Marketer By Day, Tik-Toker by Night: Julia Belkin is Guiding the Next Gen of Marketers Through TikTok
By Naisha Roy
“Be ambitious and competitive.Never be afraid to speak up in a meeting or share your ideas!” Today’s woman dreamer, Julia Belkin, is a marketing content manager for Kinesso. In this interview with our Women Who Win intern, Naisha Roy, she reflects on her experiences as a woman in marketing, including roles at prominent companies such as Beyond Identity, Onapsis, ThriveHive, and Dunkin’ Donuts. Through these experiences, Belkin has learned the power of social media and how to harness it to make a successful campaign, making her the perfect kick-starter to our new women in marketing series. With a Bachelor’s in Business Administration and Marketing from Simmons University, Belkin has invaluable skills when it comes to platforms such as TikTok and Instagram. Her career has also taught her several important lessons about leadership, content creation and creating a positive environment, all of which she has applied to her marketing roles.
1) What about the marketing field draws you in and what is the biggest thing you've learned working in it?
I love that in marketing I have the opportunity to exercise and stretch my creative ideas. It has definitely challenged me to be an out-of-the-box thinker, in addition to learning to build off pre existing content. One of the most challenging aspects to marketing is learning to work on a dynamic and cross-functional team, so being able to swap ideas is not only interesting, but also beneficial for your own advancement to hear another POV.
2) What would you say to women who are aspiring to go into the marketing industry?
Be ambitious and competitive. Especially in tech marketing, it can be a very male dominated field, so in order to stand out you may have to push yourself beyond your comfort zone. Never be afraid to speak up in a meeting or share your ideas!
3) You've led marketing and social media efforts in many companies with such a wide range of products. What, in your opinion, is the most important skill to know and hone when it comes to the field and why?
Diversifying your tech stack is absolutely key to being a competent marketer. Even in B2C fields, the marketing world is ever changing, so staying up-to-date can feel overwhelming at times. Take a few hours each week to subscribe to newsletters like TL;DR Marketing or Marketing Brew, read up on your industry, and connect with evangelists at your company. Staying on top of changing tech (ex, the elimination of third-party cookies, changing social algorithms, and new image size updates) will help to elevate your position within your organization.
4) Marketing can often be a very competitive field, especially as a newcomer. What was your biggest hurdle in the field, how did you overcome it, and what did it teach you?
Getting your first job or two out of college feels nearly impossible compared to later in your career. Once you've gotten some experience under your belt, you can take your time in selecting your future roles to make sure it's the right one, versus just the next one. But all the positions I've held have ultimately been deeply beneficial, though some more grueling than others.
Earlier in my career, I was primarily at early-stage startups, and at my very first job out of college, was a casualty of a mass layoff. That was certainly a shell shock for 22 year old Julia. I was terrified that I wouldn't be able to find a new job since I only had 8 months experience, but luckily most places I interviewed were very understanding, and I had a new role within a month that I ended up liking a lot more. Perseverance is key!
5) What has been your favorite marketing/social media promotion or project that you've gotten to work on and why?
When I was still in college, I interned at Dunkin' Donuts, and that was an absolute blast! Not only did that job provide me with incredible future opportunities (being in New England, it's still the first thing that gets called out on my resume!), but it also gave me great experience working on a collaborative and creative team. While I'm no longer in the food & beverage industry, the lessons I learned from that job have served me well over the years.
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