What is Marketing?
A marketer may work in sales, consulting, brand management, product management, customer insights, market analysis, business development, advertising, or media communications. Considering this, it’s easy to see how diverse the job options are. Marketing is a broad field. One professional in the field may analyze data while the other may work with graphic design.
In a small or medium-size business, marketers may be generalists; they may do a little bit of everything. In a large corporation, a marketer may work on one small specialization.
Some of these marketing focuses include pay-per-click (PPC) marketing, content marketing, SEO marketing, video marketing, digital marketing, and more. Digital marketing can be further broken down into roles such as social media manager, content marketing specialist, SEO specialist, paid-media specialist, and digital brand manager.
A marketing professional is a strategist. They figure out what techniques work to bring customers to a business. They also decide on pricing after exploring factors such as supply and demand. Marketers are vital to a business’ profits and they are vital in expanding a company’s market share. They can play a role in new product development and point out upcoming market trends.
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Online Marketing Education in Minnesota
Marketers may be social media marketing managers, brand managers, product managers, account supervisors, marketing managers, business development executives, marketing coordinators, or market development managers. Their specific role and the needs of their company will decide exactly what their day-to-day tasks include.
In their workday, the marketer may carry out marketing analysis, research, strategy development, and budget management. Successful marketers should understand consumer behavior and should be able to apply data to a various situations. Marketers should also have strong people skills and a good personality. This is a career that is all about people, even if you don’t run focus groups and interact with people in person, understanding their needs and wants is what marketing is all about.
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Business and industries across the spectrum rely on marketing professionals in Minnesota just like they do everywhere. Marketers work in every industry represented in Minnesota - that includes the largest industries such as manufacturing, real estate, finance and insurance, professional and business services, educational services, healthcare, and social assistance.
Their services are vital to the retail and wholesale trades; without the expertise and services of marketers, individual stores and outlets might close. For the finance and insurance industry, marketers examine the data and determine how individual firms should engage with their clients.
To get an idea of the successful effect marketing has on individual industries, looking at their annual revenues may help. Manufacturing brought in 52.2 billion in a recent year; real estate, rental, and leasing brought in $40.5 billion; retail earned $19.8 billion, and wholesale brought in $25.5 billion. And these are just some of the largest industries in the state.
Looking at retail, while several well-known stores, such as Chico’s and Payless have had to close hundreds of stores, this doesn’t mean that retail is dead. What it does mean is that brands, products, and brick-and-mortar stores may need to think about marketing in a different way.
Marketing majors who learn to understand customers also learn about satisfying their needs. They may be data scientists or they may have a successful career in the field of consumer psychology. On the whole, marketers should be able to investigate, strategize, analyze, and create campaigns and content for the right consumers for their give service or product.
Online Associate (AS)
An associate degree can be focused on marketing specifically or focused on business with a few classes in marketing. One degree available in Minnesota is an Associate of Applied Arts Marketing Specialist. This degree fits the needs of students who plan on obtaining professional marketing careers. The curriculum for any marketing degree may include hands-on experience in class projects such as sales presentations, new product launches, and advertising media plans.
Students in these programs can expect to take specialized marketing courses including consumer behavior, digital marketing, promotion and sales, and more. At the end of the two-year program, students may participate in either a capstone experience or an internship, which gives them the opportunity to gain supervised experience and may even lead to a job offer. Depending on the needs of the student, they can find programs available in an on-campus, online, or hybrid format.
If students decide to enter the workforce without moving into a higher degree level, they may find positions in business, marketing, or sales. However, they could also choose to use their two-year degree as a foundation for further learning.
Online Bachelors (BS)
While they are in school, students earning bachelor’s degrees in marketing are likely to be enrolled in their college or university’s business school, where they will complete many business and marketing core courses and learn the business processes they will need in their working life. They’ll likely gain exposure to product planning, customer service, professional selling, sales management, market research, retail, advertising, and promotion. Exposure to each of these marketing specialties ensures that the student will be well prepared to compete for jobs that are in high demand. They may also be ready to move into newer areas of marketing.
Graduates of a bachelor’s degree in marketing may find they are ready to be involved in important business discussions and decisions in their new company. Some of the more popular careers these students may choose include community relations, marketing coordinator/manager, retail manager, sales or customer service, project manager, marketing strategist/analyst, or public relations and internet marketing.
Online Masters (MS)
A Master of Science in Digital Marketing and other related degrees can be earned through online or in-person programs, depending on a student’s needs. Graduate students can learn from faculty members who are themselves marketers. Course topics will likely include content creation, SEO strategy, strategy and management, creative direction, and social media management. Those programs outside of the digital marketing specialization will provide appropriate core courses to cover all necessary topics.
After graduation, students may find high-demand positions as social media strategists, content writers or creators, SEO strategists, content strategists, public relations specialists, creative directors, public relations managers, market research analysts, or marketing managers.
Marketing professionals or students still in their undergraduate degree programs may decide they want to earn their MBA. In MBA courses students gain exposure to real-world case studies in order to learn business processes. Business theory is combined with hands-on practice. After graduation, two possible careers include real estate executive and marketing communications manager.
Online Doctorate (PhD)
Marketing PhDs can be found with a history of excellent scholarly tradition. Faculty in these programs can offer a wide range of research interests, from marketing strategy to consumer behavior and everything in between.
The flexible structure of these programs allows PhD students to create highly individualized study programs, which can focus on marketing methods and issues or whatever else the students have an interest in researching. Students may also be able to further specialize their study in a quantitative or behavioral track – this depends on the school and program chosen.
Program courses aim to help students develop various skills such as analytical, research, and conceptual. When students complete their programs and successfully defend their dissertations, they will graduate and be ready to move into either academia or research.
Become a Marketing Manager in Minnesota
There are no requirements for marketing professionals to hold licensure in Minnesota. However, certifications might come in handy as a way to boost your resume and prove that you have knowledge within a specialty or with certain software.
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While universities and colleges offer certificates, they often teach the basics. The best options expand a professional’s current understanding. Professional certifications may focus on specific marketing tools and some job listings may require applicants to have specific certifications of this type, such as Google Ads. Here are just some of the options for certificates you can earn in this field.
- Digital Marketing Strategies: Data, Automation, AI & Analytics (From Kellogg School of Management)
This certification program focuses on three topics spread out over eight modules. The aim of this program is to show learners how data powers modern marketing, how automation scales it, and how analytics optimizes it. Professionals gain a practical understanding of marketing practices within the organizational perspective. - Digital Marketing Pro (Digital Marketing Institute and American Marketing Association)
This certification program gives professionals the confidence and knowledge they need to meet the challenges of today’s marketing. Professionals can receive two certifications in marketing: The PCM Digital Marketing and the Certified Digital Marketing Professional.
Topics include social media marketing, paid search (PPC) with Google Ads, content marketing, SEO, display and video advertising, email marketing, digital marketing strategy, and Google Analytics.
- Digital Marketing Specialization (via Coursera)
Marketing beginners can take this online certification program, which offers the newest and greatest marketing skills they need. They’ll gain exposure to digital marketing analytics, social media marketing, SEO, 3D printing, and more. - Digital Marketing Expert
This certification contains seven modules: Leadership and Management, Strategy and Planning, Essential Skills, CX, E-Commerce, and CRO; Marketing professionals are required to recertify every three years and earn continuing education units in approved marketing courses. - Salesforce Fundamentals Specialization (via Coursera)
Salesforce beginners may benefit the most from this course, which takes students and professionals through the basics of this platform, giving them tools and skills they will need to use it in the business setting. Students learn to create reports and visualizations, manage and model data, automate business processes, and move around and between both the Lightning and Classic Salesforce interfaces. - OMCP Digital Marketing (Online Marketing Certified Professional)
Students and professionals have to demonstrate 5,000 hours of prior marketing experience before taking and passing the exam. Experience can come from any marketing job such as copywriting, traditional marketing, selling marketing services, or advertising. Students who have a post-secondary degree and 2,000 hours of marketing experience or proof of completion of an approved digital marketing course and 1,000 hours of marketing experience can take this course.
Potential Careers for Marketing Graduates
- Marketing Director
Marketing directors lead teams and guide their efforts. They may oversee accounts or supervise the whole department, where they monitor and evaluate the activities in each project.
They also develop awareness and positions for each of the company’s brands and work hand-in-hand with sales as they create a pricing strategy. They may organize company conferences, events, and trade shows.
- Marketing Specialist
A marketing specialist creates advertising campaigns, target demographics, and work on pricing strategies. They work with a marketing team to develop more awareness about offerings. This professional may also research competitors to find ways to improve their services or products. Fine-tuning the target audience by relying on past research allows them to ensure that the right people are advertised to. - Special Events Manager
This marketing professional oversees and develops fundraising events. Fundraisers may raise funds for community needs, global non-profits, or be used by private companies for awareness purposes. Special events managers must be skilled at maintaining relationships with sponsors and partnerships.
This manager may supervise other marketing professionals such as special events assistants, events coordinators, and interns.
The special events manager’s primary responsibilities include soliciting, negotiating, and contracting with sponsors for beverages, restaurants, technical and entertainment, gift bag items, venues, and auction procurement. They give strategic direction and management and recruit, hire, and manage seasonal or temporary staffers.
- Social Media Manager
These managers take charge of an organization’s interactions with the general public using social media platforms and a unified voice. They create and carry out content strategies and collect engagement data to find trends in customer interactions that help them plan new digital campaigns to build brand loyalty.
A successful social media manager must use monitoring tools to gain insights and fine-tune their work to a brand’s goals. They should also be able to spot social media trends and engage the organization’s followers. They work with other professionals to make sure all efforts are in line with digital marketing goals and company messaging.
- Account Manager
This professional ensures that each department is meeting client and customer needs. They are the go-to for customer complaints and find solutions for customer’s issues as they maintain a positive relationship between the organization and customer/client.
Good account managers have to maintain customer focus so they are able to build a rapport with them. They should have strong communication skills and be knowledgeable about the organization’s products or services.
- Merchandising Manager
The merchandising manager focuses on sourcing, managing, and curating the organization’s products and promotional material. They may supervise the buying process, develop forecasts of inventory demands and trends, and negotiate with suppliers.
In retail, they’ll supervise a merchandising team, making sure every deadline, customer order, and inventory requirement is met in a timely manner.
This professional has to be deadline-driven and detail-oriented. Top-notch communication and interpersonal skills support their work, as does an artistic eye for finding and presenting products.
- Media Buyer
This professional focuses on buying advertising space for campaigns: online, radio, print, billboard, and television ads. They carry out market research, find appealing media spaces and time slots, negotiate with advertising sales agents, and make sure the medium and placement is reaching the target audience efficiently.
The media buyer analyzes market analytics and determines the best medium and placements for their marketing campaigns. They should have a good grasp of marketing principles and great interpersonal skills.
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