Introduction: Why The Fuss Over Digital Marketing?
There is no denying that people are moving at a rapid rate from analogue to digital. Digital content is increasingly being consumed on a daily basis through mobile phones, laptops, computers, and other smart devices. Companies are slowly beginning to recognize that their marketing strategies need to adapt fast to keep up with this evolving trend.
But what makes digital so important, you ask?
On the current marketing landscape, digital is not only a swiftly growing force, but is also considered to be the future of marketing, in many quarters. And given the rate at which companies are moving toward digital solutions, the future for traditional and conventional varieties of marketing looks bleak indeed!
The Rise Of The New Guard
While the older generation will mourn the decline of traditional channels of communication and media like newspapers, television, radio broadcasts, books, etc, millennials –born into the digital era- and a few that made up the old guard- stride forth into a brave new world.
But why?
Because digital ways are faster, more practical, and more versatile. It shouldn’t come as a surprise that once the era began the world began moving towards it at a rapid pace. Of course, the good news is that the Digital landscape offers a lot of scope and potential to marketers as well as to consumers.
Large and small industries are increasingly moving away from conventional marketing methods and towards digital techniques. Companies are hiring more digital marketers since it has proven to be the more preferred career choice for the busy and the outgoing!
Technology is constantly evolving, and whether it is Samsung’s latest innovation of the foldable tablet or the latest Robot technology, the stream of updates is near-constant. Staying up-to-date with each of these new technologies has become crucial to success. Digital marketers are often at the forefront of these evolving trends, having to adapt to new strategies to sustain high performance.
The digital world has drastically altered the way we communicate, interact, research, do business, and build relationships. Mundane, daily chores that once necessitated a ten-minute trip at a minimum now can be achieved at the click of a mouse and with no lead time at all.
And customers are beginning to spend more time online.
So, Why Go Digital?
#1 Because it is a lot more affordable than traditional techniques. For example, an email campaign can broadcast a message to a much wider user-base than via conventional means – but for a fraction of the cost of a television or print ad.
#2 Results can be monitored and tracked. Instead of an expensive customer survey or research, marketers can, in minutes, track customer response rates and measure the success of a campaign in real time. This will also enable the next campaign to be planned effectively.
#3 Digital Media is outpacing traditional varieties of information consumption. According to the Office for National Statistics, in 2014, 38 million adults (76%) in Great Britain accessed the Internet every day, 21 million more than in 2006.
The bottom line is that the digital age is here. Businesses that cannot adapt to the new marketing climate run the risk of facing extinction sooner rather than later.
Sounds Great! But How Do I Launch A Career In Digital Marketing?
There are a number of disciplines within the broader umbrella of Digital Marketing, such as:
Let us consider each of these, in turn:
Email Marketing
What Is It?
Email marketing is a type of push messaging and outbound marketing that consists of sending emails to leads and customers. Typically, the intent of the emails is to engage with the customer or to advertise a product.
Why Is It Used?
Brands can quickly and easily reach target markets without huge investment into ATL communication such as print, television, or radio to target markets. Segmented email lists that divide the target segment up by geography, profession, years of experience, psychographic profile, etc, may be maintained, ensuring the emails that are sent out are relevant and contain content that would actually interest the reader.
Basic skills to possess:
2. A/B testing
3. Segmentation
4. Niche Targeting
Salary Prospects:
The table below shows the salaries of Email marketers:
The average Salary of an Email Marketing Manager is $58,767
The average salary of an Email marketing coordinator is $39,983
The average salary of an Email Marketing assistant is $35,255
Search Engine Optimization
What Do SEO Specialists Do?
An SEO specialist position calls for extensive analytical, tactical, and strategic skills. This is because of the multi-disciplinary nature of the SEO role, having to get their hands dirty with social media, content quality scoring, mobile search, and ongoing search engine updates. SEO professionals analyze, review, and implement changes to a website so they are optimized for search engines.
The key responsibilities of an SEO specialist is to generate traffic and increase the number of viewers of the website.
Skills:
2. Identification and evaluation of high quality content
3. Competitor Analysis
Salary Prospects:
SEO specialists can expect to earn anywhere between $25,062 and $60,428. As with most other professions, this figure varies by location and level of experience.
The following table depicts the salary-variation by years of experience:
Specialists with 1-4 years: $27,772 - $51,866
Specialists with 5 years and above: $33,988 - $75,467
Copywriting
Responsibilities:
The responsibilities of a copywriter include:
2. Write public relations copy
3. Edit what others write
4. Write audiovisual and broadcast copy
5. Ghostwrite copy
Copywriters also write taglines, direct mail pieces, web page content, online ads, email, etc.
Skills:
Skills that a copywriter should possess:
2. An eye for detail and research ability
3. Curiosity
4. An ability to see different points of view
5. Creativity
Salary Prospects:
The salary of a copywriter ranges from $29,869 - $71,442 per year.
Content writing
What Do They Do?
Content writers produce interesting, engaging content aimed at drawing readers to the site, nurturing them into regular followers, and encourage their retention. Professional content writers are internet savvy and create blogs, articles, and other written forms of web material.
These professionals have a major hand in all the written material that is found over the web. They have a solid grasp of the English language and writing skills, and many have experience working with content management systems and HTML\CSS.
Skills:
Skills required to be a content writer:
2. An eye for detail and research ability
3. Curiosity
4. An ability to see different points of view
5. Creativity
6. good understanding of user needs, motivation, and requirements
Salary prospects:
Content writers earn an annual average salary of $69,250.
Social Media Marketing
What Is Social Media Marketing?
This is a kind of marketing that uses social media networks to achieve branding goals by cultivating a voice and feel, and business goals via paid and free promotions.
What Do They Do?
Social media marketers rely mainly on social platforms like Facebook, Twitter, etc, to promote the brand and the company’s offerings. Their primary activity would involve social sharing of videos, content, and images for marketing purposes.
The responsibilities of a social media marketer include:
2. Define a communication style and a content strategy that is in-line with the above
3. Create and adapt the content for each social media network.
4. Keeping themselves up-to-date on the latest digital marketing trends
Necessary skills:
2. Writing skills and Analytical skills
3. A solid understanding of SEO and content writing
4. A customer service mindset and relationship building
Salary:
The average salary for a social media marketers is $25,957 - $76,279 per year.
Advertising
What Do Advertisers Do?
Advertisers play a vital role in the generation of income for the media outlets. They are responsible for maintaining relationships with new clients, exploring new opportunities and finding new clients, and ensuring the advertising needs of both, the customer and the organization are met to satisfaction.
Skills of an advertiser:
2. Communication skills
3. Creative
Salary:
The average annual salary of an advertiser is $90,661.
Search Engine Marketing (SEM)
What do SEM specialists do?
Search Engine Marketers are in charge of the development of marketing campaigns built around keywords which will drive traffic to the website and result in conversions.
Skills Required
2. In-depth experience with website analytics tools (e.g, Google Analytics, NetInsight, Omniture, WebTrends)
3. Experience with bid management tools (e.g., Click Equations, Marin, Kenshoo, Search Ignite)
4. Experience with A/B and multivariate experiments
5. Working knowledge of HTML, CSS, and JavaScript development and constraints
6. Up-to-date with the latest trends and best practices in SEO and SEM
Salary
The average salary of a Search Engine Marketing specialist is $30,798 - $65,579
Mobile Marketing
What Do Mobile Marketers Do?
2. Manage mobile SEO, mobile display campaigns, and mobile PPC
3. Ensure there are maximum downloads for mobile apps
4. Have A/B testing to ensure high conversions
Skills required:
2. Creative
3. Good with numbers and analytics
4. Communication skills
5. Relationship building skills
Salary:
The annual average salary of a mobile marketer is $61,000.
Education Requirements
To enter the marketing world, a potential candidate would benefit greatly from a degree in marketing, usually at the graduate level. On a full-fledged marketing course, candidates will learn to analyze the market and come up with actionable insights for segmentation and targeting, write copy that is compelling, maximize value for a customer, analyze data to introduce changes if necessary, and handle end-to-end marketing campaigns.
Colleges now offer specializations and dedicated courses to new media and internet marketing which will be relevant. In addition, an education in computer science or information management will also be helpful. Most marketers hold degrees in Business Administration.
Additionally, a certification in the specific field will help build knowledge and expertise in that area.
Important Skills To Have For A Digital Marketer:
#2 Ability to listen and prioritize
#3 Data Analysis
Salary Prospects
Salary by country:
Australia stands first in the salary prospects for a digital marketing job closely followed by the US, and Canada, shows a moz survey.
Salary by role/title
A moz survey has demonstrated that the salary of a digital marketer stands fourth in the salary graph of specialized fields.
Salary by Experience
A survey conducted by moz has also shown that experience plays a critical role in determining pay and compensation for digital marketers.
Salary By Gender
Yet another moz survey has shown that the gender gap in the online marketing profession is narrowing, with female marketers taking home an average salary of $57,438, which is not far behind from their male competitors who earn $68,785.
The Digital Marketing Plan
Interested in a career in Digital marketing? A certification in your specialization will help you excel in your field. Simplilearn learn offers Digital Marketing courses like the Digital Marketing Specialist, Introduction to Digital Marketing, and many more. Each course provides high quality eLearning content, practice tests, downloadable workbooks and exercises, online tests, and comprehensive content that is up to date. Enroll today to surge ahead!
To gain more insight into the world of Digital Marketing, feel free to visit our Free Resources repository for more informative articles and guides on Digital Marketing.
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