How to hire a digital media planner

How to hire a digital media planner, step by step

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

What does a digital media planner do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   Before you start hiring a digital media planner, identify what type of worker you actually need. Certain positions might call for a full-time employee, while others can be done by a part-time worker or contractor.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

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

   Yes

   No

   A digital media planner's background is also an important factor in determining whether they'll be a good fit for the position. For example, digital media planners from different industries or fields will have radically different experiences and will bring different viewpoints to the role. You also need to consider the candidate's previous level of experience to make sure they'll be comfortable with the job's level of seniority.

   The following list breaks down different types of digital media planners and their corresponding salaries.

   Type of Digital Media Planner	Description	Hourly rate
   Digital Media Planner	Public relations specialists create and maintain a favorable public image for the organization they represent. They design media releases to shape public perception of their organization and to increase awareness of its work and goals.	$22-30
   Communications Internship	When it comes to a communications internship, the tasks will vary depending on the organization or industry involved. However, one of the primary responsibilities is to observe proper etiquette in dealing with people and other situations... Show more	$11-21
   Communications Consultant	Communications consultants are responsible for preparing media releases, whether through print, video, or email. They perform varied tasks that may include working on complete projects such as media analysis and branding, creating strategies to reinforced communication among clients and employees, and providing guidance and recommendations to a company's public relations team... Show more	$30-62

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • PowerPoint
   • Media Planning
   • Campaign Performance
   • Digital Marketing
   • DoubleClick
   • Client Facing
   • Insertion Orders
   • RFP
   • SEO
   • Comscore
   • POVs
   • Twitter
   • SEM
   • Digital Campaigns

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Manage the domestic and international marketing media budget - evaluate opportunities for acceptable ROI and ensure budgetary constraints are met.
   • Provide day-to-day campaign management on paid and SEO marketing campaigns to ensure successful results.
   • Set up and maintain all campaigns in DoubleClick
   • Put together POVs for potential partnerships and present feedback and findings.
   • Authore and present POVs on social media monitoring tools, site placements, and audience targets.
   • Analyze client KPIs to present media recommendations, executing largest $5MM campaign of year with fifteen media partners

   More digital media planner duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in the digital media planner job description is a good way to get more applicants. A digital media planner salary can be affected by several factors, such as the location of the job, the level of experience, education, certifications, and the employer's prestige.

   For example, the average salary for a digital media planner in Iowa may be lower than in Washington, and an entry-level engineer typically earns less than a senior-level digital media planner. Additionally, a digital media planner with lots of experience in the field may command a higher salary as a result.

   Average digital media planner salary

   $55,361yearly

   $26.62 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level digital media planner salary

   $47,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 23, 2025

   Average digital media planner salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	California	$64,418	$31
   2	District of Columbia	$61,730	$30
   3	Ohio	$61,342	$29
   4	Texas	$61,043	$29
   5	Massachusetts	$57,434	$28
   6	Colorado	$56,029	$27
   7	New York	$55,123	$27
   8	Maryland	$55,085	$26
   9	Minnesota	$54,456	$26
   10	Illinois	$53,659	$26
   11	Florida	$53,523	$26
   12	Georgia	$49,604	$24

   Average digital media planner salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Mama's Fish House	$64,233	$30.88
   2	MARC USA	$62,447	$30.02
   3	Merkle	$61,806	$29.71
   4	Essence Global	$59,927	$28.81
   5	Wpp Us Holdings Inc	$59,527	$28.62	53
   6	Acxiom	$59,499	$28.61	85
   7	Euro Rscg	$59,226	$28.47
   8	Zimmerman Advertising	$57,989	$27.88	9
   9	Iss | Institutional Shareholder Services	$57,231	$27.51
   10	Horizon Media	$56,684	$27.25	14
   11	Razorfish	$56,351	$27.09
   12	TEGNA	$55,876	$26.86	14
   13	Maxus Belgium	$55,784	$26.82
   14	The Salvation Army	$55,606	$26.73	17
   15	FleishmanHillard	$55,554	$26.71	7
   16	Gotham	$55,545	$26.70
   17	Richmond American Homes	$55,281	$26.58
   18	Sharecare	$54,973	$26.43
   19	Novus	$54,897	$26.39
   20	Butler/Till	$54,871	$26.38

4. Writing a digital media planner job description

   A digital media planner 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 media planner job description:

   Digital media planner job description example

   The Planning Supervisor is the primary, day-to-day lead for end-to-end communications planning. They are responsible for translating marketing/digital media objectives into communication plan development action steps and managing the Associate(s) through various projects. The Supervisor is the primary point of contact for clients on stewardship requests and is responsible for having a firm grasp of both strategic and functional media knowledge. They should be ready/able to step in and handle situations when the Associate Director is not available.
   
   This role offers frequent client contact, ownership of the integrated plan, and the opportunity to lead project management and cross-media integration.
   Role Objectives:
   
   Assists Associate Director with all aspects of digital media plan development/recommendations
   
   Interprets communications/digital media strategy and translates into communication planning action steps
   
   Oversees/manages Associate(s) and day-to-day operation of all media activity
   
   Demonstrate initiative by researching and identifying valuable information/insights to improve media product
   
   Fully embraces Connections that Captivate and uses as guiding principles for all media/communication recommendations
   
   Determines and supervises the best possible implementation of all approved communication plans and projects
   
   Acts as primary point of contact for client stewardship requests
   
   Learns and understands all phases of the clients' marketing objectives and provides media recommendations to deliver against these objectives
   
   Understands all proprietary research tools/processes and applies learning during communication planning
   
   Prepares and presents communication plans, as needed, including objectives, strategy, rationale, and all backup materials
   
   Establishes strong working relationship with partner agencies (where/when applicable), delivering a seamless communications process
   
   Demonstrates agility via multitasking multiple brands, strategic development and plan stewardship, management of Associate(s)
   
   Develops collaborative working relationship with all implementation teams, ensuring they fully understand brand communication objectives/strategies
   
   Trains and develops Associate(s), including:Effective level of delegation
   
   Managing group dynamics/relationships between Associate(s)
   
   Establishes and demonstrates strong leadership skills
   
   Evaluates performance of Associate(s) via PMP process, including assisting in the establishment of the cascading goals
   
   Checks work of Associate(s) to ensure accuracy
   
   Identifies opportunities for Associate(s) career development
   
   Participates in MDS Training offerings

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   There are various strategies that you can use to find the right digital media planner 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 media planner job on Zippia to find and attract quality digital media planner candidates.
   • Use niche websites such as pr news job board, pr council, prsa job center, hoojobs.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   To successfully recruit digital media planners, your first interview needs to engage with candidates to learn about their interest in the role and experience in the field. You can go into more detail about the company, the role, and the responsibilities during follow-up interviews.

   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 media planner

   Once you've decided on a perfect digital media planner candidate, it's time to write an offer letter. In addition to salary, it should include benefits and perks available to the employee. Qualified candidates may be considered for other positions, so make sure your offer is competitive. Candidates may wish to negotiate. Once you've settled on the details, formalize your agreement with a contract.

   It's also important to follow up with applicants who do not get the job with an email letting them know that the position is filled.

   After that, you can create an onboarding schedule for a new digital media planner. Human Resources and the hiring manager should complete Employee Action Forms. Human Resources should also ensure that onboarding paperwork is completed, including I-9s, benefits enrollment, federal and state tax forms, etc., and that new employee files are created.

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 media planner?