Digital marketing, a challenging frontier for ambitious women

Last week I had the opportunity to moderate an energetic webinar for women in search of opportunity. The attendees comprised entrepreneurs, professionals looking to get back to jobs after a career breaks, students and marketing professionals. They were here to know more about digital marketing as a potential career option.

Having started my own career in digital marketing way back in 2003 at BC Web Wise in the nascent days of the field, I was curious to know why DM is specifically relevant and of interest to women, today.

Women face unique challenges, and digital marketing is a potential fit to address some of these. During the session hosted by SHEROES three women leaders - Shreya Krishnan , Abhilasha Kumar and Sanjita Mukerji - shared their journeys & perspectives around women & digital marketing.

These were my takeaways...

1.?????Digital marketing is a role that can be performed and excelled in, virtually. This opens doors for women who want to build a full-time, robust digital marketing career in remote mode.

2.?????Millions of women lost their jobs in the pandemic, or were forced to quit due to care-giving responsibilities. Some quit of their own resolution, because their roles or companies, were not serving their needs. Women are looking for opportunity and challenge, and this digital marketing offers both.

3.?????You don’t need to pursue a long-winded, residential, fulltime degree to learn the ropes of digital marketing. There are some high-quality, online capsule programmes like Emeritus ’s 12-week Digital Marketing & Analytics, offered by ISB Executive Education This is just as well, because the digital marketing field is changing so fast, that the curriculum of a 2-year programme could be outdated by month six ??

4. Global spends on digital advertising amounted to $ 521.02 B in 2021, and are projected to grow to $ 876 B by 2026. Hence, the forecast for digital marketing job opportunities is bright.

I was chatting with Pratibha, a digital marketer who is enjoying her stint at an agency. She says, “I did a number of free courses but I felt it was not enough.” Registering for a paid programme, made her feel more accountable for showing up.

She also learned alongside a cohort of women like herself. She received mentorship support and career guidance, and after being out of the job scene for a long time due to care-giving responsibilities, she was able to enter the job scenario with a fresh network. ?

Pratibha believes that investing in herself, delivered the ROI she was seeking. Personally, I’m a firm believer of this approach, too. Investing in you is a form of self-love, and I highly encourage women to pursue this way of life.

Here’s wishing women digital marketers, and aspiring ones success in their journeys!

If you’re a digital marketer, I’d love to hear from what you find more exciting about this space.