The marketing industry is a global powerhouse, valued at approx. $475 billion U.S. dollars. Incorporating a variety of specialisms, marketing has been a first-choice career path for millions of Americans and offers a high level of job satisfaction.
As the industry evolves, however, it’s important to update your career plans accordingly. The rise of digital marketing led to an explosion of new job roles and opportunities within the sector and now, employers are actively seeking individuals who can take a holistic approach.
Integrated marketing communications incorporates a variety of tools, processes, methodologies and specialisms and focuses on delivering clear, consistent and aligned brand messages across numerous channels. If you think this sounds like something that businesses need to be prioritizing in today’s economic landscape, you’d be right!
To learn more about the increasing assimilation of marketing channels and segments in relation to your job prospects, take a look at these seven reasons to choose a career in integrated marketing communications now:
1. It Reflects an Omnichannel Approach
As technology has developed, users have access to a wider range of devices and channels. This means that the customer journey has become more personalized and varied. One consumer might engage with a brand via social media and make a purchase through an evergreen web page, for example, while another might click-through a PPC ad and complete a transaction on a landing page.
Omnichannel marketing reflects this evolution and incorporates marketing activities across a range of channels, thus ensuring that the brand’s message is delivered to its target audience, regardless of which customer journey they embark on.
To be a successful omnichannel marketer, you need to have an in-depth grasp of multiple channels and marketing segments. With experience in integrated marketing communications, you’ll be adept at pulling together data from numerous sources and crafting campaigns that can be successfully used across a range of platforms. This gives you the knowledge and practical skills you need to create, execute and monitor omnichannel campaigns on behalf of employers and/or clients.
With more and more businesses favoring the omnichannel approach, enhancing your expertise by increasing your awareness of integrated marketing communications can increase your employability and your effectiveness.
2. You Have the Opportunity to Specialize
Choosing to specialize in a particular field or sub-sector can have a lot of advantages, including increased job satisfaction, better performance rates and high rates of efficiency. For businesses, the associated risk reduction and enhanced productivity that is associated with specialization can have commercial advantages too.
As integrated marketing focuses on assimilating a myriad of channels and processes, many people assume it’s moving away from a specialist approach, but this isn’t the case at all. In fact, integrated marketing communication is a specialty in and of itself!
When you choose to complete an Online MA in Communication with an Integrated Marketing Communications specialization, for example, you’ll have the opportunity to hone your skills and establish your expertise within a specialist field. As well as providing you with the theoretical and practical knowledge you’ll need to succeed in a competitive industry, specializing in a particular niche highlights your industry insight, self-motivation and work ethic, which is sure to impress prospective employers.
3. Increased Job Opportunities
The marketing industry as a whole is predicted to continue growing throughout the U.S., with a growth rate of 10% expected for Advertising, Promotions and Marketing Managers between 2020-2030. By choosing to specialize in integrated marketing communications and selecting an industry that’s actively growing, you can ensure that you’ll have a wide variety of job opportunities to look forward to.
As you gain more experience as an integrated marketing communications specialist, you’ll be able to take on more leadership roles within your organization and move from a supervisory position into a management role, such as Marketing Director or Chief Marketing Officer (CMO). The combination of academic expertise you’ll gain via postgraduate study combined with practical skills and successful project outcomes will ensure you’re fully prepared for a position in the C-suite.
4. Companies Will Always Need Marketers
Some industries are more fragile than others, particularly when faced with external threats, such as recessions. While marketing can be affected by external conditions, it’s fair to say that companies will always need to market their products and services. As a result, a career in marketing is a relatively stable option, providing you stay up to date and choose to develop your skills in accordance with the how the industry is evolving.
Despite the inevitable market volatility caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the marketing industry has continued to evolve and job growth is once again expected. Even in these testing times, companies relied heavily on their marketing departments to retain customer loyalty, deliver consistent brand messages and engage users creatively across new channels.
5. Businesses Are Less Reliant on Large Marketing Depts.
Some might argue that it is during times of economic hardship that marketers are at their most valuable to commercial organizations. When regular sales channels are disrupted or disposable income decreases, for example, businesses need the most effective marketers and the most creative campaigns in order to outperform their competitors and fuel growth.
At times like these, the cost of maintaining a large marketing department can be disadvantageous for businesses. As integrated marketing communications allows marketers to incorporate numerous channels and processes into one specialism, businesses are likely to seek out this expertise, particularly in challenging times. When companies cannot justify the cost of retaining individual specialists, for example, an integrated marketing communications marketer can deliver holistic campaigns in a more cost-effective way.
Due to this, specializing in integrated marketing communications could be a way of safeguarding your role and ensuring that your marketing career can flourish, regardless of external or economic factors.
6. You Can Work as an Employee, Freelancer or Business Owner
Being an integrated marketing communications specialist gives you the opportunity to develop your career in any way you choose. If you enjoy working as part of a team, you might decide to look for full or part-time employment with a single organization, for example.
However, you’ll also have the chance to take on additional projects as a freelancer, if you choose to. The gig economy is making it easier than ever for marketers to develop their own client base and carve out their own niche in the industry. If you want to maximize flexibility and work on your own terms, for example, a career as a freelancer integrated marketing communications specialist could be just what you’re looking for.
For those who dream of running their own business, the in-depth knowledge you’ll gain as an integrated marketing communications could even give you the confidence to launch your own agency or consultancy.
7. Combine Creative and Analytical Skills
A successful marketer needs to have a range of skills, including commercial awareness, problem-solving and adaptability. In some roles, such as copy editing or data analysis, you’ll need to show a high level of attention to detail, organization and apply your analytical skills to deliver the best results. In contrast, a role as a content creator or strategist allows you to unleash your creativity and push the boundaries with new and innovative ideas.
While some people are more creative than analytical or vice versa, most people possess both creative and analytical tendencies. As integrated marketing communications incorporates multiple platforms, channels and processes, it’s the ideal option if you want to combine your skills and embrace a role that allows you to showcase both your creative and analytical skills.
From gathering data to inform campaign decisions and monitoring key metrics to devising disruptive content and crafting impactful brand messages, a career in integrated marketing communications is varied, exciting and fulfilling.
Are You Ready for a Career in Marketing?
Like all industries, the marketing industry is continually evolving. As new technologies are brought to market, emerging marketing channels and platforms come to the fore. Furthermore, as user behaviors change, marketers are consistently devising new ways to engage with their target audiences.
Whether you’re just starting out or you already have industry experience, staying up to date with the industry and preparing for the future is critical to your long-term success. Indeed, preempting how the sector will evolve and ensuring you’re prepared for how your role will change can drastically increase your employability and boost your career prospects.
As the range of platforms and channels available to users continues to increase, an integrated approach to marketing communications is becoming increasingly important. For most companies, it’s unrealistic and financially inefficient to rely on individual specialists, which highlights the need for a more an integrated approach.
By choosing to develop your skillset now and specializing in integrated marketing communications, you can ensure that you’re perfectly placed for exciting new job opportunities as the industry develops. What’s more – your foresight, knowledge and expertise will ensure you stand out from the crowd in the eyes of prospective employers and clients and give you the foundation you need to send your career skyrocketing.
