There was a question I answered in a LinkedIn group the other day that I ended up writing a very long answer to. Realizing I had quite a bit to say on it, I’ve decided to flesh it out in an article here.
Question: As content is going to rule in the coming years, I’m interested in getting into the Digital Media Industry. What should one have knowledge of before making the jump?
This question brings to mind a lot of things I wish I knew when I first started in digital media almost 4 years ago, as Videographer at an eCommerce company in rural Illinois. There are a lot of false expectations about what working in digital media is like, and I’ve discovered a lot along the way.
To put it simply, I think there are three levels to professional development within digital media: Learning the craft, learning the industry, and finding your niche.
Learning the Craft
This level is the beginning, where you learn the technical elements of your chosen medium(s). If you choose to specialize in a specific medium, whether it be video, editing, writing, or graphic design, I’d suggest learning as much as you can about at least one other medium in similar field- I myself originally specialized in shooting video, but learned a lot about video editing and graphics design along the way. This keeps you from being pigeonholed, gives you versatility, and informs your individual perspective on the craft. In my case, I discovered I enjoyed editing and motion graphics even more than shooting video, so I switched my specialization to that.
On top of learning as much as you can about the technical areas of your medium, I also suggest choosing some things that interest you that fall outside not only the medium, but also the traditional purview of the industry, and find ways to apply those to your craft. I have hobbies of magic/illusion and psychology, and I’ve found a multitude of ways to apply the theory I learn from those to video and video editing. Keeping sharp outside your craft gives you a truly unique perspective and way of doing things that will set you apart.
Learning the Industry
After sufficiently learning the technical, you’ll start learning more about the industry of digital media- or more specifically, industries. This step tends to be big hurdle for a lot of people entering digital media. A lot of us get into the field because we’re very creative minded people who have a love of the art and the craft. The industry of it, especially in marketing, is very different than one might expect, and each industry pocket has its own trade offs between logistics/efficiency and craft/art. When I first got a job as a videographer, I was making videos for an eCommerce company, and the business model inevitably valued quantity over quality in media.
It’s important to understand the industry you’re in, what trade-offs it makes, and what trade-offs you’re okay making. You might think you hate the job, but you actually just hate the restrictions of the specific economy you’re working with. Try switching to a different environment, or if that’s not feasible, do pro bono or artistic work on the side that you find more fulfilling. This will help keep you sane, and you can use this work to build out your reel when you’re trying to switch industries down the line.
Finding your Niche
Finally you’ll find your unique voice in the industry. Just kidding, very few people “find” their voice- they develop it, grow it, help it to flourish. When it becomes formed enough to be of use, it will feel like finding it, unexpectedly discovering something new, but if you lean into that mentality, it ignores all the work you put in to get to this point, and discourages you from developing that voice to something truly great.
Finding your niche doesn’t mean you have to drastically further the craft, or create genius innovations within the industry, it just means you have to provide something that very few others can. Maybe that means finding a very specific specialization (like “social media videos for the manufacturing industry” or “80s style motion graphics”) but it’s a matter of finding out what you love to do, where you love to it most, what you’re best at, and where these overlap. Basically it’s repeating steps one and two over and over until you find your dream job.
The bad news is that it means you’ll end up trying a lot of things you won’t end up liking, but the good news is from those experiences you’ll know more about what makes you tick as a person and how you best provide value. Keep asking why you like some things and why you hate others until the answers become so abstract you can reapply them across mediums, industries, and opportunities. Then you refine yourself to match the picture that draws.
Conclusion
Digital media is a vast and growing field. There are as many ways to create a career within it as there are people within the field- probably more. But after mastering your craft, understanding the industry, and finally developing your niche, you’ll find a very rewarding and fulfilling career ahead you.
Tobias Lansberry 