If you have a genuine interest in marketing and are looking for a career in online marketing, then you have come to the right place.

Based on our extensive research, we have put together a complete guide on how to become an online marketing manager (OMM).

Simply follow the steps outlined below, and before you know it, you can be on your way to an impressive new role.

Decide Which Type Of Role

Before you begin your journey to becoming an OMM, it’s important to decide which type of role you would like to pursue. While you may be tempted to pursue a role working directly with the CEO of a multinational company, this is not the typical path to success. OMM roles are typically found within smaller entrepreneurial organizations, working closely with marketing managers to drive key marketing initiatives.

Deciding which type of role you may be suited for depends on your prior experience, strengths, and interests. If you have a genuine interest in marketing and understand the importance of a solid foundation in data analytics, then a role as a marketing manager or associate marketing manager may be for you.

Develop Your Skills

While no one can guarantee that you will become an expert in marketing overnight, you can certainly develop your skills and gain experience by pursuing a graduate degree in marketing. With a graduate degree, you will gain the opportunity to gain in-house experience by working for a business, nonprofit, or government agency. This will give you the chance to see how marketing campaigns are developed and manage the execution of those campaigns.

However, a graduate degree is not a requirement for an OMM role. In fact, many of our interviewees did not have a formal marketing education but instead used their experience as a digital marketer to move into an OMM role.

Research The Market

One of the most important things you need to do before you begin your journey to become an OMM is to research the market. You need to understand the demographics and psychographics of your audience so you can effectively market to them.

If you already work in digital marketing, this step will seem natural. However, if you are looking for a fresh career in marketing, then you may need to undertake some additional research. Consider analyzing industry trends, gaining valuable market insights, and identifying the segments of the population most likely to be interested in your product or service.

Build Your Management Skils

The next step in your journey to becoming an OMM is to build your management skills. Like any other management role, you will need to be able to effectively lead and manage a team of marketers, content creators, and strategists. Your ability to lead and manage will be determined by the extent to which you can establish coherent business objectives and a unique identity for the team you lead.

If you have an engineering or computing background, you may find it more straightforward to navigate the demands of a management role. If you have no background in management, then this step will require a considerable amount of work, reflection, and self-development. Regardless, without these management skills, you cannot lead a successful marketing department.

Get Some Training

While a decent salary is not the primary motivation for most job seekers, getting training is. In marketing, especially in the role of an online marketer, there is a lot of room for growth and progression. Many of our interviewees noted that the longer they worked in the industry, the better they became at their job. This is primarily because there is so much to learn and plenty of room for professional development.

However, being a digital marketer does not mean that you will solely be working with numbers. You will still need to be able to communicate effectively with non-techies to be of use to your employer. This is where training and development come in. By continually learning and developing your skills, you will become more employable and capable of progressing in your career.

Interview For Jobs

Once you have completed the previous steps and are confident that you can handle the job, it’s time to begin applying for jobs. Many employers will quickly discover that you are not yet ready for an employer and will not even bother to interview you. Even though you may feel accomplished and excited about your achievements so far, you still have a lot to prove. Therefore, it’s important to approach each application (website, social media, blog, etc.) with a different mindset. Applying for jobs is a common first step for any graduate, but applying for a job as an OMM is quite different.

If you follow the steps outlined below, you will have a much greater chance of securing your first role as an OMM.