A guest lecture I did at The University of Melbourne in 2016. The topic was hot to skill up in digital marketing and give employers what they want. There were 2nd, 3rd, 4th year students of digital marketing in the room, so put the presentation together to give them information I wish I had when I started. Covers off: - researching the industry - creating stories - getting hands-on experience

1. How to skill up in Digital Marketing to give employers what they want
Luke Marshall
The University of Melbourne
Friday 14th October 2016

2. Hi, I’m Luke.
I’ve worked at Google,
Facebook, with
startups, and within
agencies.
If you’re enjoying this
talk, pop a photo on
Twitter @marshwah.
The best tweet gets a
follow-up coffee.

3. 2006I started entertaining the thought of working in marketing in 2006.

4. Law (twice)
Insurance
Data entry
Call Centre
It wasn’t my first option

5. My first job ad

6. ?How would you answer the ad?

7. I applied.
And I followed up.
Today, I’m going to walk you through strategies on how you can
stand out to employers and get internships, but this is probably the
most important piece if information for you right now: follow-up.
It’s killer.

8. Times you use follow-up
…After first contact with someone
…After a meeting
…After a coffee date
…After a group interview
…After a job application
After every instance where you’ve had an interaction and you’d like to
move things forward.

9. ?So what happened at Starcom?

10. Today
I want to distil a decade of experience and show you what it takes to
get through the front door and into digital marketing.
I’ve been there myself, I’ve worked with people that have come
through, and I’ve interviewed and vetted people that have come
knocking on the door.

11. What
you’re
trying to
do
‣Break through into a highly competitive
industry (digital marketing)
‣Secure an interview with one of the
gatekeepers (a hiring manager)
‣Convince them you’re worthy of working
for them (they know more than you)
…and get the job

12. ‣Research skills to find out what jobs
are about
‣Story bombs to drop in interviews
‣Hands-on experience to show you can
do what they need you to do
What
you’re
going to
need

13. What agency do you want to work for?
What clients do they have?
Do you like their case studies?
Are you familiar with trade publications and what’s going on?
Research Skills

14. You need ammunition for what
you’re going to tell the hiring
manager. You want as many real-life
examples as you can. The goal is to
weave these examples into the
answers you give.
Q. Ever been in a situation where
you’ve had to deliver the right
message?
Story Bombs
A.
Taken from my 2006 AFA Application

15. Someone who has
worked in the industry or
is familiar with the tools
Hands-on experience
> Someone who is really
smart on paper but
brand new to the industry

16. ?How do I get better at research, acquire story bombs, and get hands-on
experience?

17. 5
There are five behaviours that the best people in the
industry have. You don’t necessarily need to emulate
these qualities, but they will help you tremendously.
Here they are…

18. Make stuff
One

19. !You need to make things!

20. It doesn’t really matter
what
a magazine
a newsletter
a microbusiness
a craft
a program

21. !By creating you are learning about completing. You’re researching
something, you’ve got something you can tell stories about, and
you’re getting hands-on experience at something you can relate to.

22. Zac works at Cummins & Partners
as a Digital Planning Director

23. Mark runs his own consultancy
in New York, and has worked for
Leo Burnett and Big Spaceship

24. http://www.pigsdontfly.com/2011/07/move-fast-and-break-things.html http://www.markpollard.net/why-strategists-should-make-stuff/
Further reading on making stuff

25. Test and
learnTwo

26. !Get used to testing things and failing.

27. Losing a small amount of
test budget learning
something
Proof
>Not learning anything and
spending the complete
budget

28. 1. Take a small portion of
media budget and
spread it across 2 or
more experiments
Example: Performance marketing
2. See how each each
experiment works and
note which performs best
3. Put the lion’s share of the
media budget behind which
experiment performed the best

29. The Pokémon story

30. Drink
coffeeThree

31. The industry is fuelled
by coffee

32. An information gathering tool
A simple hot drink enables you to find the answers to hard questions
like:
1) Do you know what sort of business you want to work in?
2) Do you know what that business is like?
3) Before you commit - is there anyone in that business you could
ask what it’s like?
… what’s stopping you?

33. A great approach
‣ Makes the title
relevant to me
‣ Short intro about
them
‣ Explains how he
found me
‣ Asks for coffee
and keeps it
short

34. !Not every approach will be answered, but make the most of the
people who you do make contact with.

35. Virtually every opportunity I’ve got in my career has involved a hot drink
at some stage.

36. Get online
Four

37. ?Where are you online?

38. Some rules of thumb for your online presence
Facebook Chances are you have one - stick with friends
Blog Definitely worth having one, try and stick to a niche
Portfolio Mandatory for creative roles - show off your work/thoughts
LinkedIn
Maintain and update regularly - you’ll be checked here as your 2nd resume,
and to see who you know
Twitter Great for following influencers - look for lists you can follow
Instagram Stick with friends/personal use, unless you’ve got a creative project
Snapchat You tell me! I don’t know how to use it ;)

39. LinkedIn etiquette
- I generally only connect with people I know or have met.
- I’m open to opportunity.
- I’m courteous.
- I personalise my connection request if it’s not obvious why I’m
connecting.

40. !Don’t overdo it.
It’s better to do one channel well than overextend yourself.

41. We’ve shown you some ways to skill up in digital marketing. Using a
combination of techniques to increase your research capabilities, get
hands-on experience, and prep yourself to drop story-bombs.
But what do you think is the number one way you can show an
employer that you’re ready to work for them in the digital marketing
space?
So far…

42. !Digital marketing:
The marketing of products or services using digital channels to reach
consumers.
http://lexicon.ft.com/Term?term=digital-marketing

43. Make
money
online
Five
$

44. Hear this
The best way to learn digital marketing is to employ it for your own
business or benefit.
If you can show an employer how you’ve made money for yourself,
the skills you’ve learned will add indefinite value throughout your
career.

45. Be aware of trash on
the Internet and
challenge yourself

46. Jason runs his own software
and design agency in the US
called 37signals http://www.inc.com/magazine/20110301/making-money-small-business-
advice-from-jason-fried.html
Reselling goods

47. Crowdfunding
‣ Funded my own passion
project around mental health
and sexuality
‣ Learned about organic
promotion, video production,
and email marketing
‣ Raised nearly $4,000
https://pozible.com/project/8165

48. Advertising
http://getbusylivingblog.com/how-ive-profited-100k-online-in-just-5-months-this-year/
‣ Try and make money by pushing
customers to a website or product
‣ Or even use Google AdWords or
Facebook ads to promote your
blog
‣ By getting familiar with these tools
you’ll learn more about what’s
required once you start work
Benny Hsu runs a lifestyle blog

49. SummarySumming it all up.

50. Conclusion
Research skills
Story bombs
Hands-on experience
1. Make stuff
2. Take a test and learn approach
3. Drink coffee
4. Have an online presence
5. Try and make money online

51. ?Am I missing anything?

52. !Follow up!

53. Q&AQuestions and answers

54. Thanks!
hello@lukemarshall.net
@marshwah