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How to hire a Digital Marketing Strategist

Digital marketing strategist hiring summary. Here are some key points about hiring digital marketing strategists in the United States:

  • The median cost to hire a digital marketing strategist is $1,633.
  • It takes between 36 and 42 days to fill the average role in the US.
  • HR departments typically allocate 15% of their budget towards recruitment efforts.
  • Small businesses spend $1,105 per digital marketing strategist on training each year, while large companies spend $658.
  • It takes approximately 12 weeks for a new employee to reach full productivity levels.
  • There are a total of 13,816 digital marketing strategists in the US, and there are currently 92,459 job openings in this field.
  • Chicago, IL, has the highest demand for digital marketing strategists, with 10 job openings.

How to hire a digital marketing strategist, step by step

To hire a digital marketing strategist, you should create an ideal candidate profile, determine a budget, and post and promote your job. Here's a step-by-step guide on how to hire a digital marketing strategist:

Here's a step-by-step digital marketing strategist 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 strategist job description
  • Step 5: Post your job
  • Step 6: Interview candidates
  • Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new digital marketing strategist
  • Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

What does a Digital Marketing Strategist do?

A digital marketing strategist is an individual who is responsible for managing the digital strategy of a client's brand and connects digitally to all other aspects of the business. Digital marketing strategists must handle the daily operations of the agency's projects, such as research, scope development, creative briefing, and job execution. They must develop trusting relationships between clients and the agency's partners. Digital marketing strategists must also manage the work and professional development of project managers to ensure that the team is aligned with the client's requirements.

Learn more about the specifics of what a digital marketing strategist does
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  1. Identify your hiring needs

    The digital marketing strategist 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?

    Hiring the perfect digital marketing strategist 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.

    Here's a comparison of digital marketing strategist salaries for various roles:

    Type Of Digital Marketing StrategistDescriptionHourly Rate
    Digital Marketing StrategistAdvertising, promotions, and marketing managers plan programs to generate interest in products or services. They work with art directors, sales agents, and financial staff members.$23-41
    Marketing ManagerMarketing 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
    Head Of MarketingThe 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... Show More$44-97
  2. Create an ideal candidate profile

    Common Skills:
    • Digital Marketing
    • Google Analytics
    • Email Marketing
    • Marketing Campaigns
    • A/B
    • WordPress
    • Digital Transformation
    • B Testing
    • Content Strategy
    • KPIs
    • Google Adwords
    • Project Management
    • Facebook
    • Keyword Research
    Check All Skills
    Responsibilities:
    • Manage large internal campaigns and launch new intranet site with new CMS.
    • Maintain all social media platforms, create and curate blog content, and manage the website using ExpressionEngine CMS.
    • Create and implement customer facing web products (sites, campaigns, surveys and email) using HTML and CSS.
    • Create web banner and twitter background for twitter page.
    • Used WordPress and complimentary plugins to build a user-friendly, mobile-friendly website.
    • Analyze traffic patterns, update content and write HTML for website pages.
    More Digital Marketing Strategist duties
  3. Make a budget

    Including a salary range in your digital marketing strategist job description helps attract top candidates to the position. A digital marketing strategist 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 strategist in Kansas may be lower than in Rhode Island, and an entry-level digital marketing strategist usually earns less than a senior-level digital marketing strategist. Additionally, a digital marketing strategist 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 strategist salary

    $65,114yearly

    $31.30 hourly rate

    Entry-level digital marketing strategist salary
    $48,000 yearly salary
    Updated February 8, 2025

    Average digital marketing strategist salary by state

    RankStateAvg. SalaryHourly Rate
    1New Jersey$78,035$38
    2North Carolina$70,908$34
    3Virginia$69,178$33
    4New York$68,322$33
    5Washington$67,360$32
    6South Carolina$66,517$32
    7California$64,779$31
    8District of Columbia$64,202$31
    9Maryland$63,649$31
    10Idaho$63,243$30
    11Oregon$62,661$30
    12Massachusetts$62,058$30
    13Colorado$62,049$30
    14Illinois$61,825$30
    15Texas$61,316$29
    16Pennsylvania$59,834$29
    17Ohio$59,651$29
    18Iowa$58,208$28
    19Utah$57,260$28
    20Florida$57,217$28

    Average digital marketing strategist salary by company

    RankCompanyAverage SalaryHourly RateJob Openings
    1Northern Trust$96,762$46.5215
    2Lord Abbett$89,296$42.93
    3Citi$86,440$41.5687
    4AIG$83,212$40.01
    5Esri$77,685$37.3520
    6Circuit City$75,865$36.472
    7FCCI$74,060$35.61
    8Katerra$72,116$34.67
    9University of Washington$72,079$34.652
    10Vista Equity Partners$71,465$34.363
    11IBM$71,071$34.1720
    12BB&T$70,070$33.69
    13Broadridge$68,924$33.148
    14Thomson Reuters$68,103$32.7423
    15GE Appliances$67,833$32.611
    16University of California-Berkeley$67,669$32.531
    17Regions Bank$66,543$31.995
    18Morrie's Auto Group$66,299$31.87
    19Lennar$66,293$31.878
    20USALLIANCE Financial$65,966$31.71
  4. Writing a Digital Marketing Strategist Job Description

    A digital marketing strategist 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. Below, you can find an example of a digital marketing strategist job description:

    Digital Marketing Strategist job description example

    At ConvenientMD we're on a mission to transform healthcare in New England by making good health more convenient for all. To support this belief, we're building a team of dedicated providers and experts who genuinely care about improving lives, are passionate about work that can make a difference, and driven to learn from one another.

    We're looking for a forward-thinking Digital Marketer who wants to help us shape how people experience and interact with our brand through digital communications, media, social, and direct marketing. In this role, you'll leverage your knowledge of the digital landscape to deliver creative and effective digital strategies that fulfill brand and business objectives. You'll work alongside senior marketing experts to analyze, ideate, and implement everything from seasonal campaigns to social strategies and creative content. This role is a great opportunity for a digital marketer to broaden their scope and take on new responsibilities within a supportive team environment.

    Our aim is to create a workplace where you can learn, grow, and continuously refine your skills. Applicants rarely meet every single job requirement, and we appreciate that many skills and backgrounds can make people successful in this role. If you're looking for a great next step, and want to feel good about what you do, we'd love to hear from you.
    What you'll do
    • Evaluate existing digital strategies, identify gaps, and implement improvements
    • Develop and execute paid campaigns across search, social, display, and other digital channels to drive success. Optimize spend and assets for best results. Test new channels to find opportunity.
    • Define a simple, focused owned social and content strategy. Working internally and externally to create and manage content.
    • Optimize the website for efficiency and ideal user experience based on data.
    • Understand our consumer, their digital habits, mindset modes, and how we engage them
    • Draw meaningful conclusions from key metrics and identify opportunities for improvement
    • Be on top of contemporary and emerging digital tools and trends
    About You
    • Three to five years of full-time experience in digital marketing or advertising
    • Technically competent with various digital marketing tactics and implementation tools
    • Basic knowledge of analytics tools and the ability to set up tracking/reporting
    • Ability to write headlines and copy. Creative thinker with a perspective on good content.
    • Collaborative, with strong communication and organizational skills
    • Bachelor's degree or equivalent in a related field
    • Healthcare marketing experience is nice, but not necessary
    Perks
    • Competitive compensation with medical, dental, vision
    • 401K with matching contribution
    • Fast growing company with the opportunity to advance and take on more responsibility
    • Collaborative environment at our office in Portsmouth, NH
    A note about remote
    Our clinics are open seven days a week and staffed by people who are dedicated to serving public health. To support them, and as an expression of solidarity, everyone at our headquarters works in the office. While we are flexible about personal needs, this is not a remote or partially remote position.
  5. Post your job

    There are a few common ways to find digital marketing strategists for your business:

    • Promoting internally or recruiting from your existing workforce.
    • Ask for referrals from friends, family members, and current employees.
    • Attend job fairs at local colleges to meet candidates with the right educational background.
    • Use social media platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter to recruit passive job-seekers.
    To find digital marketing strategist candidates, you can consider the following options:
    • Post your job opening on Zippia or other job search websites.
    • Use niche websites that focus on engineering and technology jobs, such as swipe files, exit five, marketinghire, american marketing association.
    • Post your job on free job posting websites.
  6. Interview candidates

    Recruiting digital marketing strategists 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.

    Remember to include a few questions that allow candidates to expand on their strengths in their own words. Asking about their unique skills might reveal things you'd miss otherwise. At this point, good candidates can move on to 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 strategist

    Once you've selected the best digital marketing strategist candidate for the job, it's time to write an offer letter. In addition to salary, this letter should include details about the benefits and perks you offer the candidate. Ensuring that your offer is competitive is essential, as qualified candidates may be considering other job opportunities. The candidate may wish to negotiate the terms of the offer, and you should be open to discussion. After you reach an agreement, the final step is formalizing the agreement with a contract.

    It's also good etiquette to follow up with applicants who don't get the job by sending them an email letting them know that the position has been filled.

    To prepare for the new digital marketing strategist first day, you should share an onboarding schedule with them that covers their first period on the job. You should also quickly complete any necessary paperwork, such as employee action forms and onboarding documents like I-9, benefits enrollment, and federal and state tax forms. Finally, Human Resources must ensure a new employee file is created for internal record keeping.

  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.)
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How much does it cost to hire a digital marketing strategist?

Recruiting digital marketing strategists involves both the one-time costs of hiring and the ongoing costs of adding a new employee to your team. Your spending during the hiring process will mostly be on things like promoting the job on job boards, reviewing and interviewing candidates, and onboarding the new hire. Ongoing costs will obviously involve the employee's salary, but also may include things like benefits.

You can expect to pay around $65,114 per year for a digital marketing strategist, as this is the median yearly salary nationally. This can vary depending on what state or city you're hiring in. If you're hiring for contract work or on a per-project basis, hourly rates for digital marketing strategists in the US typically range between $23 and $41 an hour.

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