A career in marketing is an incredibly varied and rewarding experience, with plenty of different roles and fields to choose from. It combines creativity and analysis to help a brand or company reach as many customers as possible. If you are considering working in marketing and are just at the start of your educational journey or are after a career change, an online master’s in marketing could help boost your career and put you on track to working in your dream marketing role. Here are just a few things to consider when thinking of studying for an online master’s degree in marketing.
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What is marketing?
Marketing is the process of connecting a brand, company, and product with customers and clients. It uses a combination of methods and areas to do this, often combining creativity with science and analysis. There are many different fields and types of marketing, which means you are likely to find an area in which you are passionate and excel. These various fields include:
Advertising
This involves both creativity and analysis, as you will need to create advertising campaigns and conduct research into which media outlet would benefit it best. Once the advert is out, you will then use analysis again to track how well the advert is doing, and then adjusting the marketing campaign according to your analysis.
Public relations
This often goes hand in hand with advertising, but instead of focusing on the product, public relations focus on the brand itself, and its values, and public image. This is how you generate trust among your customers, and handle any publicity like giveaways, and guest appearances.
Market research
Market research concerns discovering the best market to place a product or company is through the use of tools such as surveys and focus groups. This helps focus the marketing on the groups most likely to buy the product, identify potential barriers that customers may face, and help overcome them.
Direct marketing
Direct marketing this is selling products directly to the consumer rather than through a retailer or mass media advertising campaigns. Telemarketing and email marketing are common methods in this field, and they need to be targeted to customers who are most likely to use the products, which is where market research is incredibly important.
What are the career outcomes?
There are many different roles and jobs within marketing, so you will find something that is perfect for you. Often, you will need to use your whole skill set to perform a variety of different tasks when working on a brief or campaign. Here are just a few different types of marketing and jobs that you may do:
Social media marketing
Social media marketing involves the use of social media platforms to connect with customers and audiences. This is done to reach a larger audience, gain more customers, boost your brand, and increase sales and website traffic. Social media platforms such as Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube are incredibly popular, and most people follow businesses or brands. Social media marketing consists of five main pillars: strategy, planning content, audience interaction, advertising, and analysis.
Email marketing
A common form of direct marketing, emails are sent directly to an audience who has signed up for email updates or is on your mailing list. This is a cost-effective way of marketing, and there are often different regulations that need to be adhered to. It can help keep your audience engaged and updated, as well as increasing traffic to your website and increasing sales by offering discounts or subscriptions.
Content marketing
This relies on words and focuses on delivering high-quality, informative, and engaging content to increase and drive sales and traffic. The content is focused and aimed at your audience instead of being generalized. Content marketing should be a part of all marketing types, as good content is essential in a successful marketing campaign.
Data analysis
It is important to constantly analyze the data around your marketing campaigns and use data and information to understand what audience a business should be targeting. There are plenty of analytic systems and software that are designed to help marketing teams keep track of their campaigns, engagement, and overall success. Usually employed at the market research stage, data analysis can help you come up with marketing strategies.
SEO
SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization and makes sure that a web page appears high up in the list of search results. This can be achieved in variety of ways, from keyword inclusion to high-quality copy, and the higher up a webpage is on a person’s SERP, the more organic traffic the website will get.
Education
If you want to work in marketing, there are different paths you can take to achieve this, and university study is one of the most common. Choosing a bachelors degree that relates to marketing is a good idea, as it can help prepare you for further study and also introduce you to skills and concepts that you will need to become familiar with. Some institutions offer marketing degrees or business degrees focusing on marketing, so do your research and find a course that works for you and your future plans.
Internships and work experience are also vital in putting your knowledge into practice, understanding what life is like in a marketing company, and gaining valuable contacts within the industry. Often, degrees with include an internship or placement module or will at least be able to help you find a place. This is where university education is very useful, as it can help you gain access to experiences that you may not be able to elsewhere. However, internships and work experience can be gained without an education institution’s help, and you will need to do your research and keep your eyes open for opportunities.
Benefits of online study
There are plenty of benefits to studying online, especially at master’s level. The majority of online degrees are aimed at those who cannot commit to full-time, in-person studying due to various factors. These can include finances or existing commitments such as a job or family. By studying for an online master’s degree in marketing, you can work towards achieving a qualification that will help you work in your desired field without putting your entire life on hold while you do it.
When you study online, you are not only working on technical skills and knowledge, but you are also developing important life skills that will help you thrive in a marketing career. These are known as soft skills, including teamwork, communication, problem solving, time management, and motivation. When working in marketing, you will need to be incredibly organized and able to manage your time well, as you will often be working to client’s deadlines and may have multiple projects on the go at once. By studying online, you will develop these skills and have practical examples to give to potential employers during an interview.
Other benefits of online study include the financial savings you could make. Often, online courses are cheaper than in-person courses, and further savings can be made by being able to work from home. You will not have to worry as much about commuting and finding accommodation on or near campus, which again contributes to the costs of being a student. Furthermore, the ability to maintain your current job while studying means that you can still earn money while also earning your degree.
You will also be able to work at your own pace and create your own working environment, which can help you understand how best you work. This can turn you into a more efficient and effective worker and help you develop good working habits to take forward in your career.
Skills required to work in marketing
A combination of soft and hard skills is required to be successful in a marketing career. Whereas soft skills are non-technical personal skills, hard skills are the skill set that is required for the job. You will learn and develop both types of skills when you study or through experience. You will often be working on multiple projects at once or using a combination of your skills to perform different tasks. Working in marketing will give you both creative and more numbers-led experiences to help you understand how to match a business with a market. These skills are also very transferable, which means they are used in a variety of different careers and industries, making you a very employable individual. Common soft skills that are useful in marketing include:
- Communication
- Teamwork
- Adaptability
- Creativity
Technical skills include:
- Software knowledge
- Writing skills, such as content and email
- Coding and other computer skills
Working in marketing is an incredibly varied career, and you will be able to find a role that challenges you and incorporates all of your strengths. An online master’s degree can help you progress in your career, providing you with the knowledge, skills, and experiences to advance in your marketing career.
