5 signs that you might be a perfect fit for a digital marketing job
When as a kid people asked you what you want to do to in life, the standard answer for the majority was a firefighter or a doctor. Fast forward to high school days. There often comes to this common division. Between those who are number-oriented. Better in subjects like math’s, physics or chemistry. And on the other side, the creatives, those who are often talented for art or social studies, like literature, sociology or foreign languages. There is not much thinking involved in figuring out which group you fit. It’s more of either/or thing which comes naturally to each of us. It might be the first step towards your future career path. Which just maybe starts with a digital marketing job.
Let’s be honest. Agency life is not an ideal fit for every person. Some people may function much better in a more structured, corporate environment. To decide easier whether you’d adapt well working in an agency, we’ve prepared a list of traits desirable for anyone applying for a digital marketing job in an agency.
#1 Creative thinking
Creative thinking is a must-have trait for almost every employee in a digital marketing agency. There are many different positions within an agency. From account managers, designers, copywriters, community managers, traffic and SEO specialists. But one thing in common to all these positions is a creative way of thinking. Sometimes logical problem solving is not quite enough in this field of marketing.
For example, when pitching a marketing concept for a campaign or doing a rebranding for your client, you need to have a broad and clear vision of what you want to achieve and present to both the client and the public. Or better, say consumers. On the other hand, your creative solutions need to be practical and functional in a real-life setting. So, you can see why creative thinking combined with good planning and organization skills are quite important for this kind of job.
#2 Everchanging work environment
One thing you’ll learn very quickly working in a digital marketing agency is that things change in quite a fast pace. Agency staff changes quite often, and competition is usually very harsh. But nonetheless, it is an environment where you can learn a lot of valuable skills for your future career.
Some of them being a client and team management, quick problem solving, timekeeping skills. Which all will eventually help to raise your productivity levels tremendously. On our blog, we wrote an article about social media crisis management. It is a great example of what kind of situations you may encounter in your career in digital marketing.
Some obvious skills needed for a digital marketing job are multi-tasking and presentation skills. They can as well can be considered essential for this kind of job. So, if you’ve always known that you’re not an office, 9 to 5, kind of person and you don’t have a problem with constant changes in your work environment and schedule – this might just be a perfect fit for you.
#3 Teamwork
Teamwork or collaboration. Call it what you want. But we cannot stress enough how important this is. Agency is essentially one big team where everyone has a role which directly mirrors on another person’s job. There will be rare times where you can manage a task on your own.
So, if you don’t function well in a group work where the finished result depends on everyone’s input, you may reconsider your agency career. Working with the team of creatives has many benefits though. You can always rely on your colleagues to come up with the best possible solution for the problem. Also, brainstorming is a common activity in every digital marketing agency with which every major project starts.
#4 Problem solving
This one goes hand in hand with previous bullets. As we said, thinking creative is important but you need to be prepared to make quick, executive like decisions on the spot. These decisions will affect your client, their brand image and awareness. So, you always need to have valuable explanations as to why you made a certain move. Keeping a client is important. But sometimes you’ll be a fresh pair of eyes which will see a certain problem with a product or service offered.
These kind of situations are sensitive. But it’s important that you’re always honest in communication with your client. Keeping a blind eye to the problem is never a good solution. Confronting a client with a given problem may sometimes be unpleasant or even a risky situation, but it’s much needed. The alternative is going forward like nothing is wrong to the point of no return. Which is a scenario that can’t be good for anyone. For that not to happen, you need to be efficient and solve problems at the right time. When they first occur.
#5 Constant learning
Learning new things and staying updated on the latest trends are the key to a successful marketing career. Especially if you’re working in a digital marketing agency. Staying relevant in this fast-paced industry highly influenced by technology is a constant job on its own. You cannot expect of clients to trust your judgments and decisions if you’re not competent in your professional field. Remember that you’re the expert whom they hired to improve their brand image so they will expect concrete solutions and results from you.
After listing these five digital marketing skills you can decide for yourself if a digital marketing job is a right position for you. Our blog post: Infographic: A day in the life of a community manager will give you a picture of what a day of a community manager in a digital marketing agency looks like.
In the end, these are some generally preferable traits to have. But don’t think if you lack in one or two of them that you should never try the agency life. Sometimes, putting yourself out of your comfort zone can be very rewarding and a priceless learning experience.
