How Digital Marketing Helps Brands Build Profitable Products.

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@TechCrushHQSep 9, 2025

The Spaces explored how beginners can enter and succeed in digital marketing, featuring candid journeys and practical guidance from Mark Willie, Oluwatoyosi Yusuf, Joseph Ajayi, and Ola (marketing & PR). Speakers contrasted PR with marketing (long-term reputation building vs near-term ROI) and mapped the major tracks in digital marketing—SEO, PPC/paid media, social media, email, marketing automation/content—advising newcomers to build broad fundamentals before niching. They detailed a working marketer’s lifecycle: market research, competitor analysis, customer personas, channel selection, go‑to‑market, optimization, and growth. Challenges covered included losing early clients, limited budgets, performance pressure, platform compliance pitfalls, and overwhelm when soloing multiple functions. The panel emphasized structured learning, community, internships/apprenticeships, strong portfolios, and measurable outcomes. They urged social media managers to expand into ads, analytics, pixels/events, basic design, and landing pages. Beyond finances, the career builds creativity, critical thinking, storytelling, confidence, and problem-solving, with strong demand from SMEs. Q&A addressed juggling multiple gigs, choosing a specialty, and actionable upskilling paths, closing with reassurance that consistent practice, metrics focus, and foundational skills are the fastest route to results and career mobility.

Techrush Mentorship Series: Digital Marketing Careers — Full Session Notes

Session context

  • Host: Techrush Mentorship Series moderator (name not stated). This was the final session of the series, focused on digital marketing: how to get started, pathways, day-to-day work, and career growth. Q&A covered specialization, overwhelm management, internships, and juggling multiple roles.

Speakers and roles

  • Mark Willie — Growth/Digital Marketing Specialist (≈7 years). Background in web development; later Google Digital Skills for Africa and Facebook Blueprint trainer; has worked across FMCG, fintech, edtech; now a “360° digital marketer” (ads, web/landing pages, product design) and coach.
  • Joseph Ajay — Digital marketer (≈6–7 years). Early entrepreneurial bent; ran impactful campaigns (e.g., CCTV bulb camera), founded agency, consulted across multiple countries and sectors.
  • Atoyosi Yusuf — Digital Marketing Specialist; leads Eco Digital (≈8+ years). Works across e-commerce, startups, SMEs in and outside Nigeria; agency consulting (US) spanning Meta/Google/YouTube/TikTok Ads, email, performance marketing.
  • Olu (full name inaudible due to audio; referred to by the host as “Ola/Ulua…”) — Marketing and PR specialist. Agency and in-house experience across several industries; built thought-leadership and PR playbooks; founded a brand while in university.

What is digital marketing vs PR?

  • PR (Public Relations):
    • Core: managing public perception and maintaining a client’s newsworthiness over time.
    • Components: crisis management, reputation/perception shaping, digital footprint, media placements, interviews, influencer marketing, strategic partnerships.
    • Cadence/ROI: long-term compounding outcomes (e.g., building a fintech thought leader via consistent content, interviews, partnerships; documentation across years).
  • Marketing:
    • Core: driving measurable growth outcomes and ROI, often on shorter cycles (e.g., Meta/Google ads, conversion campaigns, promotions).
    • PR fits under the broader marketing umbrella as a complementary function.
  • Interplay: sustained brand equity (PR) + immediate growth (marketing) reinforce each other; strategic affiliations and platform features can accelerate both.

Speaker journeys and pivotal moments

  • Mark Willie:

    • Entry: Web development (HTML/CSS) before university; intrigued by ads and marketing mechanics; during NYSC at a university, created a digital skills training (Google, YouTube, blogging) to help students use campus Wi-Fi productively.
    • Trajectory: Trained with Google Digital Skills for Africa and Facebook Blueprint; first “official” client around 2018 establishing Twitter presence for a lifestyle brand; transitioned to agency and brand-side roles; later combined web building and product design with growth marketing (360° profile).
    • Challenge: Lost his first client due to newbie mistakes and lack of structured guidance; emphasized how scarce resources and mentors were at the time.
    • Growth: Now advises and coaches thousands, with projects spanning Nigeria and beyond.

  • Olu (Marketing & PR):

    • Entry: In first week at university, spotted demand for past questions/notes; compiled concise notes, distributed via group chats, and rapidly scaled reach; monetized via hard copies and WhatsApp audience; brands began paying for posts.
    • Path: Self-taught via books, blogs, newsletters, YouTube; later pursued internships for structured experience and portfolio credibility; broad campaign work across tech/fintech/consumer brands; emphasizes starting with basics and climbing the role ladder (volunteering/free work → internships → entry → mid → senior).
    • Ethos: Don’t skip fundamentals; value creation over titles; intentionality, documentation, and strategy.

  • Atoyosi Yusuf:

    • Entry (2016, final year): A friend pushed him to acquire digital skills; started as a social media manager running Facebook app promotions, initially wasting ad spend; balanced academics after early missteps.
    • Path: Hands-on for a friend’s tech startup (social, ads, email, SEO), then freelancing (Fiverr/Upwork), then consulting for a US agency; diverse exposure to Meta/Google/YouTube/TikTok ads, email, and performance marketing.
    • Challenges: Overwhelm from handling “everything” (email, SEO, social, paid) for SMEs; intense pressure to show visible results.
    • Upside: The stretch forced deeper learning (consumer psychology, decision triggers, better execution) and accelerated his growth.

  • Joseph Ajay:

    • Entry: Entrepreneurial since secondary school (PC access, side gigs, selling value); in university partnered on referral-based online platforms, then helped a senior with e-commerce (imported tech gadgets). Recognized marketing as central to business growth.
    • Campaign highlight: CCTV bulb camera campaign (positioned on benefits, pain points, audience fit) that sold out inventory; expanded into agency work across continents and sectors.
    • Lessons: Ownership mindset yields better creative and performance; strong foundations + curiosity → longevity; marketing is distinct from sales, but synergy matters.

The breadth of digital marketing and how to specialize

  • Core specializations (Mark’s breakdown):
    • SEO: On/off-page work to rank on Google (e.g., “top hotels in Lagos” resulting in first-page organic visibility).
    • Social Media Management: Channel strategy, publishing, community management, DMs/comments response.
    • PPC/Paid Media: Meta/Google/YouTube/TikTok ads, programmatic/display; pay-per-click/CPM tactics.
    • Email Marketing: Lifecycle campaigns, nurturing, segmentation, deliverability.
    • Marketing Automation: Funnel design, CRM triggers, event-based journeys.
  • Niche strategy:
    • Start broad: Acquire foundational knowledge across all major areas to understand the whole funnel and collaboration points.
    • Then niche: Pick the area that best suits your strengths/interests (e.g., storytelling → content; analytical/operational → PPC/automation; community-savvy → social media). Become T-shaped: deep in one area, literate in others.
    • Market reality: Many SMEs cannot staff every sub-role; broad competence plus a core specialty raises employability.

Day-to-day workflow and value delivery

  • Stage-based contributions (Mark):
    • Pre-launch: Market research, competitor analysis, gap mapping, positioning; develop customer personas to locate audiences and channels (avoid misallocating budgets to the wrong platforms).
    • Go-to-market: Awareness and acquisition strategy; channel mix; creative/messaging based on personas.
    • Post-launch growth: Sustain adoption, scale users (e.g., 1,000 → 10,000), increase conversion rates and customer lifetime value (CLV); retention funnels and optimization.
    • Variability: Daily work depends on business stage; agency teams offer specialization; single-brand roles in Nigeria often require wearing many hats.

Challenges, pitfalls, and how to handle them

  • Early mistakes are common: losing clients (Mark), wasted ad spend (Yusuf), lack of mentors early on.
  • Client expectations: Unrealistic goals vs budgets (e.g., ₦500k budget expecting 10M users) require education with data and staged growth plans.
  • Compliance sensitivity: Example from a Canadian parliamentary nomination campaign where using “vote” in last-mile SMS triggered an account suspension; regulatory nuances matter.
  • Overwhelm: Don’t do “everything” at once; structure work by business priority and stage; in agencies, lean on team structure; in SMEs, plan sequencing, set expectations, and systematize.
  • Emotional swings: Expect frustration and joy—results data speaks louder than effort; celebrate wins to stay motivated.

Practical advice for beginners

  • Don’t skip the basics: Foundations first (core concepts, channels, funnels, metrics) before chasing advanced tactics.
  • Structured learning: Use programs with curricula, guided projects, and mentorship (the host highlighted Techrush’s curriculum across content, social, email, SEO, PPC, capstone, final exam; accredited certificate).
  • Learn by doing: Internships, volunteering, free/low-paid gigs to build portfolio and references.
  • Be resourceful: Books, blogs, newsletters, YouTube; join communities to shorten the learning curve.
  • Ownership mindset: Treat client brands like your own; this elevates creativity, research depth, and performance.
  • Complementary skills that compound value:
    • No-code web building (e.g., WordPress) and landing pages.
    • Product design basics and conversion-focused UX.
    • Copywriting (including email copy) and storytelling.
    • Visuals/video (Canva, basic editors; InShot, etc.).
    • Ads stack literacy: Pixels, event management, domain verification, conversion APIs; platform-specific best practices (Meta, Google, TikTok, X/Twitter).
  • Positioning: Build authority in a niche; publish case studies; cold-email agencies/brands with irresistible, data-backed value propositions and clear calls-to-action.
  • Don’t fear saturation: New businesses emerge daily; SMEs depend on marketing to survive—talent with results will find demand.
  • Balance with life/school: It’s possible with discipline and planning (Yusuf’s journey).

Q&A highlights

  • Should beginners niche immediately or learn broadly first? (to Mark)

    • Learn fundamentals across the spectrum; then niche based on interest/aptitude while keeping cross-functional literacy. Market yourself as a T-shaped marketer.

  • How to overcome overwhelm in multi-hat roles? (to Mark)

    • Prioritize by business stage; structure task sequences; don’t try to do everything simultaneously; use systems/automation; agency settings allow specialization—single-brand roles require intentional planning and expectation management.

  • How to get internships/agencies beyond social media management? (Audience member with ~9 days in; Joseph’s response)

    • Create opportunities via strong outbound: cold emails/DMs with compelling subject lines, value-led messaging, crisp case snippets, and CTA.
    • Broaden capability: learn ads, no-code sites, copy, funnels—show you can drive pipeline, not just posts.

  • Is it advisable to take multiple jobs at once? (Lewis to Mark)

    • It depends on your capacity and experience. Beginners should avoid overcommitting; reputation risk is high. Veterans can juggle if results don’t suffer. Clients care about outcomes, not hours—be honest about your throughput.

  • What do you wish you knew when starting? Which area should a newcomer pick? (Favour to Mark)

    • Wish: access to structured learning and community (vs. piecemeal YouTube/blog hopping).
    • Area: first understand each discipline; then choose based on fit/interest. You can build strength in any area once fundamentals are solid.

  • For social media managers worried about obsolescence (Joseph’s addendum)

    • Expand beyond posting: learn paid media, lead generation, tracking, analytics; understand sales-marketing handoffs; become indispensable by tying content to conversions.

Personal and professional growth beyond finances

  • Olu (PR/Marketing): Massive gains in confidence, storytelling, public speaking, and strategic thinking; mastery of task-switching across PR and marketing; exposure to high-profile talents/celebrities; learned to plan long-term with intentionality; chose roles for learning and portfolio leverage, not only pay.
  • Mark Willie: Heightened creativity and campaign analysis (e.g., dissecting viral rollouts beyond surface content); strong sense of ownership seeing products succeed; intrinsic motivation to take more brands to market.
  • Atoyosi Yusuf: Improved critical thinking, creativity, multitasking, problem-solving; confidence from moving brands from point A to B with data-backed results.
  • Joseph Ajay: Deep analytical habit (always asking “what problem is this solving?”); sectoral exposure across geographies; access to senior stakeholders; enduring conviction that marketing is central to business life.

Program and logistics notes from the host

  • The Techrush bootcamp offers a structured, end-to-end digital marketing curriculum (content, social, email, SEO, PPC, etc.), with projects and a final exam; certificate is accredited (as stated by the host).
  • Upcoming AMA (Ask Me Anything) live session for prospective learners to ask detailed questions (fees, certification, curriculum). Reminder to check email (including promotions/spam) for updates/acceptance.
  • Ethos: There is room in tech for everyone; start now, stay consistent, and evolve. Balance is possible even while in school or transitioning careers.

Actionable takeaways

  • Start with structured fundamentals; build breadth, then depth.
  • Build a portfolio through real projects (even self-initiated) and document outcomes.
  • Develop T-shaped skills: one specialty + cross-functional literacy.
  • Learn the full performance stack: tracking, pixels, events, attribution.
  • Treat every brief with ownership—tie activities to measurable business results.
  • Use communities and mentorship to accelerate learning; avoid going it alone.
  • When overwhelmed, prioritize by impact and business stage; sequence work.
  • Seek opportunities proactively: cold outreach with value, not just resumes.
  • Don’t overcommit early; protect your reputation by delivering consistently.

Memorable examples

  • Canadian nomination campaign: SMS account suspension due to the word “vote” highlights compliance nuance and crisis management under pressure.
  • CCTV bulb camera campaign: Benefits-driven positioning and audience fit can drive sellouts even for niche hardware products.
  • University notes → WhatsApp audience → brand demand: scrappy, insight-led growth builds early marketing confidence and deal flow.