How to make a portfolio as a digital marketer?
I hope this message finds you well. I'm currently in the early stages of my career in digital marketing and have been fortunate enough to secure internships where I'm involved in various aspects of the field.
I'm eager to build a strong portfolio that showcases my skills and expertise while I gain hands-on experience. I would greatly appreciate any guidance on what elements I should include in my portfolio and how to present my sample works effectively.
Are there specific types of projects or campaigns that would be especially valuable to include? Should I focus on certain metrics or results to highlight my contributions? Any advice on how to make my portfolio stand out in the competitive job market would be incredibly valuable to me.
Thank you in advance for sharing your insights and expertise. Your guidance will be instrumental in shaping my career path.
5 answers
Emma’s Answer
Building a compelling digital marketing portfolio requires meticulous selection and presentation of your top-notch work, thereby displaying your proficiency and know-how to potential employers or clients. Start by assembling a varied assortment of projects that underscore your expertise in different digital marketing domains, including SEO, content marketing, social media, email marketing, PPC advertising, and analytics. Gather pertinent data and metrics to demonstrate the effectiveness of your campaigns and employ case studies to offer comprehensive insights into your projects. Make sure to lucidly outline your role, duties, and the backdrop of each project to facilitate viewers in comprehending your contributions.
Incorporating visual components such as screenshots, charts, graphs, and before-and-after visuals can render your portfolio more captivating and informative. Keep your portfolio up-to-date to mirror your current abilities and achievements, align it with your unique identity as a digital marketer, and enhance it for SEO if it's hosted on a personal website. Solicit feedback from peers and hone your pitch to proficiently discuss your work during interviews or client meetings. A meticulously crafted digital marketing portfolio serves as a priceless asset for exhibiting your skills and propelling your career forward in this vibrant field.
Erika’s Answer
I am guessing you have the basics about setting the stage introduction about your studies and professional background.
After this it is quality over quantity!!!
Always create a platform that is adaptable for the audience you are addressing AND do your research.
By this I mean research the company or organization you are going to applying. You should look into they're current campaigns and who works them and for them.
Once you do this two things should start processing for you. One, do you want to align yourself with this company and what you have that is THE "IT" you have to bring forward to enhance,improve, and push them (and yourself) forward.
That said, your portfolio should be like your personal website showcasing your work. It should highlight you abilities, experience, areas of expertise etc.
Yes you should provide key points metrics and results but ensure this is done in an organic fashion not a stand alone presence. Utilizing a then vs now or because of this now that approach seeded into your premiere peices works better.
My other humble suggestion when pursuing this remember there is an entire camp of color and advertising psychology which you may want to do research into to help you pick the perfect elements to enhance your portfolio.
I am including some links you may find useful:
https://careerfoundry.com/en/blog/digital-marketing/create-marketing-portfolio/
https://herd.digital/digital-marketing/create-the-perfect-marketing-portfolio/
https://careerfoundry.com/en/blog/digital-marketing/marketing-portfolio-examples/
This final link is from Indeed. You will see a link for an article about your personal branding statement. I encourage you to look at the six steps and follow that link for some excellent advice to get you started.
Final thoughts... no matter what you do or how you decide to showcase your work always have others look it over and review it before you use it!
Best of luck on your journey!!
Erika
Jessica’s Answer
Once you establish the portfolio, create the talk track and keep it up to date. Good luck!
Riley’s Answer
My biggest piece of advice is pull from your experiences in clubs and internships to create a portfolio that speaks to a variety of digital marketing tactics!
I took any experience I had and showcased my work across social media marketing, digital advertising, relevant internships, thought leadership, and more. I typically included a visual, any key stats related to the success of the project, a summary about what it was, etc.
Because I wanted to go into a social media marketing job, I really focused on highlighting anything I did that was related to that field. Other projects that weren't as relevant, I didn't include here. Like an above comments says, "quality over quantity."
Also, I created a website from scratch to showcase everything, adding personal touches and "about me" sections. This helped me stand out, and also host my portfolio for easy sharing.
Best of luck!
Emily’s Answer
The biggest piece of advice I have for you about creating an impactful portfolio is quality over quantity. That was the biggest mistake I made when first creating my portfolio. I initially thought that I had to include very piece of work I had ever created, but no employer wants to sift through 10+ pieces of work.
I would include about 5 of your strongest projects. You can cater this to whatever job it is you're applying for, but if you want to apply to a deisgn job, I would mostly include projects that showcase your design skills.
In general, it's good to have both a pdf version of your portfolio as well as a personal website. Wix is a great website builder for beginner's and is free to use. They also have plenty of portfolio templates.
Hope this helps.