It doesn’t matter if your country economy is going through hell or if the world’s economy is in a really bad state. One thing is certain- Businesses will continue to exist and guest what? They’d like to make even more money off the bad economy. Everyday new and old businesses seek out new ways to increase their numbers. That is where you come in- You become a marketing consultant!
Marketing consultant’s numbers increase on a daily basis as more and more people take up the professional course. There are diverse areas of marketing that one can go into and still make a lot of cash while solving problems. The constant demand for very skilled professionals who have acquired experience over the years in internet marketing, social networking, mobile and SEO (search engine optimization) and search marketing is on an increase.
Want to know the best part
In the midst of the ever growing demand, Digital Marketing Consultants are making a hell of money by offering quality services to business owners all across the world. Good, competent and affordable digital experts are the missing link between the business and the online world. Because a larger share of business owners are finding it more difficult to market their business, the increase in Digital marketing experts getting hired never stops.
You can make a lot as a digital marker; I know a friend who does and he makes an average of $100 an hour for consulting businesses
However, there are certain terms or key areas you must be familiar with if truly you want to become a successful digital marketing consultant now. The areas to be well-versed and familiar are:
• SEO (Search Engine Optimization)
• International and Local Marketing
• Complete Email Marketing
• Digital Display Marketing (DDM)
• Web Reporting and Analytics
• Social Media Marketing (SMM)
• Content Marketing Strategy
• Paid Advertising or Marketing (Google Adwords, FB, Twitter, LinkedIn)
• Branding & Reputation management
• Video Marketing and YouTube
• Good Influencer marketing
• Mobile Marketing (App store optimization)
In today’s blog post, I’m going to completely show you guys exactly how to successfully become a digital marketing consultant within 4 months. The steps explained below are unique and very helpful that if followed diligently, will lead turn you from “Newbie” to a “Pro Marketer”
1. You need to be Optimistic
I like to encourage people to keep only “Positive vibes” as these are very good for any kind of business.
Truth is:
To completely master the art of digital consultancy you will pass through thorns of bushes because it is not completely easy and neither is it very straightforward. There will be moments when all will seem not to be working, you will struggle with effective methods and re-strategize over and over again but that does not mean you should just give up. No matter what comes your way, you will need an optimistic attitude to overcome them all.
If you really want to become a digital marketing consultant as bad as you breathe, you must have and nurture a realistic vision of what you want to achieve within a specified period of time and keep that positive mental image engraved in your heart and in your head until you get the desired result.
2. Stay Focused On Goals
A good digital marketer must understand the “strong desire”. You should endeavour to understand the overall goals that influence individuals to act a certain way and the same goals that make individuals not to act a certain way.
Staying focused on goals is an essential part in making decisions throughout a successful project. When you are focused wonder, you ask questions like “Why am I doing this?” instead of “How does this impact the program”? Every action n has an immediate result in marketing and you will do well to constantly remind yourself of that.
3. Understand the concept of Strategies vs. Tactics
A strategy can be defined as a plan of action with a goal. A tactic is only a particular action that is part of implementing the strategy. It wills shock you to know that a number of marketing consultants cannot differentiate one from the other and this often leads to lose of clients.
4. Ensure that you Listen and Empathize
As a digital marketer, you just cannot underestimate the sheer power of listening. It is a vital skill every marketer must possess. The proper combination of the process of listening and the ability to empathize with others will go a long way in making sure you are successful. You need to understand the current situation you are up against, the troubles and goals that a business possesses while sharing the necessary emotions to relate with them. Only from this point can you truly understand what your client needs and how you can meet his needs. Confident and experienced marketers provide you with the valuable point of view and the necessary plan of action needed before they implement anything.
5. Prioritize your Clients needs
One game changer in every business is the “Clients”. Their importance cannot be over emphasized. In fact if you want to be a successful consultant, you will need to prioritize your clients and make them feel like the most important people in the whole wide world.
A big job of a consultant’s job is to collect the necessary data, organize it, and extract deep insights and present recommendations that will balance options with the intended priorities. Prioritization differs from engagement to engagement, but a large number of clients will expect a lot of your time. Clients will also expect you to make phone calls to update them on improvements and how far you have gone with their job and these are all part of obligations that you must seriously consider before taking on a job.
6. Be sure to Understand the Digital Marketing World
There are about hundreds of digital marketing methods you can utilize; be it social media marketing or search engine optimization. If you become a way doer of things, your client’s will not get the expected results and your pay check will suffer. You must well versed and knowledgeable about the entire field of digital marketing. A little here, a little there will allow you understand the needs of your client and really have a foresight of the concepts before you decide to take on a project.
7. Develop a Strategy for Each Client
No two clients would want the same thing. This is because every client has a unique set of requirements. It is your job as a marketer to come up with unique strategy for every client’s job you decide to take.
Listen and understand exactly what your client needs then proceed to tailor a strategy that will cater for such needs. Always strive to achieve what the client wants and strategize around the demands of your client’s job rather than bringing in a pre-packaged plan.
8. Analyze the Clients Existing Marketing Tactics to determine strategies to try
In order to save yourself and your clients a ton of time, you really must first analyze every method of marketing your clients have ever tried. You need to discover what has worked, what hasn’t worked and try to figure out if the result gotten was the intended one.
Your analysis of previous pieces of data will go a long way in helping you figure out better ways to improve things. You just cannot go about implementing things at random as that will be unprofessional of you.
9. Create a Killer Portfolio
You thinking or sounding convincing is not enough. In fact a lot of clients will demand for your resume to back things up. You can boast of your skills when it comes to SEO, SEM, Social media marketing and other areas of marketing, but all of these will only sound like a buzz in the ears of your clients if you do not have a portfolio that proves this.
Create a portfolio with every of your completed projects with excellent results. To speed up the process of closing in deals, I recommend you also use case studies and obtain testimonials from past clients that you can use to pitch future sales.
10. Set a Price That You Are Worth and Stand by it
Digital marketing consultancy is clearly not a free service and there is no specific price for it. The amounts of pricing you do reveal how your time and service is valuable to your clients.
Ask yourself this:
How much is 20 hours of my hard work, time, effort and knowledge worth?
You should be able to determine your own worth and don’t go lesser if you really don’t want to.
11. Educate Yourself Constantly
Most times, I often hear people say things like: anyone can become a digital marketing consultant if they have fundamental marketing skills and understand the internet. This might be right but the fact still remains that the best digital marketing consultants all around the world did not take educate themselves only once or take up a few courses.
They’re constantly learning and spending just as much time to improve their own skills as they are on helping their clients. If you really want to master digital marketing, you need to go in with the mindset that you need to constantly improve yourself as you can never know everything in the world of digital marketing.
Conclusion
Becoming a digital marketing consultant is not a child’s play. But if you possess the required skills, confidence, and necessary understanding, your chances of becoming successful within 4 months or less will significantly increase.