Developing Own Professionalism

3 Understand what is required of professional practice.

3.1 Describe legal considerations of professional practice.

As a professional, it is important to note that you are responsible for any legal considerations that may relate to you and your work. In digital marketing the main legal considerations I have to make are to do with copyright or GDPR. I must ensure that any images I use in blogs or otherwise are stock images or are licensed for use for whatever purpose. I also must ensure that any changes to websites or analytics are fully warranted within GDPR and all mailing lists are permitted. It is important to adhere to any legal considerations and maintain adherence to avoid any legal consequences such as prosecution.

3.2 Describe ethical considerations of professional practice.

There are no set ethical considerations for each sector as it simply comes down to the business’ values and individual morals. However, no matter what your morals are as an individual it is important to maintain good ethics throughout your company as this reflects on you and what outsiders see from your business. This is integral to maintaining a good image of your business. To maintain good ethics, you must be consistent with all principles of correct moral conduct. Often being inconsistent or messy with your business’ ethics can be the ruining factor as this can be hugely damaging. Principles to consider may include honesty, truth, transparency and integrity in matters such as animal testing, sustainability, Fairtrade, etc.

3.3 Describe how quality management affects own job role.

Quality management is essential for me as a digital marketer. All businesses aim for good quality services or products and as a marketer it is my job to show this off. Quality management in marketing is a main factor as I must always make sure to put out only the best material, this is aiming to be the deciding factor on a customer’s opinion on your business, and therefore must be the best every single time. Providing good advertising and marketing will help achieve whatever your goals may be, this could be bringing more customers and therefore increasing revenue, or gaining following and brand awareness.

3.4 Identify conflicts of interest which can arise from own job role.

When working on briefs or coming up with ideas, conflicts of interest can sometimes arise between me and my team member. The main things our opinions generally differ on are purely aesthetic such as website themes, social media images for our clients, but as professionals we are able to work through these and find the more sensible conclusion. It is important to open your mind to other opinions which is a big part of dealing with any conflicts that may arise. Conflicts can sometimes arise when reviewing blog posts or other copy, however it is easy for me to understand and use these varied opinions to improve my copy next time.

4 Understand career development opportunities.

4.1 Explain the difference between types of employment status.

There are three main types of employment status – employee, worker and self-employed. There are various other types of employment status such as agency, apprentice, fixed term worker, volunteers, and zero-hour contracts. All of these terms simply refer to the rights each status group has. Employees and workers are similar in that any right that a worker has, an employee with have. Workers are entitled to employment rights including national minimum wage, holiday pay, protection against unlawful discrimination. Workers will work to a contract however may have the right to send others to carry out the work. Employees have all those rights however also have numerous other rights such as a written statement of employment, a pay slip, maternity and paternity pay, and the right to request flexible working hours. An employee will work to a contract and will carry out all work personally. Self-employment differs in that as they run and manage their whole business, they are not entitled to the same rights as a regular worker or employee. Self-employed people are entitled to protection for health and safety on a client’s property, and in some cases will be protected against discrimination.

4.2 Explain career progression pathways in digital marketing.

The digital marketing world is ever growing due to the massive influence of technology on the world, this means that there are so many different pathways I could take to progress my career. At my current workplace and during my apprenticeship training I have gained experience in so many different areas of marketing such as social media management, copywriting, content creation, graphic design, web development, analytics, SEO – to name a few. Any of those could be different progression steps I could aim towards. I truly believe that experience is more valuable than anything else and finding a good employer who is willing to help you progress is so important in order to progress. Another great way to progress your career is further education. This could be through a university or college course, or short intensive training courses. 

4.3 Describe sources of support for career progression in digital marketing.

There are many different sources of support for career progression in digital. This could be from educational courses or lecturers, employers, co-workers, apprenticeship agencies such as QA, peers, networking/contacts, and through online outlets such as LinkedIn or webinars.