Starting a New Digital Marketing Job Straight Out of Uni? Find Our 7 Tips for Career Success

Are you starting a new digital marketing job? If so, there's good news: digital marketing is undergoing some serious growth in 2022 and is only expected to grow in the years to come.

In fact, the Bureau of Labor Statistics projects employment of digital marketers to grow 10% by 2026 (a significant rate when compared to other occupations).

But starting a new job can be a stressful time, whether it's your first, second, or tenth time. With so much information to process and new relationships to build, it's easy to feel like you're going in blind without any experience at your new company.

That’s why we created this quick guide with seven smart ways to ensure you succeed in your new digital marketing job.

It’s all smooth sailing from here.

7 Key Tips for Starting a New Digital Marketing Job like a Pro

We’ve all been there: You start a new job and feel like you’re the only one who doesn’t know what you’re doing. It’s exhausting.

That’s why, when you start any new job, it’s important to spend some time observing before jumping into action. You want to learn as much as possible about what goes on day-to-day and how things get done.

Don’t just assume things based on biases from previous jobs. Take time to observe how the team operates before jumping in with both feet. You'll want to understand what their process looks like and how they handle certain tasks before you start making changes or asking questions.

Know that it takes time to learn new things and get used to new routines and processes.

I know, I know. It’s not always easy to step out of your comfort zone and get to know others, especially when you feel intimidated when starting a new digital marketing job.

But this is a key step for you to succeed in any career, from digital marketing to tech.

You want to get to know everyone in your department so that you can easily navigate your way through your first weeks (or months).

Why is this important, you might be wondering?

Well, marketing is a creative field and establishing a relationship with those who also work in digital marketing can help enhance your creativity. Also, it’s easier to navigate your way through a new company when you have familiar faces around to support you.

As the saying goes: if you want to go fast, go alone. But if you want to go far, go together.

Don't be afraid of asking questions — especially if something seems unclear or confusing to you at first glance. If you don't ask questions now, it may be harder when there are more people involved or stakes are higher down the road.

Adding on to the above point, being an ever-evolving field, know that there’s no such thing as stupid questions, especially when starting a new digital marketing job. So ask lots of questions.

This not only demonstrates your interest, but you'll get answers that will help guide your own decision-making and show off how engaged you are in learning about the business.

KPIs are a way of measuring success and they vary by company and department. And one of the most important things you can do in your new digital marketing role is learn the key performance indicators (KPIs) — or objectives and key results (OKRs) — of your company.

For example, if you’re working in marketing analytics, your KPI might be ad click-through rate (CTR). If you work in customer communication, your KPI might be the average time to answer an email inquiry.

Once you know what these metrics are, track them regularly and use them as a way to measure how well you’re doing at your job — and whether or not you need to make any changes or adjustments as time goes on.

Here are five important KPIs that every digital marketer should be tracking:

1. Acquisition rate: how many users come to your website from a specific channel, such as referrals or paid search.
2. Conversion rate: how many visitors who came to your site actually converted into leads or customers.
3. Cost per acquisition (CPA): how much money was spent on acquiring each customer through a particular channel. It can also show how much it costs for each lead generated by a certain method (such as paid search).
4. Cost per conversion (CPC): how much money was spent on generating each conversion through a particular channel (e.g., paid search). It can also show how much it costs for each lead generated by a certain method (such as paid search).
5. Average order value: how much revenue per transaction comes from each individual sale made on an e-commerce site

Digital marketing is an ever-evolving field. Ten years ago, no one had any idea how AI could be used in daily operations. Now, it seems that we can’t live without AI to promote engaging marketing activities.

Knowing that, it’s key that you stay up-to-date with your digital marketing knowledge. Reading the most popular digital marketing books is not enough. If there are training opportunities offered by your new company, take advantage of them! You'll learn valuable digital marketing skills that will equip you for continued success.

Be open to feedback. Even better, find a mentor if possible— or at least someone who knows more about the digital marketing field than you do.

Digital marketing is one of those careers where experience trumps knowledge. And what better way to absorb years worth of experience than having someone who’s had more time in the field guide you around it?

So don’t be afraid to ask that person questions to boost your digital marketing knowledge in a shorter period of time.

Also, and just as important, let them know what sorts of things interest or frustrate you so they can help guide your learning process accordingly. You can’t master every digital marketing skill. Remember that there is great power in being humble about your limitations.

Did you know: GrowthMentor is a great platform where you can connect with experienced mentors in digital marketing! Sign up to TieTalent and benefit from 20% off any of their plans (found under the Community tab in your profile)!

When you first start at a new company, it's important to get to know your colleagues and understand the company culture. This will help you fit in better with your team and ensure that they see you as an asset rather than someone who needs training or support.

Learn more about your new company’s values, mission, and even the importance they give to diversity so you can align yourself with them (if you haven’t already during the interview process).

Hopefully this list of tips will help you succeed in starting a new digital marketing job.

Whether you’re a recent graduate or an experienced professional eager to learn more about the digital marketing field, these tips will allow you to establish yourself as a pro among your peers. You'll also align yourself with best practices from the start, giving you the foundation of knowledge you need to succeed.

We encourage you to walk into your new job without fear. You're joining a team at a time when they need you, and you have the unique ability to improve upon what exists.

You're ready for this job, and if you follow our tips, we're confident that your time there will be profitable and successful for everyone involved!