Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between digital media strategists and digital marketing specialists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 2-4 years to become a digital media strategist, becoming a digital marketing specialist takes usually requires 4-6 years. Additionally, a digital media strategist has an average salary of $62,947, which is higher than the $60,359 average annual salary of a digital marketing specialist.
The top three skills for a digital media strategist include digital marketing, client facing and search engine marketing. The most important skills for a digital marketing specialist are digital marketing, marketing campaigns, and email marketing.
| Digital Media Strategist | Digital Marketing Specialist | |
| Yearly salary | $62,947 | $60,359 |
| Hourly rate | $30.26 | $29.02 |
| Growth rate | 8% | 19% |
| Number of jobs | 31,387 | 94,029 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 87% | Bachelor's Degree, 76% |
| Average age | 42 | 37 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 6 |
Digital media strategists assist in building ad campaigns outlined to catch potential clients' awareness and keep existing customers' fealty. Their responsibilities include determining the campaign's target demographic, assessing the best time to run the campaign, and figuring out which medium to use. Also, they analyze data from surveys, develop a budget-friendly ad campaign media, as well as assessing the effect a campaign's online presence will have on its selected audience. Skills required include strong critical and analytical skills, creativity, and excellent communication skills.
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.
Digital media strategists and digital marketing specialists have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Digital Media Strategist | Digital Marketing Specialist | |
| Average salary | $62,947 | $60,359 |
| Salary range | Between $44,000 And $89,000 | Between $44,000 And $81,000 |
| Highest paying City | Seattle, WA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | Washington | California |
| Best paying company | Meta | |
| Best paying industry | Media | Finance |
There are a few differences between a digital media strategist and a digital marketing specialist in terms of educational background:
| Digital Media Strategist | Digital Marketing Specialist | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 87% | Bachelor's Degree, 76% |
| Most common major | Communication | Business |
| Most common college | Northwestern University | University of Georgia |
Here are the differences between digital media strategists' and digital marketing specialists' demographics:
| Digital Media Strategist | Digital Marketing Specialist | |
| Average age | 42 | 37 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 42.2% Female, 57.8% | Male, 51.1% Female, 48.9% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 10.3% Unknown, 5.1% Hispanic or Latino, 12.1% Asian, 5.3% White, 66.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6% | Black or African American, 5.0% Unknown, 5.0% Hispanic or Latino, 11.9% Asian, 12.3% White, 65.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1% |
| LGBT Percentage | 12% | 10% |