If you’re like me and obsess over Instagram aesthetics, peruse like-minded communities on Twitter, or aspire to be TikTok famous, then you’ve probably considered a digital marketing career at some point and are ready to make your debut in the industry. That said, assuming you’ve done your extensive research on a super trendy internship gig you wish to score, I’m here to tell you that it can all be yours with the right mindset. This article will kick start your journey towards optimizing your current skills, and get you from beginner, to intermediate, all the way to advanced! Here are four Do-It-Yourself skills that will spice up your resume, helping you to leverage your digital marketing talents before your search for your Co-op opportunity!
For those of you who aren’t digital marketing fanatics, welcome! For starters, digital marketing is a more contemporary form of marketing that promotes a product, service and/or company within the digital sphere with respects to elements such as SEO (Search Engine Optimization), email marketing, social media marketing, website and mobile apps, as well as leveraging analytics through platforms like Google. Digital marketing is likely the first and most important resource that allows you, the consumer, to experience, be exposed to, and research a company or brand.
Diversify Your Writing Skills
All aspects of marketing incorporate good writing. No matter what project put before you, be prepared to write about topics you’ve never explored for audiences you’ve never engaged with. It’s very attractive to employers if you can offer them a diverse breadth of writing capabilities. In my first digital marketing Co-op, I wrote an array of writing pieces: from corporate human resources documents, formal public relations emails, informal blog posts, and quick social media captions. My "four C’s" are essential for maintaining good writing: clarity, creativity, cohesiveness and conciseness.
Get a Groove on Graphic Design
I already know that you are wildly creative and must have unique visual marketing ideas that'll last decades! Why don’t you enhance some of those designing skills on a graphic designing platform? It doesn’t need to be over-the-top software. Even designing content on free apps like Canva or Figma and familiarizing yourself with their interfaces will be so valuable for you coming into your next co-op. In the case that your employer asks you for a last-minute Instagram poster, or infographic, you'll be on standby!
Start Strategizing on SEO
SEO is definitely a tricky skill to learn, but you will surely be venturing into this within digital marketing as your career evolves. I would absolutely recommend that you familiarize yourself with these strategies beforehand by reading up on different articles, taking advantage of short courses on LinkedIn Learning, and getting used to some of the SEO lingo. Different businesses utilize SEO for various goals they are trying to achieve and the results offer significant outputs and marketing collateral that support a company's decision making for future campaigns or advertising.
Find Your Wings
Considering the broadness in the digital marketing world, not to mention the wide scope of careers in communications, it helps to see every step of your career as an opportunity to creatively execute any, if not all of your skills. Whether it's by solidifying the three skills that I've introduced to you, or diving deeper and doing research on what attributes of marketing you are missing, and cultivating that into your assets; you are ultimately responsible for putting the work in (with the help of your amazing colleagues at SFU) and that effort will be reflected in the results. Ultimately, you may already have your destination set, but now it's about finding your wings and soaring towards that goal. Success is how you see yourself, and skillset aside, you are already a step towards that dream marketing job of yours once your begin to envision it as your reality. Don't limit yourself to your CV, a job title, or to what's already been done by others; practice having the openness and willingness to pursue any challenge that comes your way, and you'll be surprised on effortlessly you excel at them.
