5 Types of Digital Marketing Career Paths

Saying that you’re pursuing a career in digital marketing is a statement that doesn’t really reveal nearly as much as you think. You see, digital marketing is an umbrella term, so making this statement would be, more or less, the same as stating that you’re working in a service sector. Different career paths in digital marketing require different sets of skills, have different average salaries, and bring you in touch with different individuals, groups, and organizations. This alone is why people considering embarking on this path need to think about all the different types of digital marketing careers so that they can make a choice that’s best for them.

Social media marketing

Services of a social media marketer are always in demand. However, the problem with this term lies in the fact that a lot of people believe that they know what it takes to succeed in this field, while their knowledge of the concept itself is fairly limited, even superficial. First of all, they need to build a community of their own, find clients, and do a thorough analysis of where their clients spend time. Then, they need to find a way to manage their time and money (knowing how much they should charge for their services). This latter part is particularly important, due to the fact that there are a lot of people out there who will try to offer you a sketchy quid-pro-quo kind of deal.

Search engine optimization (SEO)

In the digital world that is dominated by search engines (one search engine more than others), the list of results is one of the most important factors for the success of your business. This is why people who understand the algorithm that governs it seems to be in such high demand. SEO is, therefore, one of the most important digital marketing skills, at the moment. Now, more often than not, businesses looking to improve their digital footprint and get rated better by search engines, tend to hire SEO agencies. Still, smaller enterprises and those who don’t have such a budget tend to hire people who specialize in freelance digital marketing. Freelance SEO experts are amongst the most sought out of these digital marketers.

Content marketing

When it comes to content marketing, a lot of people believe this to be a marketing field that depends on one’s talent as a writer. Sure, being a talented writer sure does help, but there’s so much more to it than that. First of all, there’s the analysis of the market, as well as the choice of topics. Topics need to be current and relevant to your audience, which, once again, requires the services of a skilled analyst. Then, there’s the scheduling of topics and adept knowledge of a plethora of different formats. This ranges from graphic formats like infographics and memes, all the way to podcasts and vlogs. In other words, writing is the least of your concerns.

Email marketing

One of the oldest, yet still incredibly popular, digital marketing methods are – email marketing. This seemingly old-school technique, when applied correctly, has an ROI of 4400 percent. Still, these numbers are nearly impossible to achieve by someone who has no experience in the field or a lot of much-needed, niche-related knowledge.

To become a successful email marketer, you must first build your own email list. Some prefer to look for shortcuts by buying email lists, yet the ROI of the list you buy is never the same as the ROI of the one you’ve organically grown. You also need to learn the proper way to format your emails. For instance, emails with a single CTA button increase sales by a staggering 1617 percent. Your subject lines, openers, and even the time you send out emails may make a difference.

Online advertising

In the end, you could specialize in online advertising, thus providing people with a much-needed service that sounds familiar, yet represents something that they know nothing about. For this, you need to practice your people skills, explore your creativity, enhance your communication skills, hone your analytical skills, and excel at organization. Same as with other forms of digital marketing, you could either seek employment in a specialized agency or work on your own as a freelancer. Also, this career path is the one where you’ll have to constantly update and re-educate yourself.

Conclusion

Each of these career paths will have a different set of requirements and, although they’re often used within the same marketing campaign, they require a specific approach. So, regardless of whether you’re an aspiring digital marketer still looking for their niche, or a new entrepreneur just looking for ways to improve your digital footprint, knowing more about this topic definitely improves your odds. Those who are serious about committing their time, effort, and resources to digital marketing, on the other hand, should definitely inquire further on this topic.