Digital Marketing – The future of marketing? 6 reasons why you should consider this as a career option!

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Marketing, like everything else in the world is constantly changing and evolving overtime.

From cave painting to word of mouth. From messages on scrolls to pictograms. From picture advertisements in magazines and newspapers to video ads in between your favourite TV programmes. 

And the evolution continues!

I mean, how many of us subscribe to a physical newspaper anymore? Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, and Disney+, just to name a few, have pretty much killed broadcast television and cable tv.  

We live in the world of binge watching, instant news (and in some cases fake news), and WhatsApp forwards! If you blink, you will be left behind!  

So, how are we to effectively market our products  and services, or  advertise to the masses in this fast paced, limited-attention times?

Digital Marketing is the answer, and  here are six reasons why I think you should choose a career in Digital Marketing!

  1. High demand
    While there are similarities between Digital Marketing and traditional marketing, the difference between them is substantial and cannot be overlooked. To do the job right, a specialist is required, and most companies accept this to be true. Digital Marketing is still a relatively new industry/vertical, and the number of specialists available is still very limited. It follows that a qualified and competent Digital Marketing professional  is highly sought after.
  2. Richness of choice within Digital Marketing
    Most people these days have limited choice in the career path they wish to take. When a company recruits for a job vacancy, for most roles, they will have an abundance of applicants, however, Digital Marketing being a new field, the opportunities available will be among the best in the market. Also, there will be a lot of opportunities within the various verticals of Digital Marketing. Here’s a few of them: 
    • Web properties –  websites, blogs 
    • SEO – Search Engine Optimization 
    • Paid marketing (PPC marketing) – Google search ads, Display ads, Affiliate marketing, social media paid ads 
    • Social media (Instagram, YouTube, Facebook channels, etc.)
    • Email marketing 
    • Mobile marketing 
  3. Show me the money
    It all comes down to the salaries and pay packages, and that’s the bottom line! People venturing into Digital Marketing will be the ground breakers, the trailblazers, the pioneers of the industry, and will have the potential to earn huge. For example, just before the lockdown started, a quick search for Digital Marketing job opportunities in the United States, listed jobs for freshers starting from USD 55’000. I think that is a pretty good place to start your career from. 
  4. Minimum entry requirements
    Digital Marketing is still a very new field, and people working in the field have very little experience in it and are still learning how to effectively develop and execute a digital marketing strategy. As everyone in digital marketing is still relatively new and mostly learning by experience, the entry requirements are comparatively lower than most other job profiles. So, now is the time to get into Digital Marketing and build a career. 
  5. Diversity in the workplace
    When the word “diversity” is used, most people think ethnic diversity. And that is true here as well, but it is also means so much more in Digital Marketing. In the morning, you could be working with extroverts who may be creators, creating ad campaigns and YouTube videos, who push their creative ideas across. And in the afternoon, you could be working with introverts who may be from Data Analytics or SEO or Website Development. This is just an example. The point is, working in Digital Marketing, there is a place for every kind of personality and the opportunity to work with every kind of personality!
  6. Creativity
    If you are passionate about the work you do (no matter how boring it may sound to someone else) then the potential for creativity exists. But the thing about Digital Marketing is, no other field of work encourages creativity and “out of the box thinking” quite as much as Digital Marketing does.

Now these are just some of the more obvious reasons to take up a career in Digital Marketing, and I am sure there are a number of other very obvious and/or more important reasons to make Digital Marketing your career. Perhaps you are building upon your previous Marketing career? Let us know in the comments below if you are already “in” and have some insights to share, I am sure it will help people make an informed decision. 

If you are ready for a career in Digital Marketing, then start with our 100% Online MBA programme in Digital Marketing or our 100% Online MSc programme in Digital Business.

You can also chat LIVE on WhatsApp with one of our Education Advisers for more information on the programmes offered, application process, and for more information on any discounts we might be running in this rather strange period of our lives.

Women in RKC – Fawn Annan, MBA Media Leadership – University of Cumbria Graduate

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It’s almost the end of June. We are halfway through 2020 – a year that brought with it some unique challenges for everyone. It’s a good moment to reflect on the first half of the year and do a mid-year evaluation of yourself, your goals and how far you have progressed towards achieving them. You may want to re-evaluate strategy, pace up or slow down a bit (the workaholics out there :)).  

Fawn Annan

We couldn’t agree more with our MBA Media Leadership graduate, Fawn Annan, who believes celebrating women graduates of RKC and showcasing their achievement and standing in the community is a great way to encourage and increase women’s participation in Master’s education. The very reason we started our Women’s Day Series dedicated to RKC’s women graduate and future graduates! Allow me to introduce you to the woman who wears several hats – that of CEO and Digital Media Publisher, of Mother, of Grandmother and of Wife – Fawn Annan! 

Getting back into education  

Your story of getting back to do a Master’s degree  

Vidhi Kapoor (VK): What was the driving force behind your enrolling for an online degree? Who inspired you? What motivated you? 

Fawn Annan (FA): I needed to find new publishing models for my business and also wanted to use the credentials to transfer my career to more speaking and book publishing. 

VK: What were the thoughts/situations/people/challenges holding you back from starting (if any)? How did you overcome them? 

FA: Business priorities. Many but put this as a life-changing priority.  

VK: What surprised you the most when you started your studies? 

FA: How much work one course take up in hours but the enjoyment I experienced did surprise me. 

VK: Do you feel there are unique challenges women face when deciding to get back into education? 

FA: No, given its graduate-level online studies there was a difference. 

Getting the degree 

The work to get the degree – what did you learn, how did you balance, what would you do differently 

VK: Which programme did you do? Why? 

FA: MBA in Media Leadership — That is my profession 

VK: What is the single most important thing you learned during the programme? 

FA: Learning is a lifetime journey 

VK: How did you balance work and studies? 

FA: My child is a father; my husband is retired; my business partner was very supportive and allowed me to take time to work on my studies a portion of each week and a portion of each weekend. 

VK: Any particular challenges to being a woman and studying online, or do you think all students face the same ones? 

FA: All students face the same ones. 

Life post-degree 

What changed, if anything? 

VK: What’s new in your life since graduating/starting your studies? Any visible impact already? 

FA: Yes. Published my first co-authored book, Digital Transformation in the First Person, and have had many more speaking opportunities than before. 

Fawn’s first co-authored book – Digital Transformation in the First Person

VK: Anything you are doing differently now because of the things you learned? 

FA: Yes. Our digital transformation was far more successful because I had the different models to try out in agile development. My business partner, a seasoned CIO, was also far more attentive to what strategy advice I had to offer. 

VK: Do you feel that getting a Master’s degree or doing other online programmes can reduce gender discrimination in the work place? 

FA: Credentials do help. 

Advice for other women 

Or other students, really. 

VK: Imagine you could send a message back in time to your pre-degree self: what would it be?  

FA: Expand your mind as much as you can. Building credibility starts with knowledge. 

VK: Imagine you could send an object back in time to your pre-degree self: what would it be? 

FA: My degree 

Fawn’s ‘Nerdy’ that she bought at her graduation at the University of Cumbria 🙂

I hope you got some very useful advice and insights about our Online Masters from Fawn. I am sure you draw inspiration from her story and feel motivated to embark on your own journey towards the Masters.

Our education advisors are here to help you with your questions. Chat LIVE on WhatsApp to get more information about our Masters.

COVID-19 – Changing the way we live, work, and learn!

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History has shown that a crisis pushes us on to new paths. 

Everything we have ever known has been flipped on its head! Things we have taken for granted no longer exist – our 9 to 5 jobs, meeting friends at the pub, a romantic dinner date with that special someone, going for a movie with the kid. It all just feels like a dream now!

Even simple things such as shaking hands or walking around without a mask might be a thing of the past. Social distancing and hand sanitization might be the norms of the future.

And that is just when it comes to how COVID-19 has affected us personally! COVID-19 has also made an impact on the way we do business. Words like “globalisation” at present hold very little meaning, especially after billions of people have been under lockdown and self-isolation worldwide. People can no longer travel or enjoy the positive impact of an abundant and global supply chain. 

And this will continue to hold true, at least until an effective, globally accessible and economical vaccine is developed. Not all countries will recover from COVID-19 at a similar rate and not all countries will be able to avoid a relapse.  

The below graphs give an indication on how varied the impact of COVID-19 has been on different countries.

Source: Our world in data
Source: Our world in data

Retail is one among the hardest hit segments – people just don’t want to risk going out and getting stuck in the middle of a big crowd (and who can blame them, it is simply not worth the risk).

But it is not just retail – it is education, IT, automotive, hospitality, entertainment, travel and tourism, etc., etc. (I can’t go on listing all the different industries, so please assume that I have listed them). And it is not just these industries that are affected, the ripple effect can be felt across all supporting industries and businesses. A number of friends of mine who either work for or own small businesses, have all shut shop (some of them say they haven’t gotten any new orders for the last three months).

Source: Probability of Default Model Market Signals, S&P Global Market Intelligence, March 31, 2020

And, as things stand today, there is no end in sight! 

The airline industry itself is set to lose about 350 billion US dollars this year, which translates to cheap flight tickets being a thing of the past, at least for the immediate future. This will have an impact on the way we plan our travel, whether it is for work or play! And this will in turn have a trickle-down impact on a number of support industries. 

Self-isolation and lockdown have already changed how we work and study. Many schools have now started offering their programmes online and companies are basically running on Zoom and Skype, and this could be the modus operandi going forward. Every day this continues, we will get more data on home-schooling and home-working, and will be able to refine, optimise, and develop solutions to maximise productivity. Maybe the “new way” will even be able to outperform the “traditional way” of doing things.

At the very least, we may see an increase in work-from-home and study-from-home going forward. Families will have to learn and adapt to this new reality too.

Even if we develop a vaccine and COVID-19 becomes a thing of the past (fingers crossed), things have changed and will continue to evolve – locally and globally, personally and professionally, and economically. The way we look at things, the way we interact with other people, it is all changing. Automation, Artificial Intelligence and Online Communication will be brought front and centre, and this will have a direct impact on efficiency and resource management, reducing the human contact requirements to the minimum “necessary”.

Sustainability, solidarity, and healthcare will take centre stage in the future.

Did you plan to join a school to further you studies and learn new skills. Have your plans hit a roadblock? Then, it is time to get off the bandwagon and think “online”!

Have a look at our list of 100% online programmes and see if we have anything that meets your requirements.

You can also chat LIVE on WhatsApp with one of our Education Advisers for more information on the programmes offered, application process, and for more information on any discounts we might be running in this rather strange period of our lives.

Why are companies using Big Data Analytics?

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After a long day, I settled down for some binge-watching on Netflix (you may be a Prime fan). I had been watching this series Ozark and wanted to watch something different that evening. Netflix had some recommendations for me – similar dramas, suspense thrillers that Netflix thought I would like based on what I had been watching. I stopped to wonder how Netflix generates content recommendations that appeal to my taste and do so for millions of other users globally. 

How do algorithms work to find me my recommendations?  

I am equally fascinated by how fashion brands like Burberry provide ‘personalised’ experience and buying suggestions. Not to mention how the retail and tech giants like Walmart, Amazon and Google seem to know more about you than your own mother.

All these companies have one thing in common: Big Data and Analytics. 

What is Big Data? 

The concept of big data has been around for several years. The term big data refers to data that are so large, complex, and comes in so fast that they are difficult to process using traditional methods. It gained momentum in the 2000s when industry analyst Doug Laney articulated a new definition for big data as three V’s: Volume, Velocity and Variety. Companies are evolving from being “knowing” organizations to “learning” organizations. 

What is Data Analytics? 

Big Data Analytics in simple terms can be defined as the application of advanced analytical techniques to big data. These techniques might typically include variety of tools like statistics, data mining, AI, predictive analytics and natural language processisng (NLP). The hottest trend in business intelligence today is amalgamation of these two technical entities: Big Data and Big Data Analytics.

Why is Big Data Important and why are companies using Analytics? 

Gathering big data is not enough, you also need to know what you do with it. If data are the crude oil then analytics is knowing how to refine them. into actionable business insights unleashing their potential. Most of the top-performing organizations identify data analytics as to the ‘differentiating factor’ from the competition in the industry. Here’s it is how:

Boost customer acquisition and retention 

Many companies are now using data analytics to understand and predict consumer behaviour. The information is in turn being used in advertising algorithms. Amazon found another use of such data – maintaining customer relations by providing faster and more efficient customer service.

Marketing Insights – focus on targeted adverts. 

In the modern age, personalization is highly valuable and a differential factor for consumers. Real-time analytics have made it possible for companies to deliver more targeted and precise service and product options to their users. 

Product Innovation and Development 

Data Analytics provides valuable information and reveals the future trends. Companies can take advantage of big data to branch out to different avenues and open up new revenue streams. Amazon’s Whole Foods and Amazon’s Fresh are perfect examples of how Amazon utilised the analysis of consumer grocery buying behaviour from its huge supply chain database. It applied this acquired knowledge to diversify and establish new innovative businesses. 

Risk Management 

One of the basic premise for any business to be profitable in the long run is its ability to identify and mitigate business risks. The wide variety of innsights provided by data analytics come in handy for institutions to develop better risk management solutions. The future is to be able to carry out real-time risk analysis. 

How can you build your career in Data Analytics?

Have you got a knack for numbers and an analytical mindset? Data analytics may be the right fit for you. As an analyst, you will be responsible for analysing and understanding the trends in big data and help improve business processes. You can launch your data analyst career with these simple steps: 

Earn an Information technology, CS or statistics bachelor’s degree  

If you are just starting off your career, earning a bachelor’s degree is a great place to launch your career in the right direction. 

Gain analytics work experience 

No education degrees are useful unless they are gainfully applied. Gain valuable experience while in school or after. Entry-level positions will provide you with much needed on-the-job training which is otherwise difficult to obtain.

Advance your Analytics career with a Masters  

Work experience and a bachelor’s degree may get you to a certain level of success. For further career development and growth in the field and into the management, you should consider pursuing a master’s degree programme in data science, data analytics or big data management. These programs will provide exposure to the latest trends and knowledge.

How can we help? 

Robert Kennedy College offers 100% Online MSc Data Analytics in exclusive partnership with the University of Cumbria. With an in-depth curriculum, you will study data analytics, advanced databases and learn new trends in digital marketing and artificial intelligence. The University of Cumbria is ranked 8th in the world and is recognised by the British government. Trust me, with such credentials until its belt, you do not need much (big data) analytics for choosing the University of Cumbria as your online graduate school. Join us today!