The document provides an overview of career pathways and roles in digital media based on the experiences of various digital marketers. It discusses the wide range of roles available, from design and development to content creation, marketing, and management. Key skills mentioned include communication, understanding audiences and business goals, and the ability to strategize and plan digital campaigns. Digital marketers emphasize constantly learning new skills, practicing techniques, and balancing creativity with measurable results in a competitive and constantly evolving field.

1. Pathways to Employment:
Digital Media
Erica Nistico, Scout Digital Marketing
@enistico @ScoutSocial
scoutdm.com.au

2. My Career Path…
2002: Graduated Bachelor of Visual
Communication, Graphic Design (with honors)
2003-2005: Worked as Graphic Designer
2005-2008: Design Manager, Design Studio
2008-2010: Creative Manager, Web Studio
2010-2012: Digital Strategist, Digital Agency
2012– : Digital Marketing Consultant

3. Social Media Timeline

5. As a Digital Marketer…
Develop SEO, digital and social media
marketing strategies
Implement strategy recommendations
Update and optimise digital channels
Develop and manage digital campaigns:
social media campaigns/competitions
online advertising campaigns
Digital reporting and refinement

6. Digital Media Roles
Range of different work situations:
Agency-side
Client-side
Freelance or Consultant
Start-up

7. Digital Media Roles
The broad categories:
Design
Development
Content
Marketing and Advertising
Management

8. Digital Media Roles -
Design
Digital Designer
Interface Designer
Mobile App Designer
UX Designer (UX = User Experience)

9. Digital Media Roles -
Development
Front-end, CSS (Cascading Style Sheets)
Back-end, e.g. CMS integration (Content
Management System)
Software Developer
Mobile App Developer
Different programming languages

10. Digital Media Roles -
Content
Copywriting
Video content
Design
Illustration
Animation
Infographics
Content collation and aggregation

11. Digital Media Roles -
Marketing & Advertising
Digital Marketer
Social Media Marketer
Email Marketer
Mobile Marketer
Online advertising
PPC advertising (Google Adwords, PPC = Pay
Per Click)

12. Digital Media Roles -
Management
Project Manager
Account Manager
Community Manager
Social Media Manager
eCommerce Manager
CRM Manager (Customer Relationship
Management)

13. Digital Media Roles -
Other
Digital Strategist
Social Strategist
Search Engine Optimiser
Digital Reporting/Analytics Analyst
Digital Entrepreneur

15. Digital Media Roles
Specialist:
Focus on one key area
Generalist:
Work across a range of areas
More common in Australia (especially
smaller states)
Flexibility
Mix of tasks

16. “I'm an accidental marketer coming by way
of a career in music and journalism.
You can have the greatest technical skills
in the world but if you don't get people, you
aren't going to get far in social media which
is why the most important qualities to have are
empathy and a good listening ear.”
- Mal Chia, Digital Marketer malchia.com

17. “Communications is so important - people will
never take you seriously if you can't write well,
spell, and know how to take a ‘key message’
and turn it into something engaging for the
specific audience.”
- Kate Potter, Hughes PR

18. “I started out studying accounting. Seriously!
I always knew I wanted to write which has led
me to experience a range of things: PR,
copywriting, project management etc.
I think being ballsy and experimenting are the
key in the industry..”
- Vanessa Jones, Jones the Writer

19. “You need to be able to write.
You need to understand your audience.
You need to be able to look through the filter
of ‘Would anyone actually care about this?’
Often brands push their own agenda without
offering the audience any benefit.
You also need to have an inexhaustible
curiosity - this industry is developing and
evolving constantly and you'll never keep up,
but you should be interested in trying to!”
- Suz Koch, Saatchi & Saatchi

20. “I worked within hospitality for years and
learnt a lot about customer service, which can
be applied to the way you interact with
customers online.
Understanding how to communicate with your
customer online is key, however this needs to
follow an overall strategic approach and plan.”
- Sophie Liddy, Nucleus Media

21. “I started in PR.
I think understanding how business works
is crucial so you can develop strategies and
products to support the bottom line.
Anyone can learn digital skills but knowing
how to implement them properly is the key.”
- Kelly Noble, Glam Adelaide

22. “I started out training to be a journalist
and my job certainly didn't exist then…
but luckily for me, lots of the skills I learned
during journalism have translated into the
social media work I do now.
I think it's still important to isolate a few
things "you love doing", hone those skills, and
then explore the many career paths that can
take you through…”
- Michelle Prak, Prakky

23. “Social media can only be an effective tool for
businesses/marketers if used to serve business
or marketing objectives.
An understanding of how businesses work,
the markets they operate in, consumers they
serve and marketing theories serve as a good
foundation for good social media practice.”
- Rubina Carlson, Nucleus Media

24. “Being a business owner of a branding and
digital studio for 4 years now the most
important skills are customer service and
relationship building.
You can learn technical skills but to have trust
from a client is gold!”
- Astrid Varga, We Create Brands

25. “Throughout my various career paths,
communication and management have been
extremely important - both of which I now
bring to my business in social media and digital
marketing.
Passion and enjoyment of what you do are
extremely important.”
- Tania Shirgwin, BizEez Communications

26. Digital Media - Tips
Read and learn:
Blogs
eBooks
email marketing
Teach yourself:
how to videos
try it out, coding, reporting etc

27. Digital Media - Tips
Practise:
Own blog or website, based on interests
Own online community
Content
Coding/set up
Reporting with Google Analytics etc
Experiment

30. Digital Media - Summary
Digital skills can be learnt
Communication skills are key
Understand brand personality and goals
Understand target audiences
Balance of creativity and measurability
Focus on strategy, organisation and planning
Must be flexible

31. Digital Media - Summary
Competitive
Demonstrate knowledge and interest
Demonstrate abilities
Can be long hours, blur between personal
and work lives
Constantly learning and updating skills
Difficult to be an “expert”
And it’s a lot of fun…

32. Thank you!
Erica Nistico, Scout Digital Marketing
@enistico @ScoutSocial
scoutdm.com.au