Whether you’ve been working in marketing for twenty years or you’re fresh out of college and just in your first paid position, you’ll likely feel like your job has become stale after a while.
The chances are that you have a bunch of clients and you’re carrying out the same tasks week in, week out, whether you work in social media, content marketing or SEO.
That’s great if you love nothing more than writing reports and researching for content, but it can become boring.
Learning new skills and improving your understanding of the marketing industry is one of the best ways to bring back the excitement, increase productivity and help you climb the ladder.
Below, we’ve put together five of the best ways marketers can broaden their knowledge.
Learn as you go
It’s one of the oldest tricks in the book, but it works.
If you want to broaden your knowledge and learn more about your industry, then learn as you go, and don’t be afraid of taking on new projects, even if you don’t think you have the right skill set for the task.
Indeed, being given a challenge, whether that’s writing for a new client or trying out a new marketing technique, like pay-per-click or influencer marketing, can give you some food for thought and help you reignite your passion for marketing.
What’s more, it adds another skill to your bow, which will no doubt come in handy when you want to apply for a promotion.
Of course, we’re not saying that you should take on a new task if you don’t think you’re capable of doing it, but stepping outside of your comfort zone and learning as you go (through YouTube tutorials, training, marketing blogs) can throw you in at the deep end and yield great results.
Attend a conference
There’s no shortage of marketing conferences, with many specialising in a particular field such as influencer marketing, growth hacking or customer relationship management.
If you want to learn something new and hear keynotes from some of the biggest names in your niche, then attending a social media conference like Social Fresh, for example, is a good idea.
This conference has been running for more than ten years, with its 21st event coming up later in the year in Orlando, Florida. Not only does it attract big brands and top experts, but it allows you to meet new people, network with potential customers or business partners, and have fun.
The best part about conferences is that you can tailor it to your own needs and personality.
If you love meeting new people, then you can hang out and chat with like-minded individuals, but if you’re just there to learn and take in as much information as possible, you can do that, too.
Read, read, and read
As a marketing professional, reading should play a major role in your everyday life.
Being able to keep on top of the latest Google algorithm changes, for example, can help you to deliver a better SEO service to your clients, whilst social media marketers might want to follow news and developments in Twitter and Facebook, finding new ways to boost engagement and conversion.
If you want to learn new skills and become the best marketer you can, then reading needs to be a habit.
If you’re not reading marketing content every working day, then you’re doing something wrong.
Find blogs in your niche, follow them on social media and make an effort to check out their latest content at the start of your day.
If you’re too busy, then listen to a marketing podcast over your lunch break or on your commute to work to ensure you’re at the top of your game.
Reading is not only great for learning, but it helps you become a better writer, too.
And even if you’re not a content writer, being able to craft content for your social media, video marketing, search engine optimisation or pay-per-click campaigns will set you apart from other marketers.
Try an online course
Another great way to improve your marketing skills is through an online course.
Although the idea of sitting down and working your way through a course may seem outdated, it’s a structured way to learn new information and prove your comprehension and understanding of new techniques.
Whilst some companies have created premium courses that cost thousands of pounds, you can find excellent courses like HubSpot’s Inbound Marketing course, or exams on the SEMRush Academy designed to test your skills and help you become a better marketer. Both are free.
Google’s Digital Garage is another great way to learn online marketing or brush up on your skills, and it awards you with a certificate at the end of an online exam. All of these courses are recognised by marketing professionals and look great on your CV or resume, so give them a try.
Start a passion project
If you feel like you’re stuck in a rut and don’t have the time to develop your skills during working hours, then consider starting a passion project to help you learn how to grow a website, craft content that will rank well on search engines and manufacture a meaningful social audience.
Whether you launch a niche blog for your favourite hobby or you put together foundations for a startup marketing company, beginning a passion project will push you further ahead and give you the motivation you need to learn and adapt to the changing marketing landscape.
Even if your project doesn’t come to anything, it can serve as a sandbox for your ideas and allow you to experiment.
And who knows!?
You might create the next big thing and create your own money-making venture that allows you to take your marketing career in a new direction.
Wrapping up
There are lots of ways to broaden your knowledge in the marketing world, and we’ve only just scratched the surface with this post.
Leverage data to improve your campaigns, experiment with new forms of marketing, try out new marketing software, and don’t be afraid to make mistakes.
Indeed, just doing something is the best way to improve your career in marketing. You might not find success overnight or become an expert in your skill with only a month’s training, but the sooner you get started, the sooner you’ll make it.
Wishing you the best of luck!