What the Digital Strategist Job Description Really Means

So you’ve decided you wanted to go into digital marketing. Congratulations on a smart and exciting future ahead!

As the industry booms so do the job prospects. Search any online job board, and you’ll see the endless opportunities. Thanks to some clever remarketing campaigns, you’ll probably start seeing digital strategist jobs everywhere.

The Rise of Digital Marketing

Digital marketing as an industry is booming. An estimated 2.14 billion people will do their shopping online by 2021. Meaning the best way to reach people continues to be online.

The job prospects are reflecting that of the industry. There is no better time to join the ranks of people choosing to make it their career.

According to the Search Engine Journal, there are more jobs in content and SEO than EVER before. Just check out this graph:

That’s a ton of opportunity for both starting your career and advancing it.

You may find the descriptions a little overwhelming as they can be full of industry jargon. But once you get past the jargon you probably want to know what a digital marketing strategist does and how to become a digital strategist?

Names for Digital Strategist

First is to understand the different names associated with the role. Since the industry is relatively new, there are no standard naming practices. Some common ones you may see beside digital strategist, are a marketing manager, director of digital, or digital marketer.

There are many other variations involving a specific focus for example paid strategist or SEO specialist. These roles would more be focused than a digital strategist counterpart.

Now that you understand what you are looking at, it’s also important to pay attention to who is advertising the role. Is it an agency or an in-house position?

Difference between Agency vs. In-House

There are advantages and disadvantages to both agency and in-house roles. You’ll have to decide which one aligns with your personality, preferences and goals best.

In-House

In an in-house role, it is likely you will be part of a much smaller marketing team compared to an agency. This can be both a good and bad thing, because you will have a chance to work on a wide range of areas in digital (social, SEM, SEO, automation, etc). But you may not have the resources or capacity fully immerse yourself in any one area in particular.

There is also the benefit of only have one client. This can make it easier to get the feedback and involvement necessary. Never again will you have to wait for client approval.

Agency

On the flip side, in an agency, you will work alongside like-minded marketers who are all challenging each other. You’ll also get to experience 10x or accelerated learning. This is because every day you will be pushed by a client or colleague to learn something new.

Many people say that there are no two days that are the same at an agency. So if a fast-past environment interests you than agency life is your perfect match.

To get a better understanding, check out this review we had on Glassdoor.

At an agency, you also have the opportunity to become a thought leader in your area of expertise. Part of agency life is helping to grow the brand. You will have dedicated learning time to further your knowledge in the area that interests you most.

Then in return, you will help create blogs on the topic. This not only helps the agency but also establishes you as a thought leader in the industry.

You will also have the opportunity to experiment and try out new ideas. Interested in video or podcasting? Well, chances are one of your clients is as well.

Role Description

The actual day to day of the role will vary from place to place, but some of the overarching duties are:

Developing conversion based strategies and lead nurture strategies
Managing marketing campaigns (paid search, SEO, automation, etc.)
Analyzing analytics and developing strategies based on results
Monitoring campaign results and adjusting where needed
Coordinating with specialists to ensure deliverables align with the strategy
Constantly learning new trends and strategies for Inbound Marketing
QA and ensuring brand tone for all output
Contributing to the SEO keyword strategy, conversion strategy, and content wireframing
Agency only: building relationships with each client and managing client expectations

Qualifications

First, ask yourself if you are a T-shaped marketer.

Here is a quick definition if you are unclear on what that is. A T-shaped marketer is someone who has a thorough knowledge of 1-2 areas in digital and a broad understanding of the rest.

If all you only have surface level knowledge it is difficult to create strategies that lead to worthwhile results. This quality is particularly important for a senior strategist.

Get Educated

Education for digital marketing is still so new. Although some schools do offer courses and programs on this topic, the majority of digital marketers are self-taught.

Having a degree or bachelors in marketing, business, English, communications shows your dedication to learning, but the day-to-day of the role is learned through practice. Showing potential employee projects or freelance work that you have done on your own goes a long way

If there is one area you would like to improve or be recognized for in particular, you can always take a certification course.

Everyone in digital marketing should have:

Google Analytics Certification
Good Adwords Certification
2-3 Hubspot Certifications (most applicable to your specialty)

Junior Strategist

Minimum 1 yr experience in digital marketing or education equivalent
Interest in one area of digital with a strong understanding of it (ex SEO, content, social media)
Strong communication skills (written and oral)
Experience in Google Analytics with certification complete
You “love” marketing and consider it a passion which extends beyond the workplace

Demonstrate strategic and experimental thinking

Senior Strategist

Minimum 3+ yrs experience in a strategy development role
Minimum 5+ years experience building comprehensive digital campaigns
Minimum 5-7+ years digital marketing work experience (in-house or agency)
Well versed in SEO, inbound marketing, content, social and web design concepts
Experience in team mentoring and coaching
You live by analytics, and extract conclusions & action plans from the data
You “love” marketing and consider it a passion which extends beyond the workplace

Demonstrate strategic and experimental thinking
Experienced in client interaction and account management
Proven relationship building skills and client communication experience

Required Values

There are certain personality traits that make a person more suited to being in digital marketing. Now, this is not cut and dry but provides some general insight in if you would enjoy and be successful in a strategist role.

Constant Learning

As mentioned previously you must love to learn. This is the kind of role where if you aren’t continually learning, your knowledge will become irrelevant very quickly. Learning should go beyond a job duty and be a passion, something you love to do.

Zamir, the CEO of Jumpfactor, said, “In an agency, by default, every minute you’re learning.” This is from working on multiple clients, and collaborating with an office full of engrossed digital marketers.

Analytical Mind

It also helps to have an analytical mind. In digital marketing, it is all about numbers and interpreting the numbers. It’s one thing to be confident in navigating Google Analytics or Hootsuite, but can you make or adapt strategies based on the data?

Passion

This is not a career you get in for only the money. Learning the intricacies of running a campaign takes practice and passion. This is truly what sets an amazing marketer apart from the crowd.

Digital Marketing Opportunities

Phew, you’ve made it through and now understand a digital strategist job description. There are lots of fantastic opportunities out there that opportunities cater to every level of experience.

I have three final questions for you.