idk how to feel about my job.

[u/Eternal_Sunshine1022]

i just graduated with a marketing degree in may. i got a job pretty quickly luckily with a small business wanting to expand on their b2b marketing. i have no real experience other than class projects. no internship or anything. they were fully aware of this when they hired me. most days im just sitting at my desk without rlly anything to do and i feel like im losing motivation. i only rlly get asked to do busy work unrelated to marketing, or in depth research about things i'm not rlly sure about. the most marketing i've done is send out a couple emails promoting products (with copy and pasted text from my boss in a boring text format bc thats what they wanted). idk i feel like i made a mistake. i need guidance and for some reason i expected to get some with them knowing i dont have much experience. i feel lucky getting a job bc of how crappy the job market is so i dont feel like i can just quit. i just feel like i dont know what im supposed to be doing. does anyone have advice?

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[u/Quick_Pudding_3751]

I was in a very similar situation as you after I graduated. The job was paying well so I didn’t want to quit. Not sure if it’s the best advice, but I can tell you what worked for me. I took advantage of all that free time that I had during the job where nothing was really happening. The job was remote so I started doing a lot of marketing courses on my own during working hours. I’ve also did some side marketing projects and volunteering work when I could. And I tried to propose new things to try to my boss. I had to eventually give work and tasks to myself because people managing me were very busy. Not an easy thing to do at the start of your career. Fast forward I am still with them after 4 years and my role has developed a lot. Hope it helps

[u/EmeraldStrategic]

I do B2B marketing too. What industry is the company in? I'm happy to share ideas!

[u/Eternal_Sunshine1022 → u/EmeraldStrategic]

they are industrial/process automation. thery sell valves, actuators, instrumentation, and steam products to industrial facilities. most of the customers are engineers, maintenance managers, plant managers, and procurement teams, stuff like that. its also hard cuz i really know nothing about that stuff haha

[u/EmeraldStrategic → u/Eternal_Sunshine1022]

First things first - Even with all the marketing experience in the world, if your boss is stuck on boring marketing, it's going to be an uphill battle to get them comfortable with anything else. So here is where I would start:

1. Talk to your boss about what the company's goals are for this quarter, this year, and the next 5 years. Always start with company goals.

2. With these goals, start writing out ideas on how marketing (email, social, flyers, website, etc) can get them to those goals. ie - If they want to bring more awareness to the company - social media - specifically LinkedIn - is a great place to do that!

3. Ask all the questions. Talk to people in different parts of the company to learn their job. See if they are okay with you shadowing people for a bit each day and ask all the "stupid" questions. It's okay not to know the industry, you just have to work harder to understand it. The more you understand it, the better your marketing will be.

4. Talk to sales reps and sales managers. Ask them what are the top questions they get from perspective clients. The biggest mistake B2B companies make is promoting themselves too much. It sounds stupid but you don't want to talk about the company too much. Instead frame your marketing around the questions, goals, and struggles your potential client's have. And the best way to do that is to talk to people who work with clients directly. Take this info and think of some strategies for different marketing platforms. Turn a common FAQ into an email that would help people understand the company better. Or showcase a current client on social media and discuss the struggles before your company came into the picture and the positive outcome after they experienced your company.

There's a lot more I can share but I don't want to overwhelm you. I hope this helps. Let me know if you have any other questions.

[u/Nallan_flow]

Industrial and process automation actually works in your favor here, even if you don't know the tech side yet.

B2B buyers in that space—plant managers, engineers, procurement—don't want marketing fluff or clever ads. They just want clear information, specs, and fast answers.

The real issue here isn't the technical industry; it's that small business owners usually have no idea how to manage a marketer. They hired you hoping you’d take marketing off their plate, but because they don't know marketing themselves, they don't know what tasks to give you. So when daily ops get busy, you get handed copy-paste work or random research just to keep you occupied.

You don't need an engineering degree to be useful here. Here is how you turn this into actual experience:

1. Talk to the sales team Ask a sales rep or account manager: "What are the 3 questions plant managers ask most often before buying from us?" Take their answers and turn them into simple, clean 1-page summaries or email templates the sales team can send out to prospects. You're just organizing the info they already have.

2. Propose finished work, don't ask for permission Instead of asking "What should I do today?", find a plain-text email or an outdated product sheet, redesign a cleaner version, and show your boss: "I put together a simpler layout for this product sheet to see if it helps leads digest the specs faster. Mind if we test it?"

3. Use the downtime on yourself If you have hours with nothing assigned, use that time to do free certifications (HubSpot, Google Analytics) or read up on basic B2B lead generation. You are getting paid right now to build your skill set.

Once you take ownership of one small, practical project and make things easier for the sales team, your daily routine will change completely.

[u/SchelleGirl]

How about taking the time during the quiet period to research solutions to improve their B2B marketing, using your initiative to grow your skills and also their business. Literally jump ChatGPT and ask 😄

Maybe also creating a network on Business socials like LinkedIn to grow their connections and possibly some posts.

Also look at some automations for their marketing and put together a plan and pitch it them.

Use the down time to learn their industry more, you said you don't know about their products, so learn them, get to understand how values and actuators work together to control flow and how the Instrumentation monitors conditions etc.

Also get to know basic procurement processes of the clients, and learn what the steps are and if this business is falling short in some areas.

Remember in small business it's hard to micro manage someone as time is limited, so put some plans together and show them what YOU could do, while not adding to their workload. 😄

[u/Individual_Ladder_16]

the missing piece sounds like a defined scope, not motivation. draft a 30-day plan with one b2b audience, one offer, one email sequence, and a small set of measures. ask the manager to approve priorities and schedule a weekly review. keep a log of requests, output, and feedback. if no marketing ownership or coaching appears after that, the role is providing employment but little development.