Henry Ford, one of the pioneering business minds of the twentieth century, once said: “A man who stops advertising to save money is like a man who stops a clock to save time”. Marketing and advertising form an integral part of a business.
Marketing bridges the goal of the business, generating demand and awareness of the product (or service) among the end-user (consumer or customer). It’s critical for generating sales.
Most of us have noticed that they have inscribed the brand’s tagline “Extra Dark for Good Handwriting” on the Apsara pencil itself. The intent behind this is to make people focus on the darkness of the pencil which will give us good handwriting. Now whenever someone says “extra dark”, in the case of pencils, we automatically think of Apsara pencils. That’s marketing for you!
Many toothpaste advertisements show foreign scientists or dentists claim about the quality and/or efficacy of the toothpaste. The ad ultimately shows that the toothpaste would make your smile last longer, no matter how bad your day maybe.
The world of marketing covers advertising, public relations, branding, promotions, and sales through digital platforms or offline modes.
Marketing is essential for any industry and for any sector. Moreover, a career in marketing is not like grinding through 9 – 5 each week. In a marketing role, you get a mix of wit, creativity, business and everything that’s trending.
Some of the typical tasks a marketer would do are-
- Determining the need for specific products or services
- Distinguishing potential markets for products or services
- Monitoring current trends and patterns in society
- Developing pricing and sales strategies
- Working with public relations, product development, technology, and sales departments.
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Top High-Paying Marketing Jobs
Now, guest writer Sarah will talk about 5 tips for getting into a marketing career.
5 Tips to Break into a Career in Marketing
By Sarah Saker
When it comes to answering the question, “So what do you do for a living?” there are some professions that are more easily explained than others.
If you say you’re a teacher, everyone knows what teachers do. If you’re a nurse, everyone knows what nurses do as well. Of course, there are huge differences in the teaching and nursing fields to be more specific, but overall most people have a solid grasp of what you do.
If you say you work in marketing, most people might have an idea of what you do but not a firm grasp. It’s a wide field that offers plenty of opportunities and big earning opportunities. A marketing job with one business could be completely different from what you may be doing in another business.
Have a Strong Skillbase
As we’ll discuss later, there are some skills which need plenty of training and education. You may eventually have to become specialized in one area of marketing to blaze out your path.
But, it always helps to have a few strong skills that will help build up whatever career path you eventually decide to take.
- Strong grammar
- Writing and editing skills
- Effective communication
- Storytelling
- A consistent voice
No matter where your marketing career may lead you, it is a great idea to build up these skills in order to be effective and thorough.
ABL – Always Be Learning
When it comes to the marketing world, there are always new trends out and about. What worked five years ago may not have as much success today, and what’s working today may not have success in five years’ time.
That’s why it’s important to always be an open book and staying on top of the latest trends. This doesn’t mean you’re going to have to pull an all-nighter the minute you learn about a new marketing technique, but you should be making sure you’re studying up.
Read blogs, attend conferences, and check out influencers in the field to make sure you’re at the cutting edge.
Related Article: Branding and Digital Marketing Careers in India | Q&A with Arundhuti Ghosh
Build Up a Personal Brand
In case you’ve been living under a rock for the last decade, we’ll fill you in: social media is a pretty big deal. Many marketing tactics and techniques heavily use social media to promote businesses or content.
One of the ways to show off your social media savvy is by building up a brand and showing you know how to promote content already. You could be running a side project or a small social media channel to act as a sort of portfolio.
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Find Skills You Can Promote
Just like Liam Neeson in Taken, you should have a certain set of skills and not be afraid to use them. It is good to be well-rounded and be show off specific projects that you have worked on.
You can choose to become an SEO specialist, social media manager, content specialist, or something else entirely. After a while though, you’ll want to start building up a portfolio and resume skills in order to show off what you’ve done.
Keep track of your past projects, like how you successfully built a business brand through the implementation of a promotional giveaway. Always find a way to promote yourself and show off your past work.
Dive into Data
No matter which marketing path you take, be prepared for data to be a big part of your daily work. Data drives everything in digital marketing, you want to make sure you’re recording a high return on your investment (ROI).
Data can be a big, scary word due to its overwhelming potential. There is going to be so much data to collect and how do you make sure to organize all of it? Analytics surely helps, but how do you even make sure you’ve got a solid foothold on analytics.
While some of this may have come up naturally through your education, there are plenty of online courses and certifications you can take in order to bulk up your resume and add experience.
The importance of data is only going to grow over the next few years, so it’s best if you feel you have a firm grasp on it early.
About Sarah Saker: Sarah is a freelance writer and small business coach living in Hattiesburg, Mississippi.
She loves writing and helping small businesses set up processes for customer support and growth, and working on creative marketing messaging.
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