The Diary of a GRADUATED Digital Marketing Apprentice! 🥳

It has been a while since you heard from our Digital Marketing Apprentice, Ed Hazelhurst, but for good reason, we promise! Since the last entry of his ‘Diary of a Digital Marketing Apprentice’ series, he’s only gone and achieved a Distinction, meaning he’s officially no longer an apprentice! Keep reading to find out how Ed found his time as an Apprentice at Destination Digital Marketing.

Wow, wow, wow, it seems incredibly weird to write this, but the days of me being a Digital Marketing Apprentice are officially over! Since October 2023, over 15 months ago now, I’ve been learning all there is to know about the intricate world of all things digital. It seems that some stuff must have actually stuck, as during my recent End Point Assessment I achieved a distinction grade – the highest grade achievable!

Some of the Notable Digital Marketing Skills I Learned Along the Way

It’s safe to say that I have learnt an absolute ton along the way, but I also had some misconceptions about a career in digital marketing that didn’t quite hold up. The idea that digital marketing is mainly social media is a common (but admittedly naïve) one, and, I’ll confess – I believed it when I first started  working at Destination Digital (apologies Debbie, Rachel and Hannah for this marketing sin). But, after the last 15 months, I can safely say I know better. Digital marketing involves so many different strands, each requiring so many different skills and techniques to create a truly effective strategy. Yes, social media does play a role, but trust me, that’s not even the tip of the iceberg!

Firstly, a huge thing didn’t even anticipate having to learn, was the knowledge and basic skills needed to work in a corporate setting. This ranges from knowing how to type, knowing what a CMO is, and everything in-between. Funnily enough, I’m not very tech savvy and before starting as a Digital Marketing Apprentice, I barely knew how to type or how to navigate my way around a computer. Gaining all of these skills and bits of knowledge along the way have allowed me to communicate effectively with the rest of the team, and clients, to get work done efficiently, and has moulded me into a much more well-rounded and upskilled member of society!

Another thing that has really resonated with me during my apprenticeship was a quote by Henry Ford, which Debbie told me at the start of my apprenticeship. The quote goes “Stopping advertising to save money is like stopping your watch to save time”, and that left a mark which I’m sure won’t ever leave me. This quote really helped to put into perspective how valuable marketing is for businesses, especially when a business tycoon like Henry Ford was the man who said it! I kept this quote at the centre of my work philosophy during my apprenticeship, as it reminded me of the value of the work that I was doing, but most importantly, the work we were doing as a team.

A massive part of my day-to-day duties includes dealing with Content Management Systems (CMS), such as Shopify and WordPress. This skill was one which was completely alien to little smooth-brained me when I began back in October. In fact, I didn’t even know what a CMS was! This skill is very basic for someone who works in digital marketing, but I can’t imagine trying to explain that to newbie me, who had a face like he’d seen a ghost when being first introduced to WordPress. It feels pretty good knowing that I’m sure I could handle pretty much any CMS thrown at me.

Once again, one thing that this apprenticeship has taught me for certain is what a Digital Marketer actually does, and the fact that it isn’t actually just social media! From email inbox management, to Photoshop and a whole, whole lot of copywriting, my time as an apprentice has shown me that social media is actually only a miniscule part of what a Digital Marketer does. The respect I have for digital marketers and especially the team here at Destination Digital is profound. Not only have I learnt all the knowledge and skills listed above, but I’ve also learnt transferrable skills like communication, teamwork, attention to detail, self-organisation, time management, the list really does go on…

So, to finish off what will be my final entry of a “Diary of a Digital Marketing Apprentice”, I would just like to give a massive thank you to the team here at Destination Digital. Not just for the incredible opportunity to complete my apprenticeship at such an excellent organisation, but also for going above and beyond to support me in developing my knowledge and skills, which allowed me to achieve a distinction in my apprenticeship, and reach a point where I am today – a fully-fledged digital marketer!

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If you’d like to talk to us about this news piece, or you’d like help with digital marketing strategy, content marketing, SEO or anything else digital, please email us on info@destination-digital.co.uk or give us a call on 01629 810199.