Let’s pretend you are a social media specialist at your organization and have worked there for two years. Your supervisor publicly recognizes your hard work and always approves the standard salary increases at your six-month and one-year reviews. Recently, you launched a social media campaign that increased revenue by 13%, and know that this review will be different. You will get the big marketing promotion you’ve been working towards and a salary bump. 

You walk out of the review disappointed. Everything went great, but you didn’t get a promotion. Why? While you are a hard worker, you never expressed your desire to advance your career. You don’t share the measurable results you produced for the organization very often with your supervisor. It’s important to be vocal about your career goals and your accomplishments. 

Our strategies can help you get the digital marketing promotion you deserve. 

6 Steps to get a Digital Marketing promotion

 

Step 1: Do your research.

You know the marketing position you want, but do you know what is expected of that role or the job responsibilities? Take a moment to answer these questions: 

  • What hard and soft skills are required for this role?
  • Are there certification or training requirements?
  • Will I be more client-facing?
  • How will my responsibilities grow (weekly/monthly/quarterly/annually)
  • Will I have direct reports?
  • Will I have to meet revenue goals?

Answering these questions will give you a clear understanding of what’s required to get the marketing promotion you want. 

How to do it: Reach out to your professional network or friends you know who have your desired role. Meet them and ask about their job to learn about your desired position. 

Step 2: Create an action plan.

Now that you understand what is required, you need to identify what skills you lack and put together a plan of action. Here are some steps you can take:

How to do it: Take advantage of free resources online, enroll in certificate programs, or shadow team members to learn any skills you need to master. 

Step 3: Talk to your manager.

Schedule time to discuss the marketing promotion you want and share your plan with your boss. You can’t execute your action plan without their feedback. They want to see you succeed because it also demonstrates their leadership capabilities. Taking the initiative to set this up will show them you’re serious about getting a promotion. 

How to do it: Schedule a meeting with your manager to express your interest in a marketing promotion and present your action plan. Then pre-schedule progress follow-ups (quarterly) so that you can share your progress with your manager. 

 

Step 4: Make your boss obsolete.

It sounds counterintuitive, but making your boss’s job obsolete is the best way to get promoted. You aren’t putting your supervisor out of a job but making their job easier. They should focus on big-picture goals and trust in your work. 

How to do it: If you’re serious about a marketing promotion, you should already be doing your desired job. The next step is to document your wins. Every Friday or at your 1:1s, deliver a report that includes weekly accomplishments, the goals for next week, unplanned asks, and what needs final approval. Your boss will get accustomed to knowing what to expect from you, be aware of your success, and micromanage less. They will also be more likely to delegate more responsibilities to you or ask you to lead a big project.  

Step 5: Improve your communication and presentation skills.

In a senior role, you will be responsible for direct reports, overseeing contractors or freelancers, and building strategy for your organization. You will also need to present to clients, senior leadership, or other departments. Learning how to communicate is essential to getting a promotion. You need to go into meetings capable of speaking knowledgeably about the business. Presenting is also a part of daily life in marketing. The more comfortable you communicate information, the more likely you will get a digital marketing promotion. 

How to do it: Read books, blogs, or watch videos on public speaking to improve your communication skills. Take a free course to prepare you for delivering effective presentations. Investing in your education now will enable you to be a better leader. 

Step 6: Uncover insights or bring in revenue.

Data is vital to providing marketing professionals with the insight to set their companies up for success. To get promoted, you must demonstrate strong performance, show measurable results and achieve goals. Uncovering new insights can look like many things – maybe you find a new profitable audience segment or develop a plan to increase social media engagement by 15%. 

Suppose you aren’t sure how to extract insights or track how many leads convert monthly. In that case, we suggest you find the right program to help you build the skills you need to use the right digital marketing tools. 

How to do this? Determine a goal that would improve revenue, grow your audience or build your thought leadership presence. Then take the initiative to set up a brainstorming meeting (with your team!) and develop a strategy to reach this goal. Once your supervisor approves the project, be vocal about taking the lead to execute it and keep your team motivated. Suppose the project is a social media campaign to grow your audience. Make sure to work out a way to measure the campaign’s success. For example, you should use metrics like reach, volume, amplification, and exposure to measure awareness. Tools like Google Analytics, Amplitude, or Hootesuite can capture the metrics. Still, it’s up to you to monitor and build a report showing you have reached your goal.

Launch your Digital Marketing career with Pathstream

Now that you know where to start, it’s time to level up your marketing career. The first step to getting a digital marketing promotion is learning the digital marketing skills you don’t have. 

The Pathstream Facebook Digital Marketing certificate program will help you:

  • build a strong marketing foundation
  • learn how to interpret data to share marketing insights 
  • build a strong social media presence

This 18-week online certificate program is for busy professionals who want a personalized yet flexible approach to career development. 

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