Which Marketing Specialism is Right for Me?

Marketing is a huge industry with many avenues to explore, so much so that it can be difficult to find what is right for you. Many people who are not working in marketing might assume it is all the same. 

However, that is far from the truth. For example, a content marketing specialist and a database marketing specialist are both working in the same industry. However, their roles are incredibly different. Find out which marketing specialism is right for you and discover your dream career in marketing.

The first thing to ask yourself is what your key strengths are. Are you really good at talking to people? Or do your talents lie in IT, market research and social media? Do you have exceptional organisational skills for putting on events? Jot down all of your strengths, and favour the skills which you enjoy the most. 

If you’ve got a bachelor’s degree in marketing or are looking to hit the ground running with an entry level role that’s perfect for you, working out which work experience and extra qualifications can help you is vital.

This is a pivotal step in discovering the right marketing specialism for you, and if you need help knowing which are your strongest capabilities, then asking your friends, family and coworkers can also be incredibly useful.

Once you have a list of strengths with the skills you most enjoy doing at the top, you can begin to see which skills align with which specialism to see where you would best fit. You’ll be able to dive deeper into the marketing industry and get the right marketing skills and specialties you need to establish a full-time career.

Next, you will need to research the marketing specialisms and see which ones appeal to you most, as well as examine which specialism is most suited to your skills. Some of the most popular specialisms include: 

Social media marketing is best suited to those who have knowledge and experience in using different social media platforms, as it involves using social media to promote brand awareness and engage customers. 

With social media advertising rising year on year and the amount spent on social media ads expected to reach 200 billion dollars by 2024, it should come as no surprise that this is one of the main areas that many marketing professionals choose to specialise in. 

If you are a creative individual with experience using a variety of social media platforms, are keenly aware of social media trends, and love engaging with others online, then this could be the specialism for you. 

Develop the skills you need, and alongside a keen interest, this could be the ideal role for you. Knowledge and experience using social media managing platforms such as Hootsuite and experience building an online presence is also an advantage. 

For those who do not have much experience but are still keen to explore social media marketing, there is also the opportunity to undertake Social Media Marketing courses online and learn the fundamentals of what it takes to be a successful social media manager.

Digital marketing as an industry and marketing jobs in general focus on spreading the online awareness of a brand through SEO, affiliate marketing, online ad campaigns, mobile marketing, and more. Instead of just focussing on social media platforms, this specialism covers a broad range of online advertising opportunities to promote brand awareness. The search engine marketing you can offer through copywriting optimisation techniques can make a big difference to a company’s levels of engagement with customers.

Digital marketing courses are the best way to gain an understanding of this marketing specialism, with several courses to choose from which give you the knowledge and develop the skills you will need to succeed in this area of marketing. 

For more specific knowledge of elements such as Google Adwords or Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) and how this relates to content marketing, you can build up your skills and knowledge via Google Adwords courses and SEO courses online. These will help you build a solid skillset which will widen the scope of your marketing career path.

With these courses, you can learn the importance of SEO in site ranking, user experience, and site visibility or how a Google Adwords campaign can add to your digital marketing strategy. Like social media marketing, digital marketing would suit individuals who have excellent IT skills. However, it would be particularly suited to those with a broad range of IT skills and knowledge of SEO and content marketing. 

You can also explore courses in specific areas of digital marketing with Google Analytics courses, providing education on using google analytics to measure how visitors use websites and how this can inform your marketing strategy.

For your marketing career, if you are more interested in data analysis and recognising trends in customer habits, then a career as a data marketing specialist could be for you. 

Data marketing is less about directly communicating with customers like social media marketing or promoting brand awareness online like digital marketing and instead focuses on consumer data to establish an effective marketing strategy. 

Data marketing specialists analyse consumer data to explore consumer behaviours, such as how long they stay on a website and try to establish why consumers behave in a certain way and how this can influence marketing strategy and marketing campaigns. 

If this analysis, data-based approach appeals to you, then the best next step is to explore online Marketing courses.

Public Relations (PR) and outreach marketing is ideal for people who love to work with others and thrive in situations where they are building business relationships whilst representing a brand. 

This type of marketing depends on making connections with influencers, journalists, and media personnel, promoting a positive image of the brand through a professional and friendly personality. 

As a PR and outreach marketing specialist, you will need to have an outgoing personality, excellent communication skills, in-depth knowledge of the brand, and good IT skills for digital outreach. 

You will need to create an outreach strategy and head up outreach projects, too, being able to see outreach opportunities and build them into a structured plan.