The first thing they should focus on is, by far, conducting thorough research to deeply understand their target audience. There are three key questions to answer: 1 - Start by mapping out where they go for information: which social media, forums, media sites, or influencers do they trust? 2 - Which types of content and topics perform best on those accounts, sites, podcasts, or digital forums? What are your competitors doing, and how can you stand out? 3 (most important) - What are your audience's top relevant pain points in their words? What do they search for or complain about the most? What does a day in their life look like and how does your product/service fit in? The hard work of digital advertising comes up front by researching and clearly documenting answers to these questions. From there you're more likely to allocate resources into optimal channels and content.
Don't ignore what happens after someone engages with your ad. If you're only focused on everything before the ad click, you're missing out on huge opportunities to drive better performance. Ask yourself questions like 'Is my website mobile-friendly and fast-loading?', and 'Does the landing page experience match the copy and creative of my ads?' By identifying weaknesses and developing plans to improve the post-ad customer experience, you'll not only improve the performance of your ads, you'll also have a substantially larger impact on the business.
My biggest piece of advice will be to trust your intuition. While data is important, some of the best insights come from thinking like your audience and understanding what resonates with them. Always have a hypothesis for what you're testing, so you're learning and refining with each campaign-every experiment should have a purpose. And remember, don't be overwhelmed by the "digital" in digital marketing. It's really about mastering the fundamentals: understanding your audience, crafting strong messages, and creating real value. If you focus on these basics, you'll build a strong foundation to grow from.
One key piece of advice we would give to someone just starting out with digital advertising is to prioritize engagement. While it's important to design eye-catching ads and target the right audience, your main focus should be getting people to take action-specifically, getting them to add your event or offer directly to their calendar. If it's on their calendar, they're far more likely to remember it and show up. By integrating calendar links into your ads or marketing campaigns, you create a direct connection between your audience and your event, ensuring they don't forget about it amidst all the digital noise.
If you're just starting out with digital advertising, here's my best advice: really get to know your audience. I'm talking beyond surface-level stuff dive into what they care about, what keeps them up at night, and what solutions they're actually looking for. It's tempting to create ads based on what you think will work, but trust me, your audience knows what they want. Also, don't go at it alone! Connect with others in the industry who are already doing it right. Learn from them, share ideas, and build those relationships. Your audience is your greatest asset - so lean into it!
When I first launched Vortex Ranker, I was all fired up to help businesses rank on Google Maps. So, naturally, I dove into digital ads thinking, "The more, the merrier!" I targeted... well, basically anyone with a pulse. If you had a business, I was trying to reach you. My thought was, the wider the net, the better the catch, right? Wrong. All I got were empty clicks and a seriously disappointed wallet. That's when I realized I was doing it all wrong. Instead of blasting ads to everyone, I started getting specific. I thought about the local business owners who would actually care about getting their Google Business Profile optimized. I figured out what they were searching for online, what problems they needed solving, and where they were hanging out-digitally speaking. Once I had that locked down, I changed my ad strategy. Suddenly, it was like magic! The right people started responding, and my conversions shot up. Turns out, knowing your audience is kinda important (who knew?!). So, if you're just starting out, don't do what I did and throw cash at ads hoping for the best. Instead, get super clear on who you want to target-get in their heads, find out what they need, and speak their language. Trust me, it'll save you a ton of money and headaches. Plus, your wallet will thank you.
I'm a Growth Marketing Manager at a SaaS startup, and when it comes to starting out with digital advertising, my biggest piece of advice is to be open-minded. There's no one-size-fits-all approach to marketing. What works best for your company will depend on various factors, including industry, product, user profile, market timing, and more. Take courses, get involved in like-minded communities and online forums, and learn from other team members (no ego is the best ego!). Technology is evolving rapidly-what works in one year may not work in the next, so cast a wide net and see what sticks. When you do find something that works, test, iterate, and repeat!
Something that immensely helped me when I was starting out my digital marketing career was to carry out a thorough research of the different components that build an online advertising landscape and understand the role of each in the ecosystem. For instance, ad exchange platforms, advertisers, publishers, social media, digital OOH etc. Understand the merits and benchmarks metrics of each. Then, do a customer journey exercise for any particular industry, and see where those platforms fit in during the different stages, all the way from awareness to brand loyalty.
My key advice for anyone starting out in digital advertising is to explore different platforms-Google, Meta, Pinterest, YouTube, and others-and find the one you enjoy working with the most. Mastering multiple platforms will also increase your value as an employee, which often translates to higher earning potential. Don't shy away from asking questions or taking calculated risks. While best practices are important, true growth comes from experimenting and discovering unique strategies that set you apart from the competition.
One of the biggest mistakes new digital marketers make is losing sight of their ideal customer. With so many platforms and countless tasks to juggle, it's easy to get caught up in checking off to-do lists instead of focusing on what truly matters. My advice is to prioritize reaching your target audience with the right message, in the right place, at the right time. Stay focused on the actions that will genuinely engage them and drive meaningful results.
If you're just starting out with digital advertising, my key piece of advice is this: focus on nailing your audience targeting first. It's tempting to jump into ad creatives and copy, but even the best ad won't perform if it's shown to the wrong people. Start by getting crystal clear on who your ideal customer is. Create detailed buyer personas, using data from any customer research you have, and break them down by demographics, interests, and behaviors. Most ad platforms, like Google Ads or Meta Ads, offer powerful targeting options, but they're only effective if you've done the groundwork to understand who you're trying to reach. Why this matters: A well-targeted ad means lower costs and better results. You're not wasting budget on clicks from people who don't care about your product-you're reaching those who are more likely to engage and convert. For instance, you might start with remarketing campaigns to target website visitors or use lookalike audiences to expand your reach efficiently. Once your targeting is solid, then dive into testing ad formats, messaging, and visuals. But everything flows from first understanding who you're talking to and why they should care.
Adopt a growth mindset: always be ready to learn new tools and strategies to improve your digital advertising skills. When you're first getting started, you should be familiar with key tools SEO like Google Analytics and SEMrush as well as PPC tools like Google Ads and Facebook Ads Manager. But different companies and campaigns will require you to master new skills and tools. And even if you mastered all of today's tools, in a few years, the industry may be using something totally different. This constant change doesn't have to be scary. Instead, it can be an opportunity to stand out with a growth mindset. Being willing to constantly upskill and adapt will give you a massive advantage when starting in digital advertising.
One key piece of advice for someone just starting out with digital advertising is to understand your target audience deeply before launching any campaigns. This foundational step is crucial because successful digital advertising hinges on delivering the right message to the right people at the right time. Begin by conducting thorough market research to identify your audience's demographics, interests, pain points, and online behavior. Utilize tools like Google Analytics, social media insights, and surveys to gather data. Once you have a clear picture of your target audience, you can tailor your advertising strategies to resonate with them. Focus on creating buyer personas that encapsulate your ideal customers, and use these personas to guide your ad content, messaging, and platform selection. This approach ensures that your advertising efforts are more relevant and effective, ultimately leading to higher engagement rates and conversions. By prioritizing audience understanding, you'll lay a solid foundation for your digital advertising efforts, making it easier to adapt and refine your strategies as you gain more experience.
Focus on cultivating a positive attitude: being open to new experiences, proactively taking on any work that you can, and conducting yourself in an optimistic and resilient way. When you start your career you're going to have a lot of skillset gaps. A positive attitude is a great way to develop your skillset (think Growth Mindset), but more importantly people will be more willing to overlook those gaps if you approach your working relationships with a positive attitude and you're generally just pleasant to work with. Here's an example: Early in my career I had issues with attention to detail and that persisted for years - I just wanted to get shit done. As I worked on my attention to detail (it's now a strength of mine) my managers were very forgiving because I was pleasant to work with, and I was willing to take on new projects and grow.
One key piece of advice for someone just starting out with digital advertising is to focus on understanding your target audience. Before diving into ads, invest time in researching who your ideal customers are, their needs, and where they spend their time online. This will help you tailor your ads to resonate with the right people, ensuring your message is both relevant and effective. Start with one channel-like Google Ads or Facebook Ads-where your target audience is most active, and focus on testing different ad formats and messages. Understanding your audience first allows for more strategic targeting, improving your chances of success and optimizing your budget.
Start with your customer! Really understand your audience first. Knowing who you're targeting-not just their demographics but their motivations, pain points, and online behaviors-makes all the difference. Focus on building detailed customer personas that go beyond basic stats like age or income. Understand what drives them, what problems they want to solve, and how they make decisions. This insight should guide every part of your campaign, from choosing the right platforms to crafting your ad messaging. One common mistake is trying to appeal to everyone. Instead, hone in on a smaller, clearly-defined audience-it's more effective to connect deeply with a few than superficially with many. Finally, embrace testing and learning. Use the data from your campaigns to adjust and refine your approach. Digital advertising is an evolving process, and those who continuously optimize based on audience behavior will see the best results.
The most important piece of advice for someone starting out with digital advertising is to clearly define your target audience. Many new advertisers jump straight into creating ads without truly understanding who they are speaking to, which leads to wasted time and money. Focus first on building a detailed customer profile, consider demographics, interests, behavior, and pain points. Once you have that nailed down, you can craft messaging that resonates deeply with that audience. This way, your ads will not only reach the right people but also convert more effectively. Data driven decisions are key from the start.