Have you heard your brother, who is an engineering graduate, talk about the importance of digital marketing? Or do you have a senior in college who is currently searching ‘digital marketing jobs for freshers’ on their browser?
Ever wondered why people are talking about digital marketing in the first place? Do you feel that it’s a common term that’s been used nowadays? Do you have any idea how it works and what value a career in the digital marketing field can earn you?
What is digital marketing?
You’ve seen various advertisements over your lifetime via channels like television, magazines, billboards, etc, and now, you can see similar advertisements on the internet too, especially on your favourite social media platforms like Instagram, Facebook, etc.
Promoting your brand to a target audience through various channels like newspapers, television, magazines, billboards, etc is called marketing. Now imagine the same brand or the product being promoted digitally?
Yes, you are getting there.
So, what is exactly digital marketing? In simple words, it is marketing your brand through online platforms to convince your customers to buy your goods or services.
This includes blogging, email marketing, social media marketing, online advertising, video marketing and more.
Few of these terms might not be familiar to you, but don’t worry because we have everything explained to you in the coming sections.
Digital marketing in India
With COVID-19 and the frequent lockdowns, remember how we could not step out of the house? Similarly, it was difficult for companies to reach out to their consumers through traditional marketing, which includes flyers and billboards. So that method of marketing was out of the question.
That is when many companies realised the importance of digital marketing. Slowly, these companies had to shift their operations to online platforms and focus on the digital marketing industry as well. These companies had to take major decisions that affected their entire operations. And what is a business without taking risks or not being receptive to changes?
The number of mobile and internet users increased throughout the lockdown period, especially in India. Did you know that there were 658.0 million internet users in India in January 2022, according to Global Digital Insights?
As we go into the post-pandemic era, one of the key aspects to note is the growth of digital/internet users. We can see a skyrocketing growth of 814% in internet users in India alone within a decade where digital marketing cannot be ignored anymore.
How to get started in the digital marketing field?
Seems interesting so far? Well, let’s see how we can find you a place to get your career started in the digital marketing field.
1. A degree in marketing
Once you complete a bachelor’s or master’s degree in marketing course, you can always do an online certification course in digital marketing or go for an internship in the field of digital marketing. Pursuing a marketing course can enhance your digital marketing skills.
2. Internship
If you want to grow as a digital marketing professional, you can apply for internships. You can either do an online or an offline internship. An internship helps to gain hands-on experience under the right guidance. Another advantage is that you can build networks with people in the same field. If you are lucky enough, then your internship firm might offer you a permanent job right after your internship period.
3. Freelancing
If you have strong digital marketing skills, you can freelance as per your wishes. There are websites like Fiverr, Upwork that allow freelancers to find work and connect with potential customers.
4. Online courses
When there are so many online courses around you, you can always learn or level up your digital marketing skills in a few weeks or less than 6 months. Right from understanding Digital marketing terms to analytics to SEO to introduction to Performance Marketing, you can learn everything in one place.
Careers in digital marketing
Digital marketing is one of the top in-demand careers, according to LinkedIn and is a skill that can be picked up by anyone. You don’t need a degree specifically in marketing to apply for digital marketing jobs.
With digital marketing booming in business, the demand for digital marketing professionals is also growing rapidly. Hundreds of start-ups are rising in India where every company is in dire need of people to expand businesses quickly. This is one of the reasons why 40000+ job opportunities are opened up for digital marketers monthly in India.
Also, the digital marketing career scope in the Indian internet industry alone is going to be worth $160 billion by 2025, according to a Goldman Sachs report, which is three times its current value.
The huge advantage of digital marketing is that anyone could enter the field regardless of their course stream. Be it from a science or an engineering background, you can pursue your career in digital marketing if you are interested and have basic knowledge of digital marketing.
Career roles in digital marketing
In the world of digital marketing, everyone has their own roles to play. It depends on their area of expertise.
If you are a digital marketer, in general, your role is to create awareness about the brand to the world, generate traffic for the company’s website or in other words, attract more website users, and bring potential customers through various digital channels.
One thing you should know about digital marketing is that it is a broad topic, and it has many subsets. There are a lot more roles other than a digital marketer in this field. So, let’s find your area of interest by looking at the different career roles in digital marketing and how each works.
1. Digital Marketing Manager
A role of a digital marketer is to ideate, strategise and implement marketing campaigns, build a presence on social media and oversee the statistics/analytics reports.
You should be able to design and oversee all aspects of the digital marketing department, including marketing databases, emails, and display advertising campaigns. You must be competent in all areas of digital marketing and should be able to keep up with the current trends.
The average salary of a digital marketing manager is Rs.6,20,000 in India, while a senior digital marketing manager can earn an average of 15L per annum.
2. SEO Analyst
SEO analysts help an organisation increase the number of people viewing its website (s) by analysing data on website performance and staying on top of ever-changing SEO trends.
As an SEO analyst, it is your job to do keyword research that helps you stay your website on top. You must as well as be able to do systematic observations to improve performance and decision making and deliver them through statistical data analysis.
Sounds interesting? SEO analysts earn an average of Rs.19,069 per month, while SEO analyst leads can earn an average of ₹45,870 per month.
3. Content Marketer
Content marketers create all the content that is SEO-friendly that can engage the target audience. They are also responsible for increasing organic traffic (people who visit websites from unpaid sources) for the organisation through their optimised content.
A content marketer can earn an average of Rs.5,40,000 in India. With more experience, one can earn over 8L per annum.
4. Social Media Marketing Expert
Love social media? If so, you might want to know that the role of a social media marketing expert is to combine marketing and social media management to improve the company’s social media presence, engage with the target audience, and promote the brand on various social media platforms.
They are also in charge of strategising social media campaigns by creating content ideas, budget planning, and scheduling.
A social media marketing manager starts with an average of Rs.4,40,000 and as they soar in their career, one can earn around 10L a year.
5. Search Engine Marketing/SEM Specialist
An SEM specialist is hired in big companies to do keyword research, test ad campaigns, to achieve maximum Return On Investment (ROI) in paid search campaigns (an inexpensive and scalable form of web marketing designed to connect your ads with searchers actively seeking what you provide) by collecting and analyzing data, and identifying trends and insights.
You will be also in charge of managing the expense and budget of campaigns and estimating monthly costs.
The average base pay for a starter is Rs.31,503, while a senior SEM specialist can earn Rs.49,757.
6. Email Marketer
An email marketer’s job is to create emails that will catch their audience’s attention and interest in their product or service.
A person receives millions of emails and it is your job as an email marketer to ensure that your email stands out and creates an impact on them. You should also understand how to use your email to convert leads into customers.
Email Marketing Manager salary in India ranges between Rs.2.2 lakhs to Rs.15.0 lakhs, with an average annual salary of Rs.5.9 lakhs.
Digital marketing salary in India
Does this sound exciting to you so far? Do you think you found your niche? If yes, then perfect! If not, then also it’s fine. We know choosing a career can be confusing and that’s why we are here to help you figure it out.
In this demanding and fast-paced industry, the salary package offered is sensible too. Did you know that in India, digital marketing salary for freshers is offered around 3-4L per annum?
How to earn better in the digital marketing field?
Still confused if you should pursue a career in digital marketing? Now you know that a digital marketer earns a good income. Here are five factors that can help you land a job that offers you good pay.
1. Experience
One key aspect of getting started in the field is through interning at organisations. With good mentoring and hands-on experience, you can upskill yourself and make good connections with people from the same field. There are certification courses that you can do that add credits to your resume. With enough experience, it’s possible to negotiate a decent salary.
2. Skills
To get acquainted in this field, it is always good to have basic knowledge of digital marketing tools like SEO, email marketing, social media marketing and more. There are online courses that specialise in digital marketing to help you with upskill in the same field. Adding digital marketing skills to your resume can increase the chances of getting noticed by the recruiters.
3. Blogging
It’s always good to learn from the beginning, and to run your own blog page is not something small. Creating a blog on something you are passionate about and keeping it engaged and adding it to the portfolio can help you build credibility.
4. Job role
Your salary depends on which role you are looking to work on. There will be a hike in your pay as you keep moving ahead in your career. With years of experience, your remuneration also increases.
5. Employer
Your employer matters in fixing your salary package. If it’s a large-scale company, a fresher will have an annual package salary of 3-4L. You can also choose to be a freelancer if you wish to work independently. According to Glassdoor, freelancers in digital marketing can earn from Rs.25,000 – Rs.10,00,000 per year.
Skill requirements in digital marketing
Now that we have mentioned skills, there are a few basic important skills that every aspiring digital marketing professional should have in their kitty.
1. Search Engine Optimisation skills
You should have a broad knowledge of SEO and how it works. Optimising content or a website to be picked up by the search engine is not something that everybody can do.
2. Social media management skills
Managing social media is not about putting up posts, but there is a whole creative brain behind ideating and strategising an entire campaign. One should have the talent to engage the audience and build connections by enhancing own brand on social media platforms.
3. Communication skills
Not just hard skills, but soft skills are equally important for any job role. Communication is successful when the message you are trying to convey is clear to your target audience, be it written or oral.
4. Design skills
It is not necessary to know how to design, but having knowledge of basic design rules can make a vast difference in your work. A good eye on content and design details can go hand in hand at work.
5. Organisation skills
Organisational skills include practices like time management, scheduling, prioritising through to-do and to-don’t list, project management skills, multi-tasking and more are essential skills that a digital marketing professional needs.
6. Analytical skills
Analytical skills include the ability to think critically, analyse data, make difficult decisions, and solve problems. Here, efficient data analytical skills are required to analyse and interpret marketing campaigns to improve paid and organic (unpaid) campaigns.
Future of digital marketing
With each passing day, businesses are changing, the lifestyle of people is changing, you can see how the internet is available to the rural parts of our country. It is going to be accessible to many more soon and hence the opportunities in the digital marketing field are going to broaden.
Upskilling in the field of digital marketing can bring you various job opportunities. It also helps to add value to your resume.
Now we know why digital marketing is one of the top careers and how it’s only going to gain more importance in the coming years. So, it’s never too late to start your blog or run your first digital marketing agency.
So when are you stepping up?
We would like to hear your thoughts and answer your questions. So, drop them below and let’s have a chat!
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