The Digital Marketer: A Swiss Army knife for any firm?
The latest craze in the digital sphere of business is the demand and search for digital marketing professionals. With most marketing efforts moving into avenues like social media, web development, and email marketing to name a few, the constant need for individuals with specialised skills in this industry has grown exponentially.
Since 2010, the unemployment rate of the average digital marketing specialist dropped from 7.7% to 3.21%. With this understanding, we can see that the demand and usage for these individuals have significantly increased.
Today we are going to talk about what it means to be a digital marketer and what it doesn’t mean. Let’s see.
The Education
The majority of those engaged in the profession have obtained their bachelor’s degree in digital or general marketing. Digital marketers with a master’s degree or even doctorate in the field are paid significantly more than the rest (they most probably know more than the rest).
The field of digital marketing has evolved over the last decade as well, with courses and degrees catering directly to “digital” marketing as opposed to general marketing becoming more prevalent in the educational space.
Others who have obtained their degree in general marketing or business management looking to expand into the digital marketing sphere are given a plethora of courses and options that adapt their existing skill set to the digital space.
The Job
The main duties and responsibilities of a digital marketer include the following:
- Plans and executes SEO, database marketing, email marketing, social media management, and display advertising campaigns.
- Management of the social media presence.
- Measures and reports the performance of all digital marketing campaigns.
- Identifies trends and insights within the digital space.
- Brainstorms new and creative growth strategies through digital marketing.
It’s quite clear to see that the digital marketer is an expert in their field and gauges a great understanding of how marketing efforts apply in the digital space.
- Collaborates with internal teams in the development of web-based endeavors.
- Analyses and develops the customer experience in and throughout their sales journey.
- Collaborates with agencies and other vendor partners.
- Maintains awareness of emerging technologies and trends.
- Provides thought leadership and perspective for adoption where appropriate.
There has, however, been a few blurred lines over the years where the job and tasks of a digital marketer are misunderstood. Let’s see how.
Not the Job
Digital marketers are not graphic designers.
Over the years, the expectation of a firm on a digital marketer is “if they know about the digital space and marketing, they can create designs”. Not true, the digital marketing specialist is a specialist in marketing digitally and not necessarily design. If the education is based on strategy, the outcome is not design capability, that’s for designers.
Digital marketers are not software developers.
Another misunderstanding is that within their education, digital marketers are taught how to code and design websites. Although very ambitious this is also not the case.
Digital marketers are not influencers.
The social media presence of a digital marketer may be better than some if they so choose to invest in their own image. This is not always the case. Digital marketers are taught how to build and maintain a brand image as well as the best ways to communicate this image to an audience, not necessarily do it themselves.
Closing Thoughts
Although the digital marketer is well-versed in many fields, their focus is that of strategy.
Knowing the ins and outs of the digital space is crucial and can help the largest and smallest organisations leave an imprint on the world around them.
Having one of these as a member of your organisation is extremely beneficial if they are not misused.
