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The differences between digital marketing specialists and marketing leads can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 4-6 years to become a digital marketing specialist, becoming a marketing lead takes usually requires 8-10 years. Additionally, a marketing lead has an average salary of $104,664, which is higher than the $60,359 average annual salary of a digital marketing specialist.
The top three skills for a digital marketing specialist include digital marketing, marketing campaigns and email marketing. The most important skills for a marketing lead are digital marketing, marketing campaigns, and project management.
| Digital Marketing Specialist | Marketing Lead | |
| Yearly salary | $60,359 | $104,664 |
| Hourly rate | $29.02 | $50.32 |
| Growth rate | 19% | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 94,029 | 92,987 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 76% | Bachelor's Degree, 72% |
| Average age | 37 | 39 |
| Years of experience | 6 | 10 |
A digital marketing specialist is an individual who is responsible for promoting products or services of a company using appropriate technology platforms effectively. Digital marketing specialists collaborate with marketing teams to plan and execute digital programs such as online advertising, social media, and mobile. They are proficient in digital technology tools that can include web advertising, social media, and web development. Digital marketing specialists must also develop multimedia packages and present recommendations to the company's director of marketing and communications.
A marketing lead is an individual who is responsible for overseeing a team of marketing specialists to help a company achieve its marketing goals. Marketing leads are required to create and manage marketing plans so that they can deliver marketing campaigns on time and escalate issues that may prevent prompt delivery. They can incorporate a mix of different strategies in campaigns such as digital publishing, templates, and training. Marketing leads must work closely with account managers and sales engineers so that they can empower them to effectively position the company's products differently from their competitors.
Digital marketing specialists and marketing leads have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Digital Marketing Specialist | Marketing Lead | |
| Average salary | $60,359 | $104,664 |
| Salary range | Between $44,000 And $81,000 | Between $74,000 And $146,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | California |
| Best paying company | Meta | Meta |
| Best paying industry | Finance | Technology |
There are a few differences between a digital marketing specialist and a marketing lead in terms of educational background:
| Digital Marketing Specialist | Marketing Lead | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 76% | Bachelor's Degree, 72% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | University of Georgia | University of Georgia |
Here are the differences between digital marketing specialists' and marketing leads' demographics:
| Digital Marketing Specialist | Marketing Lead | |
| Average age | 37 | 39 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 51.1% Female, 48.9% | Male, 50.8% Female, 49.2% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 5.0% Unknown, 5.0% Hispanic or Latino, 11.9% Asian, 12.3% White, 65.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1% | Black or African American, 3.0% Unknown, 5.3% Hispanic or Latino, 8.7% Asian, 8.2% White, 74.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% |
| LGBT Percentage | 10% | 10% |