Digital marketing is a busy field where brands fight a continuous battle using ads and where various media outlets turn into battlefields. Businesses worldwide use digital marketing to get noticed by working with skilled and creative professionals, which creates a perfect opportunity for a new workforce to join the industry.
Today, digital marketing specialists are in high demand, and this trend isn’t expected to go away anytime soon – public relations internships in Philadelphia, Boston, New York, or any other large cities arenโt hard to find. A career in digital marketing can lead to unlimited growth potential. Still, employees in this field also expect different financial benefits, upward mobility, and good insurance options, as they may be asking themselves how life insurance premium is calculated.
Companies of all shapes and sizes actively seek people with various talents. But how many jobs are available in the digital marketing field? What kind of role would it be wise to choose, and what will the prospects look like? Are there any particular skills required from the candidates, or is it possible to break in without experience?
This article will answer these questions and provide a detailed overview of why itโs worth starting a career in digital marketing.
What Is Digital Marketing?
The term โdigital marketingโ describes a form of marketing that the brand uses to communicate with the receiver in such a way as to cause a particular reaction. It is also a broad term that refers to many strategies to sell and advertise products on numerous platforms. Nowadays, the most common forms of digital marketing include email marketing, social media marketing, and search engine marketing, but there are many other subfields to choose from.
Digital marketing focuses on developing, maintaining, and creating content to generate organic traffic to websites. Marketing services for small businesses and large corporations are an excellent way to get more visits from people who are likely to purchase at the end of their journey. The content can range from various forms of social media posts to blog posts, videos, or even e-books. The crucial part is that the content must be engaging – the more exciting and enjoyable it is, the higher the chances it will attract clients.
Digital marketing services are excellent for any small or large-scale businesses that want to build a solid name for their brand, build an online global presence, get more familiar with their target audiences, and drive more organic traffic and higher sales. As this sector grows and diversifies, many jobs will be available for those wanting to join the industry.
Why Choose a Career in Digital Marketing in 2024?
Whether itโs oneโs first job or a long-awaited change of โprofessional scenery,โ choosing a career path can be challenging. People are often told to find something they love so they would never have to work another day. Still, itโs also essential to factor in long-term stability or opportunities for future personal development. Digital marketing is a dynamic field worth considering, and below youโll find a few reasons to become a digital marketer.
Itโs a Role Thatโs Constantly Evolving
One of the main reasons that make a career in digital marketing so exciting and appealing is that, as different platforms are being introduced, this field has no time to slow down. A skilled digital marketing manager is always on the lookout for new trends and tries to see how they impact discoverability, meaning how easy it is for potential customers to find a particular brand and what exactly they are finding.
Search engine developers are working hard to keep introducing new updates, and trying to discover how they impact website rankings can be quite a task. From this point, itโs the job of an entire marketing team to create a perfect strategy tailored to a particular brand.
Working in digital marketing rarely involves doing the same thing every single day. This is even more true today, as the current trends in the industry lead to faster innovation. As technology evolves, digital marketers can leverage new and innovative ways of reaching their customers.
Here are a few examples:
- Interactive content – quizzes, polls, augmented reality ads, and 360-degree videos can all be used by digital marketers to keep things both fun and exciting. The famous Bill Gates quote โContent is kingโ remains true today, as customers love engaging with content. However, it must be interesting enough to stand out from the busy crowd and create enough buzz to stay relevant.
- Omnichannel marketing – itโs a relatively new concept, but with each passing year, it grows in importance. Customers increasingly commonly check a brandโs social media accounts before determining if they want to buy from them. By using omnichannel marketing, companies can make their products and offers more visible. They can also support services offered to customers or prospects on different channels, platforms, and devices, making it more likely to turn them into paying customers.
- Augmented and virtual reality – both these technologies can be very exciting, especially for online shoppers. Statistics speak for themselves, as in 2020 alone, over two billion people purchased goods or services online, and e-retail sales surpassed $4.2 trillion. Therefore, itโs vital to keep these customers engaged by allowing them to feel as if they were looking at the products on shelves to take a closer look.
It Offers Flexibility and Good Work-Life Balance
First of all, thereโs no denying that sharing an office space with some like-minded, creative people can be an excellent solution for some, but today working remotely is considered a considerable benefit by many employees. While some jobs still require rigid hours, even for the employees who work from home, thereโs an abundance of offers in digital marketing that allow people to set their schedules or, at the very least, provide them with a little more flexibility than most traditional positions.
This allows employees to work when they’re most productive and doesnโt require them to waste hours on their commute, so they can sleep longer, get more done, and spend more time with their friends and family or do the things they love. Many professionals who care the most about work-life balance work in different digital marketing.
It Allows Employees to Unleash Their Creativity
Creative people like to express themselves in a variety of ways. They want others to see their work and hear what they have to say, so, naturally, working in digital marketing can be a perfect outlet for them.
For instance, a candidate with a background in graphic design or video production should have no trouble finding their place in the digital marketing industry. Thereโs always plenty of room for those who want to contribute their innovative and creative ideas and turn them into attention-grabbing content. Even a fine arts degree wonโt go to waste in this field, as when combined with some professional training, it can be a great asset in production, campaign-creating process, or web design.
Thereโs Plenty of Upward Mobility
Finding a job that allows one to โclimb a ladderโ with progressively more responsibility can be challenging in most traditional industries. Many organizations have already solidified their business models and streamlined and optimized most key processes to operate with lean management. This leaves little room for those who would like to get promoted internally. However, itโs not the case in the world of digital marketing.
Because this industry is proliferating, there are plenty of opportunities for career advancement. Companies of all sizes see how important it is to keep expanding their digital marketing operations and, in many cases, create new roles on executive levels for the most promising specialists in this field.
Every Industry Needs Digital Marketers
Nowadays, professional digital marketers will always have something to do as long as theyโre interested in doing their job. This kind of job security is an assurance that one will be able to work in their current employment for the foreseeable future.
The universal need for digital marketers also means that one should have no trouble finding a position in a sector that fits their specific interests and needs. Whether itโs construction or the automotive industry, clothing or arts, literally no sector cannot truly thrive without digital marketers who are capable of creating captivating digital campaigns.
How Much Does a Job in Digital Marketing Pay?
Finding a job is always tricky, but getting a well-paying job in this field shouldn’t be a problem for candidates with exceptional digital marketing skills and who keep a positive, can-do attitude. Building a brilliant career is possible even if one has no previous experience and needs to start at an entry-level position.
According to data provided by Payscale, an average salary for a digital marketing specialist is around $50,000 – the exact number may vary depending on location and the particular company. A market research analyst can make almost $55,00 a year, while marketing managers earn around $67,000.
It is no surprise that the bustling business New York/New Jersey metropolitan area can offer some of the best digital marketing salaries in the U.S. In many cases, digital marketing proves to be an industry that tends to pay proportionately to oneโs experience. For instance, digital marketing specialistsโ salaries can range from $49,000 to $70,000. People who are just starting usually get offered a salary thatโs on the lower spectrum, but they can work their way up to become experienced managers that might make up to $89,000.
What Is the Current Demand for Digital Marketers?
Because it is among the fastest-growing fields right now, thereโs a massive demand for talented, creative employees with a positive attitude who want to work with people and do something exciting and filled with daily challenges.
As of December 2024, LinkedIn lists โmarketing analystโ among the top 10 most in-demand jobs, emphasizing experience in social media, content strategy, SEO, and analytics. Experts tie this to the opportunities in the digital marketing field that the Covid-19 pandemic presented, as it positioned many companies to pivot to a digital marketplace. In a nutshell, businesses are doing much more digital marketing now and need to expand quickly to meet their customerโs expectations. They simultaneously have more marketing data just waiting for proper analysis and use.
With the growing demand and the fact that digital marketing strategies require attention to many different aspects and details, thereโs also a high number of related jobs. While the industry isnโt in a full-blown crisis due to the digital skills gap, thereโs a visible lack of people with digital skills for those positions.
However, according to Charlotte Business Journal, this gap was visible even before the pandemic. With more and more people noticing the attractiveness of this field, the positions are likely to be filled. One can even say that right now, with so many jobs and not enough workers to fill them, this might be the perfect time to get started and apply for a job in digital marketing.
Types of Jobs Available in the Digital Marketing Field
Whether one is considering finding their first job in the digital marketing field or they have already joined the workforce, itโs always useful to understand key industry specialties. Itโs an incredibly diverse industry with many different job roles, each requiring a different set of skills. Here are some of the most popular jobs in digital marketing:
Email Marketing
Email marketing makes it incredibly easy for brands to make the customers on their email list aware of new products, discounts, and other services. Itโs based on sending promotional emails to potential clients and existing customers. While it might seem inconspicuous, it can help significantly increase conversion rates if used effectively. An email marketer has to test different subject lines and try out multiple formats to see which emails get the most attention and manage to bring in the most organic traffic.
According to Glassdoor, a skilled email marketing manager can make up to $90,144 a year.
Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
Search engine optimization is a branch of digital marketing that focuses on using search engines to improve the quality and quantity of website traffic to a website or a web page from search engines. It aims to make a website more appealing to search engines, which can be achieved in several ways. For example, businesses can hire a digital marketing specialist to provide them with web design and development, search engine optimization, or search engine advertising. Learn how to use rank tracker software and see your income skyrocket!
An SEO manager can make an average of $98,120 per year.
Social Media Marketing
Social media marketing uses the power of popular social media networks to achieve the marketing and branding goals of businesses of all sizes. Still, itโs especially favored by small businesses and startups looking to create lots of buzz around their brands. It is based on creating profiles on different social media platforms, most notably Instagram, Facebook, or even TikTok, and using them to reach people likely to be interested in a particular brandโs products. Itโs important to note that experience in digital marketing and building communities is often a must for those who want to start a career in social media marketing.
The national average salary for Social Media Marketing is $43,321 per year in the United States.
Search Engine Marketing (SEM)
The main difference between SEM and SEO, which often get confused, is that SEM includes paid tactics. SEM specialists focus on researching keyword trends to check what people search for in search engines. This way, they can figure out what tactic to use for a clientโs company pages to appear high in the search results. SEM is a blend of advertising and SEO that aims to bring a lot of organic traffic to a particular website.
SEM specialists use numerous tools and platforms to help them research search terms. Itโs a perfect position for people who enjoy working with data and want to put their analytical skills to good use.
The average salary for an SEM specialist is $50,269.
Copywriting
Thereโs a lot of writing involved in the process of digital marketing. In fact, copywriting is a vital part of this field, as copywriters produce abundant content on a wide variety of topics and in many forms. They write taglines, product descriptions, emails, ads, and more.
Copywriters need some writing background to showcase their skills, but they must be creative, curious, and ready to work under time pressure. A copywriterโs job revolves around getting people to pay attention in the hustling and bustling world of distractions.
The average salary for a copywriter is around $68,549 per year.
Content Writing
Writing content might seem the same as copywriting for those unfamiliar with the industry, but these are two essentially different jobs.
Content writers create longer-form content that aims to draw readers to a particular site and, in a way, guide them throughout the sales cycle. They create engaging written pieces for digital and print media. These range from case studies to blog posts, articles, and eBooks meant to educate the readers and provide them with relevant and interesting information. Good research skills are a must for those interested in this position, as content writers often write on a wide range of subjects, which their clients can use to advertise their services.
The typical content writer’s salary is around $47,814, but the numbers can vary greatly depending on oneโs experience, skill level, and unique talents.
Advertising
Over the past few decades, advertising has wholly transformed, and digital advertising now plays a vital role in digital marketing. Advertisersโ duties include conducting detailed market research to match the right products to the right target audiences and collaborating with other teams to craft exciting targeted ad campaigns.
Advertisers build and cultivate good relationships with media brands to determine what type of content is the most suitable for each outlet and can produce the most desired results. They also negotiate rates and terms that suit both organizations involved. Competitive individuals who donโt mind working in a people-oriented, fast-paced environment should thrive in advertising.
The average salary for a digital advertising specialist is around $55,748 per year.
Conclusion
To sum up, today, digital marketing is something that every business needs to thrive and succeed. It can give companies of all shapes and sizes a convenient and cost-effective way to reach their target audiences, strengthen their relationships with existing customers, bring in new prospects, and find potential business partners.
A career in digital marketing can be an exciting and fulfilling journey, perfect for those who enjoy collaborating with others and want to show off their creativity or unique analytical skills. Many job opportunities are available, with salaries often dependent on the skills, experience, and value the new worker can bring to the company. Digital marketing runs fast, and thereโs plenty of room for growth and success.
FAQ
In recent years, the digital marketing field has witnessed a steady increase, and itโs only expected to grow in the upcoming years. There are plenty of opportunities for people with all kinds of experience, from entry-level jobs to more advanced positions. Digital marketing can make for a secure and exciting career.
Digital marketing is the field is one with the most job openings. Currently, there are more open job postings than qualified candidates. The demand for digital marketing jobs will grow in the future, and joining the workforce now is a great idea regardless of whether one wants to apply for an entry-level position or already has the skills to qualify for a senior role.ย To help get you started, you can search for jobs online using Lensaโs platform. Its algorithm can automatically match you with the most suitable employers.
SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization. To put it simply, SEO is a set of practices that aim to improve both the appearance and positioning of web pages in the results presented by search engines. These days, no business can truly thrive online without a proper SEO strategy, as itโs responsible for driving traffic and gaining a brand’s credibility.ย
Digital marketing connects businesses with their customers when they are online. Nowadays, virtually every industry needs captivating digital campaigns to attract more customers and get noticed by them. Moreover, the number of internet users worldwide is increasing, so brands need to dedicate more effort to marketing their products and services online.