Digital Marketing Executive careers guide

Our world is becoming ever more digitised, and nowhere is this more true than in marketing. Marketing just means helping people get your message!

A Digital Marketing Executive helps with a company’s online communication. You’ll use words, images and video to reach the right people.

Is there something you’d like to know about digital careers? Maybe we can help!

• How to get into games testing
• What are the 5 best careers in AI?
• Aged 16-18? Discover BTECs in Esports…
• 5 digital skills you really need for life and work
• What is virtual work experience and what are the benefits?

See more

Useful skills to put in your CV:

• Computer skills. Since Digital Marketing Executives work primarily online, you’ll need to be a whizz with a computer.
• Knowledge of specialist software. Different companies use different software products, but knowledge of specialist digital marketing software, CRM (customer relationship management) software, social media management tools, analytics tools, digital content creation packages (e.g. Photoshop, Canva, Adobe, and video editing software), and data management tools will all be useful.
• Communication and people skills. Marketing is a people business and you’ll need to work closely with the rest of the Marketing team as well as other teams in the business.
• A robust knowledge of core marketing principles, all the main social media channels, and SEO.
• Empathy. Being a great marketer is all about understanding how others think, feel, and react.
• Great writing and editing skills.
• Close attention to detail, as small errors can cause big problems in the world of marketing.

Top Skills-boosting Tips

We are all bombarded with advertisements every time we go online. According to 75Media, the average person in Britain is exposed to well over 5000 advertisements each day, many of which will be online. Chances are, you tune most of them out, scrolling by without giving them a second glance.

But think back to some memorable ads you have seen recently that you can remember. What made them stand out from all that noise? Try to write down five things you remember that spoke to you or stuck in your mind. Viewing ads as a marketer as well as a consumer will help you to develop an understanding of what works and what doesn’t.

How Do You Get These Skills?

Vocational qualifications and work experience will help you build these skills over time.

Build Your Skills With the FREE Young Professional Programme

School, college and training

Apprenticeships

An apprenticeship is a scheme where you train while earning a starting salary. With an apprenticeship (or advanced apprenticeship) you’ll have a paid job with an employer that includes structured training and learning. This training leads to an official qualification that’s recognised by employers as an industry standard.

There are numerous apprenticeships available in Digital Marketing all over the UK. Find them by searching online. Many digital marketing apprenticeships are now partially or entirely remote, so you do not need to be limited by geography (though remember that you may need to attend college classes once per week as part of your apprenticeship.)

You could apply to work within a small, local company or with a huge international brand. You could also choose an apprenticeship that will allow you to specialise in a particular area of digital marketing, such as SEO, marketing photography, or content marketing.

A-Levels

A Levels are academic qualifications that come after GCSEs. A Levels can be an ideal stepping stone to an apprenticeship, degree, or professional qualification in marketing. Choosing subjects such as ICT, Media Studies, Business Studies, English, and Psychology will help you to get started in your marketing career.

BTECs

As an alternative to A-Levels, you can do BTECs from the age of 16.

There are several BTEC options that can be a great way to start your career in digital marketing. You might wish to consider courses like:

• Level 2 Technical in Marketing
• Level 3 National in Marketing
• Level 3 Extended Certificate in IT (Digital Marketing & Web Design)
• Level 3 Specialist Qualification in Digital Marketing Business Principles
• Level 5 HND in Marketing

You’ll normally need 2 or more GCSEs at grades 9-3 (A*-D) or equivalent for a Level 2 or 3 course. If your qualifications are lower than this, you’ll most likely start on a Level 1 course.

Professional Qualifications

Professional qualifications are highly tailored, practical courses that are recognised within an industry and show that you are proficient enough to do a particular role. Some examples of professional qualifications in digital marketing include Imperial College Business School’s Professional Certificate in Digital Marketing, the Chartered Institute of Marketing’s Certificate in Professional Digital Marketing, and the Digital Marketing Institute’s Professional Diploma in Digital Marketing.

Professional qualifications can be expensive. Do your research before you hand over any money, and check whether any discounts or bursaries are available to you. If you’re already in a marketing role consider asking your employer whether they will sponsor you to take a course to advance your career. Many employers have a budget specifically to support talented employees with their professional development.

Degrees and University

Many professional marketers now hold a degree, and many employers require or strongly prefer their employees to have one. Marketing is now a respected and widely available Bachelor’s Degree subject. Universities including Bath, London City, Durham, Exeter, Southampton, Manchester, and many more offer highly regarded Marketing programmes.

You can also take a degree in Digital Marketing specifically, though this is less widely available than a general Marketing degree. Universities including Derby, London Westminster, Sheffield Hallam, University for the Creative Arts, Leeds Beckett, and Oxford Brookes offer this programme.

Postgraduate Degrees

If you already have a Bachelor’s degree, you can take a postgraduate qualification such as a Masters Degree in Digital Marketing. In this competitive field, many senior executives now have a postgraduate degree.

You can take a Masters Degree in Digital Marketing at several universities across the UK including King’s College, Nottingham Trent Business School, Manchester Metropolitan, and Queen Mary London.

You might start as a Digital Marketing Assistant, or in a more specialised role such as SEO Specialist or Content Marketer, depending on your skills. From there, you can progress to mid-level roles and eventually to senior executive roles.

Possible career progression paths might include overall Marketing Manager or even Chief Marketing Officer (CMO.) You could also try your hand at marketing in a different industry, get a higher hourly rate as a marketing contractor, or set up your own freelance digital marketing business.

Work Experience Tips

One exciting thing about digital marketing is that it is near-universal these days, meaning that it is used in virtually all industries and sectors. This means that you have a great chance of finding a relevant digital marketing work experience placement. You can find placements or internships via your school or college, by researching openings and applying online, or even by approaching companies directly.

Don’t forget about marketing roles outside of traditional businesses, too. Government organisations, charities, arts and cultural sector organisations, and educational establishments such as colleges and universities all make use of digital marketing and are all potential sources of work experience.

You can also count part-time jobs, summer and holiday jobs, and freelance or casual work as work experience as long as it’s relevant to marketing in some way.

Examples of relevant work experience include:

• Work shadowing (even if it’s just for a day)
• Work placements in a company
• Work experience placements on a college or university course

Work experience tips

Volunteering Tips

Volunteering means giving your time for free to a cause or organisation. It has numerous benefits, one of which is that it looks great on your CV. Why not offer your time in a marketing-related capacity to give back to an organisation you care about and enhance your skills at the same time.

For example, you might offer your services as a volunteer Marketing Assistant to a charity, run the social media channels for an extracurricular organisation, or take on the responsibility of online marketing for a club or society at your school, college, or university.

Volunteering tips

A Digital Marketing Executive will help out with the many ways in which a company or organisation promotes its products, services, or message to customers online.

Your job could include planning, designing, and delivery cross-channel (e.g. websites and social media) marketing strategies and taking part all a fantastic variety of online marketing practices to help the organisation reach its goals.

• Planning and developing marketing strategies
• Managing and overseeing the rest of the digital marketing team
• Analysing past marketing data and forecasting future performance
• Managing a digital marketing budget
• Reviewing marketing campaign performance to ensure a positive return on investment (ROI)
• Assessing marketing campaigns against the company’s key performance indicators (KPIs)
• Writing, creating, and editing content
• Reviewing and signing off content by other members of the team
• Ensuring content is optimised for search engine results (SEO)
• Managing the organisation’s social media presence

• Setting up, managing, and reviewing paid ads (e.g. on social media and Google Ads)
• Attending and documenting company events and activities
• Producing reports on marketing activities and their outcomes
• Preparing, editing, and sending communications such as e-newsletters
• Keeping up to date with industry trends, news, and best practices
• Maintaining and managing relationships with internal and external stakeholders
• Attending meetings with other senior executives and team members
• Ensuring that digital marketing plays an active role in all the company’s public-facing activities

To find jobs for young people in this role, search on jobs boards for early career roles and opportunities with these words in the title:

• Digital Marketing bootcamps
• Digital Marketing apprenticeships
• Digital Marketing traineeships
• Junior Digital Marketing Executive
• Digital Marketing Assistant
• Junior Digital Marketer
• Social Media Marketing Specialist
• SEO Specialist
• Content Marketer
• Digital Content Creator

If you’re based in London, check out the London Digital Jobs and Skills Hub. They have loads of free training, digital skills bootcamps, and digital marketing apprenticeships on offer!

You can also take a look at our database of local opportunities to see if there are any relevant jobs, work placements, or careers events and workshops to help you get started.

If you have completed an apprenticeship in Digital Marketing, you may be offered a job at the end of your training. While this is not a guarantee, many employers will look more favourably on your application if you have completed an apprenticeship with them. From here, you can work your way up.

If you have completed an undergraduate or postgraduate marketing degree, consider looking for graduate job schemes. You should start doing this long before you graduate. This will start you out on a structured career path, gaining the experience to eventually become a Digital Marketing Executive.

You can also apply directly to companies advertising, if you have the appropriate skills. Look on companies’ careers pages or jobs boards such as Indeed, Reed, Monster, and LinkedIn.

These employers all carry our Youth Friendly Employer Mark. We work with them to make sure that they are providing great support and opportunities to young people.

Click on an employer to find out more about them and the youth-friendly opportunities they offer, from work experience and apprenticeships through to graduate schemes.