Digital marketing is one of the most in-demand skills in the business world. And with data showing that the best marketers increase sales by 50%, it’s no surprise that businesses want to hire a digital marketer.
If you’ve never hired a digital marketer before, or you’re just rusty, this article is for you. We’ll take a deep dive into what a digital marketer does, how much they cost, and where to find them before finishing with a 5-step hiring guide.
Let’s get going!
Quick Links:
- What is a Digital Marketer?
- Are You Ready To Hire a Digital Marketer?
- How Much Does it Cost To Hire a Digital Marketer?
- Where to Organically Find Great Digital Marketers
- Hiring a Digital Marketer: Skills to Look For
- How to Hire a Digital Marketer: 5-Step Guide
What is a Digital Marketer?
Hiring a Digital Marketing Manager can be tricky when you’re unsure of what the role entails. So, let’s clear that up!
A Digital Marketer is a person in charge of growing a company’s online presence through paid and free digital marketing channels. Put simply, it’s all about getting you in front of your target customers.
They drive engagement, generate leads, and increase brand awareness through tactics like Social Media, SEO, email marketing, and content marketing. A digital marketer sets and tracks digital marketing KPIs to measure marketing performance.
While we’ll focus on hiring in-house, Digital Marketers can also work freelance, as consultants, or as part of an external agency.
For many companies, successful marketing is fundamental to growth, success, and profitability. Given digital marketing is about ensuring customers find and engage with your brand, getting the right marketers on board is super important.
Are You Ready To Hire a Digital Marketer?
If you’re reading this article, you’re probably wondering whether it’s the right time to hire a digital marketer. Especially if it’s your first marketing hire, you need to balance the cost vs the value they deliver.
If you’re on the fence on whether to hire a marketer, first ask yourself these questions:
- Do you need to build high exposure for the launch of your business/product/service?
- Have you already got a solid sales process in place which needs more leads?
- Do you already have established marketing channels that are becoming hard to manage?
If you’ve answered yes to any of the above, the chances are you’re ready to hire a dedicated digital marketer.
The next key question to answer is ‘what type of Digital Marketer do I need?‘
Depending on your digital marketing setup, you’ll need to decide on a ‘jack of all trades’ or a specialist – such as SEO or Social Media Manager. Generally, organizations start with a marketer who can do it all and then hire specialists for each discipline as the team grows.
We’d recommend reading this article to get more in-depth knowledge on exactly when to hire a marketer!
How Much Does it Cost To Hire a Digital Marketer?
Salaries for a Digital Marketer vary depending on two things: speciality and experience.
For consistency, let’s look at the average salaries in the US, UK, and Australia for a general Digital Marketing Manager.
Average Digital Marketer Salary – US (Source: BuiltIn)
- Junior Salary – $45,000
- Mid-Weight Salary – $85,000
- Senior Salary – $170,000
Average Digital Marketer Salary – UK (Source: TotalJobs)
- Junior Salary – £27,000
- Mid-Weight Salary – £37,500
- Senior Salary – £52,500
Average Digital Marketer Salary – Australia (Source: Talent)
- Junior Salary – A$70,000
- Mid-Weight Salary – A$85,000
- Senior Salary – A$120,000
If you’re looking for a specialist marketing hire (e.g. Social Media Manager) it’s worth doing dedicated research into average salaries.
And, especially for roles such as an Ad Manager, consider incorporating performance-related bonuses based on sales targets.
Where to Organically Find Great Digital Marketers
In general, Digital Marketers are social animals and do a great job at building their reputation online. While we’ll take you through a full hiring guide later on, there are many ways to find great marketers.
If you want to build a network of great digital marketers outside of the job boards, try socializing in these places:
- LinkedIn – The B2B social media platform is where many of the best marketers shine. Chances are you’ll naturally come across personal posts from great marketers who combine great storytelling with actionable value to drive the best engagement. LinkedIn also has a number of great marketing groups where you’ll be able to find great people.
- Marketing Events – Marketers love creating awesome marketing events. Whether you’re looking for your next hire or just interested in the latest trends, we’d recommend checking them out. One of our favorites is run by the ‘State of Demand Gen‘ team.
- Facebook Groups – Much like LinkedIn, Facebook is another great place to seek out some kickass marketers. With a focus on B2C strategies, whether you find a marketer organically or join a group, Facebook is a great place to build a solid marketeer network.
- Marketing Forums – Marketers tend to hang out in dedicated marketing forums away from the traditional social media channels. if you want to find the best people talking about the latest marketing trends, check out this article for the best marketing forums in 2022.
How to Hire a Digital Marketer: Skills to Look For
As we’ve discussed, marketers are typically “jack-of-all-trades” types. You may come across the term “T-shaped marketer.” This describes someone who is a generalist but also has some deeper knowledge in one particular area.
Depending on the kind of role you’re hiring for, you’ll need to look out for some or all of these skills when evaluating candidates.
1. They’re Highly Analytical
The biggest part of a digital marketer’s job is telling a story from the numbers. A digital marketer (or a digital marketing agency) should be good at finding the right numbers, interpreting them, and making strategies to improve their KPIs. It helps to be an Excel whizz too, because they will need to work with sheets, regardless of their specialty.
2. They’re Great Writers
Even if their primary job is not writing copy, every digital marketer needs to have a talent for the written word. From writing social media captions to long-form SEO-optimized content for your blog, your digital marketer needs to be a great writer to do their job.
3. They Know Their SEO
Even if they’re not an SEO specialist, every digital marketer should have some knowledge of SEO basics. Some examples include how to do basic keyword research, keyword optimization, on-page ranking signals, white-hat vs black-hat SEO, and more.
Also, it’s good to have the knowledge of at least one major SEO tool such as Moz, Screaming Frog, or Ahrefs / SEMrush.
4. They Write Emails You Actually Open
Your marketer needs to write great emails but also they must know how to make those emails perform. They need a solid grasp of email marketing metrics, as well as knowledge of how to improve them.
5. They’re Superb Communicators
A digital marketer is the face of your company. They interact with your customers through the content they create and they must be comfortable communicating through different mediums.
Moreover, they need to be comfortable making partnerships with other marketers, business owners, contractors, website editors, and anyone else that can help them and the business perform better.
How to Hire a Digital Marketer: 5-Step Guide
In this 5-guide, we’re assuming you’ve got a bunch of candidates and you need to whittle them down to find the perfect hire. We’d recommend checking out our creative sourcing strategies blog, if you need some advice on finding great candidates.
1. Screen Candidates With a Skills Test
There’s no better way to start shortlisting candidates than by putting their skills to the test. It’s quick, easy, and will instantly help you identify top-tier talent within your shortlist.
At Toggl Hire, our Smart Tests are as easy as 2-clicks. Simply select the Digital Marketing role to create your own unique test from our database of 10,000+ questions with each candidate receiving a unique set of questions to eliminate cheating.
Like the sound of that? Check out the video below to see how it works!
As an example, a Digital Marketing Smart Test may ask the candidate to do any of the following:
- Create a caption for an image for social media,
- Calculate the conversion rate of a web page
- Correctly answer a technical question about SEO
- Suggest keywords for a particular Google Ads campaign.
- Update a piece of website copy to irradicate errors
If you’re a hiring manager without a technical marketing background, there’s no need to worry! All of our questions are submitted by experts and peer-reviewed so you know they’re of the highest quality!
2. Google Them
A good online marketer will have a great online track record. This could come in the form of publishing guest posts, social media updates, their own website or blog and, industry-recognized qualifications.
Dive deeper into your shortlisted bunch of marketing candidates by googling their name and seeing what comes up. It will help you get a feel for their past work and experience. You can use this alongside their skills test results to determine whether you’ll take them through to interview!
3. Seek Out Their Social Media Presence
Most digital marketing experts maintain a great presence on social media platforms.
Check out their LinkedIn, Twitter, and perhaps even Facebook profiles to get a feeling of their personal brand. This could come through in the kind of content they post, how active they are, what kind of communities they’ve built, and what kind of engagement they get.
Also, see who they are connected with. Is their LinkedIn network filled with people they/you can learn from? If you have mutual connections, you can ask them for honest feedback about the marketer’s work. This brings us to our next point…
4. Ask for Testimonials
Testimonials, reviews, and recommendations from past clients are powerful validators when hiring digital marketers. Check out what people have said about working with your candidates on their LinkedIn profile.
You can always reach out to the original poster of the LinkedIn review and ask directly for more detailed info on their performance. The more specific the recommendation, the better.
5. Conduct a Few, High-Value Interviews
Once they’ve completed a skills test, you now have all the info you need to schedule a meeting and conduct a great interview. You can discuss the results of a candidate’s tests in the interview alongside getting to know them as a person.
Ask about past experiences and what they learned from them, their leadership style, situational judgment, and career ambitions. This is a great way to find out how your candidate thinks, and whether they’ll slot into your company culture.
Further Reading:
Structured Interview vs. Unstructured Interview: Differences Explained Simply
Wrapping up
Even though digital marketers are so crucial for businesses, knowing how to hire one isn’t too hard once you do your homework.
Take some time to learn if you’re ready to hire a marketer, what they’ll do for your business, and how much you want to pay, and you’ll have no problems finding the right person for the job.
When it comes to hiring, we always believe the foundation should be more testing and fewer resumes. Skills testing with Toggl Hire is a great way to put a candidate’s skills to the test to ensure you get the best Digital Marketer for the job!
James Elliott is a Strategy Manager and Writer from London, UK. When not working on the day job, James writes on a variety of business and project management topics with a focus on content that enables readers to take action and improve their ways of working. You can check out James’ work on his website or by connecting on LinkedIn.
FAQs
How to Hire a Digital Marketer: 2023 Edition | Toggl Blog? ›
The demand for skilled digital marketers will only increase in the coming years. According to LinkedIn, Digital Marketing is also one of the top skills to learn in 2023 to boost your career.
Is it worth learning digital marketing in 2023? ›The demand for skilled digital marketers will only increase in the coming years. According to LinkedIn, Digital Marketing is also one of the top skills to learn in 2023 to boost your career.
How do you recruit digital marketers? ›- Promote from within. ...
- Post help wanted signs. ...
- Network. ...
- Search online. ...
- Post your job online.
- Brand Marketing Manager.
- Director of Digital Marketing.
- Corporate Communications Director.
- Content Marketing Director.
- Product Marketing Manager.
- Marketing Research Manager.
- Demand Generation Manager.
- Chief Marketing Officer (CMO)
If your goal is to increase sales and traffic, it's critical to hire a professional digital marketing company. A digital marketing agency can help you market your business online to attract new customers, increase sales and boost your brand's reputation.
What is the next trend for digital marketing in 2023? ›In 2023, major trends will likely center around influencers, chatbots and creative content that engages your audience. But no matter which strategies and platforms you use, the most important thing to keep in mind is how you will use them to enhance your brand's presence.
How much does it cost to hire a digital marketer? ›| Marketing Service | Monthly Cost |
|---|---|
| SEO Agency | $2,000 – $6,000 |
| Content Marketing | $3,900 – $12,000 |
| Social Media Campaign | $4,000 – $7,000 |
| PPC Campaign | $6,250 – $10,000 |
Put simply, a digital marketing agency has the team and the expertise to do what a freelancer can't. In hiring one agency, you'll gain access to experienced copywriters, specialist designers, professionals with all the social media platforms, expert strategists, master web developers and more.
Can a digital marketer be a millionaire? ›While digital marketing can be a lucrative field, it is not a guarantee of wealth. Many factors contribute to an individual's financial success, such as their level of experience, their dedication to their work, and their ability to adapt to changing market conditions.
What is the highest paying skill in digital marketing? ›Digital Marketing Manager
Digital Marketing Manager is the highest paying digital marketing job in India. The tasks of a digital marketing manager include developing multi-channel marketing strategies and deciding on the marketing campaigns for various brands in line with their product or service.
What is the average salary for a digital marketer in the US? ›
The average digital marketing salary in the USA is $66,420 per year or $31.93 per hour. Entry level positions start at $48,751 per year while most experienced workers make up to $107,138 per year.
What are the pros and cons of a digital marketer? ›| Advantages | Disadvantages |
|---|---|
| Better local reach in proximity | Accessibility challenge due to internet non-users |
| Quick Branding on a Bigger Scale | Invites anti-brand activities to demote your brand name the second you get bigger |
“Is starting a digital marketing agency worth it?” Absolutely. If you have the drive, commitment, and skills to deliver results for your clients, manage a team of marketing professionals, and market your agency to win new businesses, then there's no reason why you can't build a profitable business.
What does a digital marketer do? ›A digital marketer is a person who uses various digital platforms to reach potential customers for the advertisement of the products and services offered by a company. What defines a digital marketer is, that person's ability to plan and execute marketing campaigns.
What digital marketing trends you can t ignore in 2023? ›Social Responsibility & Inclusivity. The final digital marketing trend you can't ignore in 2023 is social responsibility and inclusivity. Now more than ever, internet users are interested in what a company stands for.
What marketers need to know in 2023? ›- There Will Be a Bigger Focus on Quality Over Quantity.
- Content Marketing Will Become More Data-Led.
- AI-Powered Content Marketing Will Grow in Popularity.
- Shoppable Content Will Drive Social Commerce.
- Podcasts Will See a Steady Rise.
- Keeping up with the latest market trends and adopting a data-driven approach.
- Deciding whether to halt or continue marketing efforts during an economic downturn.
- Balancing revenue generation and long-term growth.
- Leveraging MarTech investments to their fullest potential.
Therefore, one of the blogging trends that will be dominant in 2023 is cross-channel promotion. This marketing strategy integrates all your marketing channels and unifies their plans, data, and goals across the board. This is different from multi-channel marketing, which also uses several channels to attract customers.
Is digital marketing in demand in 2023? ›The employment forecast for digital marketing in 2023 appears to be fairly favorable. With the development of technology and digitization, it is more important than ever to master digital marketing.
What will be the top 5 content marketing trends of 2023? ›- Short-form video.
- Empathy and human-focused content.
- Strategic SEO.
- Content-powered revenue.
- Value-driven content made for customers.
- User experience matters.
- High-quality researched content.
- Data, AI, automation, and the metaverse.
How much do digital marketers charge monthly? ›
Most agencies charge between $80 and $200 per hour for digital marketing. If we are looking at a 20 hours per month marketing project at $100 per hour, you will pay about $2,000 per month for an average service. We typically see companies dedicate between $500 and $50,000 per month for digital marketing.
How much should a digital marketing budget be? ›Getting into specifics, here's what we've found: If you can spend 6 – 9% of revenue on marketing, this tends to be enough to maintain your current position. If you can spend 10-14% of revenue on marketing, this will grow your current position in the market.
What is the average budget for digital marketing? ›While several factors influence digital marketing budgets, like the size of your company and the scope of your project, the average digital marketing budget ranges from $30,000 to $145,000 per year for SMBs. Keep in mind that digital marketing is an ongoing strategy, so your budget may change as you grow.
Who is No 1 in digital marketing? ›| Rank | Website | Category |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | kmail-lists.com | Business and Consumer Services > Digital Marketing |
| 2 | hubspot.com | Business and Consumer Services > Digital Marketing |
| 3 | tpbid.com | Business and Consumer Services > Digital Marketing |
| 4 | gemius.com | Business and Consumer Services > Digital Marketing |
- Content Marketing. ...
- Search Engine Optimization. ...
- Search Engine Marketing/Pay-per-Click. ...
- Social Media Marketing. ...
- Affiliate and Influencer Marketing. ...
- Email Marketing.
- Ryan Deiss. Popular for: Creation of Customer Value Optimization. ...
- Neil Patel. Famous for: Search Engine Optimization and Quicksprout. ...
- Gary Vaynerchuk. ...
- Ann Handley. ...
- Larry Kim. ...
- Rand Fishkin. ...
- Lilach Bullock. ...
- Justyn Howard.
Business owners should consider hiring a marketing agency because: A marketing agency will modernize your strategy. A marketing agency will free up time to run your business. A marketing agency will help you keep payroll costs down.
What to expect when hiring a digital marketing agency? ›Experience and Expertise
Businesses should look for a digital marketing agency that has relevant experience as well as expertise. One can also ask for case studies, testimonials, and references to ensure the agency they want to hire has a track record of success.
A digital marketing agency might manage social media accounts, optimize website pages, create and publish content for blogs or other publications, or implement SEO strategy to ensure a brand appears highly on search engine results pages for relevant search terms.
Is digital marketing a side hustle? ›As a side hustle, email and SMS marketing can be an effective way to help small businesses or entrepreneurs reach their target audience and promote their products or services. You'll need to have a solid understanding of email automation tools such as Mailchimp, segmentation and copywriting.
Is digital marketing blog profitable? ›
If you've been blogging for a while now, this is one profitable niche you can explore. In recent years, bloggers and influencers have come to play an important role in the digital marketing world. In fact, the global market value of influencer marketing reached 13.8 billion dollars in 2021 [3].
Can digital marketing save your business? ›A good digital marketing strategy is cost-effective, can open your business up to a whole new range of potential customers, and will ensure that you have a well-known, trusted online brand.
What is the lowest digital marketing salary? ›Digital Marketer salary in India ranges between ₹ 0.3 Lakhs to ₹ 9.2 Lakhs with an average annual salary of ₹ 3.0 Lakhs.
Is digital marketing a hard skill? ›Launching a career in digital marketing requires a range of digital marketing skills. These can include marketing hard skills and marketing soft skills. While you may decide to specialize in a specific marketing domain in the future, it is best to have a solid base with hard and soft skills.
Are digital marketers in high demand? ›Yes, there is a high demand for digital marketing professionals, and this demand is only expected to increase in the years ahead. Businesses are investing more in digital marketing due to the growing significance of online marketing to reach their target audiences and market their goods or services.
How much do freelance Digital Marketers make? ›| Annual Salary | Monthly Pay | |
|---|---|---|
| Top Earners | $67,426 | $5,618 |
| 75th Percentile | $57,600 | $4,800 |
| Average | $49,520 | $4,126 |
| 25th Percentile | $37,300 | $3,108 |
A freelance digital marketer is a professional with multiple ranges of skills from content and copywriting to social media, search engine optimization, ad creation, building websites, strategy building, and design.
What do you need for digital marketing? ›- Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and Search Engine Marketing (SEM) ...
- Marketing analytics. ...
- Social media marketing. ...
- Pay-per-click and social media advertising. ...
- Email marketing. ...
- Storytelling. ...
- Basic design skills. ...
- Creative problem solving.
one of the biggest disadvantages of digital marketing is that it is a time taking effort and procedure. Unorganized tactics and methods can take a lot of time, making it difficult to provide the campaign with the proper amount of time. This will ultimately produce unfavorable outcomes.
What are the negativity of digital marketing? ›High competition. While you can reach a global audience with digital marketing, you are also up against global competition. It can be a challenge to stand out against competitors and to grab attention among the many messages aimed at consumers online.
Is digital marketing trusted? ›
As you can see from this chart of the survey's findings, digital marketing is not very trustworthy in the eyes of consumers. The results are quite staggering, to say the least, with all traditional marketing materials coming in higher than any digital medium and online pop-up ads scoring dead last.
What are the 4 types of digital marketing? ›Digital marketing can be broadly broken into 8 main categories including: Search Engine Optimization, Pay-per-Click, Social Media Marketing, Content Marketing, Email Marketing, Mobile Marketing, Marketing Analytics and Affiliate Marketing .
How do Digital Marketers make money? ›Earn money with affiliate marketing. Affiliate marketing is a business model where you earn commissions by making sales of other people's products. The process is straightforward. You find products you want to promote, create a website promoting those products, and drive interested visitors to your affiliate products.
Is digital marketing going to stay in future? ›The online world is evolving, and the future of digital marketing is promisingly bright and secure. Nearly 77% of companies worldwide have already adopted the industry's best content marketing strategies, and more are likely to join the list to make a place for themselves in the digital world.
Will digital marketing be needed in the future? ›Expect More Awareness. You need a massive target audience, whether you use digital marketing for lead generation, conversion, or brand awareness. The future of digital marketing is bright because now there is more market and consumer awareness.
What is the future of digital marketing in 2025? ›By the year 2025, virtual reality will take the lead in marketing trends. Customers will enjoy the amazing emotional experience as they shop for product brands with colorful, engaging advertising. They will come back time and time again, increasing their loyalty to a product brand, possibly even more than chatbots.
What is the next big thing in digital marketing? ›Artificial Intelligence
They can now automate almost any digital marketing campaign.
Changes like the new technological development, the evolution of marketing techniques, and others impact the way marketers interact with their target audience. Some of the top digital marketing trends of 2023 are metaverse, video marketing, and online marketing.
Where will digital marketing be in 10 years? ›Overall, the evolution of digital marketing in the next decade will be driven by advances in technology and a greater focus on personalization and customer experience. Those who are able to adapt and stay ahead of the curve will be well-positioned to succeed in this rapidly changing landscape.
Is AI replacing digital marketing? ›It's important to remember that while AI has a lot to offer in the realm of digital marketing, it can't replace human creativity and strategic thinking. AI can assist marketers in analyzing large sums of data, but it's ultimately up to humans to interpret and act on that information.
Is digital marketing a good side hustle? ›
Email/SMS Marketing
As a side hustle, email and SMS marketing can be an effective way to help small businesses or entrepreneurs reach their target audience and promote their products or services. You'll need to have a solid understanding of email automation tools such as Mailchimp, segmentation and copywriting.
To be honest, digital marketing is easy to learn. If you gain some basic skills and keep on exploring and reading magazines, you can easily learn digital marketing. But still, some people can find it hard to understand because of the technicality used in the analysis.
What is the most effective marketing strategy in 2023? ›- Go broad on Facebook.
- But not on search.
- Try out click-to-Messenger ads.
- Lean into automation.
- Align your SEO and CRO.
- Focus on niche expertise.
- Simplify your SEO content.
- Use popups to build first-party data.
- Transforming Digital Transformation. ...
- Taming Supply-Chain Disruption. ...
- Incentivizing Sustainability and Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Improvements. ...
- Meta-Morphing the Customer Experience. ...
- Future-Proofing the Workforce.
The Rise of AI and Machine Learning
According to Gartner, by 2030, 80% of all customer interactions will be managed by AI. The use of artificial intelligence and machine learning algorithms will enable businesses to personalize their marketing strategies and provide a seamless experience to their customers.
The future of digital marketing is highly dependent on technology. Digitally connected future generations secure digital marketing success and efforts are being made by businesses to meet the mood of future consumers. Marketing is shaping into virtual format in which to interact with customers.
What is the future of marketing in 2024? ›Digital marketing predictions for 2024
Augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) technologies are set to become more mainstream in 2024. Marketers can use AR and VR to create immersive experiences for consumers, allowing them to try products virtually, explore virtual stores, and attend virtual events.