Create an Effective Digital Marketing Portfolio in 2024

Summary

In this insightful review, Ed, the Chief Marketing Officer at Career Foundry, evaluates digital marketing portfolios, emphasizing the importance of including a portfolio with job applications. He outlines six key components for an ideal portfolio: personal introduction, skills and services, familiar tools, work samples, proof points, and contact information. Ed stresses the need for portfolios to be purposeful, specific, and clear, reflecting on three diverse examples that demonstrate varying approaches to showcasing digital marketing expertise.

Takeaways

• 😀 Ed, the Chief Marketing Officer at Career Foundry, emphasizes the importance of digital marketing portfolios, highlighting that they give candidates a significant advantage.
• 📚 He suggests that an ideal digital marketing portfolio should include six key elements: professional identity, skills and services, tools and systems expertise, work samples, proof points, and contact details.
• 🎯 Ed advocates for a shift in the industry where every digital marketing application is accompanied by a portfolio, similar to how designers and developers submit portfolios.
• 🔍 When reviewing portfolios, Ed looks for three principles: purposefulness, specificity, and clarity, which help determine if the applicant is a good fit for the role and company.
• 🤔 The portfolio should demonstrate the applicant's understanding of the target company and role, whether it's a broad skill set for a small company or a more specific expertise for an established one.
• 📈 Ed stresses the importance of including proof points in a portfolio, such as marketing collateral, client testimonials, or data from successful campaigns, to showcase the impact of the applicant's work.
• 📘 He reviews three different digital marketing portfolios, noting the strengths and areas of improvement for each, such as the clarity of the portfolio's navigation and the depth of the project details provided.
• 💡 Ed appreciates portfolios that include video overviews of projects, as they offer context and depth, helping to understand the applicant's thought process and the results of their work.
• 📊 The inclusion of metrics and results in a portfolio is crucial, as it allows Ed to assess the impact of the applicant's marketing efforts and their understanding of those impacts.
• 🛠️ Portfolios should be intuitive and easy to navigate, with a clear hierarchy that guides the hiring manager to the most important or impressive projects first.
• 💼 Lastly, Ed encourages digital marketers to reflect on their work, as shown in one of the portfolios, demonstrating a willingness to learn and improve, which is highly valued in the industry.

Q & A

What is the primary role of Ed in the video?

Ed is the Chief Marketing Officer at Career Foundry, responsible for reviewing digital marketing portfolios and hiring for various roles including designers, developers, product managers, and marketers.

Why is submitting a portfolio with a job application advantageous for digital marketers?

Submitting a portfolio with a job application gives digital marketers a significant advantage as it allows hiring managers like Ed to review their past work and understand their experience, which is not as common in digital marketing applications compared to other roles like designers or developers.

What are the six key components that Ed suggests should be included in an ideal digital marketing portfolio?

The six key components are: 1) Introduction about who you are, 2) The skills and services you provide, 3) The tools and systems you are familiar with, 4) Samples of your work, 5) Proof points such as testimonials or data from successful campaigns, and 6) Your contact details.

What are the three principles Ed looks for in a portfolio regardless of the profession?

The three principles are: 1) Purposefulness - knowing the kind of company and role they are aiming for, 2) Specificity - being clear about the exact skill set and value provided, and 3) Clarity - ensuring the portfolio is presented in an intuitive and clear way.

What does Ed mean by 'purposeful' in the context of a portfolio?

A 'purposeful' portfolio is one where the applicant knows the type of company and role they are targeting, such as whether they are aiming for a freelance or in-house role, and the size and nature of the company, which influences the content and presentation of the portfolio.

What is the importance of including 'proof points' in a portfolio according to Ed?

Proof points are crucial as they provide tangible evidence of the applicant's work, such as marketing collateral, testimonials from clients, data points from successful campaigns, or a combination of these, which help validate the skills and experiences presented.

Why does Ed recommend including a mix of well-known and lesser-known company logos in a portfolio?

Including a mix of company logos helps to showcase the breadth of the applicant's experience and avoids giving the impression that they only work with large, well-known companies. It can also reassure potential employers that the applicant would be interested in working with their size or type of company.

What does Ed suggest about the hierarchy of projects in a portfolio?

Ed suggests that the most important or most impressive project should be front and center, with other projects ranked in a lower hierarchy. He recommends not featuring more than two or three projects to keep the hiring manager's attention focused.

What is the significance of including a case study in a portfolio, as per Ed's review?

A case study in a portfolio provides a detailed account of a project, demonstrating the applicant's process, approach, and the results achieved. It helps hiring managers understand the applicant's work methodology and the impact of their work.

What feedback does Ed give on the importance of including personal reflections and project reports in a portfolio?

Ed appreciates personal reflections and project reports as they show the applicant's ability to learn from their work, be responsive, and improve. This level of self-awareness and willingness to learn is highly valued in the hiring process.

What advice does Ed offer for those starting out in digital marketing and considering a career in this field?

Ed recommends signing up for a free short course to understand if digital marketing is the right career choice. For those ready to start building their portfolio, he suggests the full Career Foundry digital marketing program, which helps beginners become job-ready and assists in job placement.

Outlines

00:00

📚 The Importance of Digital Marketing Portfolios

Ed, the Chief Marketing Officer at Career Foundry, emphasizes the value of digital marketing portfolios in the hiring process. He notes that while designers and developers commonly submit portfolios, only 20-30% of digital marketers do, giving them a significant advantage. Ed outlines six key components an ideal digital marketing portfolio should contain: professional identity, skills and services, familiar tools and systems, work samples, proof points, and contact information. He also highlights three principles a strong portfolio should fulfill: being purposeful, specific, and clear. Ed reviews portfolios with these criteria in mind, seeking evidence of a candidate's strategic approach, skill set, and industry fit.

05:01

🔍 Reviewing a SAS Copywriter's Portfolio

The review delves into a portfolio by Diana Mayfield, a SAS copywriter specializing in conversion-based copy. The portfolio effectively communicates her value proposition and showcases her work with recognizable brands like Drift, demonstrating her experience. It includes a mix of well-known and lesser-known companies, which appeals to a variety of employers. Ed appreciates the inclusion of proof points, such as company logos and video overviews of projects, which provide depth and context to her work. The portfolio also features clear navigation and a strong emphasis on results, aligning with the principles of being purposeful, specific, and clear.

10:02

🎮 Portfolio of a Games Industry Digital Marketing Manager

The portfolio for Victoria, a digital marketing manager with a games industry focus, is reviewed next. It stands out with its creative headline and emphasis on the marriage of creativity and data analytics. Victoria's portfolio includes a broad range of skills and services, with a focus on content creation and strategy. The portfolio features a mix of company logos and blog posts, indicating her involvement in content production and thought leadership within the industry. However, Ed notes a lack of clear navigation and a specific focus on the games industry, suggesting a need for more industry-specific examples to align with the portfolio's headline.

15:03

🌿 Green Gatherings' Product Launch Campaign

Adelina's portfolio centers on a single case study for a product launch of Green Gatherings, focusing on branding and content creation. The project showcases her comprehensive approach, starting with market analysis and continuing through to the creation of brand guidelines, messaging, and marketing materials. The portfolio details the unique value proposition of Green Gatherings and includes a product landing page, email campaign, and keyword analysis. It also features technical SEO optimization and reflections on the project, demonstrating a willingness to learn and adapt. While comprehensive, the portfolio could benefit from additional context and success metrics to fully convey the impact of the campaign.

20:04

🚀 Building a Digital Marketing Portfolio for Entry-Level Roles

The final portfolio reviewed is that of a recent digital marketing graduate looking to specialize in branding and content creation. The portfolio focuses on a product launch campaign, highlighting the importance of market research, target audience identification, and distribution channel selection. It includes a detailed approach to creating marketing materials and optimizing for conversions. The portfolio also provides a technical SEO analysis and an automated email flow, showcasing a broad understanding of digital marketing. While impressive, the portfolio could be enhanced with more visual explanations and specific success metrics to demonstrate the campaign's effectiveness.

25:04

🛠️ Tips for Building an Effective Digital Marketing Portfolio

Ed concludes the video with a summary of the key principles for building an effective digital marketing portfolio: being purposeful, specific, and clear. He commends the portfolios reviewed for adhering to these principles and encourages viewers to apply them when developing their own portfolios. Ed also invites viewers to explore more portfolios through a provided link and offers resources for those starting in digital marketing, including a free short course and the full Career Foundry digital marketing program. He encourages viewers to subscribe for more tips and to share their interests in further portfolio advice in the comments.

Keywords

💡Digital Marketing Portfolios

A digital marketing portfolio showcases an individual's professional work and skills in digital marketing. It is crucial as it provides tangible evidence of a marketer's capabilities and experience. In the video, Ed emphasizes the importance of including a portfolio with job applications, as it gives hiring managers a clear view of the candidate's past work and expertise.

💡Chief Marketing Officer (CMO)

The Chief Marketing Officer is the executive responsible for a company's marketing and branding strategies. Ed, as the CMO of Career Foundry, reviews portfolios to assess candidates for various marketing roles. His perspective highlights the value of a well-constructed digital marketing portfolio from a hiring standpoint.

💡Professional Focus

Professional focus refers to a specific area of expertise or interest within a profession. In the context of a digital marketing portfolio, it is important to articulate one's professional focus to demonstrate to potential employers or clients the niche one excels in. Ed mentions that an ideal portfolio should include a sentence about the individual's current professional focus.

💡Skills and Services

Skills and services are the core competencies and offerings of a professional. In a digital marketing portfolio, listing these helps to communicate to stakeholders what the individual can do and the value they can provide. Ed points out that this is a critical component of a portfolio, helping to convey the specific value proposition of the candidate.

💡Proof Points

Proof points are evidence or examples that validate a claim or demonstrate the effectiveness of one's work. In a digital marketing portfolio, they could be testimonials, data from successful campaigns, or marketing collateral. Ed discusses the importance of including proof points to substantiate the work and achievements of the candidate.

💡Purposeful

A purposeful portfolio is one that is tailored to a specific job or industry, showing that the applicant understands the role they are applying for. Ed explains that a purposeful portfolio aligns with the company and role the applicant is targeting, which can vary based on the size and nature of the company.

💡Specific

Being specific in a portfolio means clearly articulating one's skills, the value provided, and potentially the industry focus. Ed stresses the importance of specificity to ensure that the portfolio effectively communicates the candidate's expertise and the impact of their work.

💡Clarity

Clarity in a portfolio refers to the ease with which a hiring manager or client can understand and navigate the content. Ed mentions that a portfolio should be presented in an intuitive and clear manner, avoiding unnecessary complexity that might deter reviewers.

💡Case Studies

Case studies are in-depth analyses of a specific project or campaign, detailing the approach, execution, and results. They are a key part of a digital marketing portfolio, providing a narrative of the candidate's process and achievements. Ed reviews case studies in the portfolios to understand the candidate's methodology and the outcomes of their work.

💡Conversion Copy

Conversion copy is persuasive writing designed to prompt a specific action from the reader, such as making a purchase or signing up for a service. In the video, Ed examines portfolios that include conversion copy as a skill, highlighting its importance in digital marketing and the candidate's ability to drive results.

💡SEO

SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization, which is the process of improving a website's visibility in search engine results. In the context of a digital marketing portfolio, showcasing SEO skills can demonstrate a candidate's ability to drive organic traffic and their understanding of digital marketing strategies. Ed notes the inclusion of SEO in the services offered by the candidates in the portfolios.

💡Product Launch

A product launch refers to the introduction of a new product to the market, often accompanied by a marketing campaign to create awareness and excitement. In the video, Ed reviews a portfolio focusing on a product launch campaign, which is a different challenge compared to maintaining ongoing marketing efforts, as it requires a concentrated effort to generate immediate interest.

Highlights

Ed, the Chief Marketing Officer at Career Foundry, emphasizes the importance of digital marketing portfolios for job applications.

Portfolios provide a significant advantage, as they allow hiring managers to assess past work and experience.

An ideal digital marketing portfolio should contain six key elements: professional identity, skills, tools, work samples, proof points, and contact details.

Portfolios should be purposeful, specific, and clear to effectively showcase an applicant's fit for a role.

Ed reviews three digital marketing portfolios, evaluating them based on the three principles of purpose, specificity, and clarity.

The first portfolio reviewed belongs to Diana Mayfield, a SAS copywriter with a focus on conversion-based copy.

Diana's portfolio effectively communicates her professional background and includes a mix of well-known and lesser-known company logos as proof points.

The portfolio includes video overviews of projects, providing depth and context to the work showcased.

Ed notes a discrepancy between the initial messaging and the services listed in the portfolio, suggesting a need for alignment.

The second portfolio belongs to Victoria, a digital marketing manager in the gaming industry, with a focus on creative strategies.

Victoria's portfolio includes social media templates and a strategy that could be useful for companies looking to improve their social media output.

Ed suggests that the portfolio could benefit from clearer navigation and a more defined focus on the gaming industry.

The third portfolio is from Adelina, who focuses on a single case study for a product launch, demonstrating a comprehensive understanding of digital marketing.

Adelina's project includes market analysis, brand guidelines, and a clear unique value proposition for the product launch.

The portfolio showcases a range of marketing materials, including a blog article with a conversion point, an email campaign, and keyword analysis.

Ed appreciates the reflections and project report in Adelina's portfolio, which demonstrate a willingness to learn and improve.

The review concludes with a summary of the importance of being purposeful, specific, and clear in a digital marketing portfolio.

Ed offers additional resources for those interested in digital marketing, including a free course and the full Career Foundry digital marketing program.

Transcripts

hi my name is Ed Chief marketing officer

here at career Foundry and today I've

been told I'm going to be reviewing

three digital marketing portfolios from

around the web

now my role as Chief marketing officer

I've interviewed for a broad range of

different jobs whether it's designers or

developers or product managers or

marketers and I find with a lot of the

different roles and techs such as

designers and developers they almost

always submit a portfolio with that

application and with digital marketing

applications typically it's more like 20

or 30 percent but those 20 or 30 percent

have a huge advantage over their peers

because obviously I can dive in to the

portfolio and really see the kind of

work they've done in the past and the

kind of experience that they've got so

for me this is a shift that I'd really

like to see in the digital marketing

industry that every time I get an

application there's also a portfolio

attached exactly the same way that as if

I get an application for a ux design

role or a UI design role then there's

always a portfolio to reference so that

begs the question what should an ideal

digital marketing portfolio actually

contain well I think it can be broken

down to six things first of all who you

are so this means a specific sentence

about your current professional focus

and maybe a couple of sentences about

your profession National background

secondly the kind of skills and services

you provide thirdly the kind of tools

and systems that you're acquainted with

or an expert in next up are samples of

your work and this could be from your

educational background it could be from

work that you've done for a freelance

client it could also be work that you've

done in-house potentially and this

generally makes up the body of the

portfolio and is the most important

thing as it's the thing that the hiring

manager and potential clients really

dive into to see how you work next up is

proof points and this can also take a

few different forms it could be the

actual marketing collateral that you

produced during these projects it could

be testimonials from Happy clients it

could also be data points from

successful campaigns or it could be a

mixture of all of those things and

finally the contact details so how is a

hiring manager or a potential freelance

client ideally going to reach out to you

so when I'm reviewing portfolios

regardless of the profession whether

it's a ux designer or web developer or a

digital marketer then I'm always looking

for three things or three principles

that are fulfilled

one of them is that it's purposeful

another that is specific and another

that it's clear so what does purposeful

mean purposeful means that the applicant

knows the kind of company and the kind

of role that they're aiming for are they

aiming for a freelance role or an

in-house role and the company that they

are applying to they're looking for

startups and small companies or

established companies because this is

really going to change the nature of the

portfolio they're going for a small

company for example you're probably

going to want to show off a broad skill

set and if you're aiming for a more

established company they're going to be

looking for much more specific more

fragmented roles and expertise in those

roles so the second principle is being

specific you want to be specific about

the exact skill set that you provide and

the value that you provide and

potentially also about the industry that

you want to get into so whether that's

edtech or econos again these factors

really influence the kind of messaging

that you have in your portfolio and

potentially the kind of projects that

you want to showcase as well and the

final principle is being clear or

Clarity just making sure that the

portfolio is presented in nice intuitive

and clear way and that it can be readily

navigated by the hiring manager if

there's any complexity or unnecessary

complexity there the hiring manager is

going to bounce and it's going to start

looking at other portfolios you have to

consider they might have 60 or 70 to

review for any application so now you

know as a hiring manager what I want to

see in a portfolio and the kind of

principles that underlie the production

of a good portfolio let's dive in and

look at our first sample

okay so I have a um career-friendly blog

post here entitled nine awesome

marketing portfolio examples to inspire

you uh what should I do next just uh

scroll down to the third one

so three of nine okay uh then they yeah

Diana Mayfield yeah just click on that

and just review it okay uh so I've hit

the the home page here on the index page

here I'm seeing emotional analytics I

mentioned the kind of purpose and uh

specificity is important

um here like I'd say emotional analytics

I mean marketing is all about marrying

the creative side with the analytical

side in order to do an impactful and

good job this really alludes to that so

it's kind of speaking to my my soul as a

marketer and then underneath I guess we

get a bit more specific I'm a SAS

copywriter who discovers what converts

so immediately I'm told uh saso software

as a service copywriter who discovered

so conversion based copy so we're

probably talking about website copy or

ad copy

and who discovers what converts two ways

of doing that potentially is kind of

upfront with qualitative research

um or off the back of uh of testing so

this is providing me with quite a lot of

information

and underneath I have some proof points

so some company logos I guess of the

companies that she's worked with and

here's a really nice mix actually

because drift is a company that's very

well known within the marketing industry

so that's a chatbot kind of invented

this category of conversational

marketing and the other companies I'm

not aware of I think but I have to say

that is a really good thing to have a

mix of companies some that are very well

known and some that are lesser known

because there's a company like career

Foundry that's 120 people or so we're

not obviously at the size of Google or

Facebook and if you only see those logos

that kind of uh might leave you a bit

starry-eyed then maybe we doubt whether

this person will have the interest of

working with us so this is a good start

if we scroll down we have this uh this

this this aspect that I think is super

important to include in the portfolios

who are you

um and here the simple way of doing it

obviously is to provide a photo a few

lines of the professional background we

don't have that so much until in terms

of the professional background but we

have the image and then we have a kind

of opinion uh or bold statement to open

up which is pretty eye-catching and

obviously it fits the copywriter so

listen up copy is powerful the ability

to disrupt your prospect stop them in

their tracks

maybe this uh already biases me towards

a certain kind of industry so it's more

kind of attention grabbing potentially

kind of aggressive messaging so I'm

thinking more e-commerce or something

like that as opposed to our industry

which is edtech which is more about kind

of gradual trust building and more of a

softer approach typically scrolling down

then we have the skills and services

provided so as I mentioned this is

something that's kind of bread and

butter for the portfolio and here

actually uh looking at this is a little

bit surprising because we're talking

about SEO web copy so this is longer

form also on the right hand side we have

guides that generate uh leads so again

longer form and then in the middle we

have outbound messages that get

responses so here uh this is potentially

more conversion oriented copy so here

for me based upon the kind of messaging

at the top of the page versus what's

here there's a little bit of a of a

conflict

um and I'm realizing now that the

services that she offers are broader

than first expected and as we scroll

down further perfect we have proof

points

um also BP of marketing someone with

status and credibility we scroll down

further

um then we see actually what look like

video overviews of the projects that

she's worked on

um maybe I can click into one of those

in a moment but that's fantastic because

I can really show you a lot of context

and a lot of depth and potentially the

kind of thinking that went into the

different projects now ultimately

through the portfolio you want to see

who this person is but you really want

to see and understand how they work to

get an idea of whether you would work

well together and then obviously you

want to see the results of the work and

all these things can be very readily

covered and communicated through through

videos and then finally ending up with

the social icons here

um one point is that I do actually often

click through to the social profiles

because I'm kind of interested

especially as a digital marketer whether

this person has built up a personal

brand and also I think it's a bit of a

negative sign if this person has their

social media profiles featured but has

done very little there so it's really

important just as a very specific

example to uh to have that attention to

detail throughout your portfolio

everything that is a link could be

clicked on so keep that keep that in

mind then if we scroll back up again we

have work samples case studies

testimonials I'm guessing it'd be

interesting to see what the difference

is between work samples and case studies

some case studies it's much more clearly

structured and shows our process if

that's the case then if both is featured

that's really really good and on this

page

uh we have a lot of different video

overviews one thing I'd recommend here

if you're building out your portfolio is

just to give the hiring manager a bit

more Direction and a bit more uh

hierarchy so what's the most important

or most impressive project what's the

the project that you're most proud of

and put that front and center and then

if you want to feature more projects I

don't think you need more than two or

three because the hiring manager isn't

typically going to go into more than

that but just put them a bit lower down

in the hierarchy however you want to

treat that in your your UI and maybe

provide a few sentences to explain why

this headline project is the headline

project then finally we click through to

the case studies perhaps if we click

through to one of these I would say or

conversion copywriting for travel perks

that's been featured a couple of times

and then we open up a PDF

and in this PDF we have increasing

conversions for Europe's fastest growing

SAS startup

so super interesting again this suggests

that she's used to working within a SAS

environment within a high Growth Company

already conversion focused so that's

um

really good background for coming into

other growth oriented companies and then

we have a description of the company a

description of the problem and then the

outcome so what happened afterwards and

really good we also have actual metrics

so what was actually achieved by making

these changes that's fantastic because

in any marketer you really want to see

the impact of their work

an understanding of that impact so what

led what action led to this impact so

this is really good and just one thing

one takeaway here is that I think any

case study needs to include

um a number of different steps it needs

to include the brief

um maybe a bit of information about the

company that you're that you're working

for as well and then it needs to include

the required outcomes of that project

and then basically the method and

approach that you took in order to

fulfill those required outcomes then

obviously the results so that could be

marketing collateral that could be the

the kind of images that you've generated

or video content but it could also be

the ads that you run or as we've seen

here the conversion copy implemented on

the website and ideally and what's also

really really good here the results as

well of those changes so just to wrap up

on that portfolio I think it I thought

it was really strong if I were looking

for someone to improve the conversion

copy across the website she would be a

great either applicant or in-house for

sure given all the experience with

different companies or a great

freelancer to work with

Okay so that's the the first portfolio

reviewed

um what should I do next

um which I really like more five or six

I mean we just did three three plus

three or six so could do six yeah go

ahead and click on it and just review it

for us

although five does look quite cool it's

a nice nice retro image there yeah

anyway let's move on to six that's uh

Victoria uh games industry digital

marketing manager so anyone in the games

industry obviously immediately this is

going to appeal to so have you you know

hiring or applying to a specific

industry then just dropping in something

like that right at the top immediately

thinks okay this this is the kind of

person I'm looking for this is more

specific and therefore more relevant

than someone that just puts digital

marketing manager if I'm in the games

industry and then uh we have the the

image so answering that question of who

you are to an extent

um and a headline making people disable

Adblock one ad at a time

um which is uh yeah has some personality

to it

um and has the the highlights on

disabled ad block these are all kind of

I know it shows a bit of creative

copywriting that captures attention it

points to a kind of particular pain

point of the digital marketing industry

and very likely specifically or or more

so for the games industry again no

expert in the games industry but I can

imagine that's a bit more of a problem

there so let's scroll down further this

is me uh well traveled with experience

of living in multiple countries so then

we have uh I guess a lot of cultural

awareness and diversity is what inspires

my work level things come or not so

they're really just setting the scene

um and here again the different areas

that I'm guessing she works on we have

that context scrolling down I create

engaging content and Empower companies

with creative strategies yeah

still at quite a broad level so I'm

still asking myself what's her area of

focus and what value can she provide

really specifically

um to my business yeah again we have the

marriage of creativity and data

analytics really pleasing to see that

kind of dichotomy or assume the

dichotomy coming up over and over again

do more than beautiful copies are more

than more than a copyright and study

measure continuously improve okay so you

have that analytical aspect also

referencing the kind of cyclical process

of digital marketing and of so many Tech

roles as well we can see projects and

collaborations

again here we have a few logos a bit of

low contrast there on the logo on the

background

and some blog posts as well I always

think it's cool if there's some kind of

content production also not only does it

show a kind of interest in content

production and in maybe building a

personal brand but it also suggests that

this person is trying to kind of stay at

the Forefront of their industry and

maybe even be a bit of a thought leader

in the industry as well navigation isn't

quite as clear I think as on the

previous site always good I think to

have that top nav because people are so

used to to going there to get where they

need to go if we enter the portfolio

section you can see some different

marketing collateral and then you can

see the various different projects that

she's worked on not so much hierarchy

here a little bit like in the the

previous portfolio as well

um always good just to help the hiring

manager and navigate them where they

need to go uh let's click on this

slightly kind of distorted Facebook logo

here

um my finally Financial uh creating

social media templates so this is

something that would be super useful for

a lot of companies to facilitate their

social media output and if we dive into

the first page of the case study then it

gives some context as to the aim so the

required outcomes they were looking for

someone to not only produce these

templates but also to generate a

strategy and do keyword research to be

honest like with the the connection

between good research and what looks

like Instagram content

is potentially a bit tenuous versus

other ways of doing research for

Instagram that might be a bit more

impactful looking at what other content

is really performing well in that

particular category what's gaining

traction which formats are working might

be an approach that I would take

um and then if we scroll down a little

bit further you see the different kind

of templates that she's created what I

like here I mean

everything looks very consistent there

seems to be a pattern behind what she's

doing

um and then she has a few words here

about the the kind of strategy that she

implemented

um and the result here is kind of very

generic the client was happy completely

believable but again especially with

social media that the data is quite

readily available once the strategy has

gone live so uh what was the result of

this what kind of optic engagement was

there uh how many followers maybe what's

the kind of before and after as we saw

in the previous portfolio would be

fantastic to see as well

um generally if we go back to the

portfolio site my feeling is uh that

this person

has this broader scope

um

and

one potential criticism is as I

mentioned it's kind of positive that she

was focused on the games industry in the

portfolio section that didn't seem to be

so much or so much that it was obvious

that was uh directly tied to the games

industry and I think that's obviously

quite quite important

um but yeah has this kind of broad scope

um so for a smaller company just

starting off

um could be a really interesting person

to bring on as a freelancer or a hire

um but doesn't show to me this level of

kind of specificity that we saw to a

larger extent in the previous portfolio

and definitely something as your career

develops that I'd really encourage that

you show off these kind of deep

expertise in one particular area in your

portfolio okay so that's uh that wraps

it up for that portfolio so I'll come

back to the to the blog post uh and then

you can tell me what uh

what I'm obliged to do next

okay so let's uh click through to

adelina's project so this is I guess a

little bit different to the portfolios

that we looked at before in the sense

that this really focuses on a single

case study or single project rather than

the entire portfolio introducing the the

person the digital marketer behind those

projects there are a few sentences here

um describing the backgrounds added in

this background that she used to be a

safety advisor has made this career

change into digital marketing graduated

back in 2021 why she decided to take the

career founder digital marketing program

then uh what she most enjoyed about it

and what she most enjoyed about creating

this portfolio project

and then what she wants to do in the

future and that's to uh get this Focus

or develop this focus on branding and

content creation so more by the sounds

of it on the kind of non-technical side

of marketing as opposed to the more kind

of uh rigidly performance or analytics

side

um so that's super interesting

background let's dive into the project

itself and see what it's all about if we

scroll down a little bit further we can

see that the portfolio project itself is

focused on a product launch for a

company called Green Gatherings front

launch is an interesting area to choose

because I think uh it's very different

to building a channel if you're building

organic traffic through a Blog you build

a kind of system that then just repeats

through a curse and when the product

launch is a little bit different because

you have to produce content that

increases awareness dramatically and

also

um inherently within it it kind of

increases excitement around this product

release and I think that's in many

always a lot more difficult to do than

building out these systems first of all

to give some context that looks like she

has a brand overview a few words about

green Gatherings

um even its position as a company and

apparently what they do

is produce a product line of sustainable

and biodegradable picnic supplies then

we have her approach so the fact that it

started with market analysis this is

fantastic shows that she's acquainted

with the process I'm laying down the

foundation of strong qualitative and

quantitative research again a few more

words about market research the target

market which seems pretty specifically

defined

um and also defining and this is super

interesting the ideal distribution

channels are the most popular platforms

because this immediately tells us okay

we're going to launch a product and

we're going to produce marketing

collateral which are the channels that

we want to go live on are not already

starting to shape this this early on in

the case study

then

um talking about some secondary or

third-party research industry research

obviously you don't have to do

everything yourself there's already

almost everything there's already a ton

of information uh carried out by

different companies different

institutions and things which is already

public on the internet that you can go

to to give you that Foundation then we

have the uvp unique value proposition of

green Gatherings which is to make

biodegradable products that are

accessible fun and give back to the

mother nature and are perfect for

picnics and outdoor gatherings

um brand guidelines and messaging so

this is all very clear nice color scheme

that obviously

harmonizes with their uvp

then some brand messaging information

by our personas so this is building on

the target market to personify it a

little bit to help with the creation of

that those marketing materials

then we have uh what looks like the kind

of marketing materials that she then

produced a long-form Blog article for

example

um and what's very nice also a

conversion point on that article is so

often missed when people write blog

articles the whole point of writing a

Blog article is to bring traffic next

question is what do you do with the

traffic often those two areas of a

company are siled so uh someone writes

the blog it brings traffic but then

nothing is done with that traffic

because the page itself isn't conversion

optimized so there's some good thought

going into this product landing page so

this is detailing the product itself an

email campaign to go with it and even a

keyword analysis as well difficulty

score is a super important metric and an

interesting metric to look at

essentially tells you the amount of

competition there is on certain keywords

but there's also red or relatively easy

to get metrics on on keyword volume and

things like that and how those two

interplay is quite important so that

would have been nice to see here to get

a more holistic perspective

and even here this is quite impressive

looking at technical SEO metrics by the

looks of it

um before and after it looks like

technical SEO optimization so this is

again a really broad reaching

um page view report in the spike maybe

uh is the point of the product launch so

as I mentioned that's kind of what

you're aiming for with a product launch

um it'd be nice to have a little bit

more context as to whether that's the

case with a bit more text to explain

that

here actually we have one example

welcome email

um an automated email flow I guess

and the emails themselves again really

nicely branded

okay here as I mentioned earlier on with

the first first portfolio there's

actually uh some Reflections so what

would have

um if she were to go back and do this

again then what would she do differently

um I think these kind of Reflections

whether you're an interview or in your

portfolio and things really show a level

of kind of responsiveness and

willingness to learn that's only

becoming more important

um in in our highs it's something that

we really really look for so if you can

demonstrate that up front in your

portfolio something really really

positive

and then a project report as well so

really showing that she's looking back

on uh the different deliverables what

was delivered and uh to what level of

success and off the back of that some

recommendations so this is super super

comprehensive

um and obviously it's really kind of an

end-to-end campaign that it looks like

she uh did individually which in itself

is impressive as well again I think uh

if I were to add to this a few

explanations

uh to help out with the visuals would be

good and then finally also if possible

um some of those success metrics some of

those metrics to give them more context

to what worked well so what were the

kind of email open rates uh what were

the purchases off the back of that if

it's possible to give that information

then it's always good to really detail

the impact but otherwise

um a really interesting project and I

think it shows a really broad range of

knowledge across digital marketing so

perfect for someone that's kind of

looking for that Junior stroke

entry-level role and is now choosing

which area they would like to specialize

in

that brings us to the end of the

portfolio reviews as you can see those

three principles that I mentioned before

are pretty important to be purposeful to

be specific to be clear I think the

three examples here did a really nice

job but you can see if you keep those

three principles in mind when you're

developing your portfolio then you might

avoid some

so if you want to check out those

portfolios and more then check the link

to the blog post in the description

below if you're just starting out in

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