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What is a digital media director and how to become one
Digital media directors lead, supervise, and manage the activities of an organization's websites, social media accounts, digital marketing campaigns, and other aspects of the digital ecosystem. They work closely with the marketing department, specifically the team that handles digital marketing campaigns.
They are responsible for developing digital marketing strategies, conducting market research, analyzing online metrics, and reviewing digital content such as articles, advertisements, website copies, and social media posts. Their list of job duties may also include managing project budgets, hiring new marketing staff, training new hires, and interpreting digital analytics, among others.
When looking for the right fit for this role, most companies look for candidates with at least a bachelor's degree in marketing, business, advertising, or something similar. They also prefer candidates with a high amount of experience in digital marketing or advertising.
Anyone who wants to pursue this role must be proficient in digital marketing and analytics tools, as well as have extensive knowledge of e-commerce and social media platforms. On top of that, they must have a deep understanding of digital marketing practices, including but not limited to SEO, SMO, and PPC.
Considering the responsibilities and expertise that this job entails, digital media directors make an average salary of around $98,000 a year, which is roughly $47 an hour.
What general advice would you give to a digital media director?
Yash Egami
VP, The One Club
While traditional roles like art director or copywriter are on the decline, the good news is that, in an effort to reinvent themselves, agencies are seeking creatives with digital skills like UX design and programming. The rise of in-house creative departments has also meant more opportunities for job seekers within brands rather than agencies. And because of the demand for more diversity from clients and those within advertising, recruiters are making more of an effort to hire multicultural talent.
At The One Club for Creativity, we've been at the forefront of change in the industry through our diversity and inclusion, professional development and gender equality programs. We recently hosted our annual multicultural career fair, "Where Are All the Black People?" that brought together thousands of diverse talent with 40 agencies and companies looking to hire. We launched One School, a free online program for Black creatives who want to get into the industry but don't have a portfolio or the economic means to afford to go to ad school. And we're working on upskilling courses for professionals who want to reinvent themselves or keep up with the changing demands of our industry.
So if you're a recent graduate who specializes in art direction, our advice would be to keep an open mind about what kind of company you want to work for and think about expanding your skillset to include digital skills so that you can future-proof your career. Where you are isn't as important because, since the pandemic, agencies have become more comfortable with working remotely and they are more open to having a workforce not centered on the traditional agency hubs, like New York or Los Angeles.
Avg. Salary $99,208
Avg. Salary $59,228
Growth rate 10%
Growth rate 0.3%
American Indian and Alaska Native 0.23%
Asian 8.15%
Black or African American 3.04%
Hispanic or Latino 8.67%
Unknown 5.32%
White 74.58%
Genderfemale 33.57%
male 66.43%
Age - 38American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%
Asian 7.00%
Black or African American 14.00%
Hispanic or Latino 19.00%
White 57.00%
Genderfemale 47.00%
male 53.00%
Age - 38Stress level is high
7.1 - high
Complexity level is advanced
7 - challenging
Work life balance is poor
6.4 - fair
Digital media director career paths
Key steps to become a digital media director
Explore digital media director education requirements
Start to develop specific digital media director skills
Skills Percentages Digital Marketing 20.92% Facebook 6.06% Instagram 4.25% Media Planning 3.85% Video Production 3.85% Complete relevant digital media director training and internships
Accountants spend an average of 1-3 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New digital media directors learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a digital media director based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real digital media director resumes.Research digital media director duties and responsibilities
- Manage company website including photography of all images, update images and information as necessary.
- Implement KPIs for communication of digital progress.
- Work with outside agencies to implement double fan-gate sweepstakes with team and sponsors on Facebook.
- Align all KPIs to track the right metrics to ensure timely plan adjustments and success.
Get digital media director experience
Generally, it takes 8-10 years to become a digital media director. The most common roles before becoming a digital media director include internship, account executive team lead and associate media director.Prepare your digital media director resume
When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your digital media director resume.
You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a digital media director resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.
Choose from 10+ customizable digital media director resume templates
Build a professional digital media director resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your digital media director resume.
Apply for digital media director jobs
Now it's time to start searching for a digital media director job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:
- Browse job boards for relevant postings
- Consult your professional network
- Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
- Watch out for job scams
How did you land your first digital media director job
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Average digital media director salary
The average digital media director salary in the United States is $99,208 per year or $48 per hour. Digital media director salaries range between $66,000 and $148,000 per year.
What am I worth?
How do digital media directors rate their job?
Digital media director reviews
The ability to do tasks in a lot of different areas of marketing
Having to work with clients
Unreasonable deadlines.
I do think that depending on where you are employed some companies are not accustomed as to how involved a content department should be. Oftentimes it's either completely dead or pure chaos with workload. I think content director should be given larger authorities, teams and say regarding strategy. Oftentimes, they are overlooked due to old-school employees assuming they're glorified proofreaders or the grammar people.
Updated January 8, 2025
