9 Digital Marketing Jobs + How to Get One

Digital marketing in 2023

Digital marketing refers to the use of the internet and digital technologies to reach audiences. It is a rapidly growing and evolving industry. 

According to Hubspot’s 2022 State of Marketing Trends Report, the top three marketing channels for business-to-consumer (B2C) and business-to-business (B2B) brands are social media, email, and web/blogging [1]. Statista reports that global digital ad spend in 2021 was $521.02 billion USD and projects that spending could reach $876.1 billion USD by 2026 [2]. 

Benefits of becoming a digital marketer

Digital marketer can be a rewarding career move for several reasons, including: 

• Using the latest marketing technology and methods

• Leveraging a broad range of skills and experience, including creativity and strategic thinking 

• Having a variety of career options with attractive salaries  

Read on to discover nine digital marketing jobs and steps you can take to land a position you love. 

9 digital marketing jobs 

We’ve categorised the following list of digital marketing jobs in the UK by level of seniority—entry-level, mid-level, and senior—to give you an idea of the variety of job titles and potential for career development in the digital marketing industry. 

For each of these digital marketing careers, we’ve included the average UK base salary (not including additional pay such as commission, profit sharing, or cash bonuses), typical responsibilities, and qualifications based on information from Glassdoor, Prospects, Target Jobs, and Indeed as of January 2023. Use this list as a model to help guide your research process. 

Entry-level digital marketing jobs 

1. Social media specialist 

What they earn: £31,195

What they do: Create social media campaigns and publish social media content on behalf of an organisation; maintain an organisation's social media pages; track analytics; build relationships with social media followers

General qualifications: Bachelor’s degree in marketing, business, communications, or related field; understanding of business applications of social media platforms; knowledge of social media metrics 

2. Digital marketing assistant 

What they earn: £30,026

What they do: Support the digital marketing manager and team; conduct research and report findings; help craft digital marketing campaigns 

General qualifications: Bachelor’s degree in marketing, communications, psychology, or a related field; familiarity with digital marketing, social media, and e-commerce 

3. SEO (search engine optimisation) content writer 

What they earn: £24,894

What they do: Develop SEO content for websites; conduct keyword research; update existing content; monitor web pages' rankings in search engine results

General qualifications: Degree in marketing, English, journalism, or related field; knowledge of search engine optimisation and how search engines work; knowledge of SEO research tools, writing, and blogging skills; familiarity with social media.

Mid-level digital marketing jobs

4. SEO/SEM (search engine marketing) manager

What they earn: £40,845

What they do: Research and implement methods to increase website traffic; monitor competitor SEO/SEM strategies; refine a website’s keywords, layout, and content; execute PPC (pay-per-click) techniques  

General qualifications: Bachelor’s degree in marketing, engineering, business, IT, or related field; analytical skills; understanding of SEO/SEM tools, writing, and communication skills 

5. Content manager

What they earn: £46,380

What they do: Create content to raise brand awareness; manage a content team; gather data about target markets; implement content marketing strategies  

General qualifications: Bachelor’s degree in marketing, media, journalism, English, or related field; agency experience; understanding of SEO best practices; knowledge of content management systems

6. Digital marketing manager 

What they earn: £50,683

What they do: Oversee an organisation’s digital marketing strategy; manage marketing campaigns and evaluate performance; develop new digital marketing strategies.

General qualifications: Bachelor’s degree in marketing, business, or related field; experience using content management systems; project management skills; certifications in social media and Google AdWords

Senior-level digital marketing jobs  

7. Digital marketing director

What they earn: £99,506

What they do: Oversee an organisation’s entire digital marketing strategy; analyse the success of marketing campaigns; stay up-to-date on marketing trends 

General qualifications: Bachelor’s degree in marketing, business, or related field; data analysis; comprehensive knowledge of digital marketing, from social media to e-commerce

8. Head of marketing 

What they earn: £72,339

What they do: Oversee marketing operations; develop and outline strategies, manage an annual budget for allocating marketing resources; set marketing department goals and monitor progress; improve profitability and engagement 

General qualifications: Bachelor’s degree or in some cases master’s degree in marketing, business, or related field; team leadership; marketing management; knowledge of marketing technology.

9. Chief marketing officer (CMO)

What they earn: £104,050

What they do: Oversee an organisation’s marketing programme; supervise marketing managers; establish departmental procedures; drive strategy and planning; maintain marketing industry knowledge

General qualifications: Bachelor’s degree, sometimes a master’s degree, in marketing or related field (MBA might be preferred); leadership experience; extensive marketing knowledge

How to get a job in digital marketing 

1. Obtain a marketing education. 

There are many starting points for a career in digital marketing in terms of the education and training required. Do you need a bachelor’s degree in marketing or a related field to apply for jobs, or can digital marketing certifications, coursework, and experience land you the position you seek?  

Whilst it isn’t essential to have a degree to start your career in marketing, and there are a variety of entry-level roles available, marketing is a competitive field, and having a degree will give you something over candidates that do not. Many entry-level roles still require at least a bachelor's degree, and having a master’s degree may enhance your chances for higher-level roles but it isn’t usually specifically required. 

You may not need a degree in marketing specifically, as degrees in business, journalism, and languages are just as useful, as are degrees in maths if you are looking for an analytics role. Experience is key when it comes to marketing, so any experience you can bring from your degree, internships, or work experience is valuable.

Taking courses in digital marketing or getting a certification can be a great way to learn skills that are in demand and earn a credential that employers value. You may find that for some digital marketing positions, employers emphasise experience and skills over degrees for some digital marketing positions. 

2. Gain digital marketing experience. 

In addition to getting a marketing education, you’ll also need to gain some experience in digital marketing, even for entry-level positions. Common ways to gain experience include getting an internship and taking on freelance or contract work.  

To find contract or freelance work in digital marketing, you can:

• Contact people within your network to ask for referrals and discover opportunities to offer digital marketing services. 

• Search job sites like Indeed or LinkedIn specifically for contract and freelance opportunities. 

• Create a profile on various freelance platforms to promote your services and find gigs. Start by exploring these sites: Contently, MediaBistro, Mayple, Upwork, and Fiverr.

TIP: For each contract or freelance project you complete, ask clients for referrals and testimonials to keep up the momentum.  

3. Build digital marketing skills. 

Through your education and experience, you’ll want to build in-demand digital marketing skills. ZipRecruiter’s Career Keyword Mapper, which tracks the top skills in job descriptions, indicates that digital marketers should prioritise the following skills:  

• Social media marketing 

• Google Analytics

• Search engine marketing 

• Search engine optimisation 

• PPC

Read digital marketing job descriptions for roles that interest you to discover additional skills tailored to your interests. Then, prioritise the skills you want to focus on.  

3. Compile a digital marketing portfolio.

An online portfolio makes it easy to showcase your digital marketing experience in a visually appealing manner and easy to share. Basic portfolio components include: 

• An “About” section

• Samples of your work and/or case studies 

• Your contact information 

There are several platforms for building a portfolio website available to us in a range of pricing and offering a variety of features and templates, including: 

• Weebly

• Wix 

• Squarespace

4. Optimise your online presence. 

As a job seeker and digital marketer, optimising your online presence is an essential step in your job search process. Your online presence is your personal brand and has the potential to express your values, interests, abilities, and what you can offer a potential employer. 

Here are five ways to optimise your online presence:

• Use your social media profiles to post content about digital marketing and remove any content that is outdated or irrelevant to your job search. 

• Shift social media content to posts about your industry, digital marketing trends in general and your experience.  

• Update your Linkedin profile with your experience, education, and skills, as well as optimising your profile for marketing roles.

• Consider expanding your portfolio into a more extensive website or blog.

• Link everything to your CV so potential employers can explore your online content. 

5. Look for digital marketing jobs. 

Search general job sites such as LinkedIn, Indeed, and Glassdoor for digital marketing positions, as well as sites that focus more specifically on marketing or creative jobs, such as Marketing Week, Campaign Live, and Digital Marketing Jobs.

Collect job listings that match your level of experience, career goals, and salary expectations. Gather everything you need to complete applications. Create a schedule for applying. How many jobs will you apply for per week? What tasks do you need to complete for each one, including tailoring cover letters to each position or producing work samples? 

Build digital marketing skills on Coursera

Online courses can be a great way to build skills in digital marketing, discover career opportunities, and become job ready. Take a Professional Certificate course, such as the Google Digital Marketing and E-Commerce Professional Certificate, which aims to get you job-ready within six months. This can be a great option to show employers that you have the relevant knowledge to go with your experience, especially if you don’t have a degree or if your degree is in a field unrelated to marketing.