WHAT DOES A DIGITAL MARKETER REALLY DO?

Introduction

Sandra has always been meticulous and never one to start anything out of peer pressure. However, she has been home for some months due to the university strike, and her friends have encouraged her to learn a skill.

Of course, she is open to the idea of learning a skill. However, she is conflicted as she doesn’t know what skill to learn. It seems there are many options, and it is hard to choose.

Many of Sandra’s friends have said she should learn digital marketing and become a digital marketer. Sandra has been playing around with the idea, but she desires to grasp what being a digital marketer entails fully.

She has a basic knowledge of the job roles of a digital marketer. But she felt she needed more information and set out to get this information.

According to Sandra, what she learns about the job role is what could convince her to learn the skill. Interestingly, she was impressed by what she learned, and she also got to know the skills and qualities required to become a digital marketer.

In this article, we’ll share what Sandra got from her research. And if you are an aspiring digital marketer like Sandra, you’ll learn about what a digital marketer does.

Skills and Qualities of a Digital Marketer

Sandra was curious to know about the skills she needed to become a digital marketer. Below are some of the required skills she discovered:

• Analytical skills: From the concept of digital marketing, a digital marketer must have analytical skills to succeed in the role. It shouldn’t be surprising that a digital marketer would deal with data and need to know how to analyse such data. After all, that is the concept of insights in digital marketing. An excellent digital marketer should know how to interpret these insights and turn them into useable and valuable information.  Else, the digital marketer cannot offer growth for the brand or business, and it will be as good as the brand not having a digital marketer. Thus, you need to harness your analytical skills to become a digital marketer.
• Communication skills:  As a digital marketer, you must also have excellent communication skills. After all, you are in charge of marketing materials through online platforms, and you cannot afford to use bad grammar in them. In addition, you will also be in close relations with clients, and you need to know how to communicate effectively, or you’ll drive them away. A digital marketer with excellent communication skills can diffuse situations before they get out of hand. Also, this skill helps in relating with other departments and ensuring that everyone effectively gets their work done without hassle.  
• Marketing skills: Some people will say that this should be the first skill on the list of skills one should have if they aim to become a digital marketer. It is unimaginable to think that you won’t need marketing skills as a digital marketer. After all, you must sell your brand’s products and services through online platforms as that is what your work entails. However, you cannot qualify as an effective digital marketer if you are not persuasive. And your persuasiveness can show through your tone of voice. Whatever branding or marketing communication material you put out needs to have a convincing style that makes people take action.  
• Leadership skills: It also comes in handy for a digital marketer to have good leadership skills. Typically, brands entrust digital marketers to do their job without monitoring. So, a digital marketer should know how to take the initiative and give instructions to people that will help them carry out their duties. For example, suppose a digital marketer needs to enlist the help of an external SEO specialist. In that case, the digital marketer should know how to take charge and ensure that the external SEO specialist does their job as required. Yes, not everyone might be a natural leader. However, you can harness this skill.  
• Flexibility: It is common to hear people say that the world is a moving train, and one must be open to change. Of course, we agree with this claim. And if you compare the current state of society to thirty years ago, you will agree that it isn’t the same. Even the concept of digital marketing was strange back in the day. Therefore, as a digital marketer, you should be flexible and adaptable. An excellent digital marketer should know how to adapt to various changes and plug these changes into making positive changes for the brand and boosting effectiveness.  
• Curiosity: Do you have a curious mindset? You cannot succeed as a digital marketer if you do not have a curious attitude. Your curiosity should make you question the norm and discover why things are the way they are. As a result, you will get new information to help carry out your responsibilities. An excellent digital marketer should always be up-to-date with the latest trends and happenings. And one cannot do this without a curious mindset. When you have a curious perspective, you will be surprised at the things you discover. Therefore, a digital marketer cannot undermine the power of a curious mindset.
• Creativity: Is it possible to be a digital marketer without creativity? We would say that it is impossible as your imagination is what sets your work apart from others. With creativity, you can think of unique ways to sell your products and services to the target audience and get them to take action. Yes, we know that there may be creativity blocks sometimes. But you need to know what helps you get over your creativity block. It is also best to understand that creative block happens to thebest of us, and it isn’t a crime to take a break. You should also always constantly find ways to improve your creativity.
• Resilience:  If you are not resilient as a digital marketer, you are sure to quit along the way. One of the biggest mistakes would be to think that digital marketing is an easy job. Allow us to tell you that no job role is easy. Thus, you will not succeed as a digital marketer if you are looking for a job without stress. There are many things to do as a digital marketer, which can sometimes get overwhelming. But this is where your resilient spirit should come to play. 
• Be open to collaborations: A digital marketer also has to do away with the mindset of being an island. The idea that you can do everything by yourself isn’t always feasible, and you might need to seek the help of others in carrying out your job responsibly. Therefore, we always advise that all digital marketers should be open to the idea of collaborations. It is best to understand that there are many areas under digital marketing, and a particular area might not be your specialization. So, what happens when that area is needed? Of course, you will need to reach out to those who can help you carry out the responsibility.
• Research skills: It is right to note that you will conduct lots of research as a digital marketer. Most times, you need to find out the best digital marketing strategies of the moment to use in executing your task. You will also need to find out what the target audience likes, their most active platforms, and more. You will need all this information to run an effective digital marketing campaign, and it will be a flop if you do not know how to research adequately and get information. A go digital marketer should be able to get information that others cannot access.  

Job Roles of a Digital Marketer

Below are some responsibilities you may be required to handle as a digital marketer. It is best to know that the job roles of a digital marketer vary, depending on the company and brand.

Some of these responsibilities include:

• Ideate and optimize content for the website: Any brand that has a website needs content on the website. After all, it wouldn’t make sense for people to visit the website and not have anything that leaves them hooked on the website. If that is the case, no one will make a return visit to the website. As a digital marketer, you are responsible for ideating the type of content that goes out on the company’s website. Then, after coming up with ideas and even creating the content, you also have to optimize the content. It ensures that the content boosts the website’s visibility and makes it rank high on search engines.
•  Identify trends: A digital marketer is also responsible for ensuring that the brand stays up-to-date with the latest trends in their industry and society. Therefore, digital marketers have to be proactive to ensure they do not miss any of these trends. After identifying these trends, the digital marketer also has to infuse these trends into various strategies and campaigns for the brand. The responsibility of identifying trends is a way of staying ahead of your competitors. If the brand does not keep up with trends, it cannot meet up with its competitors, which would leave a dent in its revenue.
• Analyse insights: Digital marketers have to deal with analysing insights, a vital aspect of digital marketing. Through the analytics via digital marketing, digital marketers can determine if the deployed strategy is working. If it isn’t, they get to go back to the drawing board and make new recommendations. Therefore, any aspiring digital marketer needs to be familiar with interpreting data. Otherwise, they will find it challenging to adapt to the job and even help the brand catch up with its competitors. In addition, the job of analysing insights also allows the digital marketer to get a better understanding of the target audience.
• Plan marketing campaigns: When the brand has to put out any marketing campaign through online platforms, the digital marketer is responsible for ensuring that the campaign happens. Hence, the digital marketer is in charge of this campaign from the imagination to the execution stage. the digital marketing makes recommendations to the business on the best strategies and even partnerships for the marketing campaigns. Therefore, a digital marketer should have confidence in any planned campaign as the brand works based on the digital marketer’s directive. And the digital marketer will be held accountable if the campaign flops. Yes, this enormous responsibility is one of the job roles of a digital marketer.
• Prepare campaign budget: We mentioned marketing campaigns earlier, and everyone would agree that there must be a budget for any marketing campaign. Yes, the campaign will not run without a budget. But who prepares the campaign budget? Ideally, the digital marketer handles the preparation of the campaign budget. After all, the digital marketer is in charge of the entire campaign, and it wouldn’t make sense for any other person to prepare the campaign budget. Therefore, a digital marketer has to be good with numbers and estimations.  A digital marketer cannot run away from preparing campaign budgets. Else, the campaign will flop.
• Developing and implementing marketing strategies:  As the name of the role implies, a digital marketer will deal with everything that concerns the business’s online marketing. And this involves developing and implementing marketing strategies to boost the brand. Therefore, a digital marketer has the responsibility of researching to find out the best strategies that work best for brands within that niche. In addition, the digital marketer also has to check what competitors are doing and see if it can be tweaked in a better way to sell the brand and business. Finally, while thinking and developing these strategies, the digital marketer also has to choose the best platforms to use in implementing them.

FAQs

Below are some of the frequent questions we get from people who want to pursue a career in digital marketing:

How much does a freelance digital marketer make?

There are no slated amount that a freelance digital marketer makes as it depends on the individual, the work they put in, the business they work for, and how many brands they are affiliated with. All these factors play a role in determining how much a freelance digital marketer makes.

Is digital marketing well paid?

Yes, digital marketing is a well-paying career. It is one of the most sought-after roles currently due to the visibility it gives to various brands.

Is digital marketing a good career?

Yes, digital marketing is a promising career, especially if you are passionate about it.

Is digital marketing easy?

It will be wrong to say that digital marketing is easy as no job role is easy. However, it becomes easy to handle when you are passionate about the position.

Can we do digital marketing from home?

Yes, one can work as a digital marketer from home. It is why the idea of freelance digital marketing entails.

Summary

Digital marketing is an interesting career path, especially when you understand what you are to do. Therefore, ensure that you familiarize yourself with the job responsibilities before taking on the role.