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What does a digital marketing specialist do?

Updated January 8, 2025
7 min read
Quoted expert
Dr. Gail Hudson Ph.D.
What does a digital marketing specialist do

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.

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Digital marketing specialist responsibilities

Here are examples of responsibilities from real digital marketing specialist resumes:

  • 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.
  • Design, write, and code responsive emails in HTML & CSS, improving readability and user engagement.
  • Assist team members in solving complex issues with SEO, CSS, and site structure issues.
  • Write & deploy email newsletters through MailChimp.
  • Generate and analyze all email lists through Salesforce.
  • Increase their social twitter followers and e-mail community.
  • Redesign corporate intranet including creating CSS and design layout.
  • Organize and manipulate data from all media vendors by using SQL.
  • Leverage tactical planning for integration of social media campaigns in a variety of client projects.
  • Provide custom PHP scripts for form creation including email forms and basic data capture forms.

Digital marketing specialist skills and personality traits

We calculated that 23% of Digital Marketing Specialists are proficient in Digital Marketing, Marketing Campaigns, and Email Marketing. They’re also known for soft skills such as Detail oriented, Analytical skills, and Communication skills.

We break down the percentage of Digital Marketing Specialists that have these skills listed on their resume here:

  • Digital Marketing, 23%

    Present company services including search engine optimization, online reputation management, website management and digital marketing to potential clients.

  • Marketing Campaigns, 6%

    Developed and oversaw implementation and launch of scheduled marketing campaigns with calculated sales goals and established key performance indicators.

  • Email Marketing, 5%

    Provide strategic support to Marketing Managers regarding best practices in email marketing and lead generation tactics.

  • Google Analytics, 4%

    Analyzed keywords and Google Analytics, while conducting competitive analysis to identify improvements to increase visibility and rankings !

  • B Testing, 4%

    Conducted A/B testing and administered over five thousand surveys to evaluate end-user experiences and identifying areas for improvement.

  • Lead Generation, 3%

    Provided proposal for display advertising, landing page and email synchronizing increasing quality and quantity of lead generation and department satisfaction.

Most digital marketing specialists use their skills in "digital marketing," "marketing campaigns," and "email marketing" to do their jobs. You can find more detail on essential digital marketing specialist responsibilities here:

Detail oriented. To carry out their duties, the most important skill for a digital marketing specialist to have is detail oriented. Their role and responsibilities require that "market research analysts must pay attention to minutiae to evaluate data." Digital marketing specialists often use detail oriented in their day-to-day job, as shown by this real resume: "develop clear, detailed & actionable seo and ppc reports that can be presented to internal clients/stakeholders. "

Analytical skills. Another soft skill that's essential for fulfilling digital marketing specialist duties is analytical skills. The role rewards competence in this skill because "market research analysts must evaluate large amounts of data and information related to market conditions." According to a digital marketing specialist resume, here's how digital marketing specialists can utilize analytical skills in their job responsibilities: "reviewed analytical data regarding open rates, bounce rates, unsubscribes, subject line variations and ab testing. "

Communication skills. This is an important skill for digital marketing specialists to perform their duties. For an example of how digital marketing specialist responsibilities depend on this skill, consider that "market research analysts must be able to clearly convey information when gathering material, interpreting data, and presenting results to clients." This excerpt from a resume also shows how vital it is to everyday roles and responsibilities of a digital marketing specialist: "create and manage halo marketing communications, website, user experience, e-commerce & social media. ".

All digital marketing specialist skills

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Compare different digital marketing specialists

Digital marketing specialist vs. 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. They assist marketing teams in most of their daily activities, sit in their meetings, record minutes of these meetings, take note of action plans, and attend other events related to marketing. They also assist in preparing collateral and other marketing materials, join brainstorming sessions, or any other activity that will help enrich their experience.

We looked at the average digital marketing specialist salary and compared it with the wages of a marketing internship. Generally speaking, marketing interns are paid $30,099 lower than digital marketing specialists per year.While the two careers have a salary gap, they share some of the same responsibilities. Employees in both digital marketing specialist and marketing internship positions are skilled in digital marketing, marketing campaigns, and google analytics.

There are some key differences in the responsibilities of each position. For example, digital marketing specialist responsibilities require skills like "email marketing," "lead generation," "user experience," and "wordpress." Meanwhile a typical marketing internship has skills in areas such as "facebook," "linkedin," "event planning," and "salesforce." This difference in skills reveals the differences in what each career does.

Marketing interns tend to make the most money working in the technology industry, where they earn an average salary of $33,333. In contrast, digital marketing specialists make the biggest average salary, $70,504, in the finance industry.The education levels that marketing interns earn slightly differ from digital marketing specialists. In particular, marketing interns are 4.1% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree than a digital marketing specialist. Additionally, they're 0.0% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

Digital marketing specialist vs. 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. They provide strategic direction and come up with departmental goals. They also provide proper training for employees in the department to ensure that they have a deep understanding of its marketing tools. Marketing managers should be creative, should have good interpersonal skills, and should be flexible.

On average, marketing managers earn a $44,191 higher salary than digital marketing specialists a year.Only some things about these jobs are the same. Take their skills, for example. Digital marketing specialists and marketing managers both require similar skills like "digital marketing," "marketing campaigns," and "email marketing" to carry out their responsibilities.

In addition to the difference in salary, there are some other key differences worth noting. For example, digital marketing specialist responsibilities are more likely to require skills like "user experience," "wordpress," "web analytics," and "a/b." Meanwhile, a marketing manager has duties that require skills in areas such as "facebook," "strong project management," "business development," and "strategic partnerships." These differences highlight just how different the day-to-day in each role looks.

Marketing managers may earn a higher salary than digital marketing specialists, but marketing managers earn the most pay in the technology industry with an average salary of $115,553. On the other hand, digital marketing specialists receive higher pay in the finance industry, where they earn an average salary of $70,504.marketing managers earn similar levels of education than digital marketing specialists in general. They're 2.7% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.0% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for digital marketing specialists in the next 3-5 years?

Dr. Gail Hudson Ph.D.Dr. Gail Hudson Ph.D. LinkedIn profile

Director, College of Business Internship Program, Arkansas State University

As I mentioned above, technology and social media will continue to be necessary. As marketers, students will need to be able to use the technology and have the analytics to support their decisions. This may require working outside the structure of software as well. Google Analytics, Social Media Management, Excel, and Coding are all essential skills.

Digital marketing specialist vs. Head of marketing

The head of marketing primarily oversees all marketing departments and operations, ensuring to convey the message of the brand. Their responsibilities revolve around devising strategies and business plans, preparing and allocating the budget for all departments, identifying new opportunities and assets, and analyzing consumers' needs. There are also instances when the head of marketing has to produce progress reports and presentations, monitor the competition, spearhead the hiring activities, and manage schedules. Furthermore, one must lead and encourage staff to meet all goals and deadlines in the joint effort to improve brand awareness and strengthen the client base.

On average scale, heads of marketing bring in higher salaries than digital marketing specialists. In fact, they earn a $77,470 higher salary per year.By looking over several digital marketing specialists and heads of marketing resumes, we found that both roles require similar skills in their day-to-day duties, such as "digital marketing," "marketing campaigns," and "email marketing." But beyond that, the careers look very different.

Some important key differences between the two careers include a few of the skills necessary to fulfill the responsibilities of each. Some examples from digital marketing specialist resumes include skills like "user experience," "web analytics," "a/b," and "html," whereas a head of marketing is more likely to list skills in "kpis," "strategic thinking," "facebook," and "business objectives. "

Heads of marketing earn the highest salary when working in the media industry, where they receive an average salary of $134,857. Comparatively, digital marketing specialists have the highest earning potential in the finance industry, with an average salary of $70,504.Most heads of marketing achieve a higher degree level compared to digital marketing specialists. For example, they're 9.9% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.5% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

Digital marketing specialist vs. Marketing consultant

A marketing consultant is responsible for utilizing their extensive retail expertise to develop strategies on how to strengthen client base and achieve better sales. Furthermore, a marketing consultant must perform research and analysis to determine opportunities for financial gains, devise plans to improve client satisfaction, assess the competition, look out for any risks, and develop its brand and image. They should also ensure that all steps taken adhere to the policies and regulations of the organization.

Marketing consultants average a higher salary than the annual salary of digital marketing specialists. The difference is about $10,234 per year.While their salaries may vary, digital marketing specialists and marketing consultants both use similar skills to perform their duties. Resumes from both professions include skills like "digital marketing," "marketing campaigns," and "google analytics. "While some skills are required in each professionacirc;euro;trade;s responsibilities, there are some differences to note. "email marketing," "lead generation," "user experience," and "wordpress" are skills that commonly show up on digital marketing specialist resumes. On the other hand, marketing consultants use skills like salesforce, facebook, business development, and real estate on their resumes.The technology industry tends to pay the highest salaries for marketing consultants, with average annual pay of $93,209. Comparatively, the highest digital marketing specialist annual salary comes from the finance industry.marketing consultants reach similar levels of education compared to digital marketing specialists, in general. The difference is that they're 3.0% more likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 0.3% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.

Types of digital marketing specialist

Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

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