Marketing and digital marketing
What is marketing?
Marketing is the overall strategy and process behind raising awareness of and selling products and services. It involves:
- identifying something that people or businesses want
- developing a product or service that meets that need and then promoting it
- working out the details and making sure you're charging the right price for the product or service
(Source: Chartered Institute of Marketing)
Spotlight On: Marketing, Communications and Branding
We invited five speakers to talk to you about their roles. They share details about their career paths and give you top tips on how to crack into this industry and what the essential skills are.
It's also your chance to hear about the latest industry trends, and what the emerging skills are for this sector
- Natalie Jalili, PR Consultant at Aberfield Communications
- Charlotte Jackson, Science Communications Officer at No7 Beauty
- Megan Sutherland, National Media Manager at NSPCC
- Amal Atar, Digital Marketing and Campaigns Officer at the University of Nottingham
- Lauren Barker, Marketing Executive at Arena Racing Company
Login to SharePoint to watch a recording of this event
- Alumni: Email us to gain access to the webinar
On the SharePoint page, you will also find a link to our event in 2024.
What does marketing (and digital marketing) involve?
Marketing may also include advertising and PR. In smaller companies, one department may be responsible for the whole marketing process alongside advertising and PR, while in larger organisations these may sit in separate teams.
Traditional marketing involves brand strategy, client communications, advertising and public relations, all of which help build and maintain brand visibility and customer engagement.
Digital marketing
Digital marketing, meanwhile, ensures that a brand, whether it’s an organisation, service, or product, can be found online. Digital marketers often work across multiple channels including social media, pay-per-click (PPC) advertising, email marketing, content creation, and search engine optimisation (SEO).
As the field continues to evolve, emerging technologies such as AI-powered personalisation, marketing automation platforms (like HubSpot and Salesforce Marketing Cloud), customer relationship management (CRM) systems, and data analytics are playing a key role in campaign success.
Some students may confuse AI tools (for example, Jasper and ChatGPT) with broader automation platforms (for example, Salesforce and HubSpot). While AI supports content creation or insights, automation platforms help manage customer journeys, CRM, and campaign distribution at scale.
Familiarity with tools such as Google Analytics, Jasper, ChatGPT, and online learning resources like HubSpot Academy will enhance your effectiveness and employability in this fast-growing sector.
With online presence being vital in a tech-savvy economy, roles in digital marketing are expanding rapidly and can be highly lucrative.
How do I find out about employers and job roles in this area?
The marketing industry is large and diverse. You might be working for:
- a global agency
- an in-house department
- a small independent agency
Many global agencies will engage in all aspects of marketing including PR and advertising, while smaller agencies may specialise in areas such as digital marketing.
Researching employers
Design Intellect’s top 50 advertising and marketing agencies
Digital Agency Network’s - pick of the best digital agencies in the UK
MediaCity UK (Manchester) - directory of companies is another good place to start when thinking about applying for jobs in this area
For more insight into employer demand and trends in the UK marketing sector, explore:
Chartered Institute of Marketing: Newsroom
Prospects Luminate – Labour Market Information
Exploring roles
Like many industries, marketing is now heavily focused on digital and online content. Job titles have evolved significantly to reflect this shift. Traditional roles such as marketing assistant, marketing executive, and marketing manager remain common, especially in generalist positions or in smaller organisations.
However, there's been significant growth in specialist roles that focus on digital expertise, such as SEO assistant, PPC executive, and digital marketing executive, each critical to the success of online strategies. In addition, entirely new job functions have emerged, including content strategist, CRM/email marketing manager, marketing data analyst, growth marketer, influencer marketing manager, and UX writer. These reflect the increasing need for data-driven thinking, cross-channel coordination, and digital storytelling within modern marketing teams.
Most UK graduate digital marketing roles now start between £24,000 and £28,000, especially in urban areas (for example, London, Manchester, Leeds). Senior roles can indeed exceed £70,000, but this is typically for mid-level to senior managers or digital strategists.
Prospects - explore marketing roles
Prospects - digital marketer profile
How do I get work experience?
Marketing is a competitive industry and work experience can give you a significant advantage.
Marketing agencies can be found in most large towns and cities across the UK and are usually open to being approached for internships and work experience.
Gaining experience at Nottingham
Enquiring about experience will work best if you can show that you developed some relevant skills, and have passion and curiosity about brands, culture and the digital world, along with a willingness to learn.
Investigate opportunities with larger companies
If you're keen to learn more about the work of digital marketing in large organisations, consider applying for summer internships. Application deadlines for most corporate internship schemes will fall between November and March.
Find out where to look for internships
Online work experience
Forage is an online platform providing free access to virtual experience programmes with world leading companies. The virtual experience programmes let you sample ‘life-like’ tasks that provide a better understanding of what it’s like to be a junior employee at that company. They take five or so hours to complete and are self-paced.
Also check out the Data and Marketing Association's Talent Marketing Challenge. It gives aspiring marketers a taste of what it's like to work on a real-life marketing brief.
Unadvertised opportunities
Many agencies do offer work experience and if they don’t openly advertise it you can still contact them to ask about the possibility. Research which area(s) of marketing interest you, identify relevant employers in your location of interest, and draw up a shortlist to approach.
Check company websites first for work experience opportunities, and if they're not offering any send off a CV and covering letter.
Networking
Networking can be a great way to access hidden opportunities.
- Set up a professional profile on LinkedIn and X and follow companies and campaigns that interest you
- Come along to one of our events to meet employers. Every year we run Advertising, Marketing and PR where you can meet a panel of industry professionals and ask them questions
Volunteering
Once you have taught yourself some basic skills, get in touch with local voluntary organisations and charities such as Nottingham CVS, who could do with help in creating web content, communicating with service users and some simple online marketing strategies.
Please be aware that study abroad, compulsory Year Abroad, optional placements/internships and integrated year in industry opportunities may change at any time for a number of reasons, including curriculum developments, changes to arrangements with partner universities or placement/industry hosts, travel restrictions or other circumstances outside of the university's control. Every effort will be made to update this information as quickly as possible should a change occur.
What other ways can I build my skills and experience?
Marketers work across several communication channels, so having a broad skill set is essential. As well as possessing excellent written skills in order to produce great content, strong verbal communication skills are needed in order to articulate your ideas to clients.
You'll also need to have analytical skills, be creative, highly organised and, particularly for specialist digital marketing roles, have at least a basic understanding of HTML, databases and SEO.
Join relevant groups in Nottingham
- The university's Digital Humanities Centre provides training, experience and networking opportunities for humanities students interested in digital media in the arts. You can choose an area of interest, one of which may include PR, marketing and social media.
- The Nottingham Writers' Studio, and other local organisations. Sometimes they offer courses around blogging and social media.
Sign up for a free online course
Short online courses can help strengthen your CV, deepen your understanding, and show initiative to employers.
Recommended platforms and courses:
You can also learn more and boost your digital skills through Google courses including:
Develop a digital portfolio
Being able to demonstrate examples of writing for the web is essential. Use sites such as Creative Pool to showcase your work and make contacts. Also consider writing articles for student publications which have an online presence such as IMPACT or LeftLion, or write a blog.
You can enhance your digital portfolio by building a digital profile. Having a presence on Twitter and LinkedIn allows you to follow organisations you would like to work for, keep up-to-date with industry news and find out about local networking events, for example, Meetup groups.
You can also keep up with current trends by reading industry blogs and journals such as Creative Review, and The Drum.
Research local digital agencies
If there is a role that interests you, make contact with the person working in that role, and ask them lots of questions. You never know, a conversation like this could lead to the offer of work experience or mentoring.
Further study
You could consider taking a full-time or part-time masters in marketing or digital marketing. Find out more using our further study pages.
How can I find my first role?
What are employers looking for?
You don’t need a marketing degree to work in this field, but employers will look for evidence of the right mindset, motivation, and relevant experience. In today’s digital-first landscape, digital literacy and adaptability are increasingly important.
Key attributes include:
- Strong written and verbal communication
- Creativity and problem-solving skills
- Organisational skills and attention to detail
- Commercial awareness and enthusiasm for the industry
- Basic analytical thinking and data interpretation
For digital marketing roles, employers may also look for:
- Understanding of SEO and PPC techniques
- Experience with social media platforms and advertising tools
- Ability to analyse or visualise data using tools like Excel or Tableau
- A basic grasp of HTML or SQL
- Familiarity with AI tools (for example, ChatGPT, Jasper, AI content generation)
- Awareness of ethical and inclusive marketing practices, such as:
- Creating accessible web content (WCAG standards)
- Using inclusive, bias-aware messaging
Even without formal experience, you may already be developing relevant skills. For example:
- “Analysed Instagram insights during a student society campaign”
- “Created landing pages or newsletters using Mailchimp”
- “Used Canva to design promotional posters or event graphics”
Reflecting on these experiences can help you demonstrate your marketing potential on applications and in interviews.
Will I need a specialist qualification?
Graduates from a wide range of disciplines go into marketing. While there are postgraduate degrees in marketing and related areas which will enhance your knowledge and skills, you don’t necessarily need a specialised qualification to get into the industry.
The Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM) offers a range of professional qualifications, which may open up possibilities for career progression. You may be able to get employer sponsorship to complete these once in post.
Top tips for marketing applications
- Emphasise relevant experience whether paid or unpaid including membership of student societies
- Link to any social media channels you have set up for professional use such as Twitter, blogs, LinkedIn
- Show commercial awareness and knowledge of modern culture and brands. For example, you could practise critiquing how products and services around you have been marketed and prepare examples to discuss at interview.
- Come and talk to us about finessing your CV and cover letter to showcase your marketing skills
I got offered the marketing assistant job! I ticked all the boxes despite not being a marketing graduate or having had solid marketing experience. I’m super excited. Just wanted to message to say a huge thank you for all your help and constantly squeezing me into your busy schedule.