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For any Marketing Specialists, what's the route you guys took to get to your careers?
Hi, my name is Rick and I want to be a Marketing Specialist in the future, I'm currently attending Job Corps for Office Administration and I plan to move into Community College for an Associate's Degree in Business in the future at some point. I do know there are online seminars some free some not but would you guys consider those good points of info to look into as well or would you suggest sticking to the textbooks? #business #marketing #college #career
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7 answers
Updated
Hector’s Answer
Hello Rick!
Well in my experience, Marketing is all about selling a product: either digital or brick and mortar, we are meant to push sales through ideas turned to media. This forms of media may be from the simplest to the more complex: text (Google Adwords), photography + text composition (think of big signs in the road, or a Facebook/Instragram ad), Websites which ultimately are compositions made in code, and how to not forget anything related to video (Youtube, T.V., even your local movie theather). And then, there's the whole ramification on how we measure if we are selling more or not. That is done through KPI's and metrics. All of these terminology you may find as quick as a Google Search.
The reason why I do a pretty hefty introduction is so basically you can use the best of the best: Google, Youtube, blogs. It's a great way for STARTERS. But it will grow as much as you want it too.
Then of course, Social Media is a great, cheap way of kickstart your marketing efforts. Sometimes, you don't even have to pay a dime to get the word out there about a product you love! Fan pages for example, are a great way to practice your marketing skills. Think of an Instagram account about Star Wars, your favorite video game, sports, food.
Get a 1000 followers on a subject and see what happens.
Now, for an easy compendium and good introduction to Digital Marketing, get the following book: Social Media Marketing Tips by Andrew Macarthy. It's on Amazon, better on Kindle, lots of links.
Cheers!
Well in my experience, Marketing is all about selling a product: either digital or brick and mortar, we are meant to push sales through ideas turned to media. This forms of media may be from the simplest to the more complex: text (Google Adwords), photography + text composition (think of big signs in the road, or a Facebook/Instragram ad), Websites which ultimately are compositions made in code, and how to not forget anything related to video (Youtube, T.V., even your local movie theather). And then, there's the whole ramification on how we measure if we are selling more or not. That is done through KPI's and metrics. All of these terminology you may find as quick as a Google Search.
The reason why I do a pretty hefty introduction is so basically you can use the best of the best: Google, Youtube, blogs. It's a great way for STARTERS. But it will grow as much as you want it too.
Then of course, Social Media is a great, cheap way of kickstart your marketing efforts. Sometimes, you don't even have to pay a dime to get the word out there about a product you love! Fan pages for example, are a great way to practice your marketing skills. Think of an Instagram account about Star Wars, your favorite video game, sports, food.
Get a 1000 followers on a subject and see what happens.
Now, for an easy compendium and good introduction to Digital Marketing, get the following book: Social Media Marketing Tips by Andrew Macarthy. It's on Amazon, better on Kindle, lots of links.
Cheers!
Thank you so much for the example! I'll definitely check it out I'm glad I'll be able to grab that book and get started as soon as possible! You're advice and time are greatly appreciated Mr. Ferrari, I hope you have a good time!
Rick
Updated
Nicole’s Answer
Hi Rick V. Thanks so much for your question.
So, I don't think that I would consider myself a marketing specialist but I am answering your question in the hopes of sharing with you that marketing does have various specialties ;). I happen to have an engineering degree and never even took a marketing class when I was in college...but...within marketing, there is a specific and highly valued specialty called marketing technology or MarTech for short. This is a track that is technology based where coding, data and data visualization is used to identify better ways to market products and services. With the understanding that customers seek the best products and services they can find that meet their value needs, martech is a way to build ads and other things that may interest customers.
How I got into this space was pretty untraditional. I started my career as a network engineer and then landed in "the business" side by using data to tell stories about how to increase sales. From that work, I was able to do projects that partnered me with marketers who had deep knowledge on who their customer base is/was and how to sell valued products to them.
For many young people who are considering marketing as a career, sometimes they are not aware of just how expansive marketing can be and just how much space there is to grow...and how technology can play a huge role in a sustainable marketing career. I still consider myself to be an engineer and I work with lots of other software engineers. As I understand traditional marketing, there is always room to think differently and to apply a level of creativity that is "outside of the box". For sure martech, could be considered a step in that direction.
Thanks again for your question and best of luck to you.
So, I don't think that I would consider myself a marketing specialist but I am answering your question in the hopes of sharing with you that marketing does have various specialties ;). I happen to have an engineering degree and never even took a marketing class when I was in college...but...within marketing, there is a specific and highly valued specialty called marketing technology or MarTech for short. This is a track that is technology based where coding, data and data visualization is used to identify better ways to market products and services. With the understanding that customers seek the best products and services they can find that meet their value needs, martech is a way to build ads and other things that may interest customers.
How I got into this space was pretty untraditional. I started my career as a network engineer and then landed in "the business" side by using data to tell stories about how to increase sales. From that work, I was able to do projects that partnered me with marketers who had deep knowledge on who their customer base is/was and how to sell valued products to them.
For many young people who are considering marketing as a career, sometimes they are not aware of just how expansive marketing can be and just how much space there is to grow...and how technology can play a huge role in a sustainable marketing career. I still consider myself to be an engineer and I work with lots of other software engineers. As I understand traditional marketing, there is always room to think differently and to apply a level of creativity that is "outside of the box". For sure martech, could be considered a step in that direction.
Thanks again for your question and best of luck to you.
Thank you so much Mrs. Nichole! This is a really fun insight to hear from and it made me curious about the rest of r the field and specifics! Thank you for helping me see this part I hope you have a wonderful day and thank you so much!!
Rick
Updated
Marco’s Answer
Hola Rick, thank you for asking the question. I am no longer a marketing specialist but I have held many of those types of roles on the path to become the 20-year marketing veteran that am I now. I have had the opportunity to do marketing for consumer, enterprise, global, super-regional/local, and driving all marketing channels to bring marketing programs to life. I started my marketing career with a degree in engineering and what I learned from that degree above all was how to understand the most important or impactful part of a problem and then how to create a practical path forward to address that problem. When uncovering those paths, I almost always found that there were many different paths forward so I also learned early on to be open to different ideas and not unreasonably hold onto "the defined solution".
Truly this is what got me through my marketing career -- being open to new ideas and the willingness to go and try things. Then if you know what you are trying to achieve or the challenge you are trying to address, then you can know if you were successful. Good luck and be open to new paths - you will see that many different doors are open and you get to be the one that walks through them.
Truly this is what got me through my marketing career -- being open to new ideas and the willingness to go and try things. Then if you know what you are trying to achieve or the challenge you are trying to address, then you can know if you were successful. Good luck and be open to new paths - you will see that many different doors are open and you get to be the one that walks through them.
Updated
Jody’s Answer
Hi Rick - thanks for your question. I started as a Marketing Specialist at a large tech company right after college. I studied History and Media Studies in college and got my bachelor's degrees in those fields, where I found that a lot of the research and skill sets I learned from my degree courses helped contribute to my success in the Marketing Specialist role. I took a few business courses that helped set the foundation for my career, but I would recommend expanding and trying out various areas and take on a few internships too if possible. Hope this helps and best of luck!
Updated
Chris’s Answer
Great career choice! I've personally never been impressed by marketing textbooks, although I'm sure there are some great ones out there. I've found that the best and most current research papers on marketing provided the insights that set me apart from the pack during job interviews. Google, Twitter and Facebook also provide great resources on best and most current digital marketing practices, and given how fast the field is changing you'll want to spend the bulk of your time understand how content targeting works.
You should also spend time looking at research on how people perceive things, what makes people engage with content, and what influences behavior - some are marketing books or articles, but most are about politics or psychology (but equally apply to marketing).
Another idea is to follow marketing awards shows like Cannes Lions to see what the best marketers in the world are doing today, and then I think about what they could have improved to generate a better result.
http://www.indianresearchjournals.com/pdf/IJSSIR/2013/June/12.pdf Here is a timeless research paper on the essence of marketing. Even in the professional space very few marketers understand the essential science behind what makes great marketing great.
Good luck and feel free to reach out!
Chris
You should also spend time looking at research on how people perceive things, what makes people engage with content, and what influences behavior - some are marketing books or articles, but most are about politics or psychology (but equally apply to marketing).
Another idea is to follow marketing awards shows like Cannes Lions to see what the best marketers in the world are doing today, and then I think about what they could have improved to generate a better result.
http://www.indianresearchjournals.com/pdf/IJSSIR/2013/June/12.pdf Here is a timeless research paper on the essence of marketing. Even in the professional space very few marketers understand the essential science behind what makes great marketing great.
Good luck and feel free to reach out!
Chris
Updated
Sherman’s Answer
Hi Rick, I've always enjoyed being creative, not doing the same thing everyday and like change but also deadlines. If this is you then marketing might be a good fit for you. Your move to community college is a great idea and doing some internships would be a great way to learn more. Lot's of virtual webinars available to help you learn more. Look at the American Marketing Association at https://www.ama.org/ Take the time to find the type of marketing you're interested in creating a career and do what you're passionate about. Don't focus on the money because I've found that will happen naturally and it doesn't provide happiness or job satisfaction which is most important. I've been doing marketing for 25 years and happy to provide you with more guidance.
Best, Sherman
Best, Sherman
Thank you Sherman so much for your time! If I could bother you one last time do you know a way to find a good internship as well! I'll definitely look into the AMA and try to find the one that suits me best. Thank you again I hope to hear back from you soon!
Rick
You're welcome Rick. Do a Google search the big companies in your area and job sites like https://www.indeed.com/. Also, consider volunteer work to get experience, try this website https://www.volunteermatch.org/ Good luck!!! Sherman
Sherman Tam
Updated
Kelly’s Answer
Great question! I would focus on the seminars you mentioned or possibly career fairs through the community college you're planning to attend. Internships and job shadowing are great ways to learn more about a field - marketing or otherwise - while pursuing your general ed curriculum and before you commit to specialized courses.