How to make a great career in Digital Media?
A great career in digital media: Like any other field, a great career in digital media requires appropriate education, skills, values, experience, interest, and networking. Before you decide to pursue a career in digital media, let’s take a look at some statistics.
There are 4.2 billion active digital media users globally. This large user base has made digital media one of the largest industries in the world. The success of businesses around the world now largely depends on digital media marketing. And, therefore, careers in digital media are far better and more diverse than broadcast and print media.
Social media users versus the total population of different regions of the world clearly indicate that the use of social media is increasing rapidly across the world. While 79 percent of the population of Northern and Western Europe are actively using social media. Active social media users make up more than 69 percent of the population in South-East Asia.
In 2021, 5.22 billion people had access to mobile phones, 4.66 billion used the Internet and 4.2 billion were active social media users. Active social media users account for 53.6 percent of the global population.
Digital media skills
Digital media skills such as digital advertising, social media marketing, web, and app development, graphic and game designing are in great demand. A good number of in-house digital media experts are also needed in non-profit organizations to design crowdfunding and advocacy campaigns, in the healthcare, finance, retail, and education sectors. After taking a digital media course, students can pursue careers as digital journalists, digital photographers, web content writers, content developers, social media strategists, video designers and editors, and illustrators (Figure 3). Down the road, employers are looking for trained digital media writers, designers, developers, and marketers.
Journalist
To become a digital journalist, you need to learn the fundamentals of journalism as well as digital media tools. Since digital journalists report and write for most news organizations and the websites of digital newswires, you will need to receive additional training in writing content that reaches your target audience. Writing content for better optimization is the key to success.
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Since fact-checking is an essential aspect for journalists, you will also need formal training in using the tools to fact-check text, images, and videos. As a digital journalist, you can get the opportunity to write a report for specific topics like business, education, glamor, politics, international affairs, and sports. You can do BA in Digital and Mass Media program from media schools in India and abroad. Some media schools also offer a BA in Journalism and Mass Communication programs with a digital media specialization.
Video editors and graphic designers
Video editors and graphic designers are in demand not only for the news and entertainment industry but also in digital marketing. As a video editor and graphic designer, your primary responsibility will be to add value to the content by adding effects, captions, and illustrations to audio-visual content. The video editing software in use is Adobe Premiere Pro and Final Cut Pro. For graphics, Adobe After Effects and Adobe Photoshop is what you need to learn. Good knowledge of Adobe Creative Cloud is recommended for students who wish to pursue a career as a video editor or graphic artist. There are institutes that offer programs like B.Sc. in Animation and Visual Effects to train students as professional artists.
Web Designers and Developers
Web designers and developers are also in great demand as most businesses require a web presence. There are specialized skills involved in the page design of websites. Web designers and developers also need to be trained in UX and UI, HTLM and programming languages, server management, content management systems, search engine optimization, and digital marketing. When selecting relevant programs research the curriculum of various media institutions to ensure that all these courses are part of the program. There are many institutes in India that offer short-term courses both offline and online for these specialized skills. But I would suggest choosing an undergraduate full-time program that covers all aspects of web design and development.
Digital media marketing
Digital media marketing requires a mix of skills ranging from content creation to customer relationship management. Specialists in digital media marketing typically learn skills in effective content writing, lead generation, data analysis, visualization, display advertising, marketing automation, search engine optimization, and content management systems. Experts who develop digital media research skills are in high demand in the industry. Programs like BA in Digital and Mass Media, MA in Digital Media, Certificate and Diploma in Digital Media train the students to make a career in Digital Media Marketing.
Social media strategists
Social media strategists need specific leadership and communication management skills to execute the social media plan of businesses. Social media planners are needed everywhere whether it is a political party or a corporate one. Good knowledge of community engagement patterns and behavioral psychology is the key to a good career in the field of social media management. Content planning and scheduling are important aspects of an effective social media strategy.
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Apart from the difficult set of skills, curiosity, adaptability, and creativity are also certain traits that are required to be successful in the rapidly changing digital media ecosystem. Digital media is the present and future of communication. The digital landscape is full of opportunities. You just need to get trained in new techniques and designs. Thinking out-of-the-box and adopting new approaches in digital media design will be an added advantage for you.
Digital India program
The Digital India program of the Government of India aims to transform India into a digitally empowered society. This vision of the government will be fulfilled only when India has adequate human resources trained to harness the potential of the digital media ecosystem.