Written by Duke, Digital Marketing Apprentice at Nivo Digital.
What is a Digital Marketing Apprenticeship?
Most people just think of someone who just manages social media or writes a couple of blogs when they hear the term “digital marketer”. While these are tasks a digital marketer does, the job involves so much more. From social, paid ads and branding stories, a digital marketer is responsible for the strategic promotion of a product or brand on multiple media channels.
What do you do in a Digital Marketing Apprenticeship?
Digital marketers assist companies by marketing their services or products using online media platforms such as Google, Facebook & even Tiktok. As a digital marketing apprentice, you are tasked with understanding which platforms are going to be most beneficial to your client while tailoring the brand messaging to effectively reach your target audience. This is not a guessing game. Everything in digital marketing is strategic. As a marketer, you use data in order to understand how your customers behave on various media platforms. This data helps you articulate your message effectively to give you the best ROI.
You Don’t NEED a Degree or Higher Level Education
Whilst having a qualification can be beneficial, you don’t need a qualification or past experience to land a role as a digital marketing apprentice. After all, it’s an apprenticeship – you’re there to learn.
Most people who venture into digital marketing are a younger demographic who already have a sound understanding of digital media such as Facebook or Instagram. This experience makes it pretty easy for them to learn and excel at the day to day duties of a digital marketer.
There is no career ceiling for apprenticeships in digital marketing. Even some more advanced marketing roles such as a paid advertising specialist do not require a degree. Typically, companies will be looking at your experience within the field when hiring these positions.
Especially if you’re a numbers person, this will be the perfect role for you. When you are responsible for running paid advertising campaigns you will need to manage a specified budget and be required to generate sales or leads for the product or service you are promoting. Through running these campaigns, you will learn how to analyse and interpret data.
This will allow you to make choices that will improve any digital marketing campaign no matter the platform you are running ads with. Whether it’s a campaign on Bing, Google or Facebook, all the same marketing principles apply.
Follow the Trends & Stay Up To Date
Keeping up to date on popular trends, tips and tricks is crucial in any sector but especially in digital marketing. This is because, in digital marketing, everyone has access to the same media channels but understanding how to use these channels effectively to convey your message is something not everyone can do.
By staying up to date with trends, you can find creative ways to stand apart from your competition, especially if you are doing marketing in a competitive industry. There are plenty of ways to stay up to date on digital marketing news and trends.
If you’re more of a visual learner, you can subscribe to some popular youtube channels such as Neil Patel, Ahrefs, Surfside PPC and Wordstream: these are just a few of the hundreds of channels available. If you prefer to read blogs, you can create your own feed around various topics relating to digital marketing and receive notifications on your phone when a new blog has been released. Some popular Feedly blogs for getting updates on digital marketing trends are Search Engine Journal, Moz, Search Engine Roundtable.
No Single Day is the Same
If you end up landing a role at a digital marketing agency, you’ll find that no day will ever be the same. You’ll get to work with clients in different sectors who need a bespoke combination of marketing services from you to grow their business.
For example, one day you might be creating and editing content for a local gym, the next day you could be running paid social media campaigns for a travel company.
You’ll always have something to do and it will be difficult to get bored.
Additionally, with the digital space always evolving and changing, you will constantly be learning. You will need to stay up to date with the latest industry trends to be effective as a digital marketer.
Don’t Be Afraid to Ask Questions
Especially when you’re starting new, don’t be afraid to ask for help.
You’re there to learn so there is no need to be scared when asking for guidance. Remember, they’re not going to expect you to know everything, so don’t be afraid to ask plenty of questions.
It may feel a little nerve-racking when you’re asking for help but your colleagues and team members are there to help you so ask away.
Not only will it help you learn but asking questions shows initiative. It will demonstrate to your colleagues and your employer that you are enthusiastic and motivated to learn more.
Is a Digital Marketing Apprenticeship For You?
Hopefully, after reading this blog you have a sound understanding of the role as a digital marketer and some of the responsibilities they are accountable for.
I used Professional Apprenticeships to find my digital marketing apprenticeship at Nivo Digital, a digital marketing agency in Bristol.
If you are looking to become a digital marketer, an apprenticeship would be a great way to learn the ins and outs and gain valuable experience for your future. Not only will you be learning on the job, but you’ll also be getting paid and you’ll receive a qualification at the end of your apprenticeship.