How to Start Your Career in Marketing
I’m approaching four years of being in marketing. What a journey it’s been. While there have definitely been moments of doubt where I wasn’t sure about my future in this industry, I’m happy to call myself a marketer today.
This is why I’ve decided to write a post about how young hopefuls or people looking to switch careers can start their career in marketing. I hope this advice will serve you well and inspire you to take your creative acumen and marketing chops in a fresh new direction.
Here are the three ways to kick start your career in marketing, this year.
1. Take on a Big Marketing Project
It’s truly impossible to know what it’s like to be a marketer, until you decide to be one.
We all know people who are launching events, clothing lines, new apps, you-name-it. As a way to gain experience and solid marketing skills, why not volunteer to take on their marketing? Doing this will immediately expose you to the challenges of being a marketer. At the end of the day, you have to do something to show the world you are a marketer so why not give yourself a marketing role and see what you do with it?
A friend of mine leads a non-profit event called the Toronto Veggie Parade. Several years ago, she asked me if I wanted to do marketing for the event that year. I was thrilled to take it on. It was truly exciting to be the decision maker for all things marketing including the website, the logo, social media branding, flyers and photography & videography.
While it was a lot of work, I am very proud of myself for accomplishing so much in so little time. It was stressful but I proved to myself that I am capable of being a marketing leader. This was necessary for me to go into my next marketing role with confidence.
2. Be Influenced By Great Marketing
Great marketers not only come up with good ideas but are able to recognize and see the value in other people’s ideas.
One of the biggest misconceptions about marketing is that it’s all about one person’s creative genius. This is absolutely wrong. Great marketers not only come up with good ideas but are able to recognize and see the value in other people’s ideas. Better yet, they can take them and make it their own.
When you move up the rank as a marketer, you will inevitably shift from taking direction from your lead to building it as a team. This means that you’ll need to listen to, appreciate and build on other people’s ideas on a regular basis.
Trust me, this is a skill — it’s a lot easier to stay within your own creative bubble and not take in the perspectives of other people. But, as your responsibilities grow and you take on bigger projects, it’s an unrealistic way of doing things. Collaboration is a vital part of a great marketer’s toolkit. Use it widely and wisely.
Plus, there are so many amazing marketing resources out there, from free on-demand webinars on every aspect of SaaS marketing like Forget the Funnel to content marketing blogs that are up-to-date on the latest trends such as the Brafton Blog. Make it a habit to constantly explore what other marketers are saying and doing and what’s working for them and what’s not — this can take your marketing skills to a whole new level.
3. Put Yourself in the Shoes of a Marketer
Challenge yourself to think not only of the final product but of all the different pieces that made it happen.
Identify the companies whose marketing or brand you admire the most and put yourself into the shoes of their marketers.
For example, if you love Adidas — what is involved in putting together a promotion for a new product line?
Here’s what comes to mind:
-How many ad platforms will you need to engage with and how will you decide how much money to spend on each?
-When should you run this campaign? Is this product line aimed at a particular season and or global event? How can you leverage what is already happening in the world to promote this product line?
-Female, male, non-binary models or all three? What types of models will you choose to promote this product line and why?
-Should you get an influencer? If so, how will you select the influencer? What criteria should the influencer meet to be a good candidate for this campaign?
-How will you plan and stage the shoots? Who will manage this process? Which parts will be done in-house and which will require outsourcing?
Marketing is a lot more than what’s on the surface. Challenge yourself to think not only of the final product but of all the different pieces that made it happen. Doing this will help you become a better thinker and strategist for marketing projects moving forward, especially when you’re challenged with ones that you’re unfamiliar with.
There’s so much more to explore here but hopefully, these three steps can help you get started. Do you have any advice for aspiring marketers? Leave a comment below!
