Advertising is the engine of trade, playing an important role in the economy of the modern world. Many want to try their hand at this area, but have little idea of what the duties of an advertiser are and what are the prospects for the future. Do you want to build a career in advertising? Then our guide will help you determine your goals and objectives.
Who to become? Key professions in the field of advertising
It is difficult to list all the professions that can be found in advertising. Let's focus on the most popular and basic categories.
1. Creatives
The term came into Russian from English and comes from the verb "create" - to create, to create. That is, a creative person is a creator who creates new ideas. As a rule, when it comes to advertising agencies, everyone first of all imagines a creative person - a generator of original ideas that can satisfy the needs of both the customer and potential customers of the customer. It is impossible to learn to be a creative - they can only be born. The ideal creative department consists of people whose imagination is simply amazing. They are characterized by some bewitching "madness", courage, audacity and the ability to go beyond stereotyped thinking. These are amazing advertising talents.
However, people with a creative mindset are not very fond of strict deadlines, so the creative department is in dire need of an iron hand of a manager who will direct their rapid flow of imagination in the right direction and make sure that the guys fit into the deadlines needed by the customer. After all, he needs advertising now, and not in a year or two. Do not think that a creative person can strike a pose and pretend to be a misunderstood artist, spitting on all the requirements and deadlines of the customer.
Copywriters, rewriters, authors of slogans and slogans - all those workhorses on which the text component of advertising rests. Getting into their ranks is the easiest (personally in my opinion). The main requirements: literacy and the ability to write a "live" text adapted to the target audience. And since there are authors, you can’t do without proofreaders and editors - real experts in their native speech, who will put the author’s “raw” text in order.
Their work is sometimes more important than writing the text, because most people first pay attention to the picture, and only then begin to read its description. In my subjective opinion, it is the work of the designer that determines whether the advertisement becomes productive, whether the logo becomes recognizable. And if a teenager without a higher education can copy advertising texts, then things are much more complicated with design. This work will require significant factors: the presence of artistic taste, understanding the psychology of a potential client, fluency in modern software (software) for creating design.
This includes a variety of categories of managers. All are equally important. Consider several options for such subprofessions.
Account Manager. An agency can immediately close its doors if management doesn't bother to hire an account manager. After all, clients themselves will not fall on their heads (unless the agency has a mega-impressive reputation and many years of experience). You have to look for clients.
Advertising manager.And if they found customers, then the advertising manager comes into play. This is not an easy profession, for which it is necessary to show a high level of resistance to stress. At the same time, you need to be sociable, flexible, patient and understand that the client will be capricious from morning to night - which, by the way, has every right. if you like to show character and do not know how to communicate with people in the same language, then you can forget about management. It is not enough to be cultured, you need to be a chameleon, changing your speech depending on the characteristic manner of communication characteristic of the interlocutor.
PR manager. The term PR ( Public Relations) relates to public relations. Such a manager is an important piece in the chess field of the advertising business. The PR specialist is engaged in creating the image of the entire brand, working to improve its reputation and market promotion.
SMM manager. The abbreviation SSM stands for Social Media Marketing (social media marketing). The profession is close to PR specialists, with the only difference being that the SMM manager deals specifically with the promotion of goods on the Internet in general and in social networks in particular.
However, people with a creative mindset are not very fond of strict deadlines, so the creative department is in dire need of an iron hand of a manager who will direct their rapid flow of imagination in the right direction and make sure that the guys fit into the deadlines needed by the customer. After all, he needs advertising now, and not in a year or two. Do not think that a creative person can strike a pose and pretend to be a misunderstood artist, spitting on all the requirements and deadlines of the customer.
2. Copywriters
Copywriters, rewriters, authors of slogans and slogans - all those workhorses on which the text component of advertising rests. Getting into their ranks is the easiest (personally in my opinion). The main requirements: literacy and the ability to write a "live" text adapted to the target audience. And since there are authors, you can’t do without proofreaders and editors - real experts in their native speech, who will put the author’s “raw” text in order.
3. Designers
Their work is sometimes more important than writing the text, because most people first pay attention to the picture, and only then begin to read its description. In my subjective opinion, it is the work of the designer that determines whether the advertisement becomes productive, whether the logo becomes recognizable. And if a teenager without a higher education can copy advertising texts, then things are much more complicated with design. This work will require significant factors: the presence of artistic taste, understanding the psychology of a potential client, fluency in modern software (software) for creating design.
4. Managers
This includes a variety of categories of managers. All are equally important. Consider several options for such subprofessions.
Account Manager. An agency can immediately close its doors if management doesn't bother to hire an account manager. After all, clients themselves will not fall on their heads (unless the agency has a mega-impressive reputation and many years of experience). You have to look for clients.
Advertising manager.And if they found customers, then the advertising manager comes into play. This is not an easy profession, for which it is necessary to show a high level of resistance to stress. At the same time, you need to be sociable, flexible, patient and understand that the client will be capricious from morning to night - which, by the way, has every right. if you like to show character and do not know how to communicate with people in the same language, then you can forget about management. It is not enough to be cultured, you need to be a chameleon, changing your speech depending on the characteristic manner of communication characteristic of the interlocutor.
PR manager. The term PR ( Public Relations) relates to public relations. Such a manager is an important piece in the chess field of the advertising business. The PR specialist is engaged in creating the image of the entire brand, working to improve its reputation and market promotion.
SMM manager. The abbreviation SSM stands for Social Media Marketing (social media marketing). The profession is close to PR specialists, with the only difference being that the SMM manager deals specifically with the promotion of goods on the Internet in general and in social networks in particular.
5. SEO optimizers
SEOs are engaged in optimizing the promotion of services. In the context of advertising, we can talk about both a person who directly optimizes the website of an advertising agency, and an SEO specialist who develops the concept of promoting the advertiser's product. A good SEO specialist should analyze the product, study how the same products are advertised by competitors, work out semantic cores, write meta-data, and so on and so forth.
The disadvantage of the profession is that you have to learn new things every day. Today, optimizing websites is much more difficult than 5 years ago. Search engine algorithms are constantly changing, it will no longer be possible to get to the top of the results on "black" and "gray" optimization.
There are many professions in this category. Most often, agencies need layout designers, website designers, coders. It can be both about working with the website of the agency itself, and about creating websites for advertisers. As with SEO, the job requires constant learning of new skills. However, the salary is much higher than that of copywriters, so the work justifies itself. An intelligent team of programmers is a real treasure for the successful development of an advertising agency. Nobody needs a website that constantly crashes, bugs, takes longer than 5 seconds to load, and generally scares off the clientele in every possible way.
QUESTION TO THE EXPERT: Which of the professions in advertising is the most profitable?
I don’t want to sound too mercantile, however, the money issue will always be at the forefront. If we talk about the prospect of salary growth, what profession is better to choose in the field of advertising? Which professions have higher income: both at the beginning of a career and in the future?
Chebotareva TaisiyaCEO of Seobit, I would not be guided by this moment when choosing a profession. And she focused more on the predisposition to a particular type of activity. For example, SEOs tend to be tech-savvy, diligent, and attentive. And project managers are primarily sociable and proactive. That is, they are completely different planets. And it is better to choose something in which we will be comfortable and interesting to develop. As for the financial side, any of the listed professions will be profitable if the specialist is good. And the salary of a good sales manager is comparable to the salary of a good programmer.
Elizabeth TribunskayaMarketing Director of digital integrator DD Planet If we talk about novice specialists, at the start, the biggest salaries are offered to programmers. But with the growth of qualifications, already at the middle level and beyond, incomes, in comparison with other specialties, are leveling off. As the salary develops, it begins to depend more on the level of responsibility that the specialist is ready to take on, and on whether he can not only state the problem, but also offer a solution.
This is the most complex issue that requires extremely careful and comprehensive analysis. Many promise to teach us to masterfully advertise a product. What to choose? Where to gain knowledge?
The advantage of self-education is that you can study at any time convenient for you, choosing topics that are extremely interesting to you. Minus - you will not receive a certificate. However, knowledge and experience in advertising (as in any other field) is more important than a beautiful laminated piece of paper.
QUESTION TO THE EXPERT: What sources of knowledge would you recommend to beginners in the advertising field? Is it better to go to university, take courses or do self-education?
Chebotareva TaisiyaCEO of Seobit,
Unfortunately, universities do not keep up with the pace of development in the IT sector. Therefore, first of all, I would recommend self-education. And courses and books - as an addition.
The disadvantage of the profession is that you have to learn new things every day. Today, optimizing websites is much more difficult than 5 years ago. Search engine algorithms are constantly changing, it will no longer be possible to get to the top of the results on "black" and "gray" optimization.
6. Programmers
There are many professions in this category. Most often, agencies need layout designers, website designers, coders. It can be both about working with the website of the agency itself, and about creating websites for advertisers. As with SEO, the job requires constant learning of new skills. However, the salary is much higher than that of copywriters, so the work justifies itself. An intelligent team of programmers is a real treasure for the successful development of an advertising agency. Nobody needs a website that constantly crashes, bugs, takes longer than 5 seconds to load, and generally scares off the clientele in every possible way.
QUESTION TO THE EXPERT: Which of the professions in advertising is the most profitable?
I don’t want to sound too mercantile, however, the money issue will always be at the forefront. If we talk about the prospect of salary growth, what profession is better to choose in the field of advertising? Which professions have higher income: both at the beginning of a career and in the future?
Chebotareva TaisiyaCEO of Seobit, I would not be guided by this moment when choosing a profession. And she focused more on the predisposition to a particular type of activity. For example, SEOs tend to be tech-savvy, diligent, and attentive. And project managers are primarily sociable and proactive. That is, they are completely different planets. And it is better to choose something in which we will be comfortable and interesting to develop. As for the financial side, any of the listed professions will be profitable if the specialist is good. And the salary of a good sales manager is comparable to the salary of a good programmer.
Elizabeth TribunskayaMarketing Director of digital integrator DD Planet If we talk about novice specialists, at the start, the biggest salaries are offered to programmers. But with the growth of qualifications, already at the middle level and beyond, incomes, in comparison with other specialties, are leveling off. As the salary develops, it begins to depend more on the level of responsibility that the specialist is ready to take on, and on whether he can not only state the problem, but also offer a solution.
Where to study as an advertiser?
This is the most complex issue that requires extremely careful and comprehensive analysis. Many promise to teach us to masterfully advertise a product. What to choose? Where to gain knowledge?
1. Higher education institutions
Many universities open faculties for advertisers, but the advertisers themselves speak of them far from positively. As a rule, in universities they give a dry theory about advertising in general, paying little attention to the practical applications of knowledge. And a specialist with one diploma and no real experience is not needed by any advertising agency. Decide for yourself whether you want to spend money (and a few priceless years of your youth) on sitting your pants at the institute, not being able to find a decent job afterwards.2. Courses
In addition to universities (attracting millions of students with beautiful, but often useless diplomas), all kinds of accelerated courses have begun to appear more and more often, where they issue certificates confirming your education. Here, too, everything is not easy. Some of the courses are one-day courses that do not give any prospects. Check out the listings of advertising agencies and then see if they have their own courses. As a rule, many enterprises launch courses tailored to work in their organization. In this way, they nurture a new generation of employees by offering work to the best of the students at the end of the course.3. Self-education
Well, let's not forget about the wonderful content of Youtube video hosting, where you can find a variety of (and also free) video tutorials for various advertising specialties. In addition, you can sit down for business books from the best advertising experts.The advantage of self-education is that you can study at any time convenient for you, choosing topics that are extremely interesting to you. Minus - you will not receive a certificate. However, knowledge and experience in advertising (as in any other field) is more important than a beautiful laminated piece of paper.
QUESTION TO THE EXPERT: What sources of knowledge would you recommend to beginners in the advertising field? Is it better to go to university, take courses or do self-education?
Chebotareva TaisiyaCEO of Seobit,
Unfortunately, universities do not keep up with the pace of development in the IT sector. Therefore, first of all, I would recommend self-education. And courses and books - as an addition.
For example, when applying for a job, we never look at the education of a candidate, but immediately give a test task. Its results are much clearer than any diplomas.
Elizabeth TribunskayaMarketing Director of digital integrator DD Planet
If we talk about a university, then it makes sense to get an education that is not related to fashionable technologies, but more classical. For example, any technical education will be a plus for finding a job as a programmer, and any one somehow related to marketing, design or philology is useful in advertising. And when you understand exactly what knowledge and skills you lack, you need to look for suitable courses. There are many and different courses now, not all of them are of high quality, so it makes sense to carefully look at who offers to teach and what.
Elizabeth TribunskayaMarketing Director of digital integrator DD Planet
If we talk about a university, then it makes sense to get an education that is not related to fashionable technologies, but more classical. For example, any technical education will be a plus for finding a job as a programmer, and any one somehow related to marketing, design or philology is useful in advertising. And when you understand exactly what knowledge and skills you lack, you need to look for suitable courses. There are many and different courses now, not all of them are of high quality, so it makes sense to carefully look at who offers to teach and what.
Self-education is a win-win option and necessary even after graduation and courses, since our industry is changing rapidly. New technologies and tools appear literally every day, so in order to even stay in place, you have to run very fast.
How to advertise yourself when looking for a job?
Remember the scenes from The Wolf of Wall Street, where the main character offered to pass the test by selling a pen?
How to advertise yourself when looking for a job?
Remember the scenes from The Wolf of Wall Street, where the main character offered to pass the test by selling a pen?
Now imagine that you are this very pen. Many people forget that everything in the advertising business begins not with the ability to advertise the client's product, but with the ability to advertise ... oneself - the advertiser. How to do it? You need:
- write a good resume;
- prepare a portfolio of your work;
- prepare for the interview question.
Remember that advertising is a creative field, and therefore you should show all your creativity. The worst thing you can do is send the agency a stereotypical resume with formulaic phrases in the style of "sociable, stress-resistant, creative." These three whales are already basic in advertising, so it would be stupid to mention them in a resume.
Attention: the portfolio must be real! If you have no experience at all, try doing free projects for different firms, asking them to give you letters of recommendation in exchange. And to ensure that your interview with a potential employer is as effective as possible, take a look at our article with tips on how to successfully pass an interview. During the interview, it is important to show that you will become a valuable employee for the company. Do not be afraid to voice your ideas for optimizing the work of this company in general terms.
QUESTION TO THE EXPERT: What advice would you give to newcomers for a successful job search in the advertising field?
Chebotareva TaisiyaCEO of Seobit.
Attention: the portfolio must be real! If you have no experience at all, try doing free projects for different firms, asking them to give you letters of recommendation in exchange. And to ensure that your interview with a potential employer is as effective as possible, take a look at our article with tips on how to successfully pass an interview. During the interview, it is important to show that you will become a valuable employee for the company. Do not be afraid to voice your ideas for optimizing the work of this company in general terms.
QUESTION TO THE EXPERT: What advice would you give to newcomers for a successful job search in the advertising field?
Chebotareva TaisiyaCEO of Seobit.
First of all, do not be afraid to try - send a resume and complete test tasks. Yes, it can be difficult and time-consuming, but this is how you get to a good position. A cover letter for your resume is also important. It will be very good to indicate why you are sending your resume to this particular company.
We receive hundreds of applications for every job opening. And more often than not, HR doesn't even look at them. And instead of reading the list of skills and positive qualities, he immediately checks all this in practice. Sends a test task and asks clarifying questions about the cover letter.
In addition, it is very important to be able to conduct business correspondence. It used to be that we did not take candidates just because we understood that they could negatively affect the atmosphere in the team. And with the future employee, among other things, it was just necessary to interact comfortably.
Elizabeth TribunskayaMarketing Director of digital integrator DD Planet
Elizabeth TribunskayaMarketing Director of digital integrator DD Planet
Competent Russian and a structured portfolio. This will already be beneficial to distinguish you from the bulk of applicants who have completed courses and who want a salary of 100,500 .
If you do not have real experience, make a project for friends or at least for a fictitious business, formalize what you did at a university or in courses.
When you have already sent your resume to some employer, do not be too lazy to take a test task. Yes, there are unscrupulous employers who give work projects as test tasks, but, as a rule, a test task tests your motivation and the presence of at least some skills.
Well, if you do not have real experience, look for internships or work as an assistant, at least you will be able to understand whether this is exactly yours and whether you want to work in an agency.
Where to look for an advertiser?
I'll tell you a personal story. Immediately after school, I rushed to enter the faculty of PR-management in one of the universities of my native city. I was lucky to run into a skeptical lady in the admissions office, who cut off all my fantasies about advertising in one fell swoop and made me think critically. She asked just one question: “And who will you promote in our city?” And I hung ... And, really, whom? In my teenage fantasies there were pictures where I work with the world's leading companies. But these companies are not looking for advertisers in provincial cities. Much has changed since then: in the modern world, you can work at a computer, sitting in the outback on the other side of the world from the customer. Distance is no longer an obstacle. However, the question “And who will you promote?” has not lost relevance.Before you go into the field of advertising, decide what you would be interested in advertising, identify your strengths. For example, it makes no sense to offer advertising to a company specializing in the automotive industry if you do not distinguish between brake pedals and gas pedals. Do not poke your head into the water, not knowing the ford, otherwise, the advertiser dissatisfied with you will quickly create a negative reputation for you. There are three main tricks to help you find an advertiser easier.
- Research advertisers from other companies.
- Look for young companies in need of advertising.
- Make a lot of acquaintances in different areas.
The first method is the most common, but not always the most effective. There is little chance that an established giant will leave its advertising agency for a new and untested advertiser. However, this method allows you to recruit customers who are interested in cooperating with different advertisers to place ads on different sites. Cons: They don't pay much. Plus: the flow of customers will be constant.
The second method also has pitfalls. On the one hand, you can help a young business project, establish yourself, and even get a client who is head over heels in love with you for many years to come. Cons: the analysis of such companies can take a long time, and the profit at first will be small.
Third way the simplest and most enjoyable. You just need to actively make new friends and acquaintances. Be in society more often, feel free to mention that you work in advertising. So-called "word of mouth" will come into play, and you may get clients among acquaintances or their acquaintances. In fact, by making acquaintances, you create self-promotion without spending a dime. And over time, you will no longer look for customers, but they will come to you themselves.
QUESTION TO THE EXPERT: How to optimize the search for advertisers, minimizing the cost of time and money?
Chebotareva TaisiyaCEO of Seobit.
First of all, you should focus on those who potentially need advertising. For example, they post a vacancy or an ad on specialized sites.
Next, you need to show marketing skills on yourself. And a very responsible approach to self-presentation, to show interest in this particular project. Maybe even offer a couple of ideas for the development of the project or conduct a preliminary audit of the current situation.
Elizabeth TribunskayaMarketing Director of digital integrator DD Planet
First you need to formulate your difference from the rest, uniqueness, advantages. Ask yourself why you should be chosen. A good argument here would be industry specialization or good knowledge of a tool.
Elizabeth TribunskayaMarketing Director of digital integrator DD Planet
First you need to formulate your difference from the rest, uniqueness, advantages. Ask yourself why you should be chosen. A good argument here would be industry specialization or good knowledge of a tool.
It is better to start looking for clients directly by acquaintances. You may not get rich on your first client, but you will gain experience and understanding of what advertisers want.
Long-term prospects in the field of advertising
There is nothing worse than wasting time studying a profession that one day may not be. Looking at the development of self-learning programs, neural networks and artificial intelligence, I do not envy all translators. A couple more years, and the need for a translator may simply disappear! What about advertising?
Long-term prospects in the field of advertising
There is nothing worse than wasting time studying a profession that one day may not be. Looking at the development of self-learning programs, neural networks and artificial intelligence, I do not envy all translators. A couple more years, and the need for a translator may simply disappear! What about advertising?
Is there a prosperous future for advertising agencies? Our modern world is changing rapidly and even the forecasts of the best economists are not always justified. So, for example, the current integration of humanity with life in the online sphere was planned for 2030. However, the COVID-19 pandemic (which no one could predict in advance) made its own adjustments. Many people have started working remotely, bringing many businesses online. The current state of affairs is perfectly illustrated by the words of Jerome Powell, Chairman of the Board of Governors of the US Federal Reserve System:
We are recovering, but with a different economy that will be more technology based.
And this means that technological progress will also affect advertising agencies. In addition to advertising technology to clients, agencies need to actively incorporate technology into their workflow. Flexibility to the current needs of today should be at the forefront of any company. It is important to adapt to new realities as quickly as possible by actively developing online advertising. Once in a trend, the company is guaranteed to stay afloat for many years.
QUESTION TO THE EXPERT: Do you think there is a risk that in the near future there will be no need for human advertisers? Perhaps we will soon be replaced by continuous computerized generators of texts, slogans and so on?
Chebotareva Taisiya,CEO of Seobit.
It definitely won't go away. Technical work is optimized first of all. Advertising tools are being improved and automated every year. A creative approach and a lively mind will always be in demand.
Elizabeth TribunskayaMarketing Director of digital integrator DD Planet
Even if they suddenly replace it (which I don’t believe in), all these generators will be made by people, and people will also have to analyze the effectiveness of their work. But in general, people are not very interested in communicating with robots - for example, if a robotic caller calls you on the phone, you will most likely hang up. Simplification and automation of performing routine tasks already exist and will be developed further, but the setting of these tasks will be in the hands of a person for a long time to come.
If you have chosen advertising as your path, then we have good news for you: your field will actively develop. As long as there is a business, there is advertising. And in advertising, the human factor plays an extremely important role. If you are willing to actively learn, adapt and delight your customers, then you will have a successful future.
We are recovering, but with a different economy that will be more technology based.
And this means that technological progress will also affect advertising agencies. In addition to advertising technology to clients, agencies need to actively incorporate technology into their workflow. Flexibility to the current needs of today should be at the forefront of any company. It is important to adapt to new realities as quickly as possible by actively developing online advertising. Once in a trend, the company is guaranteed to stay afloat for many years.
QUESTION TO THE EXPERT: Do you think there is a risk that in the near future there will be no need for human advertisers? Perhaps we will soon be replaced by continuous computerized generators of texts, slogans and so on?
Chebotareva Taisiya,CEO of Seobit.
It definitely won't go away. Technical work is optimized first of all. Advertising tools are being improved and automated every year. A creative approach and a lively mind will always be in demand.
Elizabeth TribunskayaMarketing Director of digital integrator DD Planet
Even if they suddenly replace it (which I don’t believe in), all these generators will be made by people, and people will also have to analyze the effectiveness of their work. But in general, people are not very interested in communicating with robots - for example, if a robotic caller calls you on the phone, you will most likely hang up. Simplification and automation of performing routine tasks already exist and will be developed further, but the setting of these tasks will be in the hands of a person for a long time to come.
If you have chosen advertising as your path, then we have good news for you: your field will actively develop. As long as there is a business, there is advertising. And in advertising, the human factor plays an extremely important role. If you are willing to actively learn, adapt and delight your customers, then you will have a successful future.
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