However, I’ve learned that was just a little bit of what Digital Marketing was. So, what happens when you start to dive in? Jumping in can be scary – it’s like looking down from the high dive, but once you finally jump you get that exciting rush. During my first couple weeks working at a New York City Digital Marketing agency, I felt like back then I knew very little about marketing in the Digital world since my experience was mainly in Media Marketing – which only made me eager to learn more.
I learned the best way to get started was by doing initial research on your own time to help build the most basic foundation of this world. Familiarize yourself with the terminology and take the time to learn the different marketing platforms that agencies use even if you must do so after work hours, so when it comes time to start working with clients and your internal team, you are already able to utilize these platforms and reap their benefits. Some examples of those are platforms are Hubspot, BaseCamp, Google Ads, Google Trends, and Pardot.
The new terminology can also be overwhelming and may make it a little more difficult to understand what a coworker or client is talking about but here’s a suggestion - simply keep an ongoing list either with a good old pen and paper or on an easily accessible Word Document/ Google Document and always look up the words you do not recognize and write out their definition. Or, if you are working with your internal team – just ask what the word means (just make sure not to ask a client in real-time, but look it up after you are done meeting with them).
Now, going back to the previously mentioned Marketing Platforms - some of the platforms we specifically use daily at HEEDGROUP were new to me, so I had to figure out where to begin. Many of these platforms offer what they call a “Learning Academy” which are step-by-step videos and guides that introduce you to the platform, how to navigate them, what you can do in them ETC.
Another great way to start learning them is by watching informative YouTube guides that take you through the platforms via YouTube and generally, they are free of charge. One that I found very useful for explaining Google Ads was this video entitled “Google Ads Full Course in 5 Hours”.
Lastly, the most important thing I learned was to utilize your team members because it makes all the difference in the world. You will have a lot of questions and it's important that you ask them to learn. Luckily for me, everyone on my team at HEEDGROUP was more than helpful, informative, and willing to answer all my questions (even the silly ones) as they taught me. You’ll be amazed at how fast you pick up things from your team members; taking good notes will help!
So, will you know it all by the end of your first couple of weeks? No, not even close! You will not be a Digital Marketing expert by the end of your first week, nor your second or third week but great things take time and lots of learning. There is always more to know in the world of Digital Marketing so stay eager to keep at it and have patience with it, especially since it’s an ever-changing world.