Online marketing is becoming increasingly important due to the rising number of tablets and smartphones. This naturally also brings changes to the advertising industry. Traditional advertising is becoming ever more obsolete; nowadays the focus is exclusively on content. But which types of content are promising? With which posts can new customers be acquired? How should the content be created, written, printed and distributed? These are questions you must answer if you decide to pursue a career in online marketing.
What career opportunities are available?
The following marketing jobs are more popular than ever and offer good career prospects:
- Online Marketing Manager
- Content Manager
- Affiliate Marketing Manager
- Social Media Manager
- Email Marketing Manager
- SEO Manager
- E-Commerce Digital Marketing Manager
- Innovation Marketing Manager
- Marketing Assistant or Marketing Specialist
- Marketing and Event Manager
- Product Marketing Manager
Of course the list of potential employers is long, too. At the town hall they are considering actions for city marketing, publishers want to convince with subscription marketing, and museums are planning various measures to ensure the next exhibition is a success.
Potential employers include:
- Marketing departments in companies
- Market research institutes
- Cities and municipalities
- Consulting firms
- Museums
- Publishers
- NGOs
- Associations and clubs
- Advertising, SEO, PR, and content marketing agencies
Between traditional vocational training and university studies
Years ago, the Online marketing as a classic industry for career changers. Today, however, various qualifications are already required for an interested person to have any chance in the future-oriented online marketing market. Nowadays there is no other industry that is as diverse and offers numerous prospects. For this reason, it is also no surprise that more and more training opportunities are being offered; the classic career changer who was still able to get a foothold in the online marketing industry years ago is hardly around anymore.
But which training options are available to interested parties?
Traditional training
You've just finished school and are interested in vocational training with a "marketing" focus? The classic options available to you are "Medienkaufmann/-frau Digital und Print" or "Kaufmann/-frau Marketingkommunikation", and there are also various private providers that offer comprehensive training to become an online marketing manager. Note that such specialized courses can, of course, be extremely expensive. It's important that you choose a dual vocational training program so that you can gain practical experience already during your training.
Studying
You decide on a degree program? Subsequently, you will undertake in-depth theoretical study. A university degree guarantees you general specialist knowledge in the fields of communication or media studies and marketing. However, there are also special courses offered by private providers. For example, you can complete private studies as a "Fachwirt für Online-Marketing". Note that practical modules are, of course, also offered. Here private providers have the advantage, as they score highly on practical relevance.
The internship
Have you chosen a foundation – that is, university studies or traditional vocational training? Next, you should decide which field you would like to work in later. Internships are of course helpful here. Gain your first experience, make contacts and ask yourself which area you enjoy most.
The traineeship
A traineeship is the most common way for interested parties to get a foothold. You will — as part of an ordinary working day — learn which tasks arise in a company and which duties you will need to perform. The advantage compared with a regular internship? A traineeship is better paid. In addition, there is a higher likelihood that you will be taken on after the trainee program and thus start working at the company.
Further training
Have you already been able to gain practical experience and do you have vocational training? Further training can help you in the next step. Further training is often a springboard for your career. Particularly popular? So-called intensive seminars.
The classic lateral entry
Even though there are various training options, career changers still exist. However, it is now very uncommon to be a complete career changer with no marketing experience at all. In many cases, a strong online affinity compensates for the lack of specialist knowledge. A blog, your own website, active social media activity — all of these factors can make a career switch possible and at least partially replace the missing qualifications.
