Marketing Careers: 6 Areas to Explore

Learn about the different types of marketing and how your interests may align with each one.  

Types of Marketing Careers 

• Brand managers oversee a brand's persona, driving its interest and appreciation.

• Communications and public relations teams promote a brand through external communications. They often work closely with other units (social media, content) to foster conversation about a company.

• Content marketers create informative and valuable content for customers, like blog posts, podcasts, and videos.  

• Digital marketers reach out to customers to promote products through various digital channels, including social media and email.  

• Event marketers plan events and experiences that support a brand's persona.

• Product marketers use data-backed strategies to launch new products—or product lines—in the marketplace.   

• Search engine marketers (SEM) use search engine optimisation (SEO) strategies to increase a company's visibility on search engine results pages (SERPs) so customers can discover a brand more organically.   

Marketing careers: 6 areas of interest

Many career options fall within these different types of marketing, providing ample areas to explore depending on your interests. Here are six to get you started:

1. Research 

Marketing teams rely on data-driven research to tailor and target everything from campaign messaging to product launches. If you conduct research, you'll use various tools to help you figure out what customers need and want. Then, you'll translate your findings so your team can develop more impactful marketing strategies, campaigns, and more. 

Key skills: Data analysis, critical thinking, communication 

Could be a fit if you like: Finding and parsing information and using those conclusions to make strategic recommendations that improve a marketing team's efforts 

• Entry-level roles: Marketing assistant, market research associate, business analyst 

• Mid-level roles: Market research analyst, global marketing analyst, social media analyst  

2. Strategy 

No matter which type of marketing you work in—product, brand, content, or otherwise—developing a well-researched and brand-specific strategy is instrumental to success. If you work in strategy, you'll be responsible for identifying new ways to reach customers and developing plans to ensure each campaign is successful. 

Key skills: Planning, communication, creative thinking, analytical thinking 

Could be a fit if you like: Thinking strategically about a company's marketing needs and then developing and executing campaigns that generate greater awareness and sales 

• Entry-level roles: Digital marketing strategist, product marketing strategist, SEO specialist 

• Mid-level roles: Brand content manager, product marketing manager, senior SEO manager

If you'd like to learn more about strategy but need help figuring out where to start, check out UC Davis's course, The Strategy of Content Marketing.

3. Design 

From distinctive logos to eye-catching packaging, designers create visual assets that set a company apart from its competitors and feed into larger campaign narratives. If you work in design, you'll be responsible for several creative tasks, including producing original art and infographics, editing and retouching photos, designing web pages for ultimate user satisfaction, or using research to inform your creative choices.   

Key skills: Creativity, attention to detail, project management, knowledge of design tools such as Adobe Creative Suite 

Could be a fit if you like: Telling stories through visual mediums and creating assets that support a marketing team's various visual needs 

• Entry-level roles: Graphic design specialist, visual information specialist, web design specialist 

• Mid-level roles: Creative project manager, design researcher, graphic designer

4. Writing 

Much in the way that companies rely on visuals to help create a unified brand image and tell a story, they need writers to do that very thing with language. If you work in some aspect of writing, you may be responsible for producing content that exemplifies a brand's voice. You will also develop content for digital channels or manage internal or external communications. 

Key skills: Writing, communication, audience and engagement strategy, project management

Could be a fit if you like: Reaching audiences—be they internal employees or external customers—through the written word.  

• Entry-level roles: Junior copywriter, communications specialist, content writer 

• Mid-level roles: Brand copywriter, marketing content writer, communications manager 

5. Events

Companies use branded experiences and events to help consumers become acquainted with their products, services, and brand. If you work in events marketing, you'll be responsible for ideating and executing in-person or virtual events that support more extensive campaigns and strategies.   

Key skills: Planning, organisation, vendor management, budgets, multitasking, communication

Could be a fit if you like: Putting together experiences, either in-person or virtual, that result in greater brand visibility, media attention, and customer engagement.   

• Entry-level roles: Experiential marketing coordinator, events marketing specialist, field marketing coordinator

• Mid-level roles: Experiential marketing manager, events marketing manager, field marketing manager 

6. Social media

Companies must communicate about their brand and products across several digital channels. Social media fosters a different level of interaction thanks to its direct engagement with customers. If you work in social media marketing, you'll be responsible for generating and publishing content—written posts, videos, graphics, and more—that garner attention and propel conversation.

Key skills: Writing, communication, creativity, planning, social media strategy 

Could be a fit if you like: Being creative and strategic about reaching and engaging customers and producing multimedia content that supports the more prominent brand and product strategies.

• Entry-level roles: Marketing associate, social media marketing assistant, social media marketer

• Mid-level roles: Social media editor, social media manager, community manager 

In 2020, approximately 518 million Indian residents used social media. Experts project that this number will rise to 1.5 billion by 2040. This substantial growth is why marketers with social media skills in India are in high demand [1]. 

Marketing careers: flexibility 

A career in marketing offers a reasonable degree of flexibility. You can apply your skill set to different types of marketing, moving where opportunities best suit your interests and needs. For example, if you start writing blog posts for a content marketing team, you can apply that experience to email or search engine marketing. 

You can also get started in one type of marketing and eventually move to another. For example, if you begin as a social media marketing assistant and learn you're more interested in brand strategy, you may change directions. Having worked in social media, you have done brand management to some extent. 

Beginning in one area doesn't mean you can't jump to another, though it may take some additional experience—or time—to make that move.

How much can you make? Marketing salaries

Currently, marketing jobs are plentiful across India. In May 2023, companies hired over 4,556 marketing professionals nationwide compared to just over 550 marketing professionals hired in April 2020 [2]. 

Here are examples of various marketing positions in India and their corresponding average annual salaries.

*All salary data is taken from Indeed as of April 2024 and reflects base salary before additional pay, such as cash bonuses, commission, and profit sharing.

Getting an entry-level marketing job

You can explore many entry-level roles in marketing as you're considering your career options, including event marketing assistant, brand assistant, social media marketing assistant, and assistant media planner. 

If you need help figuring out where to start, consider earning a Professional Certificate from Meta in Social Media Marketing or Marketing Analytics. Develop beneficial skills while exploring new marketing career possibilities at your own pace.  

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