What does a digital strategist do?
A digital strategist is responsible for managing and releasing digital media content to promote brand awareness on media platforms for the target audience. Digital strategists work closely with the creative and marketing team to establish effective online campaigns and engaging assets to attract customers in the market. They also monitor the efficiency and accuracy of the company's digital media channels, implementing strategic procedures to maintain its effectiveness on a growing customer base according to clients' standards and business requirements.
Digital strategist responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real digital strategist resumes:
- Negotiate deals to buy products and inventory from partner networks and to optimize campaigns to achieve maximum ROI.
- Manage company website and content population using WordPress.
- Manage an internal development and QA staff with on-going freelance/contractor support.
- Engage to provide consultation and project management services on digital and CRM programs.
- Task with providing insights, think leadership, digital/social strategy and CRM engagement.
- Develop ad strategies to drive Facebook users to websites and, ultimately, purchase.
- Employ Instagram hashtags to increase follower count by an average of 200 a month.
- Define and monitor KPIs and measurement tools to dynamically optimize campaigns to ensure campaign successes.
- Collaborate with various business units on strategy for Facebook, LinkedIn and other social properties.
- Utilize SiteFinity and WordPress platforms.
- Implement monthly reports utilizing industry-leading analytic platforms and educate clients on digital KPIs to reinforce strategy.
- Design funnel nurture campaign utilizing Salesforce Pardot.
- Improve credit risk models with innovative online indicators; leverage analyses to uncover new opportunities to improve online collection efforts.
Digital strategist skills and personality traits
We calculated that 19% of Digital Strategists are proficient in Digital Marketing, Digital Strategy, and Google Analytics. They’re also known for soft skills such as Detail oriented, Analytical skills, and Communication skills.
We break down the percentage of Digital Strategists that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Digital Marketing, 19%
Provided digital marketing strategy, marketing requirements, technical consulting and digital operations services to agency, corporate and non-profit clients.
- Digital Strategy, 6%
Oversee end-to-end digital strategy for traditional organizations, and make actionable decisions based on iterative feedback.
- Google Analytics, 6%
Analyzed advertising results and educated customers via Google Analytics.
- CRM, 5%
Tasked with providing insights, thought leadership, digital/social strategy and CRM engagement.
- Project Management, 3%
Led Project Management responsibilities included planning, scoping, scheduling, budgeting, and implementation to successful completions.
- Client Facing, 3%
Headed data analysis and developed system of KPI reports, both internal and client facing.
"digital marketing," "digital strategy," and "google analytics" are among the most common skills that digital strategists use at work. You can find even more digital strategist responsibilities below, including:
Detail oriented. One of the key soft skills for a digital strategist to have is detail oriented. You can see how this relates to what digital strategists do because "market research analysts must pay attention to minutiae to evaluate data." Additionally, a digital strategist resume shows how digital strategists use detail oriented: "provided detailed presentations and reports on marketing metrics and kpis. "
Analytical skills. Many digital strategist duties rely on analytical skills. "market research analysts must evaluate large amounts of data and information related to market conditions.," so a digital strategist will need this skill often in their role. This resume example is just one of many ways digital strategist responsibilities rely on analytical skills: "search engine marketing (sem) specialist with expertise in research, performance monitoring, and analysis. "
Communication skills. digital strategists are also known for communication skills, which are critical to their duties. You can see how this skill relates to digital strategist responsibilities, because "market research analysts must be able to clearly convey information when gathering material, interpreting data, and presenting results to clients." A digital strategist resume example shows how communication skills is used in the workplace: "lead digital strategy architect on multiple cpg, fortune 100 retail, automotive, pet care and telecommunications clients. "
The three companies that hire the most digital strategists are:
- Citizens Alliance51 digital strategists jobs
- Bank of America25 digital strategists jobs
- iHeartMedia13 digital strategists jobs
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Digital strategist 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.
These skill sets are where the common ground ends though. The responsibilities of a digital strategist are more likely to require skills like "digital strategy," "client facing," "user experience," and "digital content." On the other hand, a job as a head of marketing requires skills like "brand management," "b2b marketing," "strategic thinking," and "product development." As you can see, what employees do in each career varies considerably.
Heads of marketing tend to make the most money working in the media industry, where they earn an average salary of $134,857. In contrast, digital strategists make the biggest average salary, $89,607, in the technology industry.The education levels that heads of marketing earn slightly differ from digital strategists. In particular, heads of marketing are 7.6% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree than a digital strategist. Additionally, they're 0.2% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Digital strategist vs. Online marketing manager
Online marketing managers are professionals in charge of creating marketing campaigns for social media and internet platforms. Marketing managers take responsibility for the development, implementation, and management of marketing campaigns for a company. The marketing managers make certain that the campaigns effectively promote the company and the products or services it offers. They are significant in boosting brand awareness within the digital world. It is part of their sphere of duty to drive website traffic and gain customers or leads.
In addition to the difference in salary, there are some other key differences worth noting. For example, digital strategist responsibilities are more likely to require skills like "digital strategy," "project management," "client facing," and "user experience." Meanwhile, an online marketing manager has duties that require skills in areas such as "web traffic," "search engine optimization," "paid search," and "web analytics." These differences highlight just how different the day-to-day in each role looks.
Online marketing managers earn a higher average salary than digital strategists. But online marketing managers earn the highest pay in the utilities industry, with an average salary of $122,059. Additionally, digital strategists earn the highest salaries in the technology with average pay of $89,607 annually.In general, online marketing managers achieve similar levels of education than digital strategists. They're 0.2% more likely to obtain a Master's Degree while being 0.2% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for digital strategists in the next 3-5 years?
Marketing Department Head, Associate Professor, L.L. McAninch Chair of Business Administration, Kansas State University
Digital strategist vs. Media manager
Media managers oversee the department that works on the different communication needs of the company. They execute the communications strategies of the company. They are expected to be updated with the current trends on media platforms. They should also be very familiar with the company and are attuned to the company's brand and image so that they can create relevant communications campaigns. Media managers oversee content creation on different media platforms. They manage the research related to the content they are working on. They develop materials and ensure that these materials are engaging and relatable to the target audience.
There are many key differences between these two careers, including some of the skills required to perform responsibilities within each role. For example, a digital strategist is likely to be skilled in "digital strategy," "email marketing," "content strategy," and "user experience," while a typical media manager is skilled in "powerpoint," "seo," "sem," and "video production."
Media managers earn the best pay in the automotive industry, where they command an average salary of $108,113. Digital strategists earn the highest pay from the technology industry, with an average salary of $89,607.media managers typically earn similar educational levels compared to digital strategists. Specifically, they're 3.9% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.4% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Digital strategist vs. Research analyst
A research analyst is responsible for providing a company with insights and advice concerning finance, investments, and expenditures. Utilizing their analytical skills and extensive expertise in marketing, they analyze the trends and significant factors to conclude which decision should be the best to make. They can also take part in conducting an in-depth analysis of a business and examine which areas require improvement or has potential. Furthermore, they may work with a company or independently as a freelance analyst.
Even though a few skill sets overlap between digital strategists and research analysts, there are some differences that are important to note. For one, a digital strategist might have more use for skills like "digital marketing," "digital strategy," "google analytics," and "crm." Meanwhile, some responsibilities of research analysts require skills like "data analysis," "data collection," "research projects," and "powerpoint. "
In general, research analysts earn the most working in the finance industry, with an average salary of $101,433. The highest-paying industry for a digital strategist is the technology industry.research analysts reach higher levels of education compared to digital strategists, in general. The difference is that they're 5.5% more likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 1.7% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Types of digital strategist
Updated January 8, 2025











