Digital Marketing jobs are in demand, as companies recognize the need to generate interest in and promote their products and services.
On top of that, as a digital marketer you’ll have a career which is fast paced, challenging, pays well, and has lots of room for growth.
Great!
But, did I mention that you can do this job remotely, from anywhere, with just an internet connection?
So, do you like to edit and write? Do you enjoy social media? Email marketing? There’s something for everyone.
Our post will tackle all this and more…
Are you ready?
Let’s get started!
What is Digital Marketing?
Digital Marketing refers to a marketing strategy that happens on the internet.
It’s the act of promoting products and services through digital channels such as social media, SEO, email, and mobile apps.
The purpose of this is to connect with both current and prospective customers.
So, customers will read the content, and decide if they want to learn more about a product or service.
For example, a content marketer creates a series of blog posts that generate leads from an ebook.
Then a social media marketer promotes those blog posts through both paid and organic posts on the company’s social media accounts.
Finally, the email marketer sends out a series of emails to customers who have signed up for the company’s newsletter.
But here’s a question: are digital marketing specialist jobs in demand?
Are Digital Marketing Jobs in Demand in 2023 (& Beyond)?
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, digital marketing jobs are projected to grow 10 percent from 2021 to 2031.
This is faster than the average for all occupations.
Additionally, 35,000 openings are projected each year on average, over the decade.
Many of these openings are the result of workers who either: 1) move to another career, or 2) retire.
The Top 6 Digital Marketing Jobs to Start Your New Career
Ok, onto the good stuff!
Here are our top digital marketing jobs (complete with job description) for you to dive into and determine which is the best fit.
Are you ready to learn more?
SEO Specialist
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is the process of improving a webpage or website to increase its visibility in search engines like Google and Bing.
So SEO specialists identify strategies, techniques, and tactics to do just that.
Key Skills & Education
Off-Page SEO
“Off-Page SEO” refers to SEO tactics applied outside of a website to improve its rankings.
These tactics include: link building, guest posting, social media marketing, and podcasts.
The goal of “Off-Page SEO” is to get search engines like Google and users to see a website as more authoritative and trustworthy.
Critical Thinking
This is important because you need to be able to analyze and answer the “3 What” questions:
- What happened?
- Why “What happened” happened?
- What should we do about it?
You need to be able to communicate to your client what the problem is, and how to resolve it.
SEO Technical Skills
There are 3 technical skills you must know:
- how to create a sitemap.
- how to create navigational elements for users — this helps users get to your web pages.
- how to hide low ranking pages that you don’t want users to find.
Each will prove valuable when applying for an SEO specialist position.
Content Marketing Specialist
A Content Marketing Specialist is responsible for creating, editing, optimizing, and strategizing the direction of a company’s content. It’s created for a variety of platforms, including blogs, websites, and social media.
Their job is to make sure that the content is: 1) interesting, 2) relevant, and 3) discoverable.
Key Skills & Education
Content Writing
Content writing includes writing and editing:
- emails
- blog posts,
- video scripts,
- podcasts,
- ebooks,
- social media posts.
Yet, how do you develop these writing skills?
By knowing how to write well. Invest in yourself and take time to learn content writing, specifically, how to write a good short and long form blog post.
Furthermore, practice.
Write for friends, family or yourself.
SEO Keyword Research
Keyword research is the process of finding and analyzing search terms that people enter into search engines.
This skill is important because: 1) it helps you find which keywords are best to target, and 2) provides insight into the queries that your target audience is searching for on Google.
Check out this case study.
Research
Knowing how to research helps you create powerful content. Effective research includes the following:
- SEO Keyword research
- Knowing Buyer Persona’s
- Audience Analysis
- Competitive Research
As an example, let’s focus on buyer persona.
So, a buyer’s persona is a detailed description of someone who represents your target audience. For example, Haley is:
- 41 years old
- lives in Toronto
- is the founder of her own PR firm
- goes to spin classes twice a week
- owns a Tesla
- goes on 1 vacation a year with her husband
- A member of a wine club
Knowing this allows you to tailor content to your clients target audience.
Social Media Specialist
The Social Media Specialist is responsible for creating and publishing content on all social media platforms to grow an audience, build brand awareness, and boost company sales.
This person will also oversee site metrics, interact with readers, and be responsible for creative design.
Key Skills & Education
Storytelling Skills
The 5 “C’s” help improve stories:
- Circumstance — you provide the where, when, and why about your story
- Curiosity — you draw your audience in and make them want to learn more
- Characters — people in your story that others can relate to
- Conversations — your story strikes up a conversation by invoking emotions
- Conflict — the best stories have conflict.
Having a great story ensures that your readers will come to your website, engage with your content, and come back for more!
A Strong Visual Sense
A visual sense is having an eye for design.
Knowing programs like Canva, Giphy, or the Adobe Suite are important as you can create visuals for social media posts.
But, ensure they are relatable to your clients target audience to foster engagement.
Awareness of Trends
Staying on top of the latest news and trends is important as it ensures your brand is in tune with customers.
It allows you to create content around ‘hot topics”, which will have a higher impression on social media.
So, if a company’s brand is ‘out of date’ with current trends, it means that the company isn’t relevant to their audience.
Email Marketing Specialist
The Email Marketing Specialist markets the company or brand by deploying emails to customers who have signed up for their email list.
Understanding email automation software is key as you are expected to send out “email blasts” to create brand awareness and nurture leads.
Key Skills & Education
Crafting Triggered Digital Marketing Campaigns
These are an automated email marketing campaign that is sent when a customer performs a “trigger action”on the company’s website. “Trigger actions” include:
- “Welcome” series
- Transactional emails
- Account notifications
- Personal event emails
- Time sensitive marketing campaign
Having a working knowledge of each will give you a head start on your competition.
Data Analytics
The best email marketers are analyzers. They look for data about the customers on their email lists.
Here’s a few metrics every email marketer should know:
- Open rate
- Click-through Rate (CTR)
- Conversion rate
- Bounce rate
- Number of unsubscribes
Each metric will help your client determine whether their email marketing efforts are profitable.
So, can you afford not to learn this skill?
Template Editing
Template editing protects your clients reputation by keeping their emails on-brand and error free.
Yet, what the heck is an email template?
Well, it’s an Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) file made up of reusable code modules. HTML is the code that defines the structure and content in an email.
It allows you to add things like images and links to an email and lets you style the email to reflect your company’s brand.
Most importantly, a template can be reused.
UX/UI Designer
The UX/UI Designer consists of both: 1) UI (User Interface), and 2) user experience design tasks.
This position includes both creating and improving the user’s interaction with a digital or physical product or service.
Key Skills & Education
Prototyping
This is an experimental process where design teams implement ideas into tangible forms from paper into digital.
A marketing team will build a prototype of varying degrees to capture a design concept and test on users.
With prototypes, you can refine and validate your designs so your brand can release the right products to their target audience.
Wireframe
Wireframes are created early in the development process.
Essentially they are a webpage layout that is stripped of visual design.
So, UX designers use wireframes to demonstrate how the UI will work for clients.
Mockup
This is a visual representation of what a final digital product or website will look like and includes the color, layout, icons, typography, and other UI elements.
Mockups are high-fidelity designs, but they are static and have no functionality — like a screenshot.
Yet, mockups are an important part of the design thinking process as they answer important visual questions which allows designers to start high-fidelity prototyping.
Product Marketing Specialist
The Product Marketing Specialist focuses on the marketing content of one specific product or service. It includes:
- managing marketing planning, research, and ROI analysis of product launches
- designing, creating, and updating marketing materials, including website content
- leveraging SalesForce to manage company data and provide revenue analysis
Key Skills & Education
Market Research
This is the act of gathering information about consumer’s needs and preferences.
Methods of market research include:
- Surveys
- Interviews
- Focus groups
- Observations etc.
So, having a running knowledge of each will give you a leg up on the competition when pursuing a role as a Product Marketing Specialist.
Knowledge of Key Performance Indicators (KPI’s)
This is a measurable value that demonstrates how effectively a company is achieving key business objectives.
Components of a KPI include:
- Inputs
- Process measures
- Outputs
- Outcomes
- Project measures.
For example, let’s say a business provides coffee for catered events:
- Inputs: coffee, water, and time..
- Process measures: coffee making procedure and equipment consistency.
- Outputs: taste, temperature, presentation, etc.
- Outcomes: customer satisfaction and sales.
- Project measures: deliverables.
So, KPIs are critical quantifiable indicators of progress toward an intended result and your clients will likely use them so you should too.
Sales Experience
This is the process of selling products or services to others.
It includes the process of identifying customers who are ready to buy your product and nurturing these leads to overcome customers’ objections and close the sale.
Most people have some sort of sales experience. So tap into your work history and leverage your experience.
How to Improve Your Chances of Landing a Digital Marketing Job
Getting your first digital marketing specialist job can seem daunting.
But there are a few steps you can take to tip the scales in your favor.
Level Up Your Skills via Online Courses
It’s time to start learning!
One way to advance your digital marketing skills is to take online courses:
Combined, the above sites have over 60,000 courses so consider your future job role and the key skills you need.
Take Advantage of Free Resources
There’s a lot of free certification courses you can take.
Two of these are:
When you’re finished, see if they offer a certificate. If they do, you can put it on your LinkedIn page and resume. This will help you stand out.
Expand Your Experience by Freelancing
Freelancing is a great way to advance your career.
Since you’re starting out, your focus will be on helping others grow their online presence.
But, you’ll write pieces to put in your portfolio.
For example, do you know any small business owners that need your help?
Maybe a small restaurant has no social media presence.
You can help them by setting up social platforms and producing engaging content to boost awareness.
The Top 4 Places to Find Digital Marketing Jobs Online
Finding a job online can seem overwhelming. But it doesn’t have to be.
Here’s the top 4 websites where you can start job hunting.
Indeed
Indeed is a website where job seekers can post their resume, read company reviews, check out a job description, and apply for jobs in various industries.
It offers a range of employment, from freelancing to a digital marketing manager and digital marketing specialist.
You don’t need to have an account to search for a job. Just go to the Indeed website and fill in the 2 required fields of “What” and “Where.”
Upwork
Upwork connects freelancers worldwide with people wanting to hire independent talent in various fields.
All jobs fall under two main categories of payment types: 1) hourly, and 2) fixed price.
To apply for a job on Upwork, job seekers need Upwork Connects.
Connects are a form of currency that Upwork uses to control the number of job proposals a person can send.
The “Plus” Plan is $14.99 a month, and you get 80 free Connects a month.
The “Basic” Plan is free and gives you 10 free Connects a month.
LinkedIn is a website that is primarily used for professional networking and career development.
Yet, job seekers can post their resume on their personal profile and employers can post a job description online.
But the best way to find a job on LinkedIn is through a referral from one of your connections.
If you don’t have a direct connection at the company, look for someone who works there with a shared connection. You can reach out with a personal message and ask about the recruitment process.
Smart Blogger Jobs Board
The Smart Blogger Jobs Board provides a vehicle where you can: 1) search for and 2) apply for a wide variety of digital marketing jobs.
There are filters to narrow your job search and jobs are specific to digital marketing.
Furthermore, it’s an excellent place to advance your knowledge with its dedicated “Training” section.
Digital Marketing Jobs are the Hot New Career Path of 2023!
Digital marketing jobs provide a wide range of career paths. They are challenging, well-paid, and can be done remotely!
From SEO, to Social and Email Marketing Specialists, there is a job for everyone and the best part…
You don’t need to go back to school to get an expensive, fancy degree.
You can do this online, at home, and in your spare time!
So, a new career path awaits!
The only one who’s stopping you is YOU.
Don’t wait another day…
Take action and become a digital marketer!
