The marketing industry is an extremely popular choice for many people who want to work in the business world. If you’re interested in working in marketing but are unsure whether you’re the right fit, you’re in luck.

There is an extremely wide range of jobs available to suit many different types of interests and skill sets within the world of marketing. Every single business and brand out there requires a marketing team, so there’s always vacancies and movement within the job market. It is a good industry to get experience in as you can gain a lot of skills that are transferable. Whatever brand you love, or category of business you’d like to work for, there’s something for pretty much everyone.

7 Top Marketing Types

person working in marketing with data and analytics

Before we explore the riches of working in marketing and finding the right position for you, it’s important that you understand what marketing is. However, there are several different types of marketing, from the online world of digital marketing to the physical role of offline marketing. Here are seven of the most common marketing types, and everything you need to know about each of them.

 1. Digital Marketing

We live in a digital world, so it makes sense that digital marketing[i] utilises all things digital to communicate. We are constantly connected to the internet via smartphones, computers, tablets, and Smart TVs. This connection has made it very easy for businesses to tap into a limitless source through social media platforms, email, and instant messaging services. We even get advertisements through paid subscription services like Netflix, Spotify, etc. Even the games we play online are opportunities to sneak in a short video advertisement.

It’s not enough to send a message across via digital technology; you still need to do the groundwork to ensure the marketing strategy you implement will be appealing to your target audience.

There are many types of digital marketing you can employ, such as;

A good digital marketing strategy should combine these marketing methods to achieve maximum exposure for your business.

2. Social Media Marketing

Social media has taken the world by storm, and you would be hard-pressed to find a person with an internet connection that does not have one or more social media accounts. It would be incredibly foolish for any business not to take advantage of this phenomenon. Social media platforms have made it easier for a business to advertise with the possibility of reaching millions of potential customers. While we are scrolling through our social media feeds, we often come across advertisements for dozens of different products and services. These advertisements will randomly pop up in your feed depending on your internet and search engine activity. Thanks to the algorithms that correlate this information, social media marketing can be very highly targeted to each person.

Social media marketing can help your business in several ways. These include;

3. Green Marketing

The trend to living green started in the late 1980s, and it is still going strong, with many people doing their part to minimize their impact on the environment. You have probably heard buzzwords like environmentally or eco-friendly, sustainability and ethical production methods.

Green marketing is a strategy that targets explicitly environmentally conscious consumers who are actively trying to reduce their carbon footprint by voting with their feet and avoiding businesses that do not appear to care about their environmental impact. These consumers are likely to choose products grown or manufactured using sustainable raw materials, minimising carbon and fuel emissions during transport and production, and not harming the natural environment around their business premises.

In short, to succeed in this sphere of marketing, you need to be able to advertise that your products implement eco-friendly practices from the very start of the manufacturing process right through to getting it to the consumer.

4. Offline Marketing

offline marketing adverts on billboards

Our obsession with digital technology has made it easier for businesses to reach more people, but this should not discourage you from using some of the more traditional offline marketing strategies. Offline marketing is every bit as valuable as online marketing. Think of all the billboards you pass as you are commuting to work. You may not pay close attention to them, but they do catch your attention, even if it is subliminally.

The primary forms of offline marketing are:

5. Affiliate Marketing

You have probably heard the term “affiliate marketing” spoken in different circles but did you know that you have most likely made contact with an affiliate marketer without realising it? Many high-volume companies offer a commission for any sales generated through the platform of an individual or business. The individual or business is the affiliate, and they are, in essence, a sales agent for the larger company.

The most common types of affiliate marketing consist of a content creation site that provides links to the larger company’s site. The content can include product reviews, blogs, and vlogs connected to a product or service from the company. When people visit your website, they might click on a link in your content that will direct them to the company, and if the visitor purchases from this link, the company will reward the affiliate with a commission. The more sales you can generate from our platform, the more commission you can make.

6. Network Marketing

You may think network marketing is a relatively new concept, but it has been around for quite a long time. This type of marketing is also known as MLM – multi-level marketing and pyramid marketing. It is a business model that involves person-to-person sales. Think Avon, Juice Plus, and The Body Shop at Home.

In a typical network marketing setting, you sign up to become an independent business operator and distributor for the company. You can do this to get the products at a discounted rate for yourself, or you can generate more sales by gathering loyal customers who will regularly order from you. People in MLMs generate more income by signing others up through their membership to become ‘representatives’. Once done, they will receive a percentage of the commission from the sales of everyone they have signed up for the scheme.

7. Influencer Marketing

The rise of social media influencers has created a fascinating marketing niche. Many people have a favourite influencer and religiously follow their vlogs and other content. Influencer Marketing takes advantage of this trend, promoting goods and services on their chosen social media platform. The advertising companies then pay a commission to the influencer either by followers clicking on a link within the content or being given a special code exclusive to each influencer. This code is used when followers buy a product or service, which is an easy way to keep tabs on how many sales are generated from the influencer’s content.

Influencer marketing is an easy way to reach a wider audience, mainly because more and more influencers are popping up across a wide variety of social media platforms. This gives a company an undeniable advantage of increasing their brand awareness, with the influencer doing most of the work to create the content.

Working In Marketing: How Can You Find The Right Role For You?

person working in marketing reviewing company data

Getting started working in marketing is often the tricky bit, since there’s so many directions you can go down in this industry. We’ve put together a list of some of the most popular jobs in marketing for you to explore, so that you can discover one that is the right fit for you. Don’t worry- if you don’t have the skills yet, there are plenty of online marketing courses that can help you get your foot in the door.

Read on to find out more about some of the most popular areas to work when considering working in marketing:

Market Research

If you’re an analytical person, then market research would be the best job type for you within the sphere of marketing. Working in research means that you will research your target audience, and spend some time gathering valuable insights about them. These insights will eventually inform the marketing plan and message. These insights will include things like

Research can be conducted through surveys or focus groups. It can also be done merely by studying existing findings. It can be conducted by a business in-house or by hiring an external market research agency. Usually, you will be given a brief by the brand management team where they will ask you to gather insights and data about a particular set of people that they are looking to target. You will then need to go away and gather the data using a blend of qualitative and quantitative methods as required.

Market research doesn’t only consist of gathering customer insight – you will also be required to gather information about the market or category that your brand falls under. For instance, if you are doing market research for a shampoo brand, your team will be the one that is tasked with gathering information on the size of the market and the other players within it.

Working in market research would be ideal for you if you have a great analytical ability, work well with numbers, and are also good at interpreting data and drawing insights from it.  It is the least creative of the departments within marketing, but it is a really great choice for someone who likes learning about people and working with numbers.

Brand Management

This is the job that most people instantly think of when they think of working in marketing. You can think of a brand manager as a small business owner. As a brand manager, you would be responsible for building and taking care of the image of a brand. They use the data and insights that the market research team provide them to create a brand that is likely to resonate with their target audience.  This includes developing the brand personality, tone of voice and look and feel.

Brand managers will also develop the marketing strategy and campaign that will communicate the brand to the audience. You’d be required to work with a cross functional team to execute all campaigns effectively. Generally, brand managers are asked to do a lot of presentations to internal and external stakeholders. Confidence and passion for the brand you are working for is key, as you will need to live and breathe it as a brand manager!

Budget management is a key component of any brand management job. It helps to be good with numbers, especially if part of your job role is P&L (profit & loss) management. You may also be required to make business cases for any additional budget requests for marketing.

A brand management position would be suitable for those who are business minded, and good with people and communication. There are many marketing courses that you can take to learn more about brand building and how to build an effective brand strategy.

Public Relations

public relations advertising

The public relations team is responsible for managing communication with media outlets, consumers, investors and employees. They are often referred to as the spokesperson of a business. The duties of a public relations role could include:

Having connections within the media world can be a really valuable asset for anyone that works in public relations. This is because a big part of your job will be trying to get journalists to feature your brand or product.

Those who work in public relations would also be responsible for crisis management, as they have to deal with any issues that could result in the company’s image being tarnished. Anything that the business is going through, such as a re-structure, a rebrand, a sale, or any other big news, will be shared with the public relations department first. It will then be their job to draft a press release and share the news with the press and the public.

If this all sounds exciting to you and you have great communication skills, you’d do well in a public relations job. It is essential to be articulate and well-spoken to be successful in the world of public relations. Writing skills are also valuable for anyone working in public relations, as you’ll be writing a lot of press releases for your company. There are also usually a lot of events to attend outside of work. If you have a more sociable personality and are great at networking, you’re much more likely to enjoy working in public relations.

Promotions

Though a dedicated promotions team may not exist within the marketing department of a smaller business, in larger companies you will find often find a promotions team. Working in promotions means that you are responsible for creating campaigns that will help to sell and promote a product using an incentive based concept. For instance, anything relating to coupons, gifts with purchase or customer discounts all falls under the umbrella of promotions.

Different promotional tactics could include using in-store displays, direct mail, or events to promote your brand’s product or service. Working in promotions is suitable for those of you who are more sales-minded and efficient at working with other people. There are lots of marketing courses that focus on promotional and direct marketing, and many of these are available online.

Advertising

Often working in marketing agencies rather than client-side, those who focus on the advertising work on everything involved with the execution of the advertising strategy. You could also be working on planning which media channel is best to advertise in to reach your brand’s target audience. Advertising roles include media campaign planner, advertising account executive, or creative director amongst others. Advertising is a great choice if you want to focus more on the creative side of marketing.

If you decide to go down the advertising route, then you will usually work in an advertising agency rather than in-house in a business. This can be a great and very sociable environment to work in. You may sometimes have to work longer hours, but you’ll have a pretty great social life if you work in an advertising agency. Since you’ll be required to keep on top of market trends and what else is going on in the world of advertising, your employer is likely to send you to events and conferences, or enrol you in marketing courses. Working in advertising means always keeping in touch with what competitors are doing, and it’s definitely an exciting and fast paced part of the marketing world to work in.

Working In Marketing

person working in marketing research

Hopefully, the above list has helped you see that there are many diverse and interesting jobs in marketing that you could work in. It’s a very diverse and exciting industry.

You need different skills for every job, you’ll find that there’s something to suit anyone. And since there is a marketing department in every business, you are sure to find a brand that you’d really love to work for!

Sources

[i] https://www.business2community.com/marketing/7-offline-marketing-strategies-support-online-brand-01191059

Teaching Assistants (TAs) are valued members of a school’s staff and an amazing resource in any classroom. With vacancies across the education sector (including primary and secondary schools, pupil referral units and colleges) there are many opportunities to become a teaching assistant.

Schools and colleges are increasingly looking for TAs that are both qualified and experienced. Employers welcome applications from people who have experience in other work sectors and industries, as they bring valuable knowledge and skills to the classroom.

But how do you get started?

What Does a Teaching Assistant Do?
Teaching Assistants support the teacher and the students. We associate TAs with working with under-achieving children or pupils with additional learning needs, but TAs are also used by classroom teachers to challenge gifted children.

The role that a TA fills will vary from one school or college to another:

Essential Skills
As a TA, you will need to show a range of diverse skills:

How to Get a Job as a Teaching Assistant

#1 Get Qualified
There is no requirement for a TA to be qualified, so it may seem strange to suggest starting with this point.

However, schools and colleges are increasingly aware of the very complex needs of some of their students. They are also aware that in order to provide a high-quality education that is accessible for all of their students, they need to offer a range of educational experiences. TAs are an important part of this big picture.

Being a qualified TA means that the school or college has confidence in your abilities and your skills, and they trust in your professionalism as an educational provider working within the establishment.

There are many TA qualifications that show employers that you have the ability to work with children and young people. These include:

A Level 2 Teaching Assistant Certificate or a Level 3 Teaching Assistant Diploma both cover the basics of being a TA in an educational setting. The average duration of the Level 3 Diploma is 200 hours of study, with NCC providing expert tutor support for 12 months.

The level 4 HLTA Qualification course shows an employer you are capable of facilitating small group work sessions and delivering work prepared by the classroom teacher. This course is 240 hours of study over a timeframe that suits you. To support your learning on this course, volunteering in the classroom will cement your knowledge if you don’t already work in a school or college.

As well gaining qualifications as a TA, you can expand your skill set with awareness raising or specialist qualifications, such as working with children with speech and language needs, and behavioural issues as well as mental health issues, such as Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD). There are also courses that help with understanding autism and other similar issues and illnesses.

By holding these specialist qualifications, you show potential employers that you have the abilities and skills to help all children access education.

#2 Secure a Placement or Volunteer
Being a TA is an active role. It can be demanding, and even though you may think you are only working 9 until 3 pm (hours will vary!), those six hours are full of non-stop activities.

Employers look for an understanding of the educational setting, and so volunteering or arranging a placement in a school or college will strengthen your applications. Most schools welcome volunteers and will be happy to provide you with a short reference at the end of your time at their school.

A short placement or a term volunteering is valuable if you lack the practical experience of being in school. If you have not been in a school or college for a long time, you will be amazed at how much the lessons have changed.

#3 Search for Vacancies
TA posts are regularly advertised in different places, depending on the employer;

Before applying, it is important that you thoroughly research the TA post. Because TA roles vary so widely, you need to be confident that you know what is being asked of you. For example, TAs who work with disabled students can be responsible for their personal care during the day. Other schools amalgamate many duties into the role of TA, such as First Aid.

Schools and colleges are different, and each has a different ethos and style of education. Before you apply, you need to assess if the school, college or educational setting looks to be an environment you would want to be a part of?

#4 Submitting Your Application
HINT – don’t leave the application process to the last minute. Take the time to work on the application form, covering letter and your CV so that you respond to a job vacancy with a strong application that secures you an interview.

You will need to follow the application process as laid out by the local authority, school or college. Some now encourage applications online, as this reduces costs of paper and postage and streamlines the process. Read through the application process notes thoroughly before applying.

#5 The Interview
The interview is a chance for you to shine and show the interviewing panel that you have what it takes, professionally and personally to work as a TA.

The most important preparation you can do for any interview is to research the school, what if offers, how it is offered and the role that a TA would play in school life as a whole.

Why Study with NCC Home Learning?
NCC is fast becoming a leading online provider of courses, including high-quality Teaching Assistant courses online. With fantastic courses and expert tutor support, we have helped hundreds of students to gain the qualifications and skills they need to bag a promotion or change the direction of their career completely.

Maths and numeracy are two key skills that can significantly boost your chances of getting a job. But why?

Across All Career Choices

Many people fall into the mode of thinking that maths and numeracy are key skills for only a few jobs, such as being a teacher or an accountant. But, math skills are used every day in a wide range of other careers.

For example, a nurse needs to be able to perform simple calculations relating to medication; failure to do so could result in someone being made ill from the wrong dose. Fashion designers, architects, surveyors, butchers, bakers, teaching assistants… you name it! There is not one career that is not informed by the need for a good working knowledge of maths and numeracy.

Now that we have established that Maths knowledge is important across many career areas, we need to look at why. Here are just a few ideas of why maths plays an important daily role in any job you do:

Handling money, giving the correct change, and performing basic mental arithmetic are all essential when it comes to accurately handling money.

Some job roles will involve taking and recording measurements. This can be a pilot working out how much fuel he or she needs to fly across the Atlantic, or a logistic manager working out if they have enough warehouse floor space to accommodate an order.

It could also be the tailor taking measurements for a bespoke suit, or a TA working with children to calculate the mass and volume of various materials. The possibilities are endless.

Maths is about calculating and coming up with precise data. This is never more important than when looking at and reading maps. There are many job roles that require looking at maps and calculating distances, such as lorry drivers, pilots, farmers and more…

Sometimes information is given not in the form of written words but in the shape of digits, data and graphs.

This information needs to be interpreted – what are the numbers and digits telling you? This is called quantitive information, and it is the hard facts on which many companies will base their decision.

For example, a social media manager needs to interpret the analytics that the program is giving them in relation to a recent online campaign. They need to show how valuable and successful the campaign has been in order to design future campaigns.

Look at Data in a Different Way

Data gives you a certain amount of information, but someone good at maths can play around with this information and extrapolate even more.

This is about reasoning processes. The good news is that you don’t have to be a maths genius to be able to drill deeper into what the figures are telling you.

Companies and businesses sometimes want a more analytical approach to problems. This means having someone who can look at the hard data objectively rather than apply emotion.

Find Solutions to Problems

Every business wants as high a level of productivity as possible, with no bottlenecks and no issues. And yet, when there is a problem the solution is often ‘ill-fitting’.

Having mathematic skills means that you have the powers of reasoning and investigation necessary to seek a solution that is a better fit.

For example, on a production line, why is the same amount of goods produced on days when there is less staff on hand as when the production line is fully staffed? It is an interesting conundrum and suggests that economies of scale are reached. Someone good at maths can assess this issue.

When these economies are passed, the process becomes wasteful. With a strong mathematical thought process, you could work out what is happening and why, as then develop solutions.

Many people who have a natural and learnt mathematical aptitude are often naturally organised.

This is not just in how they organise their desk but in regards to their approach in general. They can think in a clear way, producing strategies for getting things done that revolutionise a work process.

But, I’m no good at maths…

Maths is a subject area that will either fill you with horror or make you clap your hands with glee. We teach ourselves that maths is hard by remembering days of complex-looking algebra that made no sense and other mathematical concepts that we say we ‘have never used since’.

But you have, you just didn’t realise that you were using them. Employers want people with a strong mathematical knowledge, which is why many employees are now looking to distance learning maths courses to equip them with the knowledge and the analytical thinking skills that so many employers are looking for when they hire for lucrative positions.

How do you think maths is used in your current role?