For many, digital marketing is a rewarding career choice. Fast-paced, dynamic, and with no two days the same, it’s an industry that people rarely want to leave.
But how can young people get started with digital marketing for the first time? Sure, you can take a course, but the theory only gets you so far. Instead, why not try something a little more fun (and rewarding) instead?
Read on for some fun ways young people can try digital marketing for the first time.
Throw yourself in at the deep end with work experience
One of the best ways to try digital marketing is to simply throw yourself in at the deep end with a work experience placement. Practicing theory is all well and good, but you don’t really learn about something until you’re immersed in it, and work experience placements are perfect for this.
Many businesses offer initiatives for those seeking to try digital marketing for the first time. A quick search online throws up plenty of options. You could even send out some speculative letters to brands you like — there’s no harm in asking.
When you’re applying for these roles, don’t be put off by a perceived lack of experience. Applying for a job is 10% skills and experience to 90% personality. Digital marketing is full of people from all walks of life — showcase your personality and what makes you different and your application will shine through.
Once you land a placement, speak to as many people as possible. Not all of them will have time for you, but hopefully, there’ll be one or two people who will be willing to share their experiences with you and provide some tips on your own digital marketing career.
Even a week or two of onsite experience gives you a good starting point for your digital marketing career. It’ll be challenging, alien, even downright daunting. But it’ll give you a taste of digital marketing and provide a solid stepping stone into your career.
Launch your own blog and grow your readership
Starting a blog is easy. Find a niche you’re passionate about, choose a blogging platform, and start writing. Simple, right?
But starting a blog is easy, building it into a successful blog is less cut-and-dried. A prolific blog requires savvy digital marketing, so it’s the perfect way for young people to try their hand at it for the first time.
Create a blog about something you’re passionate about — it doesn’t need to be a particularly prolific niche, but if it’s something you care about it’ll be a pleasure, not a chore. Perhaps you play an instrument or sport, or have a passion for cooking? It doesn’t matter what it is because, in this exercise, you only have one goal for your blog: to increase your subscribers.
Set up a digital marketing strategy with the goal of increasing readership to your blog. Launch a content strategy, experiment with some (affordable) paid ads, and conduct a guest posting strategy to draw readers to your blog.
Don’t worry if you don’t get thousands of hits a day by the end — it’s a learning process. Cut your teeth, make mistakes, and learn more about digital marketing as a career.
Become an eCommerce entrepreneur with an online store
Coordinating a digital marketing strategy for a blog is a challenge, but it’s nothing when compared to managing one for an online store. New collections, special offers, old stock clearances — there’s a lot more facets to consider when you’re running an eCommerce marketing strategy.
And starting an online store isn’t as daunting as it sounds. There are a number of eCommerce platforms available for easy store setup, dropshipping offers a straightforward method of sourcing products, and there’s no shortage of unique business ideas that will help you launch your new venture.
Many eCommerce services provide training resources as part of their offering too. BigCommerce, for instance, helps its merchants become an eCommerce entrepreneur through its dedicated Resource Center, with live Q&As and a community of like-minded individuals to lean on.
As with the blog mentioned above, create a marketing campaign to drive customers and sales for your store. Paid ads, email marketing, influencer partnerships — these are just a few marketing options open to you as you grow your new store.
And again, this isn’t about shifting hundreds of products and turning a profit. It’s about learning how marketing can be used to achieve a goal. Failure is part of it, so don’t be disheartened if your store doesn’t succeed — you learn more from a single mistake than from a hundred successes.
Digital marketing is a dynamic and rewarding career choice. It’s exciting and fast-paced and offers a diverse array of roles to choose from.
If you’re a young person looking to dip their toe in the world of digital marketing, why not try one of the ideas above? They’re fun, challenging, and provide a welcome relief from the monotony of a classroom. Good luck!
