What Students Should Know About Digital Marketing?

Digital marketing is something that successful business have downpat and failing businesses seldom touch upon. To put it simply, digital marketing is just about any form of marketing done electronically or over the Internet.

Despite being incredibly to get into, many students fail to understand this field of marketing. That ignorance can result in a weakened resume and can potentially make the difference between getting into your dream school and no school at all.

There is Power in Owning Your Domain Name

One of the most noticeable things about any resume, especially for younger students applying to college programs, is the website. Everybody nowadays has a LinkedIn, but not everybody owns a website with their name on it.

The benefits of owning your domain name are pretty widespread. They include name-recognition, the ability to choose what employers and selection boards see when they search for you, and even generating advertising revenue if you own a blog.

Of course, that's not to mention the pride that you can feel when going to yourname.com and seeing all of your hard work neatly arranged in a user-friendly webpage. The power in name-recognition knows no bounds, so it’s important to pursue it at all costs.

Social Media is Just as Professional as it is Casual

Social media marketing is a huge part of digital marketing. Unfortunately, it’s often neglected by students who don’t understand the value of content engagement.

There is a pervasive notion out there of social media platforms being just for friends, memes, and casual life. The fact of the matter is that that just isn’t the case anymore. Nowadays, 88% of companies use social media for marketing purposes.

As more people begin to rely on the Internet for meeting their consumer needs, you can safely assume that more people are going to rely on social media platforms for the same reason. But why is that? The answer is simple: social media is the epitome of word of mouth marketing.

Of course, there are also branded content posts, brand ambassadors, and sponsored content are all over social media, so it’s not all the textbook definition of word of mouth. That being said, it’s still an incredibly powerful tool to know how to use, whether for formal marketing or for casual enjoyment.

There are Physical Aspects of Digital Marketing

Ironically, digital marketing is not entirely digital. Physical events, locations, and photo-ops make up an important part of all digital marketing. After all, those high-quality connections with influencers don’t make themselves.

Event staffing companies play a major role in marketing of both the digital and the traditional styles. By hiring trade show models, event staffing agencies increase the likelihood of getting the perfect pictures with the perfect person in order to boost the recognition of your brand.

Since your brand as a student is most likely academic, the way in which you use these tactics can vary significantly. For example, if your goal is to get into a reputable engineering program, going to trade shows in that field and taking pictures with renowned engineers might be more helpful than attending a speaking tour of even a famous politician.

There is No Startup Cost or Overhead

To college students in particular, one of the most tantalizing words in the English language is “free.” Whether it’s “free food in the Union,” “free rides to class,” or “free hygiene products in the health center,” college students love saving money. That’s why digital marketing is becoming so popular with younger crowds.

Good digital marketing practices cost absolutely nothing to get started. All it takes is one person one hour a day every day and you’re off to a great start. It’s not always necessary to pay to have your content “sponsored” (to use Facebook terminology). Sometimes, you just have to put in the work and you’ll get results.

In most cases, the content that you need to share is already being produced. All you have to do is show people. Of course, there will undoubtedly be times when you’ll need to go out and produce something special to keep people coming back, but that can typically be reserved for when things start to take off.

After all, why does it matter what you’re marketing if nobody is seeing it?

Not All Social Media Platforms are Created Equal

Facebook and Instagram might be owned by the same corporate interests, but that is not to say that they enjoy the same demographics. Every social media platform is incredibly different from the others, at least in the ways in which marketers are concerned.

Twitter, for example, tends to endure periods of decreased marketing popularity in between meteoric rises to success. While that can be an enjoyable ride to take, it can sometimes turn your hard work into a total waste of time.

Facebook, on the other hand, is generally heralded as being consistently successful for the majority of businesses. Generally speaking, you should stick to at least two social media platforms for your marketing needs.

Conclusion

As your resume continues to grow and you start adding additional experience and knowledge to your repertoire, you might be tempted to go without studying digital marketing. That would be a great disservice to yourself as well as your community.

All it takes is a little bit of work every day and you can add to your resume one of the most marketable skills there are. So what are you waiting for? Get to studying!

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