Congratulations! You’ve done it! You’ve studied the course material, passed the exam with flying colors, and can officially call yourself a Digital Marketing Certified Associate. So, what’s next?

Looking for Employment

If you are looking for a new job, it’s time to update your resume.

Simplilearn’s DMCA course has exposed you to a lot of relevant industry keywords as well as practical experiences through Mimic Pro (a platform that enables marketing students to run lifelike campaigns with artificial “budgets”) and project competition.  Use this information to guide your resume in the desired direction. Building a quality resume is the perfect example of content marketing.

If you enjoyed and excelled at email marketing, you might add some of the following information to your resume.

Through the Simplilearn DMCA Program, I learned to:

• Design, build and execute email marketing campaigns and components.
• Ensure proper email delivery to leads.
• Make sure marketing messages are mobile-phone friendly.
• Use KPI’s and measurable metrics to create segmentation strategies.
• A/B test subject lines, content, images.
• Report, track and analyze campaign performance such as open and click-through rates proving success in strategies and ROI.

If social media is your strong suit, your resume may look like this:

• Knowledgeable on creating, maintaining and expanding social media and brand presence on a variety of platforms (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn and more).
• Practiced developing online marketing campaigns, effectively increasing followers and driving brand awareness.
• Proficient use of social media analytics tools to track consumer engagement and draw conclusions about user data.

Tip - For a job in social media, most employers also want to know your personal social media platforms and quantity of friends, contacts or followers as well as activity.  Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter are a must. Keep it clean!

If SEO ignites your interest, your resume may read:

• Up to date on all Google algorithms.
• Adept at utilizing several types of analytical software (and list said software).
• Evaluated websites based on technical factors, on-page analysis, and backlink profiles to summarize the current SEO strength.
• Developed SEO strategies based on keyword research, keyword strategy, and competitive analysis.
• Created and implemented original SEO content.

Tip – For SEO positions, it is highly recommended that you have some knowledge of HTML and CSS.

Once you have created the perfect resume, it is time to update your LinkedIn profile. Make sure to add your certification. Share your changes with your contacts by selecting ‘Share profile changes’ before you save. Also, as a digital marketing professional, it is incredibly important to have a professional-looking profile picture and background image for your LinkedIn profile.

Additionally, for any position, make sure that you are using the industry keywords and match those to the job description. Here are a few examples:

• Google Analytics
• Google Adwords
• KPI’s
• SEO
•  Keywords
• ROI
• Adobe Creative Suite
• List social media by name ex. Facebook, Twitter
• List any ESP tools you have used (Mailchimp, Constant Contact, etc.)
• CMS (Content Management Systems) such as Wordpress, Drupal, SquareSpace, Shopify, Wix, etc.
• If you have experience with Salesforce, make it known.

Already Employed?

If you are already employed and looking to advance or increase your responsibilities, it is time to brand you. Start by updating your LinkedIn profile; add your DMCA certificate and either add or edit the summary area to reflect your new skills and make sure you have a profile picture and background image. As mentioned above, share these changes with all contacts by selecting YES "Share profile changes" at the bottom of the edit dialog box. Additionally, if the office has a newsletter celebrating employee achievements, get yourself in the next addition. Shout it out!

Next, go after what you want. Use the skills you learned through the DMCA course to analyze the current digital marketing strategy and look for opportunities.

Some questions to ask (without access to any analytics):

• Who is your target audience?
• Is your website mobile ready?
• What is your keyword strategy?
• Is your site set up for lead capture to capitalize on every interaction?
• Do you know which social media platforms are best for your business?
• How are you using email marketing?

Finally, communicate. Knowing how to connect with decision-makers is a great skill in itself. Whether it is your manager or a stakeholder, learn their desired method of communication; some people want statistics and some prefer a visual presentation.

If you’re able to prove to managers that you can identify opportunities and gaps in the marketing team’s strategies and are willing to take risks to stand out from the crowd, you’re also going to stand out among your peers when the topic of promotion comes up. 

Stay on Top of Industry Trends

Regardless of your employment situation, it is important to stay on top of what’s new. Digital marketing is constantly changing. That’s what makes it so exciting. Keep yourself up-to-date through blogs, newsletter subscriptions, research, etc. Most importantly stay curious, there is a solution for everything! Some of the best marketing blogs to regularly read up on and/or subscribe to their newsletters for the newest marketing research, case studies and content include HubSpot, Simplilearn, Search Engine Land, Marketo and Digital Marketer.