How to Become a Digital Marketer - Required Skills & Career Guide

According to the Statista report, as of the beginning of 2024, the global internet user count has reached 5.35 billion. This indicates that over two-thirds of the world’s total population is now over the internet. And any business big or small, if they want to grow, and acquire these people as customers, they need to do digital marketing!

LinkedIn claimed in one of their reports that right now there are 860,000 digital marketer jobs available globally. Plus, there are digital marketers who earn salaries above ₹55 lakh in India and US$180,000 in the USA.

Intrigued? Keep reading further! This article on ‘How to Become a Digital Marketer’ offers a step-by-step roadmap that will help your journey into the world of digital marketing, regardless of your academic background.

Reasons to Learn Digital Marketing

The global digital marketing market size reached a value of US$363.05 billion at the very beginning of 2024. But guess what is projected to happen over the 8 years? 

According to Expert Market Research’s analysis, the digital marketing industry will reach a valuation of US$1099.33 billion by 2032. That means the digital marketing field will expand almost 3 fold over the next 8 years. 

At the beginning of this decade, there were just 2.1 million digital marketers around the world. But, the World Economic Forum predicts that the number will grow to 7.2 million by 2030. 

Even the influence of generative AI on digital marketing jobs is very negligible because digital marketing is mostly related to gaining attention from people online. And it could only happen if there is a sense of connection, relevance, and affection built around the marketing pitch, which AI can never do.

Given the significant investments in digital marketing funnels and plenty of job opportunities, choosing a career in digital marketing is a safe bet. If you’ve already searched for how to become a digital marketer and landed on this blog, you are definitely on the right career track.

What Does a Digital Marketer Do?

Digital marketing is not just about running ads. That’s the common misconception people have about it. In reality, it’s more like a set of skills and an approach that can drive online engagement and sales for businesses.

So the skills a digital marketer has to hone are not definitive. They need to learn every method that could help businesses increase website traffic and product awareness. However, learning one or two skills is enough to get you a job, you can learn the rest of the aspects while working in one of the segments of digital marketing.

Here is the wide range of tasks a digital marketer generally takes on throughout his career journey:

• Creating blogs, videos, and content strategy for online media channels
• Developing Ad copies, campaigns for social media marketing
• Design and implement Search Engine Optimization (SEO) strategies
• Design and audit Search Engine Marketing (SEM) campaigns
• Analyze PPC campaigns and optimization
• Tracking social media campaigns and fine-tuning them for better performance
• Managing email marketing campaigns
• Collaborate with tech, social media, content, SEO, and CRM teams
• Manage marketing funnel

Skills required to become a Digital Marketer

In the previous section, we learned the importance of being a marketing generalist as a digital marketer, possessing knowledge about various digital marketing practices. However, when starting out, you don’t have to be a jack-of-all-trades. Instead, focus on developing a strong foundation in key areas.

You can begin by exploring roles such as content strategist, content marketer, SEO expert, social media marketer, etc. These positions focus on specific skills, such as content marketing, SEO, or social media strategy. Once you get started in any beginner-level marketing role, you can work your way up to become an all-rounder as a digital marketer.

Is It Hard to Become a Digital Marketer?

LinkedIn claims that digital marketing is one of the most searched skills in the jobs space right now. That fact itself speaks volumes about digital marketing as a career choice. It’s not a highly technical skill. You need knowledge about certain platforms, and a greater ability to convince people to look into the product or service your company is offering.

To become a digital marketer, you must be more creative and have an understanding of consumer psychology. So asking ‘Is it hard?’ doesn’t make sense, it is a blend of multiple skills which can be mastered if you have intrinsic motivation to learn marketing.

Besides there are plenty of professional digital marketing certifications available, which can enable you to learn digital marketing from scratch within a period of a year. 

It doesn’t matter if you are from a tech background or a non-tech background, digital marketing has something to offer for everyone. And if you have the willingness to learn it is one of the easiest skills you can pick up. Follow the step-by-step roadmap given below to become an efficient digital marketer.

Become a Digital Marketer: Step-by-Step Roadmap

Becoming a digital marketer involves developing a mix of skills and knowledge across various online platforms and strategies. Here's a step-by-step guide to get you started:

1. Learn the Basics

• Digital Marketing Fundamentals: Understand the basics of SEO, content marketing, social media marketing, email marketing, PPC (Pay-Per-Click) advertising, and analytics.

• Online Courses: Take online courses from platforms like Coursera, Udemy, LinkedIn Learning, and Google Digital Garage.

From a layman’s perspective, you must be wondering why marketing is a necessary business component. Think about this: how people would get to know about your product? Without targeting a particular customer persona, can your product reach the people who could buy it?

The answer to all of these questions is marketing. Marketing involves constant research and analysis of consumers, studying their shopping habits, and strategically placing the desired product in front of them.The 7P’s of marketing (product, price, place, promotion, people, process, and physical evidence) form the fundamental core of marketing.

Perceive the meaning behind all these factors, and go through the basic principles of marketing. This would produce a burning desire for pursuing a career in this field. We would recommend you to go through this Free Digital Marketing Certification Course to understand the fundamentals of today’s new-age marketing.

2. Develop Practical Skills

• SEO and Content Marketing: Learn how to optimize websites for search engines and create engaging content.

• Social Media Marketing: Understand how to manage and grow social media channels.

• Email Marketing: Learn how to create effective email campaigns.

• PPC Advertising: Get familiar with platforms like Google Ads and Facebook Ads.

• Analytics: Learn how to use tools like Google Analytics to track and measure performance.

Digital marketing is about presenting people online with your product. Online channels allow marketers to achieve that. However, for that purpose, using marketing tools, digital marketers have to analyze how customers move and track their online journey. In essence, that’s something you must learn to become a marketer.

3. Get Hands-On Experience

• Start a Blog or Website: Apply what you’ve learned by creating your own blog or website.

• Freelance Projects: Offer your services to friends, family, or small businesses to build your portfolio.

• Internships: Look for internships at digital marketing agencies or companies with in-house marketing teams.

4. Stay Updated

• Industry Blogs and News: Follow industry blogs like Moz, HubSpot, and Search Engine Journal to stay updated on the latest trends and best practices.

• Webinars and Workshops: Attend webinars and workshops to learn from industry experts.

5. Network

• Join Digital Marketing Communities: Participate in online forums, LinkedIn groups, and social media communities to network with other professionals.

• Attend Conferences: Go to digital marketing conferences and meetups to connect with peers and industry leaders.

6. Get Certified

• Google Certifications: Earn certifications like Google Analytics, Google Ads, and others.

• Other Certifications: Look into certifications from organizations like HubSpot, SEMrush, and Facebook Blueprint.

7. Build Your Personal Brand

• LinkedIn Profile: Optimize your LinkedIn profile to showcase your skills and experience.

• Online Presence: Build a strong online presence through a personal website or blog, and actively engage on social media.

8. Apply for Jobs

• Entry-Level Positions: Look for entry-level digital marketing jobs to gain professional experience.

• Freelancing: Consider freelancing to build a diverse portfolio and gain experience working with different clients.

Becoming a digital marketer takes time and dedication, but with the right approach, you can build a successful career in this dynamic field. Ready to dive in and start building your digital marketing empire?