Types of Marketing Specialization Areas To Pursue
If you’re interested in working somewhere within the marketing field, consider researching different marketing specializations to pursue. Each of these areas allow you to work with specific channels, outlets or media forms to contribute to a campaign’s implementation. Studying various specializations allows you to learn more about how to promote a company, increase its brand awareness and improve sales revenue. In this article, we review what a marketing specialization is and the 10 types you can study and later pursue as careers.
What is a marketing specialization?
A marketing specialization is an area of study you can pursue in your undergraduate or graduate program that focuses on building campaigns to promote an organization, brand, product or service. There are many different career fields within these specializations that center on certain responsibilities within marketing, like writing, editing, project management or research. When studying various marketing specializations, students can learn the fundamentals of researching, planning, creating, implementing and analyzing a promotional campaign. You can then decide whether to pursue a specialization that allows you to work within one specific stage or oversee all aspects of the entire campaign.
Types of marketing specializations
Here are the common types of marketing specializations you can pursue:
1. Digital marketing
Digital marketing involves using a wide variety of online outlets and channels to increase a company’s brand awareness, reach additional potential customers and convert more individuals to sales leads. This can be a more general form of marketing, with other professionals holding specific writing, design or researching careers within this field to ensure the success of digital marketing campaigns. Others might work in high-level digital marketing positions to complete general tasks to build strategies and oversee the successful implementation of digital campaigns. These professionals may use different digital formats, like websites, email messages, search engines and social media accounts.
2. Content marketing
Those who work in content marketing may research, strategize, coordinate, write and publish an organization’s promotional copy. They craft a wide variety of content pieces, like blog posts, landing pages, advertising copy, white papers and e-books. Most content marketers craft unique, valuable and engaging pieces that improve their audience’s personal or work lives or solve certain challenges they face. Strong content can build trust with potential and current customers as it establishes a brand as a reliable and knowledgeable thought leader in the industry.
3. Social media marketing
These professionals craft and publish engaging social media posts about a variety of topics like company announcements, product advertisements or industry news. Many social media marketers closely analyze the results of each post they publish to understand their customers’ reception and to identify improvement areas. They conduct extensive research to determine the tone, voice and graphics to use on each individual outlet to most effectively target those audiences. Social media marketers also find ways to engage with their followers on these platforms using efforts like hosting contests and responding to comments or messages.
4. Visual marketing
Individuals who work in visual marketing use videos, graphics and images to tell a brand’s story and convey its messaging. These professionals can be graphic designers, video marketers or web designers. Most graphic designers create graphs, charts, infographics or images to display on different digital or print outlets to promote and advertise the company. Video marketers craft engaging videos like product demonstrations, tutorials or commercial advertisements to inform the audience of the brand in a captivating way.
Others might serve as web designers, building the layout of the website to ensure it represents the brand, remains easy to navigate and offers a user-friendly way for customers to access the necessary resources provided on the site.
5. Search engine marketing
Search engine marketing uses search engine optimization best practices to increase the chances that a company’s website content appears higher on search engine results. They typically use methods like paid-search and organic growth strategies to ensure customers easily locate and notice a company’s web pages. Many search engine professionals work closely with other marketing employees to review a company’s website to find ways to increase its search engine optimization results through adding keywords, well-written content and images to certain web pages.
6. Influencer marketing
Influencer marketing involves hiring current industry experts, celebrities or public figures to use and promote a company’s product or service through social media or other digital formats. These individuals typically have a strong following with demographics similar to the audience that a brand currently has. This increases the chances that the influencer reaches a wider audience who’s likely interested in learning more about or purchasing the advertised product. Influencer marketing is often successful because the influencers’ followers typically trust their opinions and endorsements, which can lead their audiences to try the products themselves.
7. Product marketing
These professionals develop a product’s messaging, positioning and pricing. Product marketers also decide where to place the item both in the store and on the website to ensure it’s visually appealing and easily accessible to customers. They typically ensure the product meets customers’ needs before its release and caters its promotional messaging toward the needs and interests of the company’s target audience. Many product marketers closely review the results research marketers provide and use this information to develop strategies and forecasts that increase the products’ awareness and revenue.
8. Brand management marketing
Most brand managers define a brand’s voice and image and ensure it’s represented positively, professionally and accurately on all promotional materials. They typically research the organization’s target audience to understand how to effectively cater their marketing efforts toward customers’ needs, preferences and interests. Many brand managers monitor industry trends to understand how to make the organization and its products or services effectively stand out from competitors.
9. Research marketing
Individuals who work as market researchers gather and closely examine data and insights on an organization’s target audience, potential customers and current competitors. When conducting market research, these professionals might survey current and prospective customers about topics like buying habits, product needs and brand preferences. Other ways they might conduct market research is through social media monitoring, focus groups and interviews. Marketing team members can use this information to build strategies and implement campaigns that accurately target consumers and bring in valuable sales leads.
10. Email marketing
These marketers specialize in crafting email campaigns targeted toward potential and current customers in various stages of the purchasing process. They might develop and send content centered on topics like special offers, company newsletters or product launches to engage and entertain recipients. After sending these messages, email marketers review the results of these campaigns and use them to develop ongoing strategies to personalize future emails and generate new sales leads through captivating content.
