Job availability and security are important qualities for most members of the global workforce. If you want to keep pace in your industry and excel in your employment, you will, undoubtedly, be expected to have a certain degree of digital capability.
Simply put, it’s because digital tools and skills have a proven ability to generate revenue, and companies want to harness that power and stay competitive.
General Electric, for example, made the bold decision to invest more than $1 billion to create a new market around the Industrial Internet. To ensure that its digital strategy was embraced as an organization-wide standard, GE consolidated each business unit under a Chief Digital Officer and went on an ambitious hiring spree to acquire much-needed skillsets and embed the right innovation mindset.
GE’s ambitious technology platform now generates $5 billion in revenue and the company estimates that business will triple to $15 billion by 2020.
As organizations invest more in digital marketing and branding, there has been a complementary surge in recruitment, with 150,000 digital jobs estimated to be created by 2020. This can be a frustrating experience for companies who find themselves in direct competition with one another to secure scarce digital talent. It is, however, a massive advantage for the in-demand digital professionals who can negotiate the best possible salaries and benefits.
It’s an undeniably lucrative industry, both for employers and employees, with some up-and-coming digital specialisms enjoying significant profitability.
Digital Project Management /Planning
As digital roles have streamlined and specialized, there has become an increased need for a project planner, or leader, who possesses the requisite digital knowledge and skills, but also has the high-level vision to pull together a campaign from initial concept to execution. Digital project managers are essential for overseeing the implementation of a variety of digital campaigns and strategies.
Main duties often include establishing and documenting goals and objectives, creating comprehensive project plans, setting timelines and project milestones, and allocating/managing budgets. If you’re interested in a digital project management role, you will need a diverse skill-set that incorporates excellent written and verbal communication, impeccable organization and time management skills.
Though you won’t be executing digital marketing tactics and utilizing tools at a detailed level on a daily basis, a working knowledge of key tools and technologies, from social media scheduling tools to Content Management Systems is ideal, so you can effectively and knowledgeably manage all activity. The one tool you should be able to use is project management software, be it Basecamp, Asana or Trello; this will help you to easily and efficiently track every task, due date and centralize communications for every project. An understanding of project management methodologies from SCRUM to Waterfall will offer you a strong advantage too.
Why is this a great job?
Digital Project Management allows you to work on a variety of activities while showcasing your knowledge and experience in a constructive, productive way. If you thrive on collaboration and problem solving, this is the role for you!
What salary can I expect?
In the UK, A Senior Digital Planner earns, on average £60,000, while a Digital Planning Director’s salary is an impressive average of £80,000.
In the USA, the average salary for a Digital Project Manager is between $ 78,750 and $ 118,000.
Content Strategist
Content has become the lynchpin of both digital and traditional marketing, serving as a powerful tool for building customer trust and affording brands a much-needed visibility and reach. As a result, content marketing experts have established themselves as a valuable asset within the digital sphere.
The single most important skills a content marketing professional can possess is the ability to develop and manage a complete content strategy that is tailored to a company’s digital strategy objectives, as well as the needs and preferences of their target audience. Content strategists also need to be able to conduct content audits, create style guides, populate editorial calendars, and where, required, either create or curate relevant, high-quality content. Due to the intrinsic link between content and SEO, a competent content strategist will have strong search marketing skills.
The ability to write clear, concise, compelling copy is also integral. Being able to adapt your writing style to suit various content types and target audiences is also key. Content strategists are able to combine creative concepts with an unwavering attention to detail and execute them in an efficient, well-organized fashion. In order to leverage insights and find out what content topics best engage your target audience, an ability to use analytics tools is also desirable.
Why is this a great job?
Content marketing and strategy gives you the opportunity to harness your creativity in a highly measurable manner. If you’re self-motivated and innovative and appreciate the data-driven nature of digital marketing, consider becoming a content strategist!
What salary can I expect?
A content strategist in America can earn anything between $81,250 and $115,000.
A seasoned content marketing manager in the UK can expect a salary in the region of £70,000.
E-commerce Specialist
E-commerce makes your brand more accessible to a much wider target audience, overcoming the obstacles of traditional retail such as location. When combined with digital marketing tactics, e-commerce can raise brand visibility and increase customer acquisition through a much more cost-effective approach that often has no requirement for overheads such as physical premises, personnel and offline marketing collateral.
E-commerce is closely linked to CRO, which means that e-commerce experts will be required to know how to optimize product pages, from creating compelling descriptions to the perfect placement of buttons and CTAs with the goal of increasing conversions.
Personalization plays an important role in increasing conversions, so an understanding of this practice and an ability to use the tools that support it are essential. Strategic skills are a welcome advantage as they will help specialists to focus, at a high level, on how to improve online customer experience, which is integral to a successful e-commerce strategy. They will also need to be adept at using analytics and heat mapping tools to identify patterns in website user behavior and make changes accordingly.
E-commerce specialists will often have to work cross-functionally with sales and marketing teams, so an ability to collaborate and communicate effectively is crucial.If you’re interested in a role like this, you will be working to strict lead generation and sales targets – e-commerce specialists need to be highly responsive and fast-paced!
Why is this a great job?
If the concept of being able to positively influence customer experience and encourage purchases sounds fulfilling to you, e-commerce is an avenue you should consider. E-commerce is about identifying and delivering commercial growth opportunities, a perfect field for anyone who is revenue and data-driven!
What salary can I expect?
In the UK, an E-commerce Executive can earn up to £35,000, while a Manager can earn in the region of £70,000.
In the US, E-commerce Managers can take home between $90,000 and $126,000.
Digital Media Manager
Digital Media Managers are responsible for delivering multi-channel marketing campaigns and defining a brand’s digital strategy and messaging, with the intention of driving awareness, consideration and adoption of your organization’s product/service offerings.
There is often a strong focus on paid media channels, including social, display, programmatic and retargeting channels. A Digital Media Manager’s key objectives include driving online sales (sometimes in collaboration with e-commerce specialists), delivering revenue and developing new commercial opportunities through strategic management and optimization.
Pay-Per-Click advertising is usually fundamental to the role, as Digital Media Managers can be expected to enhance PPC campaigns through copy improvements, budgeting, keyword selection, and a clear, comprehensive search strategy. Managers can often be expected to serve a variety of ad types across a number of networks, including the Google Display and Search Networks and Bing Ads.
As lead generation and customer acquisition are at the heart of Digital Media Management, you will need to be adept at analyzing data in order to benchmark performance and forecast results. Using native social media analytics platforms, Google Analytics and other tools will help you to understand the specific needs, preferences, and media consumption nuances of consumers in a variety of markets.
Why is this a great job?
Digital Media Management is all about exhibiting thought leadership in media strategy, innovation, and measurement. If you want to help build and shape a brand’s identity with an analytical, technical approach, you should explore opportunities in this area!
What salary can you expect?
A PPC Manager in the UK can earn around £41,000, while a Head of PPC can earn £70,000 on average.
In the US, a Digital Traffic Manager’s salary can be between $63,000 and $90,000!
Brand Marketing
In order to keep pace within competitive industries and set themselves apart, organizations need to focus attention on building a brand with purpose, and meaning. Using a combination of storytelling and data, brand marketing professionals have the unique ability to craft a distinct organizational identity that is rooted in authenticity. This can positively influence and persuade customers, earn their trust and ultimately encourage them to purchase.
At its core, successful, sustainable brand building is achieved through story telling. This is why brand marketers need to be able to channel their creative capabilities and imagination to create and implement brand narratives that will stimulate the emotions of their target audience.
Brand marketing involves having a detailed understanding of a variety of content formats (both visual and written) and distribution methods and being able to utilize them in order to increase engagement, create brand advocates and encourage repeat sales. As a brand marketing specialist, you will be able to produce tight creative briefs in line with your brand goals when engaging external stakeholders - this is just one example of how you will need to possess effective communication skills and be able to articulate your organization’s visionary strategy.
The ability to analyze data that will result in clear insight and branding opportunities is equally important.
Why is this a great job?
A role in brand marketing allows you to establish yourself as a credible, expert voice internally within your organization and provides you with the opportunity to feed into important strategy considerations. If you have a strong creative vision and the ambition to elevate a brand, consider a role in brand marketing.
What salary can I expect?
A Brand Manager in the UK can earn between £40,000 and £53,000 on average.
In the US, a Brand Manager can expect a salary between $66,000 and $98,000, or, if they have over 5 years’ experience, around $130,000.
If this overview of 5 of the highest paying jobs in digital has piqued your interest, and you would like to know more about how to maximize your career success in the industry, you can download our free ebook here.
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