How to hire a digital marketing specialist

How to hire a digital marketing specialist, step by step

Here's a step-by-step digital marketing specialist hiring guide:

• Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
• Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
• Step 3: Make a budget
• Step 4: Write a digital marketing specialist job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new digital marketing specialist
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

What does a digital marketing specialist do?

Post a digital marketing specialist job for free, promote it for a fee

Post free

1. Identify your hiring needs

   The digital marketing specialist hiring process starts by determining what type of worker you actually need. Certain roles might require a full-time employee, whereas part-time workers or contractors can do others.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

   Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

   Yes

   No

   Hiring the perfect digital marketing specialist also involves considering the ideal background you'd like them to have. Depending on what industry or field they have experience in, they'll bring different skills to the job. It's also important to consider what levels of seniority and education the job requires and what kind of salary such a candidate would likely demand.

   This list presents digital marketing specialist salaries for various positions.

   Type of Digital Marketing Specialist	Description	Hourly rate
   Digital Marketing Specialist	Market research analysts study market conditions to examine potential sales of a product or service. They help companies understand what products people want, who will buy them, and at what price.	$21-38
   Marketing Internship	Marketing interns are usually marketing students or fresh graduates who are interested in getting actual work experiences before taking on a full-time job. They usually have an interest or academic background related to marketing... Show more	$11-18
   Marketing Manager	Marketing managers are experienced employees who oversee the marketing department of the organization. They manage activities such as marketing campaigns, social media postings, company branding, and other strategic marketing activities... Show more	$34-73

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Digital Marketing
   • Marketing Campaigns
   • Email Marketing
   • Google Analytics
   • B Testing
   • Lead Generation
   • User Experience
   • WordPress
   • Web Analytics
   • CRM
   • A/B
   • Google Adwords
   • Project Management
   • HTML

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Manage and distribution integrate product promotion campaigns (B2B and B2C).
   • Set up and manage campaigns on Facebook and LinkedIn including tracking and conversions.
   • Manage photography department in office and on location in numerous national ad campaign shoots.
   • Manage Facebook ads, AdWords and LinkedIn ads while ensuring marketing message consistent with the company goals and objectives.
   • Maintain all social media platforms, create and curate blog content, and manage the website using ExpressionEngine CMS.
   • Utilize Godaddy software and systems and any require portal tools to achieve campaign goals, objectives and KPI's.

   More digital marketing specialist duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your digital marketing specialist job description helps attract top candidates to the position. A digital marketing specialist salary can be affected by several factors, such as geography, experience, seniority, certifications, and the prestige of the hiring company.

   For example, the average salary for a digital marketing specialist in West Virginia may be lower than in California, and an entry-level digital marketing specialist usually earns less than a senior-level digital marketing specialist. Additionally, a digital marketing specialist with certifications may command a higher salary, and working for a well-known company or start-up may also impact an employee's pay.

   Average digital marketing specialist salary

   $60,359yearly

   $29.02 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level digital marketing specialist salary

   $44,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 28, 2025

   Average digital marketing specialist salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	California	$81,355	$39
   2	Washington	$72,662	$35
   3	New York	$68,613	$33
   4	Minnesota	$65,132	$31
   5	Colorado	$62,395	$30
   6	District of Columbia	$59,558	$29
   7	Illinois	$59,347	$29
   8	Massachusetts	$57,644	$28
   9	Texas	$56,619	$27
   10	Pennsylvania	$55,508	$27
   11	Georgia	$55,451	$27
   12	Michigan	$54,879	$26
   13	Indiana	$53,834	$26
   14	Wisconsin	$53,463	$26
   15	Nevada	$53,052	$26
   16	Arizona	$52,968	$25
   17	Tennessee	$52,498	$25
   18	Ohio	$51,699	$25
   19	North Carolina	$51,300	$25
   20	Utah	$51,053	$25

   Average digital marketing specialist salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Meta	$126,048	$60.60	138
   2	Microsoft	$123,913	$59.57	47
   3	Google	$115,461	$55.51	39
   4	Jordan Company	$104,588	$50.28	2
   5	PacSun	$101,310	$48.71	44
   6	Snowflake Computing	$101,297	$48.70	13
   7	Amphenol	$95,193	$45.77	10
   8	Elma Electronic	$92,856	$44.64
   9	KLA	$92,680	$44.56	11
   10	NuVasive	$92,627	$44.53
   11	Nordstrom	$92,472	$44.46
   12	BJ's Wholesale Club	$91,656	$44.07	4
   13	Oracle	$88,201	$42.40	406
   14	Artisan Partners	$87,832	$42.23	2
   15	Juniper Networks	$87,467	$42.05
   16	Vista Equity Partners	$87,399	$42.02	1
   17	Pure Storage	$85,553	$41.13	9
   18	Infineon Technologies	$85,017	$40.87	4
   19	JCPenney	$84,276	$40.52	4
   20	Arrow Electronics	$83,154	$39.98	57

4. Writing a digital marketing specialist job description

   A digital marketing specialist job description should include a summary of the role, required skills, and a list of responsibilities. It's also good to include a salary range and the first name of the hiring manager. To help get you started, here's an example of a digital marketing specialist job description:

   Digital marketing specialist job description example

   The Fletcher School is the United States first professional graduate school of international affairs. Since 1933 Fletchers multi-disciplinary education in international relations, law, and business, has prepared the worlds leaders to become innovative problem-solvers in government, private sector, and non-governmental organizations. The Fletcher School seeks to fulfill its mission in the most environmentally sensible way possible. We are also committed to increasing the diversity of our administrative staff. Members of under-represented groups are strongly encouraged to apply.
   What You'll Do
   
   The Digital Marketing Specialist will support the Associate Director, Digital Marketing and the Director, Communications Public Relations and Marketing with all aspects of the schools enrollment marketing efforts to maximize outcomes in support of Fletchers enrollment goals. This role will require close coordination between CPRM and Admissions, as well as various program administrators for different degree programs.
   
   The Digital Marketing Specialist will: Work with the Director and Associate Director to plan and implement an integrated enrollment marketing strategy utilizing current tools and resources including but not limited to SMS messaging, email, event, and content marketing, and paid media (search, social, publications/websites, etc). Collaborate with Communications and Admissions staff to streamline and maximize communications messaging across channels throughout the entire enrollment marketing process including Advertising, website content, admissions event marketing, admissions newsletter marketing, drip campaign email messaging, and social media marketing. Work with internal communications manager to identify best use of school social media channels and online affinity and identity groups to raise awareness for and generate interest in Fletcher degree programs. Create, manage, analyze and present regular metrics reporting on enrollment marketing efforts. Serve as day-to-day liaison between CPRM and Admissions, and between CPRM and other schools marketing and/or admissions offices with whom Fletcher shares degree programs (Friedman, School of Engineering, etc). Serve as the CPRM office liaison with Fletchers contracted OPM (online program manager) for its GBA degree program. Work in collaboration with the program administrator(s) to identify synergies to support and collaborate on GBA program marketing in order to optimize marketing in achieving program enrollment and retention goals, and to ensure the program's marketing aligns with the schools mission, goals, and broader marketing and positioning strategy. Work with program administrator(s) to secure all available data from OPM that can inform Fletchers broader enrollment marketing efforts. Manage day to day execution of paid media campaigns, including serving as liaison between CPRM and publication/website contacts. Manage online library of enrollment marketing assets. Conduct regular peer benchmarking assessments and create best practices documents for Fletcher enrollment marketing efforts. What We're Looking For
   
   Basic Requirements: Knowledge and experience typically acquired through a completion of a Bachelors degree in related area of study or equivalent and 3 - 5 years of enrollment marketing experience, in Demonstrated experience with website and social media analytics tools Experience working in higher education A commitment to The Fletcher Schools DEI mission and goals in the execution of positions responsibilities and tasks. Preferred Qualifications: Experience ensuring compliance of web page content with W3C and Section 508 (ADA) accessibility standards preferred. Ongoing training will be provided to help keep up with current trends and requirements. An employee in this position must complete all appropriate background checks at the time of hire, promotion, or transfer.
   
   Equal Opportunity Employer minority/females/veterans/disability/sexual orientation/gender identity.
   
   recblid 7xfjtcvggirt31qprieo1w2qfm8iyr

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   There are various strategies that you can use to find the right digital marketing specialist for your business:

   • Consider promoting from within or recruiting from your existing workforce.
   • Ask for referrals from friends, family members, and current employees.
   • Attend job fairs at local colleges to find candidates who meet your education requirements.
   • Use social media platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter to reach potential job candidates.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your digital marketing specialist job on Zippia to find and recruit digital marketing specialist candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific websites such as swipe files, exit five, marketinghire, american marketing association.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   Recruiting digital marketing specialists requires you to bring your A-game to the interview process. The first interview should introduce the company and the role to the candidate as much as they present their background experience and reasons for applying for the job. During later interviews, you can go into more detail about the technical details of the job and ask behavioral questions to gauge how they'd fit into your current company culture.

   You should also ask about candidates' unique skills and talents to see if they match the ideal candidate profile you developed earlier. Candidates good enough for the next step can complete the technical interview.

   The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.

7. Send a job offer and onboard your new digital marketing specialist

   Once you've found the digital marketing specialist candidate you'd like to hire, it's time to write an offer letter. This should include an explicit job offer that includes the salary and the details of any other perks. Qualified candidates might be looking at multiple positions, so your offer must be competitive if you like the candidate. Also, be prepared for a negotiation stage, as candidates may way want to tweak the details of your initial offer. Once you've settled on these details, you can draft a contract to formalize your agreement.

   You should also follow up with applicants who don't get the job with an email letting them know that you've filled the position.

   Once that's done, you can draft an onboarding schedule for the new digital marketing specialist. Human Resources should complete Employee Action Forms and ensure that onboarding paperwork is completed, including I-9s, benefits enrollment, federal and state tax forms, etc. They should also ensure that new employee files are created for internal recordkeeping.

8. Go through the hiring process checklist

   • Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
   • Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
   • Define job responsibilities and requirements
   • Establish budget and timeline
   • Determine hiring decision makers for the role
   • Write job description
   • Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
   • Promote the job internally
   • Process applications through applicant tracking system
   • Review resumes and cover letters
   • Shortlist candidates for screening
   • Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
   • Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
   • Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
   • Conduct background checks on top candidates
   • Check references of top candidates
   • Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
   • Extend offer to top candidate(s)
   • Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
   • Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
   • Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
   • Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)

   Sign up to download full list

   Sign up

How much does it cost to hire a digital marketing specialist?