Top 6 Hottest Jobs in Digital Marketing

GDF Editorial Wed, 05/20/2020 - 10:00

Digital marketing is one competency field that attracts talent from multi-variate backgrounds. From data crunchers to creative editors, each individual can carve a professional identity with a relatable niche for their expertise. Digital marketing is referred to the end-to-end online mechanism of creating prospects, nurturing leads and landing sales, all through digital means. Some of these media types could be owned such as your website, blog, customer database, and landing pages whereas others could be paid for such as ads, public relations, & direct mail. For such a diversity of media, you cannot have a one-size-fits-all professional that is tasked with the responsibility to lead 360-degree campaigns. Therefore, with a combination of both the latest digital marketing trends and the basic marketing needs of businesses, we have the following digital marketing jobs in the industry.

SEO/SEM specialist

Search Engine Optimization is a high-priority task as it pulls the category of users with interest in your services, onto your website. It’s like a signpost on a search engine with optimized keywords pointing to your website. But this is just scratching the surface. Like on-page SEO, there is off-page SEO which involves building backlinks, guest posting, forum posting, and RSS Feed subscription to name some. Together such website optimization techniques help the website to rank higher.

Responsibilities of an SEO/SEM Specialist

1. Gather insights from on-site traffic with web analytics and coordinate with the development team to optimize website code.
2. Test and identify best ROI measures for paid search (PPC) campaigns while managing campaign budgets.
3. Optimize the website for keywords to rank higher in search engine user queries.
4. Create and monitor link building strategies
5. Perform competitive analysis to identify strategies being used by closest competitors.
6. Stay hands-on with both white hat and black hat SEO strategies.

This gives you a good look at what an SEO specialist should be proficient at. Hiring managers often seek experience with the following tools to determine the expertise level of an SEO specialist.

Skill Set of an SEO/SEM Specialist

1. Experience in running search engine monetization campaigns on engines like Google, Bing and Yahoo.
2. A good understanding of search patterns and user psyche for online customer acquisition.
3. Experience with webmaster and bid management tools such as Google Analytics and Search Ignite respectively.
4. Knowledge of programming languages used in web applications such as HTML, JavaScipt and CSS for code optimization

Savvy SEO specialists should create contingent plans to tackle Google algorithm updates that directly affect search traffic patterns. Such digital marketing jobs for freshers are in abundance in the market.

Content Strategist

Content strategists are not just compelling wordsmiths but also level-headed marketers. They have the x-factor in their marketing copies. A content strategist would have the workable knowledge of sentiment analysis tools to analyse and adjust the message delivery through their content. They have a flair for creativity and therefore the most suited individuals to create brand guidelines. Writers often have to be trained in nuances of SEO in part compromising on the quality of the write-up. Yet, content strategists know how to strike the right balance between the two.

Responsibilities of a Content Strategist

1. A strong handle on content consumption trends in the industry in terms of audience taste.
2. Produce and administer editorial calendar for the marketing team ensuring timely publication.
3. Undertake content audits and enforce standard content creation and timely content upgrade practices.
4. Measure and evaluate the performance of content through customer engagement on social media and owned business channels.
5. Attention to detail for proofreading and editing content to introduce a story-telling narrative and capture customer attention span.
6. Set benchmarks for multi-tasking and effective project delivery.

On top of everything else, a content strategist must have the knack to create strategies that drive targeted inbound traffic and push prospects through the sales funnel.

Skill Set of a Content Strategist

1. Although not mandatory, yet having a project management certification is always welcome.
2. He/she should be comfortable operating on content management systems such as WordPress, Drupal or Joomla etc.
3. They should know how to best utilize social media accounts as admins.
4. Strong interpersonal communication skills with a penchant for working under tight deadlines and meeting engagement targets.
5. Familiarity with HTML is not mandatory but always helpful.
6. Expertise in one or more SEO tools such as Semrush, Google Search Console etc. is preferred.
7. Knowledge of web design software such as Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Lightroom, and Adobe InDesign is a big plus.

Again, creating content doesn’t come naturally to people but it is seen that such individuals have a graduate qualification in mass communication/English honours/Arts.

Email Marketing Specialist

Marketing should not hit a roadblock just because it is hard to capture customers outside of your existing user base. This need makes email marketing specialists imperative to growing the business. Such outbound marketers efficiently manage large databases and target each consumer demographic with personalization. They’ll introduce sign-up forms on owned media (website, blog etc.) or paid platforms and see to it that social linking increases the customer base.

Responsibilities of an Email Marketing Specialist

1. Introduce multi-device compatibility for email campaigns for the readership.
2. Liaise with graphic designers for aesthetic mailer templates.
3. Track and compile results for email campaigns and make correct adjustments/recommendations/implementations for the next one.
4. Innovate strategies for increasing subscriber list from multiple channels.
5. Define standards and email body with optimized content for increased click-through rate.
6. Automate campaigns with set triggers to connect with customers/prospects at peak times.

Skill Set of an Email Marketing Specialist

1. Ability to work with email marketing tools such as Salesforce, Mailchimp, Aweber or ConvertKit.
2. Working knowledge of CMS for purposes of integration with automation software.
3. Excellent copywriting and copy-editing skills for creating consumable content for mailers.
4. Enrich customer databases by proposing viable promotions from time to time.
5. Understanding of A/B email split testing, call-to-action copy placement, subject lines, design layouts.

It is also recommended Email marketers know how to use HTML and CSS as these programming languages are used to build email templates.

Social Media Specialist

Social media specialists, or managers, ensure a sustainable environment for a brands’ growth on social platforms. It is their job to create a social media engagement plan to materialize business goals. Engagement is unique to each individual, therefore they get plenty of flexibility to put their creativity to test with posts, videos, stories etc. They act as the official broadcaster for their brands often taking up corporate communications. Social media specialists are tasked with the following:

Responsibilities of an Email Marketing Specialist

1. Ideate on topics to produce shareable content for social media channels such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn etc.
2. Ensure a steady stream of content as per the content calendar.
3. Maintain thriving relationships with the social community and take care of online reputation management.
4. Grow social media followers by spreading brand awareness with out of box content creation.
5. Keep abreast of the latest platform updates and policies for best practices on running ad campaigns, content creation etc.

People live by the digital pulse of notifications on their phone, so much so, that they are addicted to this device for constant beeps of information. Therefore, if you use social media extensively for personal reasons, chances are that you are well accustomed to it. Provided you gain knowledge of a few social media marketing tools, you’d be set to begin your journey towards a job in the field.

Skill Set of an Email Marketing Specialist

Have an operational knowledge of social listening tools that help in online reputation management.

1. Be a pro at scheduling and automating social posts with tools like Buffer, Sprout Social etc.
2. Effective community management with problem-solving and critical thinking.
3. Be accustomed to running Facebook Ads, Google Ads, Youtube Ads for online paid campaigns.
4. Excellent grasp of campaign management, content management, and content distribution.
5. Evangelize trend-setting ideas to expand brand outreach on social platforms.

You must preserve a record of successful social campaigns that you have been part of because when appearing for situational interviews, it may come up.

UX Designer

Design is at the core of marketing. Ideas, concept and the execution of a campaign notwithstanding, content and design are the first contact points for any customer. Whereas a good copywriter could be found in email marketers and content strategists, the same can’t be said of UX designers. They are trained to define human interaction with on a digital marketing channel such as a website, smartphone app, Facebook page etc. UX designers give structure to a process, laying out the buyer journey and how the customer passes through the sales funnel.

Responsibilities of a UX Designer

1. Elaborate products and services by defining a visual layout for omnichannel marketing.
2. Conceptualize wireframes and prototypes for defining customer interaction.
3. A UX designer defines the buyer journey through design elements.
4. Their key responsibility areas cover design perspectives to push the user towards the prescribed call to action.
5. With the user experience in mind, they share the design/page layout requirements with a UI designer, who finally bring ideas to life with graphic editing tools.

Skill Set of a UX Designer

1. Must have a verifiable design portfolio to bring out the expertise.
2. A graduate/master’s degree in related discipline gives weight to the resume.
3. Working knowledge of design software such as Visio Professional, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe InDesign etc. will be a bonus though not mandatory.
4. Ability to communicate ideas to teammates. Aspirants should be well versed with interaction design principles and user empathy to connect the two.

Digital Marketing Manager

A digital marketing manager acts as the supervising head of the above-listed profiles. They set targets for each quarter and delegate tasks as per the core competency to their subordinates. In doing so, their objective is to drive sales. They must have proven experience in managing teams and converting digital initiatives to measurable goals.

Responsibilities of a Digital Marketing Manager

1. Ensure systematic planning and implementation of SEO campaigns, social media engagement, email marketing and ongoing paid advertising projects.
2. Compile and measure the ROI of digital campaigns against yearly/quarterly/monthly goals and recommend changes where necessary.
3. Offer creative inputs to grow revenue increasing brand visibility digitally.
4. Initiate employee training in tandem to stay on top of software needs.
5. Forecast future trends for sales and present a result-oriented marketing strategy.
6. Strengthen vendor relationships as the business head in the organization.
7. Act as brand ambassador attending leading industry meetups and forging new business to business ties.

Since a professional at this stage of the career has amassed good experience under the belt, therefore, workable knowledge of portfolio tools is taken for granted. In addition to that, they must be good man-managers and proficient communicators to authoritatively have their say.

Skill Set of a Digital Marketing Manager

1. The required experience at such a managerial level varies from one company to another. Larger the team, larger the experience required.
2. Must possess an in-depth understanding of the business value chain. Therefore a Master degree in a related discipline is a must-have.
3. Creative source for the team members for a directional approach towards digital marketing campaigns.
4. Hands-on with analytical and automation tools used in marketing.
5. Expert at creating data-driven, results-oriented campaigns.
6. High emotional intelligence to tackle individual, inter-departmental challenges.

Online learning resources for marketing are profoundly found all over the internet. Whereas a short term course might deal in verticals of SEO/SEM, Social Media Marketing, or Email Marketing, there are long term courses as well. Referred to as Diploma in Digital Marketing and Branding, GDF in entrenched in preparing marketing enthusiasts of today to be the brand ambassadors of tomorrow. With 400+ hours of training, students learn:

1. Implementation of advanced social media tools
2. Drive organic traffic towards targeted channels.
3. Marketing, not making, campaigns for the masses.
4. Online Reputation Management
5. Email marketing essentials
6. Project-based training with analytical tools for digital platforms
7. Manufacture end-to-end digital marketing campaigns.