
Writing Your CV for ATS
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Many big companies now are using applicant tracker systems to whittle down large numbers of applicants. There are a few simple things you can do to make sure you make it through the first scan. As we have mentioned in the section above, identifying and using keywords from the job description throughout your CV (think skills, qualifications, experience) will be a big help in the ATS recognising your document as belonging to a viable candidate. Avoid ‘overdesigning’ your CV with fancy fonts and borders as these can confused the ATS search functions. Check here for acceptable fonts and more tips!Address any COVID Downtime
This is inevitable. Most people will have experienced either working from home, a period of furlough or even redundancy during the recent pandemic. This is an ongoing part of life for many and has affected the career prospects of hundreds of thousands of people. You are not alone in this. Think about what you did with your time during lockdown. Don't be afraid to get creative with writing it up! Gaining qualifications, reassessing your priorities and even taking part in sports challenges can teach you beneficial and transferrable skills, so let your prospective employer know about it.Writing Your CV Doesn’t Have To Take Forever
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It always seems like a daunting process, but not updating your CV will just mean your hours spent sending CVs out will be wasted. Keep it simple, keep it relevant and don’t be afraid to state proudly what you can do and why. Digital jobs can take you all round the world and offer some of the best flexible opportunities. The digital world has with room for more growth than many other industries. If you’d like to hear more, and see where your CV can take you, get in touch today! We’d love to hear from you.
The digital marketing industry is always changing. Every year new trends emerge, and some of these trends completely transform the digital marketing landscape. So if you work in digital marketing, you may want to keep up with current and emerging trends. Here are five digital marketing trends you can expect to see in 2022.