Pathways to Employment:Digital Media

Erica Nistico, Scout Digital Marketing@enistico @ScoutSocial

scoutdm.com.au

My Career Path…

2002: Graduated Bachelor of Visual Communication, Graphic Design (with honors)2003-2005: Worked as Graphic Designer2005-2008: Design Manager, Design Studio2008-2010: Creative Manager, Web Studio2010-2012: Digital Strategist, Digital Agency2012– : Digital Marketing Consultant

Social Media Timeline

As a Digital Marketer…

Develop SEO, digital and social media marketing strategiesImplement strategy recommendationsUpdate and optimise digital channelsDevelop and manage digital campaigns:

social media campaigns/competitionsonline advertising campaigns

Digital reporting and refinement

Digital Media Roles

Range of different work situations:Agency-sideClient-sideFreelance or ConsultantStart-up

Digital Media Roles

The broad categories:DesignDevelopmentContentMarketing and AdvertisingManagement

Digital Media Roles - Design

Digital DesignerInterface DesignerMobile App DesignerUX Designer (UX = User Experience)

Digital Media Roles - Development

Front-end, CSS (Cascading Style Sheets)Back-end, e.g. CMS integration (Content Management System)Software DeveloperMobile App DeveloperDifferent programming languages

Digital Media Roles - Content

CopywritingVideo contentDesignIllustrationAnimationInfographicsContent collation and aggregation

Digital Media Roles - Marketing & Advertising

Digital MarketerSocial Media MarketerEmail MarketerMobile MarketerOnline advertisingPPC advertising (Google Adwords, PPC = Pay Per Click)

Digital Media Roles - Management

Project ManagerAccount ManagerCommunity ManagerSocial Media ManagereCommerce ManagerCRM Manager (Customer Relationship Management)

Digital Media Roles - Other

Digital StrategistSocial StrategistSearch Engine OptimiserDigital Reporting/Analytics AnalystDigital Entrepreneur

Digital Media Roles

Specialist:Focus on one key area

Generalist:Work across a range of areasMore common in Australia (especially smaller states)Flexibility Mix of tasks

“I'm an accidental marketer coming by way of a career in music and journalism.

You can have the greatest technical skills in the world but if you don't get people, you aren't going to get far in social media which is why the most important qualities to have are empathy and a good listening ear.”

- Mal Chia, Digital Marketer malchia.com

“Communications is so important - people will never take you seriously if you can't write well, spell, and know how to take a ‘key message’ and turn it into something engaging for the specific audience.”

- Kate Potter, Hughes PR

“I started out studying accounting. Seriously!

I always knew I wanted to write which has led me to experience a range of things: PR, copywriting, project management etc.

I think being ballsy and experimenting are the key in the industry..”

- Vanessa Jones, Jones the Writer

“You need to be able to write. You need to understand your audience. You need to be able to look through the filter of ‘Would anyone actually care about this?’ Often brands push their own agenda without offering the audience any benefit. You also need to have an inexhaustible curiosity - this industry is developing and evolving constantly and you'll never keep up, but you should be interested in trying to!”- Suz Koch, Saatchi & Saatchi

“I worked within hospitality for years and learnt a lot about customer service, which can be applied to the way you interact with customers online.Understanding how to communicate with your customer online is key, however this needs to follow an overall strategic approach and plan.”- Sophie Liddy, Nucleus Media

“I started in PR. I think understanding how business works is crucial so you can develop strategies and products to support the bottom line. Anyone can learn digital skills but knowing how to implement them properly is the key.”- Kelly Noble, Glam Adelaide

“I started out training to be a journalist and my job certainly didn't exist then… but luckily for me, lots of the skills I learned during journalism have translated into the social media work I do now. I think it's still important to isolate a few things "you love doing", hone those skills, and then explore the many career paths that can take you through…”- Michelle Prak, Prakky

“Social media can only be an effective tool for businesses/marketers if used to serve business or marketing objectives. An understanding of how businesses work, the markets they operate in, consumers they serve and marketing theories serve as a good foundation for good social media practice.”- Rubina Carlson, Nucleus Media

“Being a business owner of a branding and digital studio for 4 years now the most important skills are customer service and relationship building. You can learn technical skills but to have trust from a client is gold!”- Astrid Varga, We Create Brands

“Throughout my various career paths, communication and management have been extremely important - both of which I now bring to my business in social media and digital marketing. Passion and enjoyment of what you do are extremely important.”- Tania Shirgwin, BizEez Communications

Digital Media - Tips

Read and learn:BlogseBooksemail marketing

Teach yourself:how to videostry it out, coding, reporting etc

Digital Media - Tips

Practise:Own blog or website, based on interestsOwn online community

ContentCoding/set upReporting with Google Analytics etcExperiment

Digital Media - Summary

Digital skills can be learntCommunication skills are keyUnderstand brand personality and goalsUnderstand target audiencesBalance of creativity and measurabilityFocus on strategy, organisation and planningMust be flexible

Digital Media - Summary

CompetitiveDemonstrate knowledge and interestDemonstrate abilitiesCan be long hours, blur between personal and work livesConstantly learning and updating skillsDifficult to be an “expert”And it’s a lot of fun…

Thank you!Erica Nistico, Scout Digital Marketing

@enistico @ScoutSocialscoutdm.com.au