Become a Digital Marketing Manager

Introduction

The digital economy is truly thriving, a continual trend that has had a positive impact on job availability and career progression within the industry.

Digital drives revenue. Its reputation for being a targeted and measurable specialism has meant that digital marketing budgets are expanding aggressively. Organizations have recognized that using digital tools and channels can generate impressive Return On Investment (ROI) and create a considerable competitive edge.

78% of CMOs expect their budgets will continue to grow in 2021 — Gartner CMO Spend Survey

Despite recent setbacks due to COVID-19, digital ad spending worldwide is projected to increase in 2021, potentially reaching the $389 billion mark, with many brands and marketers prioritizing online promotion over traditional print or TV mediums.

As the demand for digital marketing activity across all industries continues to increase, and the world becomes all the more hyperconnected, the need for skilled digital marketing managers who can leverage their core skills to implement and oversee an efficient, effective digital strategy is getting greater. If you’re looking to become a digital marketing manager, the time to strike is now

There is an Urgent Need for Digital Marketing Managers

Employment for digital marketing managers is growing fast.  

In a 2015 analysis conducted by Moz (which looked at over 75,000 vacancies posted on job websites and LinkedIn to see which job titles appeared most frequently), the most in-demand job titles identified were:

“digital marketing manager” “marketing manager”

Fast forward to today, and digital marketing jobs are still in hot demand. According to a study from Business 2 Community, the ever-evolving nature of digital marketing, the role of the digital marketing manager has diversified, with the following roles likely to be incredibly rewarding going forward:

? Director of Marketing Growth

? Chief Experience Officer

? President of Brands

Each of these roles fits under the digital marketing manager and requires an ability to lead and deliver creative campaigns across a multitude of touchpoints.

Organizations often look to recruit candidates with a diverse, comprehensive skillset, and a firm understanding of the key practices within digital marketing. To enhance your employability, all you need to do is consult our essential skills checklist and make sure you can tick the right boxes. And here it is...

The Essential Skills Checklist 

Being an effective digital marketing manager is all about possessing the perfect combination of creative, analytical, and technical capabilities. Employers will always favor well-rounded candidates with the ability to conceive high-level strategies who can also apply meticulous attention to detail when necessary. To make it that little bit easier for you to achieve your management goals, we’ve outlined the crucial skills you should focus on developing below.

1. Strategic Planning

A digital marketing manager is the architect of an organization’s digital strategy—someone who determines where and how both time and budget are spent.

You may not be involved in executing a strategy at a granular level, but you will need to be able to support your digital marketing team by having a strong understanding of each individual’s workflow as well as the bigger team picture.

From setting business objectives, to budget tracking, to measuring overall performance, the more strategic planning experience you can acquire, the better. Whatever the size of the project, if you can demonstrate and document your ability to manage it effectively, it will benefit your skillset considerably.

2. Analysis

In today’s world, working with digitally-driven insights is essential. Being able to assess the effectiveness of your digital marketing strategy is a key skill for any manager. If you have a talent for leveraging analytics tools, you will be able to identify both issues and opportunities, and ultimately replicate your team’s strategy success.

Almost half of UK business leaders lack vital digital skills. And, on a global scale, a widening in the digital skills gap threatens the growth of digital transformation.— IT Pro

If you can access and navigate a frequently used tool such as Google Analytics, Moz or Adobe Analytics Cloud to gain an insight into the wider metrics that matter, you will be better placed to delegate and drive decisions to grow traffic and leads, and drive sales. This will showcase the leadership skills you’ll need to succeed.

3. Budgeting

A large proportion of a website’s traffic is generated by paid advertising, from a sponsored update or ad on LinkedIn or Facebook, or a PPC placement through Google Ads.

As a digital marketing manager, you will need to be able to allocate and manage budgets and guarantee the best possible ROI for your organization. Budgeting is a crucial skill for any manager, and one that has a fundamental impact on the success of any digital marketing effort or initiative.

Try to gain as much experience as possible in budgeting, whatever the scale, whether it’s a social media ad or a Google AdWords campaign. Finding an opportunity within your particular digital specialism to run a budget will significantly help to showcase your management skills.

4. Inbound Marketing

A working knowledge of key inbound digital marketing concepts is fundamental for a manager. Whether you’re advancing from a specialist role or not, digital managers are strategic generalists.

You need to be able to understand the role of everything, from content creation and distribution, personalization, email campaigns, and social media, to the importance of having a search-optimized website.

75% of marketers believe that inbound marketing is an effective tool for business growth. You can cement your status as an effective digital marketing manager by encouraging the employment of inbound tactics to help your prospects connect with you at the right time during their customer journey and convert them into loyal brand advocates.

The main pillars of inbound marketing are:

? Content marketing

? Search marketing

? Social media marketing

74% of digital marketers and leaders utilize inbound marketing activities as a core part of their strategy worldwide.

5. UX & Content Design

In today’s hyper-connected digital age, consumers expect a seamless user experience when interacting with an app, platform or website.

As such, to succeed as a digital marketing manager, having a fundamental knowledge of content design is essential. Reaching beyond copy and images alone, content design is based on the ability to communicate essential information to a user to help them achieve their goal without really having to think too much about what they need to do.

Digital marketing managers must be able to develop user stories to deliver the kind of content, and intuitive user experience, that will increase engagement and, ultimately, encourage conversions.

By understanding the importance of content design and being able to lead a project from start to finish, working with content writers, web developers, and UX specialists (or an agency that can manage all those things) to get the very best from the project, you will set yourself apart from the competition in a time where the competition is fierce.

According to Survata, UX is now the strongest brand differentiator, surpassing both brand authenticity and superior product innovation.

Pursue Your Promotion

Digital jobs are in greater demand than ever. Among the raft of ever-evolving digital jobs out there, leadership roles are among the most important.

Businesses across sectors are crying out for digital brand and marketing managers right now. You can capitalize on this urgent demand by strengthening your digital skillset.