My Digital Marketing Journey : A Look into My Journey

I still could imagine the day when I began to think about my future. As any student, I felt very lost. I had only finished my education, and I was not even sure where to head. Every one around me appeared to have it all figured out. Others were looking at the government jobs, others were preparing to study in foreign countries and others were choosing the more conventional career route.
I was just sitting there, completely stuck and staring into space. But even though i had no clue what my next move was.

One thing was undeniable, I was obsessed with the internet and everything it made possible . I wasted many hours on the internet just watching shows, social media, reading random articles, and sometimes even learning something new. However, I did not assume that the internet would become a profession to me. At the time, I regarded the internet as a fun activity.

My Journey into Digital Marketing: From Curiosity to Career

One day, I was brought into the field of digital marketing, and someone was introduced to me. In the beginning it was a little deafening and baffling. I was thinking, what does that all mean? But as I was making inroads I chanced upon something interesting. The whole concept of digital marketing is to ensure that businesses develop with the aid of the internet. That thought had stayed with me a long time. The deeper I read into it, the more I was interested. It later on resulted in my admission to Dotin Digital Academy in Thrissur.

I still remember my first day at the academy. I was absolutely terrified. It’s like Whenever you try something new, your mind just starts filling up with questions like, ‘What if I’m just not good enough?’ What about everybody who is miles ahead of me? Suppose that I should have the wrong choice? Those were exactly the thoughts that were in my head as I walked into the classroom.
But the atmosphere so calm and welcoming. Simple but comfortable classrooms. It had computers, white boards, and other students trying to make their future. Others appeared to be confident, and others to have been as anxious as I was. It actually made me feel a bit better. I saw that I was not the only one starting from scratch. The educators were friendly as well. They did not immediately sink into complicated matters. Rather, they began by simply explaining things. They spoke about the ways that businesses were using Google, Instagram, and websites to reach people. It was the initial occasion when I was opened to the internet in a new view. I was hitherto a casual internet user.

And now I was starting to understand how everything worked on the other side of the curtain.
The first classes were principally based on the fundamentals. We have discussed such issues as the functioning of search engines, what websites are required to succeed, how the brands can interact with the people online. In the beginning it was all so new and overwhelming.

I had instances where I had to reread the same content in order to get my head around it. I asked a lot of questions and there were moments when I simply sat there thinking, “Wow, that I had no idea that this was even a thing at all”. Little by little that nervous apprehension was coming to pass. A feeling of inquisitiveness began to emerge in its stead. To me, one of the most interesting things was to immerse into the realm of advertisements.

I had previously seen advertisements everywhere on the Internet in YouTube, Instagram, and other web pages. I thought that they just emerged.
However, when we were in lessons, I found out something eye opening. Ads aren’t random at all. The person behind each and every one is real. An individual has a say on who sees them. There is somebody who calculates the budget, develops the message, and decides on the time. It is quite possible that that is a digital marketer. That was an exciting realization. I strongly recall a moment when we had a lecture taught by the instructor who took us through the whole procedure of an online ad campaign, including but not limited to the target audience selection, the ad copy, and, finally, the publish button.

It was my first real Aha experience. I had the impression I had discovered a secret room in the internet.
I realized that digital marketing does not involve only posting photos or advertisements. It is a matter of reaching out to people. It is knowing what they are searching, what they like and what captures their interest.

My Journey to the Top

The internet suddenly took a new outlook. The classes were now much more practical and the weeks went on. We were no longer idle listeners; but began to try on our own. We were educated in how to make websites. We have learned how to make pages appear on Google. Applying what I learned about search engines allowed me to improve my online visibility; in fact, you can see my work in action as my professional portfolio, unnimayaep.com , is now ranking on the SERP for key terms. We also discussed the way in which social media can be used to the advantage of businesses. In my journey I learned that digital marketing is far more than only posting beautiful pictures or advertisement. It is more like people knowing what they are searching, what they like, what interests them to do.

We found that social media has the power to perform miracles on companies. To be honest, i had some rough days. Things did not always go according to plan, maybe I’d set sorting up wrong or just completely missed a small, simple step. Still these hiccups were all part of the learning process. The educators were extremely accommodating. They would repeat themselves should we need it and in any case they urged us to continue moving on and not to give up. The atmosphere was one of the things that I liked most about the academy. It was not like a strict classroom where all were sat quiet.

It was rather a cooperative environment in which we were all learning. Students threw ideas back and forth. We shared our uncertainties. And at times we even laughed at the stupid errors we had made in learning new skills. Gradually, I began gaining confidence.
I can still recall the initial moment when I was doing a real campaign which was when we were training. I was nervous and excited to hit that final button. I understood something really important that is why. I could actually do this. This was not theory being saturated in me; this was real skills being practiced. And it was a thing that made the difference to me.

Soon, I started to perceive the internet in a different perspective. After opening Instagram, I began to notice the way of how brands wrote captions. When I entered something to Google, I was left wondering why some websites were first rankers. Internet became a riddle. And I liked to assemble it. My experience in Dotin Digital Academy taught me one very important thing, and that is, digital marketing is not about tools and techniques. It is being creative and patient enough to persevere. The point of the idea can be hit and sometimes it cannot. When things are go wrong, you just have to adapt, adjust your approach, and keep learning. That whole experience changed me, helping me grow a lot as a person. Looking back, it’s pretty clear how much it impacted me . I was full of doubt when I first entered the academy as to what was in store of me. I did not have a clear way forward. Morphing into confidence, however, bit by bit, class by class, that confusion.

Now I Proudly Identify Myself as a Digital Marketer.

I can now proudly identify myself as a digital marketer. As I consider the way it was started all it takes me back to those days in Thrissur. I still recall the nerves of the first day. The welcoming teachers. The modest classrooms. And that exciting time when I came to know that the internet was not my home to watch videos. It was a platform through which I could cut a career. My journey is still going on. It is a continuous process of digital marketing and there is always something new to learn. And that is, well, what is so pleasant about it. Every day is a new experience. Each project provides a new lesson. And each small victory makes me know why I took this road. I sometimes wonder what a student I used to be before we were at the academy the one who was lost and in a confused state. Had I had an opportunity to have a conversation with the version of myself in the past, I would have passed a mere message. “Just take that first step. It may bring you to something wonderful”.
The first step that I made was to join Dotin Digital Academy. And I am really glad I did.