Introduction of foundations of digital marketing and e-commerce

You’ll find out what’s in store for Course 1 and the whole certificate program. You’ll also learn about the Coursera platform, procedures, and content types, and meet other learners in the program. Then, you’ll learn about digital marketing and e-commerce basics, the tasks that people who work in these fields do, and the transferable skills you might already have. Finally, you’ll get some tips for embarking on careers in this field.

Dedication to study

• Videos: 16 min

• Leitura: 50 min

• Teste: 1 Teste com avaliação

Learning Objectives

• Define the fields of digital marketing and e-commerce.
• Describe the job responsibilities of an entry-level digital marketing coordinator or e-commerce analyst (and similar job titles).
• Explain how this program will help prepare you for a career in digital marketing and e-commerce.
• Recognize in-demand skills in digital marketing and e-commerce across industries.

Content

1. Getting started with the certification program
2. What are digital marketing and e-commerce
3. Careers in Digital Marketing and e-commerce
4. Review: Introduction of foundations of digital marketing and e-commerce

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1. Getting started with the certification program

Welcome to the Google Digital Marketing & E-commerce Certificate

Video. Duration: 7 minutes

Hello, and welcome to the Google Digital Marketing and E-commerce Certificate. I’m so excited that you’re here! My name is Joi, and I’m a Product Marketing Manager at Google. I’ll be your instructor for the first course of this certificate program. The demand for digital marketing and e-commerce specialists is growing at an incredible rate. In about a decade, the global e-commerce market grew by over 600%. And as more of the world starts doing business online, more people with varied backgrounds and experiences are entering the field, which means e-commerce is adapting to serve new markets and different cultures. With so much global growth, digital marketing and e-commerce offer high-paying jobs—with or without a college degree. But while the demand for digital marketing and e-commerce skills is higher than ever, employers are struggling to find candidates with the right experience. That’s exactly what this program is designed to do—to give you the knowledge and skills to start or advance your career in digital marketing or e-commerce. It doesn’t matter if you’re beginning a new career journey or already working in a similar role. By the end of this program, you’ll be ready to find a job in these high-growth, high-impact fields. If you’ve ever bought anything online, you’re familiar with e-commerce from the customer side. But what do digital marketing and e-commerce specialists actually do? Well, think about the last time you purchased something online—big or small— it doesn’t matter what it was. How did you end up buying that particular product? Maybe you needed something specific, like a new lamp or a piece of software, and you searched online to find just the right one. Or maybe it was something you didn’t know you needed until you learned about it from a friend or an online ad. Digital marketing and e-commerce specialists probably played a role in helping you get what you needed. Whether it’s through social media outreach or making sure the checkout process runs smoothly, they’re always thinking about better ways to connect you, the customer, with the solutions and products you need. And in doing so, they help businesses of all sizes succeed and grow in the online marketplace. One of the best things about digital marketing and e-commerce is that there are so many different career paths you can take, each with their own set of skills and responsibilities. So no matter what your background is, you’ll probably find that you already have some relevant experience. For example, I work full-time in digital marketing and have experience running e-commerce stores outside of work. I studied public relations in college and eventually interned at Google, which turned into a full-time position. I also spent years helping my family run their online store, which eventually led me to start my own e-commerce beauty business. If you’re not sure what direction you want to take, that’s okay! This program will give you an overview of different types of available jobs. It will also let you explore certain specialized skill sets to help you figure out where you want to take your career. The program includes several courses where you’ll cover topics like attracting customers through search engines and online ads, engaging customers on social media, and creating email campaigns. You’ll also learn about measuring and analyzing results, managing customer relationships, optimizing an e-commerce store, and preparing for jobs. Completing a Google Career Certificate like this one will help you develop skills and learn how to use tools that will make you ready for a job in a fast-growing, high-paying field. You don’t need any prior experience or knowledge in digital marketing or e-commerce because this certificate is going to start with the basics and build on the skills you already have. I’ll be by your side throughout this first course, making sure that you’re learning the foundational knowledge needed to succeed in the field. You’ll also have a supportive network of peers taking the certificate at the same time as you. This program is also really flexible. You can complete all of the courses in this certificate on your own terms and at your own pace—all online. In addition, the Google Career Certificates were designed by industry professionals with decades of experience here at Google. You’ll have a different expert from Google to guide you through each course in this certificate. We’ll share our knowledge in videos, help you practice with hands on activities, and take you through real scenarios that you might encounter on the job. You’ll make customer personas, write marketing emails, use analytics tools, build a portfolio— even create a mock e-commerce store. The certificates are designed to prepare you for a job in 3-6 months if you work on the certificate part time. And once you graduate, you can connect with over 150 employers who are interested in hiring Google Career Certificates graduates. Whether you’re looking to switch careers, start a new career, level up your skills, or build a business, the Google Career Certificates can open doors to new opportunities. We’ve gathered some amazing instructors to support you on your journey, and they’d like to introduce themselves now.

Hello, my name is AK. I’m a Sales Excellence Lead here at Google. I’ll be teaching you about attracting and engaging customers. We will cover topics like the marketing funnel, search engine optimization, and search engine marketing.

Hey there, I’m Cindy. I’m a Product Marketing Manager for Google Ads. I’ll be your instructor for social media marketing and advertising, which is about incorporating social media into your marketing campaigns.

Hi, my name is Miriam, and I’m a Product Marketing Manager for Google Ads. I’ll be taking you through what goes into an email marketing campaign from start to finish. I’ll teach you all about preparing, crafting, and sending emails to optimize your business’s brand. I can’t wait to get started!

Hello there, I’m Michael, and I’m a Senior Account Executive on Google’s mid-market growth team, which partners with businesses on their Google advertising strategies. I’ll be your instructor for marketing analytics. I’ll teach you how analytics tools are used in performance marketing. You’ll learn how to monitor key metrics for marketing campaigns and e-commerce.

Hi, my name is Cindy. I’m a Sales Excellence Lead at Google. I’ll be guiding you through the course on e-commerce and selling online. Together, we’ll explore how e-commerce stores work and how to engage customers.

Hello, I’m Mike, and I’m a Global Performance Curriculum manager here at Google. I’ll be your instructor for the final course of the program. There, we’ll discuss how to build customer loyalty and other e-commerce topics.

And my name is Erica. I’m a People Consultant at Google. My job is to help managers, leaders, and Google employees grow in their roles to help our organization reach their goals. I’ll be guiding you on how to prepare for your upcoming job search and land a career in digital marketing and e-commerce. >> And of course, you already know I’ll be guiding you through course one. This is such a great time to grow your career in digital marketing and e-commerce. Sound exciting? Let’s get started.

Program and Course 1 overview

Reading. Duration: 20 minutes

Hello and welcome! This program has been specifically designed so every type of learner can be successful completing the seven courses for the Google Digital Marketing & E-commerce Career Certificate. These courses will help you prepare for an entry-level digital marketing coordinator or e-commerce specialist role. No prior experience in marketing or e-commerce is required.

Become job-ready

Why are skills in digital marketing and e-commerce in such high demand? One reason is that the world is undergoing a digital transformation. A growing number of people get their news and information online and through digital subscriptions instead of from television, radio, or printed publications. As a result, marketing professionals recognize that they must connect with potential customers using digital media. Similarly, for some businesses, revenue from online sales can equal or even exceed revenue from in-store purchases. Businesses must grow their online sales competitively and retain both types of customers.

During each course in the program, you will complete activities that include practice in tools that many marketing and e-commerce specialists use every day. In doing so, you’ll gain experience to effectively engage customers along each stage of their customer journey. By the end of this program, you’ll understand how to work on search engine optimization projects, digital marketing campaigns, e-commerce strategies, customer loyalty programs, and more.

Course progress

The entire program has seven courses. Foundations of Digital Marketing and E-commerce is the first course in the series.

Course flow

1. Foundations of Digital Marketing and E-commerce —Learn about the fields of digital marketing and e-commerce and the skills needed for associate-level roles.

2. Attract and Engage Customers with Digital Marketing —Apply the marketing funnel concept to stages of the customer journey, including engagement, conversion, and loyalty. Learn methods for search engine optimization so potential customers find your products or services.

3. From Likes to Leads: Interact with Customers Online —Learn how to create marketing content and ads on social media platforms and evaluate their effectiveness using social media analytics data.

4. Think Outside the Inbox: Email Marketing —Learn how to execute email campaigns, use mailing lists, and automate customer communication and workflows.

5. Assess for Success: Marketing Analytics and Measurement —Learn how to collect, monitor, analyze, and present data from marketing campaigns using analytics and presentation tools.

6. Make the Sale: Build, Launch, and Manage E-commerce Stores —Learn the process to create a new e-commerce store and drive traffic to the online business through advertising campaigns.

7. Satisfaction Guaranteed: Develop Customer Loyalty Online —Learn strategies to build customer loyalty in e-commerce and use specific tools to help develop and maintain client relationships. This course also closes out the program with professional development topics to help you prepare for a job search.

What to expect

Each course offers a series of lessons with many types of learning opportunities. These include:

• Videos for instructors to teach new concepts and demonstrate the use of tools

• Readings to introduce new ideas and build on the concepts from the videos

• Discussion forums to share, explore, and reinforce lesson topics for better understanding

• Discussion prompts to promote thinking and engagement in the discussion forums

• Self reviews to practice tasks and check your results for accuracy or correctness

• In-video quizzes to help your comprehension of content presented in videos

• Practice quizzes to prepare you for graded quizzes

• Graded quizzes to measure your progress, give you valuable feedback, and satisfy program completion to obtain a certificate—Following program guidelines, you can take a graded quiz multiple times to achieve a passing score of 80% or higher.

Tips for success

• It is strongly recommended to take these courses—and go through the items in each lesson—in the order they appear because new information and concepts build on previous knowledge.

• Participate in all learning opportunities to gain as much knowledge and experience as possible.

• If something is confusing, don’t hesitate to replay a video, review a reading, or repeat a self-review activity.

• Use the additional resources that are referenced throughout the program. They are designed to support your learning.

• When you encounter useful links in a course, remember to bookmark them so you can refer to the information later for study or review.

• Understand and follow the Coursera Code of Conduct to ensure that the learning community remains a welcoming, friendly, and supportive place for all members.

Course 1 content

This course has regular assignments. You can complete them at your own pace; however, the assignments are designed to help you finish the program in six months or fewer. Refer to the information below about progression for this course. Congratulations on choosing to take this first step to build your skills for a career in digital marketing and e-commerce. Enjoy the journey!

Module 1: Introduction to Foundations of digital marketing and e-commerce

You’ll find out what’s in store for Course 1 and the whole certificate program. You’ll also learn about the Coursera platform, procedures, and content types, and meet other learners in the program. Then, you’ll learn about digital marketing and e-commerce basics, the tasks that people who work in these fields do, and the transferable skills you might already have. Finally, you’ll get some tips for embarking on careers in this field.

Module 2: The customer journey and the marketing funnel

You will learn what digital marketing and e-commerce roles and departments do within organizations and how they create value. You’ll also be introduced to marketing concepts, like the customer journey and the marketing funnel, that form the basis for much of what these roles do.

Module 3: Digital marketing and e-commerce strategy

You will explore the relationship between digital marketing and branding, and how businesses can leverage both to be successful. You’ll investigate the elements of a digital marketing strategy, including goal setting, channel selection, and content planning. Then you’ll learn about commonly used channels and platforms, like search engine optimization (SEO), search engine marketing (SEM), display advertising, social media marketing, and email marketing.

Module 4: Measure performance success

You will learn the importance of measuring results and common metrics to track. You’ll also examine how digital marketers and e-commerce specialists use data to assess and improve performance and tell stories with data. You’ll end the course by participating in optional content if you’re interested in preparing for a job search.

Introduction to Course 1

Video. Duration: 1 minute

Now that you have some idea of what to expect in this program as a whole. I’d like to tell you a little more about what’s in store for you in this course. We’ll start with the basics, exploring what e-commerce and digital marketing are and what people in these industries do on a day-to-day basis. We’ll also cover some of the core skills for success in digital marketing and e-commerce roles, including some you might already have, and how this program will help you build them.

Then we’ll explore the current landscape of job opportunities. You’ll learn about some of the opportunities available for entry-level job seekers and the responsibilities that go with them. This information should get you thinking about your interests and how they can help you find a fulfilling career path. Later on in the course, we’ll explore some tools for engaging potential customers and driving online sales. We’ll find out what goes into creating digital marketing strategies and discover some tactics they can use to reach customers like digital ads, email, and social media. Lastly, we’ll cover why it’s important to measure and interpret the results of those tactics and how businesses use those insights to improve their overall strategies. We’ll also provide a few more career tips to keep in mind as you continue on to the next course. That’s all coming at you down the road. Right now, we’re going to go over some resources that will help you get the most out of this program. I’m so excited for you to start this journey. Let’s get right to it.

Commit to completing the program

Ungraded Plugin. Duration: 10 minutes

Fill out a Survey

Helpful resources to get started

Reading. Duration: 20 minutes

As a learner, you can complete this course only. However, to obtain a certificate, you must complete all the courses in the program. This reading describes what is required to obtain a certificate and best practices for you to have a good learning experience on the platform.

Course completion to obtain a certificate

To receive your official Google Digital Marketing and E-commerce Certificate, you must:

• Pass all graded assignments in all 7 courses of the certificate program. Each graded assignment is part of a cumulative graded score for the course, and the passing grade for each course is 80%.

AND one of the following:

• Pay the course certificate fee,

• Be approved for Coursera Financial Aid, or

• Complete the certificate through an educational institution, employer, or agency that’s sponsoring your participation.

Healthy habits for course completion

Here is a list of best practices that will help you complete the courses in the program in a timely manner:

Plan your time: Setting regular study times and sticking with them each week can help you make learning a part of your routine. Use a calendar or timetable to create a schedule, and list what you plan to do each day in order to break your work down into achievable goals. Create a quiet place to watch the videos, review the readings, and complete the activities so you can really focus on the material.

Work at your own pace: Everyone learns differently, so this program has been designed to let you work at your own pace. Although your personalized deadlines start when you enroll, they are just a guide. Feel free to move through the program at the speed that works best for you. There is no penalty for late assignments; to earn your certificate, all you have to do is complete all of the work. If you prefer, you can extend your deadlines by returning to Overview in the navigation panel to click Switch Sessions. If you already missed previous deadlines, click Reset my deadlines instead.

Be curious: If you find an idea that gets you excited, act on it! Ask questions, search for more details online, check out the links that interest you, and take notes on your discoveries. The little things you do to support your learning along the way will take your knowledge even further, open more doors in this high-growth field, and help you qualify for jobs.

Take notes: Notes are useful-to-remember information that you think might be important in the future, especially as you’re preparing to enter a new job field. In addition, taking notes is an effective way to make connections between topics and gain a better understanding of those topics.

Chat (responsibly) with other learners: If you have a question, chances are, you’re not alone. Reach out in the discussion forum to ask for help from other learners in this program. You can also visit Coursera’s Global Online

Community: Other important things to know while learning with virtual classmates can be found in the Coursera Honor Code and Code of Conduct.

Update your profile: Consider updating your profile on Coursera. This link appears in the menu when you click on your name at the top-right corner of this screen. When classmates find you in the discussion forums, they can click on your name to view your profile and get to know you more.

Documents, spreadsheets, and presentations for course activities

To complete certain activities in the program, you will need to use digital documents, spreadsheets, and presentations. Marketing professionals use these software tools to collaborate within their teams and organizations. If you need more information about using a particular tool, refer to these resources:

• Microsoft Word: Help and learning: Microsoft Support page for Word

• Google Docs: Help Center page for Google Docs

• Microsoft Excel: Help and learning: Microsoft Support page for Excel

• Google Sheets: Help Center page for Google Sheets

• Microsoft PowerPoint: Help and learning: Microsoft Support page for PowerPoint

• How to use Google Slides: Help Center page for Google Slides

Course glossary

This course will cover a lot of terms and concepts, some of which you may already know and some of which will be new. To remind yourself about what a term means, or to help you review concepts for graded quizzes, refer to the Glossary for this course.

Course feedback

Providing feedback on videos, readings, and other materials is easy. With the resource open in your browser, look for the thumbs-up and thumbs-down symbols.

• Click thumbs-up for materials that are helpful.

• Click thumbs-down for materials that are not helpful.

If you want to flag a specific issue with an item, click the flag icon, select a category, and enter an explanation in the text box. This feedback goes back to the course development team and isn’t visible to other learners. All feedback received helps to create even better certificate programs in the future.

Digital Marketing & E-commerce Certificate glossary

Reading. Duration: 20 minutes

To use the template for this course item, click the link below and select “Use Template.”

Link to glossary: Digital Marketing & E-commerce Certificate Glossary

OR

If you don’t have a Google account, you can download the template directly from the attachment below.

Link to glossary DOCX File: Digital Marketing & E-commerce Certificate Glossary

Overview of program survey

Reading. Duration: 10 minutes

During this certificate program, you will be asked to complete a few short surveys. These are part of a research study to understand how effectively the certificate meets your career training needs. Read further for a summary of what each survey will cover.

Your survey participation is optional but extremely helpful in making this program as effective as possible. All data is kept confidential and is aggregated for review. Your name is separated from your data when it is stored.

There are no right or wrong answers, and your responses or personal data:

• Won’t affect your program experience, scores, or ability to receive a certificate or job offer

• Won’t be shared outside of our research team unless you give permission to share your contact information with hiring partners

Thanks for your consideration and time!

Entry survey

Up next, you will have an opportunity to submit a brief survey to help us understand why you enrolled in this certificate program. If you don’t fill out the survey now, you will receive an invitation to fill it out after completing your first video or assignment.

The survey will ask about your experiences leading up to this program and the goals you hope to achieve. This is critical information to ensure we can meet the needs of learners like you and continue offering this program in the future.

Individual course feedback

After you complete the last graded assignment within an individual course, if you are asked to complete a survey, it will revisit previous questions and ask what you have learned up to that point in the program. Again, filling out this information is voluntary but extremely beneficial to the program and future learners.

Certificate completion survey

After you complete the last graded assignment in the final, seventh course of the certificate program, you will be asked to complete a survey that revisits some earlier questions and asks what you have learned throughout the duration of the program. This survey also asks if you would like to share your contact information with prospective employers. Filling out the survey and sharing your contact information with prospective employers is completely optional and will not affect your course experience, scores, or ability to receive a certificate or job offer in any way.

Google Digital Marketing & E-Commerce Participant Entry Survey

Ungraded Plugin. Duration: 5 minutes

Fill out Entry Survey

Meet and greet

Discussion Prompt. Duration: 10 minutes

According to behavioral science, one of the best ways to motivate yourself to reach your goals is to give advice to someone else. For this discussion prompt, please write 1–2 pieces of advice to your fellow Google Career Certificate peers. This advice could relate to things like setting and achieving goals, time management, something you’re inspired by, or anything else you might think of. Then, read the advice from your peers to find out if any of it resonates with you.

Participation is optional

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2. What are digital marketing and e-commerce?

What are digital marketing and e-commerce?

Video. Duration: 4 minutes

Did you know that the first sale made completely online happened in 1994? A man named Dan Kohn sold a CD for $12.48 over an encrypted website he built himself. These days, it’s a lot easier to sell things online— whether you’re an individual, a small business, or a massive retailer. E-commerce has come a long way since the 90s, growing into a global, multi- billion dollar industry. That’s because e-commerce is generally cheaper, more convenient, and more accessible than storefront sales. And, as the online marketplace has grown, also launched entirely new industries, and career paths, like digital marketing. In this video, we’ll start exploring e-commerce and digital marketing and how they create value for businesses. Let’s start with some definitions. E-commerce is a broad term that refers to the buying and selling of goods and services online. Most e-commerce purchases fall into one of the following four categories: physical products, like books or home goods; digital products, like ebooks or online courses; services, like vacations or doctors’ appointments; and software, like word processing or photo editing programs. The ability to buy or sell just about anything, big or small, through computers, tablets, and phones has completely transformed the way we do business. For one thing, you don’t need a physical storefront to start an e-commerce business. Many retailers maintain physical stores alongside e-commerce websites, but others are completely online. Without the cost of maintaining a store, it became easier than ever to start a business, which meant more people around the world began entering the online marketplace. But it also meant that the e-commerce market got crowded really quickly. To set themselves apart, and get customers attention, businesses brought their ads online too, which is how we got digital marketing. Digital marketing is the practice of reaching consumers online through digital channels with the aim of turning them into customers. A digital channel is any communication method or platform a business can use to reach their target audience online. They are things like websites, search engines, email, or social media platforms. If the aim of e-commerce is to sell products online, then digital marketing helps businesses make that happen. But there’s more to it than that. Digital marketing also helps businesses build trust, inspire loyalty, and better serve their customers. In that way, it’s similar to traditional marketing like print advertising, or billboards, but it has a few added advantages for both businesses, and consumers. First, digital marketing is cost- effective. Advertising budgets go a lot further online than they do on television, radio, and print media. That’s because digital marketers can be very specific about serving the right ads, to the right audiences, at the right moments. But there’s also the potential for customers to spread the word through platforms like social media. At the same time, digital marketing can reach more people than traditional campaigns, which rely on local platforms like newspapers, and radio stations. It creates brand recognition in new— sometimes even global—markets, which can drive sales and make products and services accessible for a variety of different people. Digital marketing can also produce faster results. If a customer encounters a product they want in a print newspaper ad, they may or may not remember to buy that product later on. But digital ads allow customers to take action in the moment, which can increase the chances that’ll make a purchase. It also allows businesses to build relationships with customers through direct communication. Channels like email and social media allow a level of personalization that traditional marketing just can’t compete with. You’ll learn more about the advantages, and challenges of digital marketing, and e-commerce later in this course. For the moment, let’s review what we’ve learned. Over the last few decades, e-commerce and digital marketing have fundamentally changed business. While the goal of e-commerce is to generate sales, digital marketing helps businesses do just that by connecting with customers and building relationships. Up next, we’ll find out about some of the major roles and responsibilities in digital marketing and e-commerce.

What do digital marketing and e-commerce specialists do?

Video. Duration: 3 minutes

So far, you’ve learned what digital marketing is, what e-commerce is, and how they relate to one another. Now, let’s explore some of the things people who work in these fields do on a day-to-day basis. The first thing you should know is that the digital marketing and e-commerce industry is kind of like an engine—there’s a ton of moving pieces and a lot going on inside. Different parts of the engine do different jobs, but at the end of the day, they all work together to keep things running smoothly and efficiently. Now, at a big organization, you might specialize in one or two different areas, while at smaller companies you could be responsible for a little bit of everything. With so many different jobs to do, there’s no single set of responsibilities that applies to everyone. That’s part of what makes this industry so exciting— no matter what your strengths are, there’s probably a role to fit them. It also means you’ll have tons of options when deciding where to take your career. I’m a small business owner, so I take responsibility for a lot of activities, like strategizing and executing marketing campaigns, website management, and product development. But I’m also able to outsource some of the activities I’m less experienced at, like customer service and order fulfillment. We all have our particular interests and strengths, and identifying yours can help you figure out what you want to do. So, if you like writing, you might enjoy working on marketing emails or blog articles. If you’re more visual, you could end up working with image assets or website layouts. If you have a talent for organization, you might enjoy managing an e-commerce store. Or, if you’re more of a numbers person, you might spend your days working on pricing strategies or analyzing data to spot trends and customer engagement. This program will help you prepare for a variety of jobs in the digital marketing and e-commerce space, with titles like digital marketing coordinator or e-commerce analyst. Even though those roles might seem really distinct, there can be a lot of similarities between them depending on where you work. Because the responsibilities of digital marketing and e-commerce specialists often overlap, they tend to share some of the same skills and use the same digital channels, like social media, email, and ads. So no matter what your title is, you might find yourself doing audience research, planning, creating or publishing content, updating product descriptions, or analyzing data to understand the results of your efforts. And your goals might include everything from reaching and engaging potential customers online, building trust, demonstrating value, driving sales, or creating a great customer experience. Of course, there are many more types of roles within digital marketing and e-commerce, and you’ll learn more about specific job titles and their responsibilities later on in this course. But no matter what kind of role you’re aiming for, it helps to understand how their goals and responsibilities fit together— from raising brand awareness to driving sales to managing inventory. Fortunately, that’s exactly what this program is designed to help you learn. Coming up, we’ll explore some core skills for digital marketing and e-commerce, and some ways you might have practiced them already.

Joi - Career Path To Digital Marketing

Video. Duration: 2 minutes

Hi, I’m Joi Wade, and I’m an associate product marketing manager here at google, and that basically means that I work on digital marketing campaigns. I grew up in a family of entrepreneurs, so my parents are small business owners and then my older siblings are also small business owners. So, I grew up always helping them with all aspects of running a business, I was the person who was like, hey maybe we should have a website, maybe we should have social media pages, and email list. So, that was really important for them because they started their business way before a lot of the marketing channels we have today existed. So, it was them learning about digital marketing, and me kind of being gen Z and growing up in that digital space. I actually started a you tube channel back in 2011 and that, that was kind of my start of falling in love with content, and digital content creation. I was making a lot of lifestyle content, that was the age of the beauty guru, and a lot of women doing makeup tutorials for some reason, I thought I could do makeup well I could not. But, I think that’s the beauty of youtube, it’s all about experimenting and finding your voice. And those humble beginnings led to me eventually getting a career in digital marketing. After you graduate the program, looking for a job, is going to be super important and there’s a ton of entry level digital marketing roles out there. Think about the skills that you got from the course as well as any other previous job experiences you have and marry those with things that you see employers are looking for. If you’re starting to get overwhelmed in the course, I want you to know that you can do it, it’s a lot of work to get through this course, but nothing gets done without hard work. I think you’ll really see a payoff at the end, and you’ll thank yourself when you finally have your career in digital marketing.

Transferable skills for digital marketing and e-commerce

Video. Duration: 5 minutes

One of the things I like most about working in this industry is that there are so many different career paths you can take depending on your interests and experience. As you progress through this and the other courses in the program, you’ll learn about lots of different skill sets that are in high demand. But even if you’re totally new to the industry, chances are that you already have some skills and experiences that will help you succeed. In this video, we’ll explore a few skills and qualities that can set you up for success in digital marketing and e-commerce: curiosity, an analytical mindset, and storytelling. You don’t have to be an expert in every single one. Remember, there are many different types of jobs in this industry, but I’m willing to bet that you have at least some experience with all of them. First, curiosity. People who are curious ask questions, seek out answers, and try new things. Some people are naturally curious, but it’s also a skill you can build and that can be important for working in this industry. That’s because a big part of digital marketing and e-commerce is being curious about people, what they want, how they think, and what motivates them to take action. Curiosity is also important because the industry can change so quickly. Exploring and keeping up with emerging trends will help you succeed as it continues to grow and evolve. Taking this course is a great example of curiosity. The fact that you’re here means you’re curious about working in digital marketing and e-commerce, and that you’re actively seeking out answers. Being curious and asking questions isn’t the only useful skill. Using an analytical mindset to solve problems can be a big help too. Digital marketers and e-commerce specialists use analytical thinking all the time. That doesn’t mean we’re all data scientists. I know I’m not, but we do collect and organize information to spot patterns, uncover trends, and solve problems. Having an analytical mindset isn’t about technical skills. It’s a way of thinking. If you ever made a big decision like planning a trip or buying a car, you’ve probably practiced analytical thinking. If you compared things like cost, size, features, and safety ratings and picked a car based on which of those things were most important to you , that’s analytical thinking. Most of us analyze situations without even realizing it. If you like solving puzzles and brain teasers, you’re analyzing them to find solutions. Being a sports fan is another great example. Tracking statistics to know how your favorite teams are doing and predict how they might do in the future is similar to how digital marketers gain insights from data. Once you’ve analyzed data for insights, you need to be able to communicate them effectively to an audience. One of the ways we do that is through data storytelling. We use stories to turn dry numbers and statistics into engaging presentations and reports. Digital marketing and e-commerce specialists use data storytelling to share insights with clients and co-workers all the time. But it also helps businesses communicate value to customers in a way that’s accessible, engaging, and most importantly, memorable. Stories allow them to connect with customers and set themselves apart from the competition. Everybody tells stories. Whether you’ve kept a blog or you’re just really good at telling jokes, we all tell stories in our daily lives, and not all storytelling is verbal. Digital marketing and e-commerce use visual storytelling too. If you have experience with the drawing, design, or photography, you have the skills to create visual narratives for digital marketing campaigns. You’ll learn more about some of the ways digital marketing and e-commerce specialists use storytelling later in this course. These are just a few examples of skills that can help you progress your career. There are many others like adaptability or leadership. One skill I had before becoming a marketer that has really helped me is creativity. Sometimes you need to figure out how to set yourself apart from competitors. It’s up to marketers to highlight a brand’s unique qualities and get customers attention in creative ways. As you learn more about the different roles and responsibilities in digital marketing and e-commerce, I hope you’ll think of other ways you can bring your skills and experiences to the table. By considering your strengths as you go through the program, you’ll be better equipped to convey them to potential employers. The industry will change and grow as new technologies develop and you may need to learn new software or technologies. But with transferable skills like curiosity, an analytical mindset, and storytelling, you’ll be sure to grow along with it. Coming up, you’ll find out about some more specialized skills you might need and that this program will help you develop.

Prisha - My path to working in digital marketing

Video. Duration: 4 minutes

Hi. I’m Prisha, and I’m an Account Strategist. As an Account Strategist, I help businesses grow by educating them on Google Ads. Some of my favorite aspects of digital marketing is how collaborative it is, and I really enjoy working with loads of different people. I love being able to make a difference and really putting out the best possible content there is for my clients, users, or for anyone out there. When entering marketing, it’s so okay to not have as much experience as you think you need. I came into marketing with zero experience, and my biggest advice is to be really open-minded and not to fear rejection because you’ll be applying for so many different things, and it’s okay to not get the role at the start because you’ll work towards it in the future. My YouTube channel was something I decided to do when I was 16, and I started it because I wanted to raise awareness of my chronic condition to help make a difference to the community and to show others that anyone with a chronic condition or a visible difference can achieve their dreams or their goals. I started to also talk about makeup but also travel vlogs and educational blogs, and then I leaned into more apprenticeship/career-related content just to raise awareness of that too. I was able to learn what my followers or what my community love most about my channel and keep that going so that I’m able to grow even further. From my YouTube channel and running my own social media, I learned so many different things I could bring in into my day-to-day role during my apprenticeship; for example, one being the importance of being consistent with your campaign so when you’re running multiple different companies, having that consistent messaging is so important, and I did that through my YouTube channel, Instagram, and Tik Tok just to ensure that people understood my brand and my story on different faces. When I was 18 years old, I decided to achieve an apprenticeship over university. As at school, I knew my passion was digital marketing and I was going to study economics, but I realized that, with my passion lying in digital marketing, why not start my career early, and I knew I really enjoyed it from my work experience on my YouTube channel. When I was interviewing for these different roles— one, the apprenticeship and my full-time role at Google— I really wanted to show the importance of passion and how excitement goes a long way, and if you’re passionate about something, that will carry you forward through any role or through any interview. So something I tried during the apprenticeship when I had no experience, was I am passionate about digital marketing, and I’ve done XYZ to really show that through my YouTube channel and through different things, so I think through anything if you can show your passion and really excited about something that will go a long way. When starting out in digital marketing or any career, it can be really nerve-wracking, and you can have imposter syndrome and you can really feel like you’re not meant to be here, and that’s something that I faced in the apprenticeship but also transitioning to a full-time role. My advice would be in that is just talk to loads of people, and you’ll see how many people actually feel like they are having imposter syndrome, and I think from talking about it over time, you’ll realize you deserve to be here, and you have earned a position. Finding a mentor can be really helpful. With your mentor, you can actually work on short-term goals, long-term goals, and they can help you with the different fears you may have. For example, I had a fear in public speaking, and my mentor and I were able to work on that and set the short-term goals to be able to help me achieve it so that now I’m able to present and do different initiatives based on that. I am super excited for you to complete this course and for you to be more passionate than you already are on digital marketing, just like myself, and I can’t wait for you to complete this and for you to have all the relevant skills to become a digital marketer. Good luck.

Core skills of digital marketing and e-commerce specialists

Reading. Duration: 10 minutes

The skills you will gain from completing the Google Digital Marketing and E-commerce certificate are used in many entry-level digital marketing and e-commerce roles. This reading provides an overview of the topics in the certificate program and matches them to sample job requirements.

Comparison of core skills in different roles

Similar skills are required for roles in digital marketing and e-commerce. However, these skills are often applied in different ways. The following table gives you an idea of how job responsibilities might differ slightly between entry-level roles in digital marketing and e-commerce.

Key takeaway

Many career counselors recommend that you customize your resume for each job you apply for so that your experience and skills align as closely as possible with the job description. By the end of this program, you’ll be able to customize your resume based on the skills you learn for either digital marketing or e-commerce roles.

Melba - My path to working in e-commerce

Video. Duration: 3 minutes

Hi, my name is Melba, and I am a Product Marketing Manager at Google. I help communicate the what, the why, and the when of the products that we are developing, both internally to cross-functional teams and externally to our defined target audiences. I would say my trajectory has been very unconventional. When I was 16, I actually had to drop out of high school to get a job and help out my mother financially. I grew up in a single parent household, and if I’m honest, when I was 16, I never really thought that going to college, let alone getting a job at a place like Google, would be possible for me. It’s interesting the way that things ended up working out because after getting a job, I eventually found myself dealing with a very incredible, powerful Latina leader. The very first time I saw a Latina leader, I was blown away because it’s not something that I used to see often. And when I did, I realized if she could do it, so can I. I went home that exact same day, and I started researching a career in marketing. And so, I really had to start from the ground up. I started to go take classes to get my GED. After I got my GED, I went and I got my undergraduate degree while maintaining a full-time job. As part of my education and continued learning, I took several online classes, and I also did a lot of courses that were available for free online. One of the biggest reasons that I did this is because I found that, oftentimes, I needed to sit with the materials and be able to do it at my own pace. For me, this was instrumental because since I did drop out of high school when I was in college, I actually found that everybody else was at a more advanced pace than I was. I didn’t have a lot of the foundational knowledge that they did, and so because of this, I often had to go back, take some online classes, take some additional courses, and really gain that foundational knowledge in order to be able to set myself up for success in the future. I knew I made the right decision of pursuing a career in marketing when I launched my very first campaign. My first campaign was actually targeting underserved populations. As a Latina, it’s really important that in the work that I do, I am able to give back to my community and really make sure that their voice is being recognized. In addition to the work that I do at Google, I also founded a company called Mujeres on the Rise, and Mujeres on the Rise is a community that helps Latinas rise through resources, community, and coaching. Again, being from a marginalized community myself, I realized that there are so many barriers that are keeping us from pursuing what we want. And a lot of times those barriers are our own internal voices that are telling us that we’re not capable of doing what we want to do. As part of the work that I do, I really started this community to share what I’ve learned along the way and help others do the same. I used to believe that where I was in life would forever dictate where I would be in the future. Having made so much progress from where I initially started, I know that’s not necessarily true. You can change the direction of your life, but it all starts with one decision. You have to take that first step without necessarily thinking about the super-long journey that might be ahead of you. Just take one step, one day at a time, and eventually, you’ll look back and realize how far you’ve come.

Andrew - My path to working in digital marketing and e-commerce

Video. Duration: 3 minutes

My name is Andrew, and I am a Partner Operations Program Manager for ad support teams at Google. As a Partner Operations Program Manager, I work with our ad support teams who are providing direct support to our advertising customers. When I was graduating high school, I didn’t really know what I wanted to do with my life, or I guess, what I wanted to be when I grew up, so to speak. So I was fortunate enough to attend the United States Naval Academy for four years, where I graduated with a college degree, but also with a background in leadership to enter the navy as an officer and lead sailors. The team that I joined was the submarine community, and left Annapolis to go to Charleston, South Carolina, where I entered our nuclear power training program. It’s a pretty grueling six months of theoretical nuclear engineering and then six months of hands-on reactor training. It being a very difficult program, unfortunately, it didn’t quite work out for me, and nuclear engineering is something that still challenges me a bit to this day. I ended up getting out of the navy a little bit earlier than I expected to, and so I had to reassess where I was and what I was doing and really figure out what I wanted to do after the navy— much sooner than I had originally anticipated. When I left the navy, I was fortunate enough to have a friend who was actually working at Google at the time and understood a bit more of my background and helped me to really understand where I might be able to leverage my skills outside of the navy and as I entered the civilian world. So I put together my first resume and started applying to jobs, but it really took me a couple of months to figure out how to apply for jobs well. I didn’t have a ton of direction on where I wanted to go or what industry I wanted to be in, and I spent probably five or six months applying to jobs that interested me or jobs that looked like they could be a fit. It was a bit taxing. You know, you apply for a job and you wait and you wait and you wait and and then you finally get that rejection letter and you just hope that one day somebody kind of takes a chance on you. So when I started connecting with a few more of my peers to understand what they were having success with, that’s when the light bulb clicked for me that I needed to do a better job of telling companies why they should hire me and why I would be a good fit at their company. I think I learned that the most important thing for me was going to be not just telling people about my military experience, but telling people about how my military experience makes me a good fit for the role that they have open. Really trying to translate some of the skills that I did have, even if they weren’t directly related in experience— translating how those skills would make me a good hire or would make me a successful member of their teams. Once I started making a better effort to tell my own story and own my experiences, I started to see more success when I was actually interviewing. I think it’s important to always be looking for new opportunities to learn. I didn’t have a formal background in digital marketing, and yet I still was able to get into this industry and find success by being willing to learn, keeping an open mind when approaching new opportunities, and asking a lot of questions. For anybody who’s transitioning out of military service, my number one recommendation would be to talk with people who are in the civilian world already. Whether that’s other military folks who have transitioned previously, or just friends, family, acquaintances who are already in the industry or in the area that you want to be in— whether that’s asking for informational interviews to get to know more about a role or more about an industry or asking for somebody to look over your resume to give you feedback about what’s confusing or what could be clearer or how do you better describe some of your experience. Don’t be afraid to ask for help from people who are already in the role who had that experience and can share some of that knowledge with you as somebody who’s just joined the team.

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3. Careers in Digital Marketing and e-commerce

Launching your digital marketing or e-commerce career

Video. Duration: 4 minutes

Hi there. My name is Erika, and I’m a people consultant here at Google, known elsewhere in the industry as an HR business partner. I help employees, leaders, and managers solve problems and focus on their career goals. I also provide guidance along the way, and I’ll be doing the same thing for you in this program. My journey to working in HR wasn’t a straight line. Early in my career I held several roles in other industries, including restaurant-server and cashier. I even handled auto insurance claims for awhile. These jobs might seem really different, but they all taught me something about myself and what I wanted to do. When I realized I had a passion for helping others in the area of learning and development, my path became really clear. Now, I’m excited to share my knowledge with you as you embark on the next stage of your own career. I’ll be popping in occasionally to introduce career resources and discuss job searching and interview tips to help you on your journey. In this video, we’ll cover some things you should know about the job landscape and a few things you can start to do right now that will help you advance your career. Digital marketing and e-commerce are some of the fastest growing industries out there today. Right now, there are thousands of open roles around the world and millions of people are already working in similar positions. Many of those jobs didn’t even exist five or 10 years ago, and even more will develop as new technologies emerge. If you search any job board, you’ll find digital marketing and e-commerce roles at organizations of all sizes in just about every industry, not just retail and consumer goods. With opportunities in so many fields, people in these roles can make an impact in a lot of different areas, from education to healthcare, and finance. It also means you can pursue jobs and industries you care about. Love fashion, technology, entertainment, all those industries need digital marketing and e-commerce specialists. At the same time, try to keep an open mind when searching for jobs. Your next role probably won’t be your last. Even if you don’t start out in your ideal industry, it can still help you build the career you want. In addition to targeting certain industries, you might also find you prefer some aspects of digital marketing or e-commerce more than others, and that’s great. The strongest candidates have a broad knowledge of the fundamentals and a deep understanding of one or two specific areas. As you move through the program, pay close attention to the topics and courses that engage you the most. Reflect on your strengths and think about what you want to do with them. You might not have the answer yet, but these questions will help you target roles that align with your career interests later. Even if you’re not quite ready for a job search, there are things you can do during this program to improve your prospects later on. For example, it’s never too early to explore job descriptions for open roles. As you consider your skills and the parts of the program you like best, search job boards for roles in those areas. Make note of terms and skills that come up frequently. For example, you might find that certain roles often mention data analysis and reporting. This information will help you learn industry terminology and find out where you might want to expand your skills. Once you have an idea of the roles you want to target, you can start to identify past samples of work that demonstrate relevant experience. Have you written an essay or a story, designed a website, managed a budget or organized information in a spreadsheet? You’ll build a portfolio later in the program. Keep track of these items in case you want to include them. If you don’t have any samples yet, that’s okay too. You’ll create some as you complete the activities in the upcoming courses. By the end of this program, you’ll have concrete examples of work that can help you demonstrate your experience to potential employers. Another way you can put what you’re learning into action is by starting to shape your public persona as a digital marketing or e-commerce specialists. In other words, by building your personal brand. You can demonstrate your knowledge and skills through your social media accounts or personal website and might even end up with a few samples of work for your portfolio. Finally, be sure to keep up with this program bit by bit until you reach the end. By completing this series of courses, you’re investing in yourself, your skills, and your future. You’re doing it right now. Just keep going. Good luck, and I’ll check in with you again near the end of this course.

Agency roles vs. in-house roles

Video. Duration: 2 minutes

So far, you’ve learned about some of the skills and responsibilities, digital marketing and e commerce specialists might have and you’ve discovered a little about the job landscape. Now, let’s go a little deeper and explore two of the main paths you can pursue in your career, in-house and agency positions. Some marketing roles are in-house, meaning you work for a single company to market and sell their products. For example, I’m an in-house product marketing manager at Google, so I work on creating compelling video and social content for the Think With Google brand. But if you’d like a little more variety working on different projects across multiple industries, an agency role might be a good fit. Agencies partner with companies that don’t have in house marketing teams to fill their digital marketing and advertising needs. There are pros and cons to both agency and in-house work and which one is right for you depends on what you want out of your career. Of course you don’t have to commit to one forever, in this program will help you prepare for both paths. But there are some differences you should keep in mind as you consider your options. As an in-house employee, you get to know one company and its products extremely well. You also gain deep knowledge and expertise in a specific industry. So, if you work for a cosmetics company, your experience will translate most directly to a similar company. On the other hand, if you’re the sort of person who likes working on a lot of different projects, working with one company on one type of product might not be for you. And if you do want to move to a different type of business, your specialized experience can make it harder to break into a new sector. Now, if you work for an agency, you’re unlikely to get bored, because agency work is project based, you get to collaborate on a variety of initiatives and multiple industries. By working with different clients, you can develop a broad and flexible expertise that will serve you at a variety of companies. But that doesn’t mean you can’t specialize. Agencies tend to focus on a few different areas within marketing, like social media or brand building, so you can get to know certain skill sets very well. But there can be downsides too. The same variability that keeps agency work interesting, can also make things unpredictable. Sometimes, clients can surprise you with unexpected requests or ask you to do things in an unfamiliar way. The hours can be longer too, especially toward the end of a project. Of course, every workplace is different and they won’t all have the same advantages and disadvantages. Whichever path you choose, whether it’s the deep knowledge and stability of an in-house role or the broad knowledge and flexibility of agency work, you’ll gain valuable experience that can lead you to the next great opportunity.

Roles and responsibilities in digital marketing and e-commerce

Reading. Duration: 20 minutes

In another reading, you were introduced to examples of job responsibilities in digital marketing coordinator and e-commerce analyst roles. This reading summarizes other associate or entry-level roles and responsibilities in digital marketing and e-commerce. At the end of the reading, you’ll find advice on how you can potentially progress from a starting role to roles with further growth opportunities.

####### Associate-level roles in digital marketing

Below are some examples of responsibilities for associate-level roles in digital marketing. These lists aren’t comprehensive but are intended to showcase a variety of responsibilities in each role.

Digital marketing coordinator

• Coordinate marketing activities and initiatives

• Identify target audiences through research

• Run campaigns

• Monitor metrics to evaluate trends

Marketing associate

• Prepare reports on marketing and sales metrics

• Collect and analyze customer behavior metrics, such as web traffic and search rankings

• Coordinate with marketing teams to generate digital advertising materials

• Assist with ongoing marketing campaigns

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) specialist

• Develop optimization strategies to improve search rankings

• Implement keywords for SEO

• Monitor metrics to understand SEO performance

• Update links for optimization of search rankings

Search Engine Marketing (SEM) specialist

• Identify customer personas to enable marketing to identified audiences

• Perform research on keywords for SEO and Pay Per Click (PPC) ads

• onitor metrics to optimize paid search performance

• Identify and monitor key performance indicators (KPIs) for SEM

Social media specialist

• Develop, implement, and manage a social media marketing strategy

• Collaborate with sales and marketing teams on social media campaigns

• Create content to build customer connections and increase brand awareness

• Monitor metrics in social media campaigns for customer engagement and content optimization insights

Email marketing specialist

• Create email marketing campaigns to promote products or services

• Create an archive of emails for lead generation

• Purge non-deliverable and unsubscribed email addresses

• Use metrics to monitor the performance of email campaigns

Associate-level roles in e-commerce

Below are some examples of responsibilities for associate-level roles in e-commerce. These lists aren’t comprehensive but are intended to showcase a variety of responsibilities in each role.

E-commerce analyst

• Implement e-commerce strategies to support business goals

• Set e-commerce goals and key performance indicators (KPIs) for key attributes like audience, acquisition, behavior, and conversions

• Monitor and analyze e-commerce metrics

• Leverage e-commerce data for operational insights

• Also described in another reading

E-commerce specialist

• Develop and run campaigns to increase digital sales as part of an overall digital marketing strategy

• Optimize paid advertising campaigns using SEO and other tools

• Manage an online marketing presence, including social media platforms

• Monitor metrics for spikes in website traffic or sales

Advance to roles that further your growth

Starting an entry-level role in marketing or e-commerce is exciting, but after you gain practical experience and hands-on work using tools in that role, you might be eager to advance your career.

If you’re ready for a new role, below are a few possibilities and a sampling of responsibilities for each.

Digital marketing manager

• Plan and execute digital marketing, including SEO/SEM, email, social media, and display advertising campaigns

• Measure and report performance and return on investment (ROI) for digital marketing

• Plan, execute, and evaluate A/B tests and experiments

• Evaluate and improve the end-to-end customer experience across multiple channels and customer touchpoints

Social media strategist

• Manage and oversee social media content

• Measure the success of social media campaigns

• Monitor and analyze metrics to recommend effective content optimization solutions

• Network with industry professionals and influencers using social media

Account manager

• Build and maintain client relationships

• Ensure the timely and successful delivery of advertising solutions based on customer needs and objectives

• Clearly communicate the progress of initiatives to internal and external stakeholders

• Forecast and monitor key account metrics

E-commerce product manager

• Conduct market research

• Develop a product strategy for an e-commerce business based on analytics

• Define website and mobile app functionality, and deliver an optimal user experience for both

• Understand business objectives and coordinate efforts to increase sales

Key takeaways

Career progression is very individualized. Sometimes it can take less than a year to be ready to advance to the next level; often it can take a few years. Here are three signs that you could be ready to progress to the next level.

1. You consistently meet or exceed job-related performance goals.

2. You’re assigned tasks associated with a higher-level role.

3. You recently asked for more work while performing your job.

Keep in mind that your career can advance at a speed that is right for you. Always be ready and open to new opportunities by demonstrating a positive attitude and a growth mindset in whatever role you’re in!

Zuri - A day in the life of an entry-level digital marketer

Video. Duration: 3 minutes

Zuri, and I’m an Associate Product Marketing Manager at Google. I got into digital marketing in an unconventional way. A part of my story is growing up and not necessarily knowing about digital marketing or marketing as a whole, in general. How I got into it specifically is through an amazing internship with Google—the BOLD internship. Before I got into digital marketing, a few of the jobs that I had were not relevant to digital marketing at all. My first job actually was at Chick-fil-A. In my hometown, I served as a waiter and took orders, served our customers, and made their food and their beverage. And that in itself had a lot of transferable skills to what I see now as a digital marketer. Whether it’s putting the customer or consumer first, or whether it’s managing your time diligently and effectively. At its core, in my opinion, it teaches you how to interact with people. I am confident that if you look hard enough, you can find transferable skills and key characteristics that are transferable to an entry-level digital marketing role. The specific team that I work on within Google Ads is the Brand Architecture team. We think strategically about what is important to call out in the copy and the text that is in Google Ads. We have to keep in mind the advertiser who will interact and who will see the copy and the text shown within the ad’s portfolio. As an entry-level marketer, I work with a lot of teams to make sure the customer voice is heard. The majority of my day, I’m being resourceful, looking through different documents, different presentations, and decks to gather the information that I need to do my job,and that’s the first half of it. The second half is pulling that information that I have gathered and going to talk to specific Googlers to ensure that one, I understand what I read, but also two, in understanding what I read, that I’m appropriately applying it to the task at hand. In addition to that, doing different trainings throughout the day and throughout my role that relate to and help me become a better Googler and help me execute my role more effectively. What I like most about working in digital marketing has to be creativity. I’m able to operate as a creative, as a strategic thinker, and also as a problem-solver with the end goal and mind of helping and promoting our brand to customers who love and use our products and services. And that’s a key characteristic to have as a digital marketer— to know and understand customer behavior, to understand persona, and to be able to play to that. If you work and interact with people, if you promote and spread awareness about a brand or a product, you have a place in digital marketing.

Jebb - A day in the life of an entry-level e-commerce account manager

Video•. Duration: 3 minutes

My name is Jebb Rickets, and I’m an Account Manager on Big Box Retail at Google. An Account Manager basically works with companies that have already invested in Google to spend more money with Google. So think of large retail companies— could be apparel, could be electronics, could be groceries, or a supercenter. When I first started at Google, I was working with small to medium-sized businesses, both e-commerce and lead generation. But on the e-commerce side, we worked with anything and everything. It could be apparel, it could be knickknacks— one of my favorite clients sold custom-made cards. So we had everything from small-ticket items to items that might cost $1,000, $2,000, $3,000. A lot of companies continue to go online even if they have a brick-and-mortar presence. I think for e-commerce, it really depends on if you’re omnichannel or not. Do you have a storefront property? And how can you expand your storefront by also selling online? And then if you don’t have a storefront property, how do you increase your brand awareness to get people to go to your website versus going to a competitor website or to a brick-and-mortar business? I love with e-commerce that we can see the impact of what we’re actually selling and working on. So through data analysis, all the analytics piece, we can determine— we ran a campaign for $10 million, and it brought us $30 million in profit. And that’s an awesome feeling that you oftentimes don’t get with other media channels—think about television— it’s very hard to prove whether or not that brought in money for the company. So I love seeing that bottom line and top line success with what we’re able to do through digital marketing. Usually we’ll have weekly projects— we’re working on a presentation deck for a new product that we think our clients should use. Or we’re doing data calculations on a campaign that was just run, and we’re trying to determine that final return on ad spend. The common task for entry level e-commerce people depends on what client they’re working with. At a small company, you know, you might be on Excel or Google Sheets, calculating what your spend has been for the past few weeks. And then trying to calculate again that return-on-investment piece and then thinking about what new strategies can we come up with to improve that. So maybe that’s having meetings with internal stakeholders that say, “Hey, we should do XYZ if we want to increase performance over time.” For a larger company, it can be a little bit more difficult to know the day-to-day, because a lot of times it’s reactive. You get an email from the in client who says, “We need you to look into this, and we need you to look into that.” So you often have to jump around on a lot of small tasks while tackling a larger project, such as, “We want to adopt $100 million campaign over the course of a year.” And that takes several weeks to months to pitch an idea like that. To be a successful account manager, you need both hard and soft skills. The hard skills would be the data analysis piece—you know, can you look at the data and determine what needs to be done to improve the project or what we can take from the project after it’s been ran. Soft skills could be as simple as just being personable in a conversation where you know, you’re talking about the small stuff, small chatting, and then going into very deep, complex situations with that customer. It’s really about building trust and earning that rapport early on. I let my clients know I’m open to them. If they have any issues or problems, they should email me, they should call me, and I’ll be able to answer those questions. And then when it comes to my time for a huge pitch, they already know me, they trust me, they’ve seen me answer all these tough questions. And now I have this new product idea that they love, just because we’ve been working together for the past several weeks or several months. My number one piece of advice, which is simply: Be patient, but be hungry. There’s so much to learn about digital marketing. There’s so much to learn about an individual client. Take time to hear that client’s needs, as well as take time to learn about the products that you’re working on or that you’re selling. There’s so much to learn and you have to be open to it, you have to be hungry for it, and you have to be patient enough to learn it because it does take time.

E-commerce, ecommerce, or eCommerce?

Reading•. Duration: 20 minutes

Which is the correct term: e-commerce, ecommerce, eCommerce, or just ecomm for short? The name and spelling of e-commerce has evolved over the last 30 years, and so have the technologies and job skills required to work in this field. This reading provides a summary of e-commerce’s evolution by describing the history of the term and by laying out the four distinct models within e-commerce that have emerged over the years.

Like most everything on the internet, e-commerce — although it hasn’t been around that long — has evolved and changed a lot. What started as electronic commerce, quickly progressed into e-commerce, ecommerce, or eCommerce. But how can you know which one to use? In this course, you’ll see e-commerce used. That’s, in part, because Google Trends — a website that analyzes popularity of top search queries in Google Search — shows most people prefer using e-commerce, as opposed to ecommerce or eCommerce. Since the word is a combination of two words, the use of the hyphen makes that more clear. Now, let’s talk about the four distinct models within e-commerce:

• Business-to-consumer (B2C)

• Consumer-to-consumer (C2C)

• Business-to-business (B2B)

• Consumer-to-business (C2B)

Note: When a government entity does business online, substituting business with administration results in additional e-commerce models like business-to-administration (B2A) and consumer-to-administration (C2A). An example of B2A is a company selling software solutions for a government entity that does permitting. An example of C2A is a company that allows consumers to interact directly with a government service, such as paying their utility bills.

Business-to-consumer (B2C) e-commerce

Business-to-consumer (B2C) is the most common form of e-commerce. This is the online process of businesses selling products or services directly to consumers. Some credit the U.S. company Pizza Hut for the first e-commerce transaction (selling a pizza online). However, historians also recognize that before that pizza sale, Dan Kohn sold a CD album to a friend in Philadelphia on August 11, 1994. That friend sent his credit card information to pay for the album and shipping costs using encryption technology. Others couldn’t steal his credit card information because it was encrypted!

Today, B2C e-commerce generates billions of dollars in revenue annually, with encrypted transactions as everyday occurrences. With B2C marketing, you have opportunities to apply your digital marketing skills in very specific ways. For example, you can become a specialist in experiential marketing or social media marketing, or even a subset of social media marketing called influencer marketing.

• Experiential marketing, also known as engagement marketing, encourages consumers to not only purchase a brand or product but to experience it. Experiential marketing campaigns draw out emotional responses from their audiences.

• Social media marketing creates content for different social media platforms to drive engagement and promote a business or product.

• Influencer marketing enlists influential people to endorse or mention a brand or product to their followers on social media.

Consumer-to-consumer (C2C) e-commerce

With consumer-to-consumer (C2C) e-commerce, individuals sell products or services to other individuals. In other words, consumers buy items from each other. Boston Computer Exchange created the first platform for C2C e-commerce in 1982. An online community of people used this platform to sell their used computers to other users. However, the best-known early C2C e-commerce platform is eBay, founded in 1995.

Today, C2C e-commerce still occurs on platforms like eBay and Etsy. Business-to-consumer platforms like Amazon also host C2C sales. Social media platforms like Facebook also entered C2C e-commerce with Facebook Marketplace. Digital marketing for a C2C business prioritizes skills in search engine optimization (SEO), content creation, and social media since most C2C consumers find each other through blogs and social media posts. Their shared interests lead to C2C transactions to buy and sell items.

Business-to-business (B2B) e-commerce

Business-to-business (B2B) e-commerce enables businesses to sell products and services to other businesses. The rise of services, particularly software services, accelerated B2B e-commerce. This type of service is known as Software-as-a-Service (SaaS). One example of a SaaS company is Salesforce, founded in 1999. SaaS companies, like Salesforce, provide other companies subscription access to business-critical services over the internet. For example, Salesforce provides customer relationship management (CRM) software that unifies sales, marketing, and services for a personalized customer journey.

Today, digital marketers for B2B companies use many of the same skills as digital marketers for B2C companies. However, B2B marketing campaigns require more precise identification of their target audiences. Selling to businesses requires a focus on communicating an immediate value to potential customers. Therefore, digital marketing for B2B companies tends to be more strategic. There may be fewer opportunities to specialize in one type of marketing, like social media marketing, and a greater emphasis on marketing analytics and data.

Consumer-to-business (C2B) e-commerce

The popularity of small business ownership helped establish another model for e-commerce, C2B. With C2B e-commerce, consumers sell their products or services to businesses. Specialized platforms also fill a need for these online transactions. For example, Upwork, founded in 2015, connects freelancers to businesses that may need their skills and services.

Consumers who are influencers may also fall into this category of e-commerce because they may sell their services to promote a company’s products. With social media continuing to expand its influence on consumer decisions, the C2B e-commerce model will likely grow as well.

Key takeaway

This exploration of e-commerce models demonstrates that e-commerce has evolved and will continue to change rapidly. Knowing how to apply and gain new digital marketing skills is vital in advancing your career in this industry.

Test your knowledge: Careers in digital marketing and e-commerce

Practice Quiz. 4 questions

Reflect on jobs that interest you

Discussion Prompt. Duration: 10 minutes

You have learned a lot about the different roles and responsibilities in digital marketing and e-commerce.

For this discussion prompt, consider the following:

• What gets you excited about working in digital marketing or e-commerce?

• What roles or opportunities do you want to pursue?

• What motivates you to pursue a particular role?

• How does this program fit into your career journey?

Submit two paragraphs (100–200 words total). Then, visit the discussion forum to read what other learners have written, and respond to at least two of them with your own thoughts.

Answer

Working in digital marketing and e-commerce gets me excited because it’s like being on the cutting edge of the online world’s wild adventure. You get to play with data, creativity, and strategy all at once. SEO, in particular, is my jam. Imagine the thrill of tweaking websites and content so they pop up right when someone’s searching for them. It’s like a digital treasure hunt! The constant changes in algorithms and user behavior keep me on my toes, but that’s what keeps things exciting.

In this journey, I’m all about roles that let me roll up my sleeves and dive deep into the SEO game. I want to be the person who makes sure a website shines bright on the web. What motivates me? Well, it’s the chance to be the online wizard behind the scenes, helping businesses connect with their audience. This program is my roadmap on this adventure. It’s like the secret map to becoming a digital marketing champ, and I can’t wait to learn all the tricks of the trade and make a real impact online!

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4. Review: Introduction of foundations of digital marketing and e-commerce

Wrap-up

Video. Duration: 1 minute

Congrats on completing the first section of this course! I hope you’re feeling confident and excited about the future. I know I am. How about a short review before you finish up and move on to the next part of the course? First, you learned about how to navigate this program and got some tips to help you get the most out of it. Then, you learned about the digital marketing and e-commerce industries and how they’ve changed the way we buy and sell things. You discovered what digital marketing and e-commerce specialists do on a day-to-day basis and how they add value to businesses. After that, you explored some transferable skills that will help you in your career journey, as well as some specialized skills you’ll develop in this program. Then, you got into more depth with the types of roles and responsibilities you might have working in these fields. You surveyed the landscape of available jobs and learned some tips for career development. You examined the differences between agency and in-house work so you can start thinking about which one is right for you. Finally, you met some Google employees and learned about what they do and how they got where they are today. I hope everything you’ve learned so far is helping you build confidence about your career journey, but if you feel like you need a refresher before moving on, remember you can always go back and review any content you’re unsure about. By picking up the basics, you’re laying the foundation for the rest of your e-commerce and digital marketing education. When you’re ready, I’ll meet you in the next section of the course.

Glossary terms from module 1

Reading. Duration: 10 minutes

Terms and definitions from Course 1, Module 1

Agency: An outside partner that fulfills a company’s digital marketing and advertising needs

Business-to-business (B2B): Refers to when businesses sell products or services to other businesses (when businesses purchase from each other)

Business-to-consumer (B2C): Refers to when businesses sell products or services to consumers (when consumers purchase from businesses)

Consumer-to-business (C2B): Refers to when individuals (consumers) sell products or services to businesses (when businesses purchase from consumers)

Consumer-to-consumer (C2C): Refers to when individuals (consumers) sell products or services to other consumers (when consumers purchase from each other)

Digital channel: Any communication method or platform a business can use to reach their target audience online

Digital marketing: The practice of reaching consumers online through digital channels with the aim of turning them into customers

E-commerce: The buying and selling of goods or services using the internet

Engagement marketing: (refer to experiential marketing)

Experiential marketing: The process of encouraging consumers to not only purchase a brand or product, but to experience it

Influencer marketing: The process of enlisting influential people to endorse or mention a brand or product to their followers on social media

In-house: Within a single company

Social media marketing: The process of creating content for different social media platforms to drive engagement and promote a business or product

Transferable skills: Skills from other areas that can help someone progress a career in marketing

Module 1 challenge

Due, Oct 15, 11:59 PM WEST | Quiz. 10 questions | Grade: —

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END! - Week 1 - Course 1