5 Great Minors to Accompany a Marketing Major

Marketing Major Minors

• Graphic Design
• International Business
• Organizational Communication
• Social Media Analytics
• Consumer Psychology

Becoming a dual threat by adding a minor to accompany your marketing degree could help you stand out in today's fast-paced advertising arena.
Marketing was included in the United States' "10 Most Popular Majors" by CNN for an average beginning salary of $59,471. Marketing bachelor's degrees can eventually lead to marketing management jobs where the BLS reports a mean average wage of $144,140. While declaring a minor is wholly optional, aspiring marketers who take the five to nine extra non-marketing courses for one could broaden their skills for high-paying success. Minors specialize your curriculum for added depth to potentially shape your career possibilities in a marketing niche. Undergrads could consider the following five great minors when finishing their marketing study.

1. Graphic Design

Marketing majors with an artistic side could get creative by declaring the graphic design minor. Graphic design is a visual communication field focused on strategically mixing text with photographs or illustrations for advertisements. Marketers with a graphic design background will better understand the methods used to create visually appealing branding messages. This minor usually incorporates studio courses like drawing, interactive media, multimedia programming, and two-dimensional design. Practice is also gained with cutting-edge graphic design software that's applied in digital marketing jobs.

2. International Business

Going global is the pathway many marketing firms are taking to reach clients across borders from Taipei to Tampa and Tunis. Marketing services spending rose from $426.65 billion to $457.39 billion worldwide from 2015-2017. Therefore, international business minors are appealing additions to learn about the marketing strategies that work half a world away. IB courses will likely delve into emerging markets, international finance, global trade, economics, and operations management. International business minors also add cultural communication practice for marketing in diverse foreign languages.

3. Organizational Communication

Organizational communication is another of the good minor matches for a marketing degree to dive into the modes through which businesses convey information. Marketers will refine their ability to speak, write, and communicate through body language, which is crucial in promotions campaigns. According to Richard Branson on Forbes, communication is the most essential skill leaders need to influence people's opinion. Minoring in organizational communication could involve engaging courses like debate, conflict resolution, group dynamics, team-building, and corporate culture.

4. Social Media Analytics

The Pew Research Center reports that 70 percent of Americans use social target="_blank" networking platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and Twitter to connect. Forty-six percent of B2B marketers report feeling unsure if their social channels generate revenue. Social media analytics minors are excellent options for marketing students to master the tactics for measuring digital media ROI. Courses like eMarketing design, Google Analytics, survey research, eCommerce, and mobile communication will be included. Marketing graduates with social media analytics know-how are in-demand for promoting business Web traffic.

5. Consumer Psychology

Consumer psychology is one of the social science minors that marketers could utilize to better understand the human psyche. Through empirical-based research, consumer psychology teaches how people process marketing slogans and products to ensure corporate strategies connect with buyers. You could expect courses like business statistics, social cognition, positive psychology, economic anthropology, and personality. Joining a university's behavioral science department will instill the insights into consumer buying habits for future marketing managers to maximize company profits.

Adding the right minor isn't sufficient to brand yourself as a marketing expert though. Nothing can trump actual hands-on experience working on marketing campaigns. Companies hiring marketing graduates, such as Microsoft, AT&T, Oracle, Amazon, and Gannett, will be more interested in communication, analytical, and creative problem-solving skills than a minor. While choosing these or other minors like finance, statistics, economics, or sociology could be beneficial, don't forget to integrate internships into your marketing degree.

See also: Top 20 Cheap Online Marketing Degree Programs (Bachelor's)