Profession Internet Marketer: Master of the World Wide Web Sales

Профессия интернет-маркетолог: повелитель Всемирной паутины продаж

Have you ever wondered how much time we spend on the Internet? If we calculate the average time spent on the World Wide Web every day, and then multiply it by the number of days in a year, the results will impress us. Today’s world is divided into real and digital, and, perhaps, it is no longer possible to imagine work, study, and even simple communication without this resource.

It is not surprising that professions that are associated with working on the Internet are gaining popularity now, and an Internet marketer is no exception. It would seem that marketing is a long-known field of activity that does not lose its relevance. And what else can you think of? Internet marketing is a new direction that is increasingly attracting the interest of young people and those who are thinking about changing jobs.

We will tell you about what an Internet marketer is, about the advantages and disadvantages of the profession, and give a couple of tips on where to start to become a professional in this field.

About the profession and responsibilities

An Internet marketer is a specialist who implements marketing activities within the Internet. In simple words, he is the same marketer who promotes goods and services, but he only does it on the World Wide Web.

The profession is especially relevant and in demand at the moment, because today the Internet is one of the most effective channels for sales and interaction with consumers, which many companies use or seek to master with the help of an Internet marketer.

According to the site cms-rating.ru, in Russia 78% of the population use the Internet, and 90% access it daily. In 2019, more than 1.5 billion rubles worth of online purchases were made, and if we talk about the ranking of countries with the fastest growing online commerce, then our country ranks fifth in it.

Such figures leave no doubt about the importance of the work of an Internet marketer.

The main goal of a specialist is to create a constant demand and interest in the product from the target audience. And to achieve it, he must:

  • develop a promotion strategy and oversee its implementation;
  • promote the company’s brand through social networks and thematic communities on Facebook, Instagram, VKontakte, YouTube, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc.;
  • analyze site visit statistics and social networks;
  • interact with regular customers of the company;
  • create attractive content (advertising banners, sales texts, viral videos, email newsletters, etc.) and post it on the appropriate sites;
  • research the actions of competitors;
  • study the products and services that are most popular on the market;
  • optimize site performance across adjacent devices;
  • set up retargeting;
  • control the work of specialists: SMM managers, designers, copywriters, web analysts, etc.

An Internet marketer is a universal specialist, he owns a wide range of knowledge and skills and combines in his work functions of several narrow professionals in the field of Internet marketing, such as:

  1. Targetologist is a social media advertising specialist.
  2. SMM-specialist – works on promoting a product or service in social networks.
  3. Copywriter – author of advertising texts.
  4. Content Marketer – creates engaging content for users.
  5. Performance Specialist – works with ads for paid search traffic, etc.

The main indicator of the success of an Internet marketer is the growth of customer interest in the product and company.

In the case of Internet marketing, it is easier to get analytical data on the results of events, post ads, conduct any surveys, which means that you can quickly influence the effectiveness of the chosen marketing strategy, unlike a marketer in its classical sense.

Internet marketer works with search engines (SEO). If earlier he was engaged in cheating site traffic, raising its position in the list of similar pages in the search resource, now the system easily calculates such “dishonest” manipulations, so the specialist’s functionality was reduced to creating a convenient site for clients.

Some companies believe that an Internet marketer must guarantee sales growth, but this is an erroneous opinion. A specialist of this profile is not responsible for the quality of the product and customer service, and these factors also affect the demand and interest of consumers in the company.

Imagine a situation: an online marketer increased the number of applications for the purchase of equipment through a sporting goods store, and as a result the manager did not call back on time, did not send an invoice, or the delivery of the goods was made much later than promised. Will the client be satisfied? Hardly. An Internet marketer can guarantee an increase in traffic, i.e. the number of visits to the company’s website and leads – incoming requests from customers.

What qualities should a specialist have?

Internet marketing is a rather versatile field of activity, because here we are talking not only about creativity, but also about analytics, promotion, interaction with customers, so it is important for a specialist to have a certain set of qualities that will help to cope with the tasks at the highest level.

Such qualities include:

  1. Analytical mindset: An online marketer constantly analyzes his work, evaluates the statistics and actions of competitors.
  2. Creative approach to business, creativity : creating attractive advertising, searching for non-standard solutions, generating ideas – something that every working day of a specialist cannot do without.
  3. Versatility: An internet marketer is an analyst and a creative person all rolled into one. You need to be able to switch from one activity to another.
  4. Be ahead of the competition: Being smart can help you stay ahead of other companies’ plans and gain a profitable niche in the market faster.
  5. Patience and perseverance: sedentary work at the computer requires increased attention and concentration, and the activity itself requires an understanding that the result does not come immediately, and the implemented event will not necessarily succeed on the first try.
  6. Flexibility: market conditions are constantly changing, you need to be ready for changes and be able to adapt to them in time.
  7. Sociability: yes, a specialist spends most of his work at a computer, but live communication is also an integral part of his activity. The ability to find a common language, negotiate and convince will definitely come in handy in this matter.
  8. The ability to work in a team: an Internet marketer often works in conjunction with a targetologist, designer, editor, etc.
  9. Striving for continuous professional development: do not hope that once completed courses will be enough, digital technologies do not stand still.

If you meet these qualities, then it’s great, because they will help you acquire basic professional skills.

To become an excellent specialist, an Internet marketer must:

  1. Understand analytical systems, for example, Yandex Metrika, Google Analytics. They will help you track the effectiveness of your marketing activities.
  2. Be able to draw a portrait of the target audience of the company and work with useful programs that determine which category of Internet users are interested in the product.
  3. Understand graphic editors. There are now handy resources for creating images for social media and other various layouts, such as Canva .
  4. Know the features of placing advertising material on various sites. What suits the format and content for Facebook is not always suitable for Instagram.
  5. Be able to write sales texts that can attract the target audience.
  6. Know how advertising accounts are created, make initial settings, etc.
  7. Understand Internet marketing terms (CPM, CTR, CPA, etc.)
  8. Be able to create a sales funnel and distinguish between “cold”, “warm” and “hot” customers.
  9. Know and be able to apply various strategies to attract the attention of the audience.

These skills are basic in order to start working in the field of Internet marketing, but this is not the whole list of professional knowledge and skills that will be useful to a specialist, because it all depends on the complexity of the task.

Pros and cons of the profession

One of the main advantages of the profession of Internet marketing is that it is in great demand in the labor market. It is understandable: the Internet is one of the most powerful promotion channels that you need to know how to use correctly.

If a specialist has the appropriate personal and professional qualities and at the same time has a decent portfolio, he can safely claim a good salary. But you should be prepared for the fact that in the early stages of work, when experience is minimal or completely absent, the salary will be small.

The ability to work remotely is another plus in the treasury of the merits of the profession. No need to spend time and money on travel, lunch, and the schedule can be adjusted to suit you. But not everyone likes it: someone likes to be in the office for 8 hours a day, surrounded by their favorite colleagues.

An Internet marketer can work for several companies or on several projects at once, because in most cases the profession does not oblige you to work on the territory of the employer.

You can learn the craft of Internet marketing in online courses. There are many educational materials available on the Internet that will help you improve your professional skills and improve your personal qualities.

For example, our online TRIZ in Practice program in just a few weeks will help you assess your creativity and teach you how to apply creative and inventive algorithms in practice, which will certainly come in handy in the work of an Internet marketer. Recommended!

Recall that this profession requires constant development and training, and, as for us, this is a definite plus, but not everyone is ready to be eternal students and spend time on self-education.

Because the work is mostly design work, there is a possibility of encountering an unscrupulous customer, because, as a rule, it is paid upon completion and various unpleasant surprises can await at this stage.

You need to be prepared for the fact that not all ideas and proposals will please the employer, here you need to be able to negotiate and remember that any employment relationship must be supported by an appropriate contract that will protect against such troubles and misunderstandings.

The work of an Internet marketer is not only creativity, but also the routine performance of certain duties, such as analytics, working with statistics, data, i.e. a specialist must be able to adapt to a sharp change in activity, which is not always easy for a creative person.

If an Internet marketer has chosen freelancing for himself, then there is a risk of unstable earnings. You need to constantly work on your image and attractiveness in the labor market, and a good Internet marketer will definitely cope with this task, because first of all he must be able to promote himself.

In fact, the pros and cons of the profession are relative judgments. After all, someone is happy with a free schedule, and someone is a supporter of a strict time frame. Therefore, already initially proceed from your preferences and motivation. You can adapt to any conditions, the main thing is the desire and love for your work.

About salary and career

According to the site hh.ru, Internet marketers are in third place in demand among employers among all marketing specialists. In Moscow, such specialists receive an average of 60 thousand rubles, in St. Petersburg – from 50 thousand rubles, and in the regions the salary is about 30 thousand rubles.

A specialist applying for a managerial position can count on a salary of 100 thousand rubles in Moscow, 60 thousand in St. Petersburg and 40 thousand in other cities.

The website for job search and specialists russia.trud.com provides interesting statistics, according to which, at the beginning of 2021, more than 550 vacancies for Internet marketers are relevant in Russia, of which 22.1% of vacancies indicate a salary of 33 thousand rubles or more, in 17.2% – from 56 thousand rubles and in 16% – from 50 thousand rubles.

It should be borne in mind that the salary of specialists depends on the number of projects and their complexity, as well as on work experience and professionalism.

A novice Internet marketer should not immediately count on an attractive salary. At the initial stages, most likely, he will take the position of an assistant and will be engaged in monitoring and collecting statistical data.

Where to go to study?

At the moment, only one university in Russia offers higher education in the specialty “Internet Marketer”, and this is the Moscow Financial and Industrial University “Synergy”.

You can get a basic education in marketing, but this will not be enough, because an Internet marketer combines not only humanitarian knowledge, but also technical skills. Higher education in the field of journalism and sociological work will also be useful, because. these areas are directly related to interaction with people, conducting analyzes and various studies.

The best option would be to take online training, choosing the right program for yourself, now there are courses for both beginners and experienced professionals who want to improve their professional level.

Here are some useful links to most popular paid courses:

  1. Course “Internet Marketer” from Netology: focused on beginners, the duration of training is 4 months, as a result a diploma of professional retraining is issued.
  2. Skillbox Internet Marketing Profession course: will be of interest to young Internet marketers and those who already have experience. There are different course programs, the first six months of training are free, assistance is provided in finding a job.
  3. Convert Monster Internet Marketer 3.0 course: suitable for professionals of different levels, training lasts 6 months and is divided into blocks, the first lesson is free.
  4. TexTerra Internet Marketer course: mini-course for beginners and experienced professionals, access to the materials is valid for a year, a diploma is provided at the end of the training.

There are many free resources to help you learn the basics of online marketing. Here are more than 40 courses that you can take right now.

And for a preliminary acquaintance with the profession, we recommend reading useful literature:

  1. “Actual Internet Marketing”, Anton Voronyuk, Alexander Polishchuk.
  2. “Write, shorten”, Lyudmila Sarycheva, Maxim Ilyakhov.
  3. “Perfect Landing page. We create selling web pages”, Alexander Petrochenkov, Evgeny Novikov.
  4. “Web Analytics 2.0 in Practice” by Avinash Kaushik
  5. “Yandex. Direct. How to make a profit, not play the lottery, Philip Tsarevsky.
  6. “100+ hacks for online marketers. How to get traffic and convert it into sales”, Evgenia Kryukova, Denis Savelyev.

As you can see, there are a lot of resources for mastering the profession of an Internet marketer, as they say, there would be a desire.

Summing up

The profession of an Internet marketer is one of the most sought-after and highly paid at the moment. If you like to spend time at the computer, often hang out on the pages of creative personalities, pay attention to beautiful banners, attractive advertising or slogans, and at the same time be friends with numbers, then you should consider yourself as a specialist in this field.

Start by exploring free content, take a short course and see if you’re really interested, and if you decide to become a digital marketing professional, then feel free to take more decisive action: get an appropriate education, communicate with those who have already achieved success in this area, draw inspiration from them and, of course, practice a lot.

We wish you success!

Calvin