5 Reasons to Learn Digital Marketing in Today’s Scenario

It is no secret that the digital industry is growing by leaps and bounds. Several studies show that digital marketing is growing at a rate of 20-35% in India annually. Seeing where digital marketing is heading, many new graduates as well as experienced professionals, are contemplating crafting a career in digital marketing 

But wait, what is digital marketing?

Digital marketing is the advertising of a company’s products or services through digital channels. These digital channels are social media, search engines, websites, emails, mobile applications and more.

In layman’s terms, digital marketing is the marketing of any products or services via electronic devices.

You come across digital marketing tactics of brands on a daily basis. Don’t believe me? Well, have you ever come across an ad by Amazon reminding you about the items you left in your cart? Or Zomato tempting the lazy cook in you to order food online, instead of cooking food yourself? These are some examples of digital marketing. 

Why is digital marketing gaining importance?

Marketing has always been about reaching your target audience in the right place and at the right time. Today, everybody is on the internet, endlessly scrolling through social media or working online. Leaving marketers with no choice but to go digital. 

Digital marketing has a tremendous advantage over traditional marketing. For example, when was the last time you noticed a billboard when you were travelling in a cab? Can’t remember? Me neither. You were probably on your phone, browsing something on the internet. That’s why digital marketing is so relevant in today’s business scenario.

Here are some facts to help you understand the future and importance of digital marketing:

• Companies will spend three-fourths of their total marketing budget on digital channels by 2021 (Salesforce)
• Half the world’s population, around 3.03 billion people are on the internet (Status Brew)
• Digital marketing software estimated over $32 billion in 2018 (Omnicore Agency)
• Mobile ads will alone estimate to spend over $247 billion by 2020 (Statista)
• 1.66 billion people shop online every year (Statista) 
• The Indian digital industry is expecting to grow at 32% CAGR and reach 18,986 crores by 2020 (Dentsu Aegis Network)
• The India digital industry will produce over 20 lakhs job by 2020 (Medium)

Who Should Learn Digital Marketing?

After learning about the growth of the digital industry, I’m sure you are wondering if digital marketing is your cup of tea or not. The question ‘who should learn digital marketing?’ comes to mind. In my opinion, anyone willing to learn a new skill can learn digital marketing. You don’t necessarily need a technical or marketing background to start a career in digital marketing. However, if you are familiar with marketing or technology, it will work to your advantage. 

I have listed below some individuals who should learn digital marketing, who will significantly benefit from it.

• Students who are following a career which touches marketing and strategy
• Marketing professionals who want to switch to digital
• Website owners who wish to increase their website traffic and sales
• Anyone looking to pick up high-paying freelancing skills
• MBA and Engineer graduates looking to boost their career opportunities
• Business owners looking to kick-start their business
• Budding bloggers and influencers looking to capitalize their skills
• Anyone looking to switch to a high-paying career 
• CEOs who wish to create better strategies, thereby increasing their revenue 
• Lastly, anyone looking to learn an in-demand skill

Now that we have tackled the question ‘who should learn digital marketing?’. Let’s delve into why learn digital marketing in the first place.

Top 5 Reasons to Learn Digital Marketing 

Without further ado, here are the top reasons to learn digital marketing in the current business world

1. The Demand for Digital Marketers is High

If you haven’t heard already, the digital skills gap is massive! Reports have deduced that while the demand for digital marketers stands at 59%, the supply of is merely 19%. This provides aspiring digital marketers with an unprecedented competitive advantage in the market. 

According to Forbes, the COVID-19 outbreak has forced companies across the world to fast-track their digital transformation. Even during a recession, the world is turning to digital marketing to save their businesses. Thus, learning a digital skill will provide you with job security like no other sector. 

Let’s go back to the good old school days, what happens when the demand for a commodity is high and its supply is low? The commodity’s value increase. The same rule applies to the digital skills gap scenario today. As a digital marketer, you can expect a high-paying job. 

2. Ever-Growing Industry

Digital marketing and technology go hand in hand. With new advancements in technology, comes new trends in digital marketing. Unlike traditional marketing, digital marketing adapts to the needs of the consumers and stays relevant.

The digital industry is increasingly growing because of the accurate data a business can extract from it. Platforms like Google Analytics coupled with CRM tools, give businesses an in-depth insight on their consumer’s behaviour. With metrics like cost-per-acquisition (CPA), click-through-rate (CTR), KPI, ROI and more at the fingertips of every marketer, businesses are now generating high revenues. 

As mentioned earlier, a study by Dentsu Aegis Network shows a growth of 32% CAGR and an estimate of 18,986 crore spends by  2020. This provides a great scope for career opportunities in the digital space.

3. Benefit from a Variety of Career Opportunities

Digital marketers have the unique advantage of picking where they wish to work. You can work at a digital marketing agency or as an in-house digital marketer for a company. Since digital marketing prevails in every sector, you also get to pick the sector you want to work in. 

By learning digital marketing you will open doors to an array of career opportunities. The digital industry provides a varied set of job profiles like SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) Expert, SEM (Search Engine Marketing) Expert, Social Media Manager, Analytics Manager, Content Marketing Manager and more.

You get to pick a field within digital marketing that interests you the most and then capitalize your skills. Hence, if you’re looking for an industry that offers a variety of lucrative career paths, then digital marketing is the answer.

4. Earn a Better Pay

As mentioned earlier, the demand for digital marketers is high, As a result, the remuneration of a digital marketer is high. If you have strong expertise in your field, there is no stopping you from earning a high salary. For our readers’ benefit, we have listed the range of salaries you can expect in the current market.

5. Easy to Start a Career

Unlike most traditional careers, you need not spend years of your life mugging up concepts in a school or invest a sizeable sum of money to start a career in digital marketing. You don’t need any kind of degree or diploma from any university. 

Essentially, to start a career in digital marketing, all you need is an excellent source to learn from. It could be via blogs, podcasts or courses. Before you delve into learning digital marketing, you need to know what the market demands from a digital marketer. To launch a lucrative career in the digital space, all you need is hands-on experience, an outstanding portfolio and in-depth knowledge of the principles of digital marketing.

And that concludes the top 5 reasons to learn digital marketing in today’s business scenario.

I Want to Learn Digital Marketing, How do I Start?

If you’re keen on pursuing a career in digital marketing, I’d recommend you to explore the industry further. Before you decide on learning digital marketing, you need to introspect if you have the qualities of a digital marketer. People in this field of work have qualities like creativity, curiosity, innovative, adaptable and business savvy. 

Once you’re sure you have what it takes to build a career in the digital industry, you can opt for a certification course. As I mentioned earlier, you need an excellent source to become proficient in digital marketing. Hence, I’d recommend IIDE. They will help you build a career in digital marketing from the very beginning. First they will equip you with all the necessary skills of a digital marketer. Further, they will provide you with job assistance through their corporate associations. IIDE provides 3 types of digital marketing courses and they are:

Final Thoughts

There are tremendous opportunities for digital professionals in the market. As digitalization continues to grow at a rapid pace, employers are on a hunt for skilled employees to help them complete their digital transformation. In the future, digital skills will gain more and more importance, and learning digital marketing is your best chance to future-proof your career

There you have it, folks! Hopefully, this list of reasons to learn digital marketing has helped you gain some insight into crafting a career plan in the digital space. If you have any questions, please leave a comment below.