Digital
Marketing
Professional
Becoming a

Launch a Career in
Digital
Marketing

Digital marketing is essential to the
success of every business today, which
means the opportunities for talented
and diligent people are growing fast.
This eBook will help you navigate with
the basics of the digital marketing
industry and what it takes to launch a
career in the field.
You’re probably very familiar with
both traditional marketing and digital
marketing, but just to set the stage,
traditional marketing falls under
billboards, print (think magazine or
newspaper ads), television and radio
commercials.
Digital marketing, on the other hand,
falls under any and all of the marketing
that takes place online or through the
use of digital technologies. Those
digital channels include email, websites,
social media, apps, or any other digital
channels. But it can also include
many other forms, and may address
a customer's needs through a video,
an article, or an email that may not
always be obviously noticed as digital
marketing. In essence, digital marketing
has the ability to be much more creative
and pliable and can reach far past the
limitations of traditional marketing.
Launch a Career in
Digital
Marketing
3 Becoming a Digital Marketing Professional | Launch a Career in Digital Marketing

Why Has There Been a
Shift to Digital?

For the first time in history, more
money was spent on digital
advertising than on traditional
advertising in 2019—$129 billion vs. $109
billion. This shift away from traditional to
digital marketing is driven in part by the
lower cost barrier: it is much easier and
far more affordable for a small business to
invest in customized digital advertising than
to buy even the smallest traditional print ad
in a magazine.
Furthermore, companies can tweak, adjust,
or shift ads over time according to the
impact they are having. This is just another
way that the digital shift has changed the
marketing landscape and created new
opportunities for people to express their
creativity and insight within the field.
In both traditional and digital marketing,
the first step of a campaign is lead
generation. How this works is: a marketer
obtains contact information for what
has been determined to be a potential
customer, client, or someone with past
interest in the product—also known as
a “lead.” A digital marketer will then use
information, promotional materials, or other
communication to advertise to that lead.
Another advantage of switching from
traditional to digital marketing is that it
allows businesses to create databases that
electronically store client information. This
allows a business to alert customers about
products and services that may be of interest
to them. These lists can also be customized
to reach a specifically targeted audience.
Why Has There
Been a Shift
to Digital?
The First Steps
in Digital
Marketing
5 Becoming a Digital Marketing Professional | Why Has There Been a Shift to Digital?

Types of
Digital
Marketing

Generally, the world of marketing is broken down into two categories: B2B and B2C.
B2B stands for business-to-business, while B2C stands for business-to-customer.
In the B2B marketing category, your focus
would be to promote a product or service
from one business to another business.
For example, think of a company that
makes dog toys advertising to large retail
pet stores to carry and sell their product at
a wholesale price.
B2B
In the B2C marketing category, a
business directly targets its marketing to
the consumer. If you think of the same
dog toy company that has their product
already on the shelves of a retail store,
they will additionally use B2C marketing
to directly sell the same product to a
consumer at a retail price.
B2C
Digital
Marketing
Types of
7 Becoming a Digital Marketing Professional | Types of Digital Marketing

Furthermore, there are two main marketing strategies: outbound and inbound.
Digital
Marketing
Types of
Outbound marketing is when a digital
marketer reaches their hand out to grab a
potential customer’s attention and close the
deal or make a sale rather than waiting for a
customer to walk through the doors.
Outbound Marketing
Inbound marketing creates interest by
offering a product, service, or deal that
lures a customer to otherwise engage,
whether that means visiting a physical
location or a virtual one (website).
Inbound Marketing
8 Becoming a Digital Marketing Professional | Types of Digital Marketing

More Key
Digital Marketing
Terms

Social media marketing takes place on
social media channels such as Facebook,
Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, or any other
social media platform being used by a
company to promote their brand.
Social Media
Marketing
Email marketing is when a company utilizes
emails to promote their brand offerings.
They may leverage newsletter subscribers,
prospective customers, loyal customers,
or sending follow-up emails to one-time
customers, or may even use a holiday
promotion, just to name a few.
Email Marketing
Terms
More Key
Digital Marketing
Lead-nurturing workflows implement a
process that focuses on converting a lead
into a customer. For example, if a potential
customer clicks on a link to download an
ebook that the marketers have put out, by
using lead-nurturing workflows, it would
ensure that a follow-up email is sent to the
customer with a link to any relevant service
or information.
Lead-Nurturing Workflows
Campaign tracking and reporting involves
gathering and analyzing data about a
campaign’s content engagement and
responses, ensuring each campaign
achieves its target goals or is readjusted to
do so. It is crucial for a marketing strategy
to be flexible and adjust its course in order
to succeed.
Campaign Tracking and
Reporting
10 Becoming a Digital Marketing Professional | More Key Digital Marketing Terms

Technical SEO is a focused approach
to the coding of the website and how
that code interacts with search engines.
Optimization in this area will include image
compression, CSS optimization, and other
tools that help a website communicate
better with search engines.
Technical SEO
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is the strategy used to ensure that a website’s
content ranks higher on search results pages when certain keywords are
searched online. SEO can be used in a number of ways.
Search Engine
Optimization
Off-page SEO is a strategy that concentrates
on activity that happens on external
websites. By creating backlinks, or links on
other webpages, a company will try to lead
engagement back to their own website. This
is usually done by contacting other websites
and asking them to write articles that include
backlinks to their own website.
Off-Page SEO
On-page SEO refers to optimizing the
content on every single page to improve
search engine rankings. Depending on the
content, it may involve optimizing keywords,
images, and providing answers to questions
that potential customers may have.
On-Page SEO
Terms
More Key
Digital Marketing
11 Becoming a Digital Marketing Professional | More Key Digital Marketing Terms

Pay-Per-Click (PPC) this one is pretty straight forward,
just like the name says, a company pays for ad space
for ads to appear on websites and search engine results
pages (think Facebook, Twitter, or Google’s search
results). Companies will usually pay the publisher “per”
every click their ad gets, hence the name Pay-Per-Click.
Pay-Per-Click
Marketing Automation involves the use of tools and
software that are now available for digital marketers
to automate specified tasks. Most commonly used in
two areas:
Marketing Automation
Focusing specifically on the automation of email, this
allows a brand to develop a personal relationship with
customers. Creating the opportunity for a brand to
respond with targeted tailored content of email blasts to
reach and address specific customer needs. Automation
tools aren’t limited to tailoring the message and its
recipient, it can also control the time of day when it is sent
to optimize the likelihood of receiving a response.
Email Automation
To maintain engagement on social media platforms, it is
important to have a consistent presence online. Doing
this manually and without automation software can be
inefficient and time consuming. Utilizing an automation
tool can allow a social media manager to plan time-
sensitive posts well in advance. Plus, these automation
tools can be used to harvest information to analyze
against the intended goals of a campaign strategy.
Social Media Post
Scheduling
Terms
More Key
Digital Marketing
12 Becoming a Digital Marketing Professional | More Key Digital Marketing Terms

Media outreach via social media refers
to companies using social media to
reach out to members of the media
and social media influencers in order
to develop relationships that create
marketing opportunities. This can lead
to media coverage, such as news stories
or promotional posts that bring positive
attention to the brand.
Media Outreach via
Social Media
Online PR is now the commonplace definition
for companies communicating directly to
customers. Since so many human interactions
occur online, companies have begun
leveraging social media to respond to the
questions or address concerns on platforms
such as Twitter or Facebook.
Online PR
Online Reviews
Online reviews have become an
important tool in digital marketing,
it allows companies to immediately
respond to the reviews they’ve received.
A brand now has the power to engage
with online reviews that serves to
humanize it’s interactions and allows for
customer relationships to grow.
Terms
More Key
Digital Marketing
13 Becoming a Digital Marketing Professional | More Key Digital Marketing Terms

Online comments similar to how a brand
can leverage online reviews, comments can
be equally as valuable. Online comments
sections can allow for engaging in
discussions and staying on top of current
trends that can help a brand stay relevant.
Online Comments
Key performance indicators (KPIs) is a
metric of a campaign's performance.
Measurement might include total cost
per lead generated, website visits per
channel, or other key metrics important to
the brand. Digital marketers rely on KPIs to
make decisions that impact a multitude of
decisions and strategies moving forward.
Key Performance Indicators
Terms
More Key
Digital Marketing
14 Becoming a Digital Marketing Professional | More Key Digital Marketing Terms

An Overview of
Digital
Marketing

As a digital marketer, the main objective
is to improve brand awareness and
increase new clients using all available
channels, including paid and unpaid.
Specific responsibilities will vary
depending on the size and needs of the
company you work for. You could be the
whole department or part of a larger
team, with different specialists focusing
on certain areas of expertise.
Is Digital Marketing a
Good Fit for Me?
A digital marketer must have the ability to create engaging, quality content that appeals
to both current and prospective customers.
To determine what a company’s specific needs are, you'll have to ask questions that help
to set achievable goals. Questions can include:
• Who is our customer’s biggest need?
• What can help keep our customers coming back?
• What is trending and how will that affect customer engagement?
• What is their purchasing journey?
• What is your company’s aesthetic?
Asking the right questions will help decide the type of content that needs to be
produced. This is important because content creators need to be able to strike a balance
between providing valuable information without driving away customers by bombarding
them with too much or unwanted content.
The types of content that can be created is varied, including video, Instagram stories,
blog posts, visually appealing infographics, eBooks, white papers, case studies,
testimonials from past customers, and many other types of content.
As you have seen, digital marketing is a crucial aspect of every modern competitive business.
With that clear snapshot of the basic terms and concepts that make up digital marketing, you
should feel well-equipped to take your first steps into a career in digital marketing.
Creative Content Creation
Digital
Marketing
An Overview of
16 Becoming a Digital Marketing Professional | An Overview of Digital Marketing

Preparing
Yourself
for a Digital
Marketing Career

If you’re looking to step into the digital
marketing field, it can be beneficial to
have a four-year degree in a field that
is akin to digital marketing, like Mass
Communications or Business—but at the
end of the day, hiring managers look for
candidates with experience and proven
results.
Study the Field
With an abundance of training
programs available to keep you sharp
in this continually evolving field, staying
constantly trained can keep you on the
leading edge of the field. Getting the
hands-on experience to showcase to
potential employers is crucial.
Get trained
Another available avenue is to get
certified by a reputable institution and
have a portfolio that features your
abilities. Google Ads, for example,
has a series of certifications for digital
marketers. Just to name a few, Digital
Media and Marketing, Content Strategy,
or Social Media Analytics are also areas
where certificates can be obtained.
Get Certified
Preparing Yourself for a Digital
Marketing Career
18 Becoming a Digital Marketing Professional | Preparing Yourself
for a Digital Marketing Career

Digital marketing is constantly evolving
and change is the only constant, which is
why staying relevant and engaged with
the latest news in the field ensures you
never fall behind. Read blogs, listen to
relevant podcasts, and communicate with
your colleagues about the industry in order
to stay on the cutting edge of the field.
Following market trends will make you an
effective digital marketer and help to propel
your career and the industry as a whole.
Stay Informed
It can be incredibly rewarding and
beneficial to attend networking events or
conferences for digital marketing. Having
access to like-minded entrepreneurs can
provide new opportunities, and it might
open up future opportunities when a fellow
marketer is thinking about adding someone
new to their team.
Stay Involved
Preparing Yourself for a Digital
Marketing Career
19 Becoming a Digital Marketing Professional | Preparing Yourself
for a Digital Marketing Career

Conclusion
No matter what you excel at, the digital marketing field will provide a path for your
creative or analytical talents to shine. As a digital marketing professional, the career
landscape is in its early stages and is expected to flourish for many years to come.
To learn more about how you can launch a career in digital marketing, contact us
and speak to a San Diego State University Digital Marketing Bootcamp advisor.
20 Becoming a Digital Marketing Professional | Preparing Yourself
for a Digital Marketing Career

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(619) 839-3030