The field of marketing is wide and growing rapidly. Marketing can be applied to any industry. There are a variety of digital marketing roles you need to know about and they all hone in on a specific set of skills. Creating marketing content or looking into Google Analytics are to name a few. There are a few things to think about when it comes to looking into a digital marketing role for yourself. The same applies to if your company is looking to hire for digital marketing. For the former, think about what interests you and what skills you would like to expand on. For the latter, think about what your marketing objective is.
Digital marketing is often for the creative person, but can also be results-driven. You can expand on both depending on the role. To help you identify, below are some common roles in the digital marketing space and what they entail.
1. Digital Marketing Executive/Manager
This could be an all-encompassing role, depending on whether you are a one-man team or not. If you have teammates or subordinates, some of your responsibilities may differ.
All-in-all, a Digital Marketing Executive/Manager looks at the bigger picture. They focus on overarching marketing campaigns and website management. They are the guardians of the messaging a brand or company puts out. In this role, they will also be monitoring website traffic and take into account the user flow of a site. They will likely be the ones attending networking events and product launches. Being on the constant lookout for new digital marketing trends is vital for staying on top of the game.
SEO aka Search Engine Optimisation, is also an area they will oversee. This is the ranking position of your company or brand name on Google web search. Then of course there is engaging with content via social media and email newsletters. This can also result in a bit of customer service, which is part and parcel of customer retention.
2. Digital Marketing Copywriter/Content Marketing Manager
A Digital Marketing Copywriter or Content Marketing Manager looks at content. This is content as a whole and also on a granular level. Basically, it is all the content that goes out about your company or brand in the digital space. Your role is to create awareness in the right markets with the right demographic. This can be through social media, website content, blogs, email newsletters, and others. Content can also include videos, podcasts and infographics, whitepapers, and ebooks.
This can also include SEO and SEM (Search Engine Marketing) via paid Google ads. You will therefore use web analytics tools to help you assess the number of people you are reaching. You will also be taking a look at the number of impressions you are making. Part of digital marketing can also be on how you use content to acquire new customers or leads, as they call it.
3. Social Media Marketer
Honing in on a more specific role is the role of a Social Media Marketer. This person will be looking after the social media marketing roadmap. This includes strategies for social media presence and the generation of new followers. This is for brand awareness and driving revenue will also be a part of your responsibility. Your goal will be to set the budget for the year for any ads and to implement a calendar of content. You will be promoting your services or products, and even the community feel of the workplace. Part of your role will also be to engage with the audience. If there is no in-house or external graphic designer that you work with, you may also be creating the artwork.
4. SEO Specialist
This is a specific role that focuses solely on Search Engine Optimisation. As a growing trend, SEO is the organic way to increase your brand presence in the digital space. Your responsibility requires a lot of technical skills. This includes keyword research. Why? Because using the right keywords that are relevant to your brand, will help with exposure. Your target should be to be displayed on the first page of Google near the top as much as possible. This is of course specific to the industry that you are in. This shows that you are a leader in your field. By doing so, you will increase traffic to your website.
Optimisation is the winner here. It is all about optimising on-page and off-page SEO. This includes all elements in your webpage, including meta tags, and link building.
5. SEM Specialist
SEM is the paid version of SEO. If you have the budget to spend, you can rank at the top of Google's search page via paid adverts. This will also depend on your goal. Essentially, the SEM specialist targeted the number of leads and clicks obtained. In this role, your job is to take a look at keyword research analysis to manage bids. You will also need to do copywriting for the ads and test campaigns to see which ones are effective. Achieving maximum ROI is your goal in paid search campaigns. At the same time, you will need to collect and analyse data, while taking into account trends.
6. Growth Marketer/Hacker
A growth marketer or hacker steps in during the growth phase of a business before the mature phase. The sole role is to help acquire new customers and retain existing customers at a low cost. You strategies and optimise through hypothesizing, prioritising, and testing. You identify channels for customer acquisition and then measure success along the way. Scaling growth is your main goal. You can do this by focusing on content marketing, product marketing, and advertising.
Bottom Line
Now you know all of the responsibilities associated with digital marketing. With the above, you can choose to upskill your existing skillsets or deep dive into a boot camp. By doing so, you can learn all the practical aspects of increasing the awareness of a company or brand. These other online courses can also help you become a well-rounded digital marketer.