It can be challenging to decide what discipline to study. There are various factors to consider when making such a decision, including the type of skills you can develop through particular programs and what career opportunities might be available to you after graduation. If you’re reviewing your options and considering studying digital marketing, it may be helpful for you to review a few reasons candidates often choose to concentrate in this field.
Recommended
In this article, we explain what digital marketing is, outline eight reasons for studying it, and list five professional roles through which you can apply this education.
What is digital marketing?
Digital marketing is a subset of marketing that applies online-based, internet and multimedia technologies to promote products and services. Since its advent in the late 1990s, the digital marketing industry has grown significantly and has transformed the way that organizations and businesses advertise their brands and connect with their target audiences. Now, digital marketing is a key part of most brands’ strategies and serves as an effective way to reach audience members since most consumers shop from home using digital devices, like mobile phones, personal computers, and tablets, rather than by visiting physical retail locations.
As a field, digital marketing is still evolving as new technological advancements are made each day, but it currently encompasses various integral practices, such as search engine optimization (SEO), search engine marketing (SEM), content marketing, influencer marketing, email marketing and social media management. With this, digital marketing is often nonlinear and professionals in this field take advantage of various tools to maximize their impact. Using these specialized practices optimized for the digital world, marketers can tackle the multi-pronged goals of advertising products and services, reaching target audiences and engaging deeply with them and boosting brand awareness.
8 reasons to study digital marketing
There are various benefits you may enjoy by studying digital marketing in terms of skills development and career opportunities post-graduation. Here are eight of the top reasons to pursue education in this field:
1. Reasonable barrier to entry
The field of digital marketing has a very reasonable barrier to entry. With this, there are various entry-level positions available that don’t require candidates to have an extensive background in the field to start working. Therefore, new graduates starting their careers with limited experience may find it easy to identify openings and secure roles that suit their level of skill and experience.
2. Multiple career options
There are a wide array of career options available in digital marketing. Professionals often have their choice of numerous specializations when pursuing a career in this field. For example, to name a few options, depending on your interests, you may be able to pursue social media management, content creation, digital communications, product marketing or copywriting.
3. Advancement prospects
Digital marketing is an expanding industry. Therefore, studying this discipline and pursuing roles in this field can help you gain access to the potential for professional growth. You may be able to move steadily from entry-level positions to more advanced, supervisory roles with additional responsibility throughout your career.
4. Valuable skills development
Studying digital marketing can help you develop a diverse set of skills valuable in the current job market. You might be able to hone your competencies in SEO, website development, research, data analysis, copywriting, social media management, graphic design, multimedia content creation, automation and programming. These skills are commonly highly sought after and can help you secure numerous types of roles.
5. Versatile competencies
As mentioned above, studying digital marketing can help you develop a range of valuable skills. Even more, these skills are often highly versatile and can allow you to access a wide set of opportunities throughout your career. With this, if you ever feel the desire to move to a different position or gain alternative experience, your skills may allow you to make such a shift successfully.
6. Salary potential
Professionals who work in the field of digital marketing often have the ability to earn high salaries when compared to their counterparts in other industries. Therefore, studying this discipline might help you increase your earning potential overall. For example, the national average salary for a search engine marketing (SEM) manager is $73,096 per year.
7. Collaborative and creative opportunities
After graduating from a digital marketing program, you may be able to pursue professional opportunities that allow you to practice both collaboration and creativity. Roles in this field often involve strategy, design, tackling complex problems and generating unique solutions. With this, you may be able to work alongside various other professionals, learn from their perspectives and build strong working relationships.
8. Industry growth
As an industry, digital marketing is experiencing significant growth. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) projects that professionals in advertising, promotions and marketing—fields that encompass digital marketing—may experience a 10% increase in employment between 2020 and 2030. Therefore, by studying this field, you may be able to enjoy relative job security throughout your career.
5 jobs that use digital marketing
As stated above, there are a wide array of roles in which you can apply your digital marketing competencies. Here are five jobs that you may be able to pursue after studying this discipline. For the most up-to-date Indeed salary data, please click on the links below:
1. Social media manager
National average salary: $48,947 per year
Primary duties: Social media managers oversee content strategies via various platforms. These professionals may plan, develop, create and post content as a part of their role. Overall, social media managers commonly work toward the goal of engaging target audiences, building online communities and raising brand awareness.
2. SEO Specialist
National average salary: $53,723 per year
Primary duties: Search engine optimization (SEO) specialists use various techniques to improve the ranking of particular content on search engines. The primary goal of their work is to boost traffic to certain websites by ensuring they receive a high-ranking placement on results pages. They may play a part in developing an organization’s content marketing strategy.
3. Content manager
National average salary: $60,033 per year
Primary duties: Content managers supervise the planning, development, creation and distribution of content. These professionals typically work on behalf of brands, planning, developing and executing strategies geared toward particular goals. In addition, content managers may be responsible for overseeing other team members involved in the production process, such as writers, editors and designers.
4. Digital strategist
National average salary: $61,275 per year
Primary duties: Digital strategists are responsible for planning, advising and developing effective marketing campaigns. These professionals may work across various channels and platforms, including web, social media and email. From here, they may be responsible for collecting and analyzing data to evaluate campaign success.
5. SEO Specialist
National average salary: $68,605 per year
Primary duties: These professionals oversee the various tasks involved with planning and executing a brand or organization’s communications strategy. Typically, directors of communication are responsible for representing organizations at media events, directing public relations programming and determining ways of successfully engaging with target audiences. With this, they may oversee both external and internal messaging.
Leave a Reply