How To Thrive As A Young Marketer In Our “New Normal”

In order to thrive in our “new normal”, adaptability and a nose for opportunity are a must, especially for those starting out, where recruitment and internships have been placed on pause indefinitely. 

The big question now, is not "if", but HOW you adapt.

Many industries are being massively disrupted, and the last three months is just the start.

There is much more change yet to come.

While some sectors such as hospitality, tourism and healthcare have had massive disruption very quickly, pretty much every industry will go through change in some way.

The disruption to the education sector (long overdue) is just beginning and we’ll see those changes evolve over the next few years.

So what should you be doing?

Should you be just waiting it out and hoping things return to normal sooner rather than later, or should you be considering a completely new approach?

Finding New Opportunities

For those who are ready to put in the work and creatively evolve, you can absolutely thrive in the new normal.

I have daily conversations with marketers and businesses all over the world who are making lemonade from the lemons they’ve been given.

It definitely requires approaching things differently, finding new ways to solve problems and meet market demand (including employer demand for marketers!)

Over the last few months, inside the LYMC 2.0 community we’ve been focusing on ways that young marketers can pivot quickly, and generate an income right now even if they don’t have experience and can’t get an interview.

We’ve also looked at how they can set themselves up to be in the drivers seat for the soon-coming opportunities when businesses are ready to grow and employ marketers in greater numbers.

And last night it was so heart-warming to hear the stories of several young marketers who have taken action, implemented these strategies and have had some amazing wins.

And in this email I want to share some of the things they’ve done, and how it’s opened up new opportunities for them.

• One marketing graduate who was on the brink of being hired pre-Covid and had a job-opportunity suddenly pulled out from under their feet, quickly put together a few packages and now has 4 freelance clients in the hospitality industry, and more work than they can handle.
  
  
• Another young marketer built an online portfolio and experimented with the “Google My Business” feature and now his portfolio page shows up downtown in his city under “digital marketing”.

These are young marketers like you, starting out, who have pro-actively carved out opportunities for themselves - even in remote geographical locations.

You CAN get ahead in this time.
And to show you how, here are a few tips to get started.

(Note: Don’t try and do them all at once, simply pick three, that are going to be easiest, quickest and most enjoyable for you, and follow through on them! )

• Create an online portfolio

  You can use Wordpress, Wix or Squarespace or anything you like. The platform doesn't matter at this stage, it's what's on there that counts. And don’t just copy and paste your resume, showcase your work, creativity and communication skills (add a video, write an article). You can even set up a Google Analytics account for it and use your own site to get familiar with basic SEO and content marketing. 
  
  

• Start Blogging

  Publish it on your blog, or write a weekly article and publish it on LinkedIn. Few people may see it initially, but as you do it consistently you’ll quickly see growth in your writing style and your ability to articulate ideas. 
  
  

• Design custom social media posts

  Articulate your area of expertise, develop a brand style guide (even for your own brand), and post regularly about a few things you’re passionate about or will help others.
  
  

• Re-design your networking strategy

  
  There are plenty of free online events right now. Pick an organisation that you’d like to align with, and attend all of their events so you actually build relationships. You’re better to attend the same events and build your profile with a community  than you are trying to be everywhere and being known by no-one.
  
  

• Start posting ideas and insights on Linked-In

  
  Write your own posts provide commentary on topics of interest to you and those you’d like to connect with. Get familiar with keywords, hashtags and join interesting conversations about marketing topics of interest. The first few months will be very much finding your own voice, but as you do it consistently you’ll start to notice patterns emerging, and people asking you for your opinion and advice on topics and you'll start to carve out focus in that area.
  
  

• Start providing marketing advice

  Find an industry specific business group (eg. Free Facebook Group) that you can join, and simply provide marketing ideas and support to help struggling businesses (with no ask for a job in return). You'll be amazed at how much you can grow as a marketer simply by doing this. 
  
  

• Create a basic Freelancers Package

  
  Think about what skills you could combine to create a package that a small business would pay for.  If you’re brand new, offer it to 2-3 businesses pro-bono in exchange for a written (and ideally video) testimonial.

Whew! That's a LOT!! 
But relax - don’t try doing it all – instead, just choose a couple and focus on those.

Define your short and medium-term objectives, craft your strategy, create your own plan (to market yourself), pick the ones that are going to work best for you, and follow them through for at least a few months.

Remember:

"Whether you inch forward, or stride ahead, it doesn't matter, the important thing is you move in the right direction."

Thriving in the New Normal

The ongoing pandemic has impacted personal lives and businesses like nothing before on a global scale, and marketing is no exception.

It's a situation most of us could really have done without, but there are two ways we can approach it.

One is just to do what we can to get by and hope we hold on, and “wait” to see what everyone else does.

The other is to use our instinct and curiosity as marketers to create opportunities for ourselves and set ourselves up for ongoing success.

The choice is yours.

Which option are you going to take?

Kickstart your journey as a Marketing Freelancer and grab a copy of my e-book Getting Started As a Marketing Freelancer. 

This powerful e-Book will show give you hacks and how-to's for how you can:
- Standout in a crowded marketplace
- Command higher rates and more enjoyable work
- Attract the best clients and work with them more often!

I Want the Book!

About the Author 

Nina Christian is a passionate marketer and mentor to young marketers and entrepreneurs around the globe. 

Her marketing agency Braveda, founded in 2000, is a boutique marketing agency (est. 2000) that specialises in building brands through thought leadership and content creation, and was named Best Marketing Agency at the 2018 Australian Marketing Excellence Awards and Nina was named 2018 Certified Practicing Marketer of the Year (Victoria).

Nina believes every marketer deserves the chance to build a career that inspires and is helping young marketers become the marketers the world wants and needs through Launch Your Marketing Career. 

She is also an entrepreneur with several start-ups under her belt, including a successful exit in 2008 of a pioneering ecommerce brand she co-founded in 2001.

She is a Fellow of the Australian Marketing Institute, and Chair of the AMI State Committee in VIC.

Nina is a regular speaker on the subjects of Marketing and Entrepreneurship and believes there has never been a more exciting time to be a marketer.

Outside of work (which she loves!) Nina enjoys the outdoors, is an active CrossFitter, and after 3pm most days is off-duty having fun with her five young children and doing mum stuff.

Interested in some of the "behind the scenes" goings-on?

Facebook: @ninachristianHQ Instagram: @NinaChristianHQ LinkedIn: Nina Christian