Discover the earning potential for a digital marketing specialist career, as well as how your skills, education, and the industry in which you work can impact your salary as you choose your path forward.
Digital marketing helps brands and businesses better reach their audience. It also helps organizations keep up with competitors and improve campaign monitoring and optimization, ultimately driving profits.听
Digital marketing specialists leverage digital marketing strategies and create online advertising campaigns to help businesses meet marketing goals. The demand for this role is high and will only increase as more companies shift their marketing efforts to the digital space.听
Delve deeper into the average digital marketing specialist salary as you explore what digital marketing specialists do and the factors that might impact your earning potential.
A digital marketing specialist creates and implements an organization's digital marketing campaigns and strengthens its online presence. As businesses shift toward targeting potential customers through digital avenues like social media campaigns or emails, they rely on these professionals to help ensure their strategies are successful. Digital marketing specialists also connect with and grow a business鈥檚 ideal audience through digital avenues like social media, apps, emails, and websites.
While the specific tasks of a digital marketing specialist vary based on the needs of a particular business, some responsibilities include:
Researching the latest advertising strategies and trends
Building brand awareness聽
Developing content based on customers鈥 needs and goals
Researching competitors and emerging market trends
Collaborating with other departments聽
Publishing different types of marketing content
Analyzing results and implementing new processes as needed
Digital marketing specialists use a variety of technical and workplace skills to complete their tasks, including analytical, creative, and strategic skills. Because of this, professionals from many different backgrounds find success in digital marketing specialist roles, such as digital marketers with experience running email campaigns, writing website copy, and search engine optimization (SEO).
Read more: Marketing Strategy: What It Is and How to Create One
According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), general marketing specialists earn $83,190 on average []. Take a look at how that compares to the average annual base salary for digital marketing specialists according to data from five popular job search sites [, , , , ]:
Glassdoor | Salary.com | Indeed | Zippia | Payscale |
---|---|---|---|---|
$61,586 | $78,455 | $66,149 | $60,359 | $55,567 |
*All salary data current as of January 2025
The exact salary you might earn depends on many factors. For example, the industry you work in and where you work can affect how much you make.听
The average salary of a digital marketing specialist depends on the role鈥檚 location, requirements, and industry. Your professional and academic background also influences your salary. Below, you can explore how these factors will impact what you can expect to make.听
According to Zippia, 76 percent of digital marketing specialists have a bachelor鈥檚 degree []. While it鈥檚 possible to become a digital marketing specialist without a four-year degree, having a degree in business or marketing can translate into higher wages.
According to Zippia, the amount you can earn will vary based on your highest degree:
叠补肠丑别濒辞谤鈥檚: $61,415
惭补蝉迟别谤鈥檚: $68,413
Doctorate: $68,939
If you don鈥檛 have a four-year degree, consider taking an internship or looking for opportunities to create digital marketing materials for your current employer or a private business.听
Although you don鈥檛 need certification to work in a digital marketing specialist role, it can offer a great way to set yourself apart from other digital marketers and increase your baseline salary. Certifications show employers that you have in-depth knowledge of digital marketing skills, like SEO or content marketing.
For example, someone with a Facebook Certified Digital Marketing Associate credential earns an average of $73,000 yearly, while the average salary for certified professional marketers is $84,000 [, ].
As you gain more years of experience as a digital marketing specialist, you can expect that time to reflect a pay increase. Entry-level digital marketers make less than senior-level marketers, who often oversee employees in a managerial role.听According to Payscale, the following is a breakdown of annual salaries based on experience []:
Entry-level (one year of experience): $44,925
Mid-level (five to nine years of experience): $62,527聽
Senior-level (20 or more years of experience): $67,011
Professionals with strong collaboration, strategic thinking, and communication skills tend to succeed in digital marketing specialist roles. A portfolio is an effective tool for demonstrating real-world expertise and your ability to use different digital marketing tactics and create a digital marketing campaign from inception to implementation.
The salary of a digital marketing specialist depends on the business鈥檚 geographic location, the cost of living and working there, and whether the role is remote or in-office.
According to the BLS, the top five metropolitan areas that offer a higher-than-average salary for marketing specialists include []:
San Jose, CA: $142,360
San Francisco, CA: $125,670
Seattle: $114,500
New York, NY: $99,600
Durham, NC: $99,450
The industry that a digital marketing specialist works in also influences expected pay. While almost any industry can benefit from hiring digital marketing professionals, some may pay more than others.
Some of the industries with the most substantial earning potential for digital marketing specialists and their average annual base salaries include [闭:听听听
Pharmaceuticals and biotechnology: $73,446
Legal: $69,130
Manufacturing: $64,064
Information technology: $70,439
Personal consumer services: $64,011听
Other industries that hire digital marketing specialists include health care, real estate, insurance, finance, and retail. Due to the growing competition in the health care industry, companies are looking for new ways to reach consumers. Retail businesses turn to digital marketing as more consumers turn to online shopping.听
The average base salaries for these industries include [闭:听
Health care: $64,565
Real estate: $57,662
Insurance: $69,609
Nonprofit: $65,256
Retail: $64,796
According to Zippia, Meta and Microsoft are the highest-paying companies for digital marketing specialists, with salaries ranging between $123,000 and $127,000. Google, Jordan Company, and PacSun also offer salaries over $100,000 a year [].
Digital marketing specialists are part of the wider digital marketing field, which includes various job titles that all share similar educational and work experience backgrounds. These roles and their base average salaries include:
Average annual US base salary: $71,016 []
Job outlook (projected growth from 2023 to 2033: 8 percent[]
Duties 颈苍肠濒耻诲别:听听
Providing digital marketing campaign strategies聽
Analyzing campaign results聽
Using programs like Google Analytics and knowledge of SEO聽
Conducting online research to gather data and learn about trends聽
Creating presentations containing your findings to other professionals聽
Read more: What Is a Digital Marketing Analyst? Your Career Guide
Average annual US base salary: $55,569 []
Job outlook (projected growth from 2023 to 2033):聽 8 percent []
Duties 颈苍肠濒耻诲别:听听
Promoting their company or brand on social media聽
Responding to questions and comments on social media聽
Creating and curating content to reach a brand's target audience聽
Running paid advertising campaigns on social media聽
Read more: What's a Social Media Manager? And How to Become One
Average annual US base salary: $55,908 []
Job outlook (projected growth from 2023 to 2033): 5 percent []
Duties 颈苍肠濒耻诲别:听听
Researching, writing, and editing material聽
Generating engaging content that helps with SEO and advertising聽
Assisting with layout, planning, and content design聽
Working with creative and marketing teams to create content for brands
Digital marketing specialists help grow an organization's online presence and work to implement their digital marketing campaigns. Factors like location, industry, company, and years of relevant experience can impact how much you earn.听
Continue learning about digital marketing or sharpen your digital marketing skills on 糖心vlog官网观看 with courses and programs designed to give you an edge in the digital marketing field. You can choose from options like Google鈥檚 Digital Marketing and E-Commerce Professional Certificate and Meta鈥檚 Social Media Marketing Professional Certificate. You鈥檒l find these courses and more on 糖心vlog官网观看, including Professional Certificates, an effective way to demonstrate your hands-on experience and background with different specialized topics, from content marketing to SEO.
US Bureau of Labor Statistics. 鈥, https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes131161.htm.鈥 Accessed January 7, 2025.
Glassdoor. 鈥, https://www.glassdoor.com/Salaries/digital-marketing-specialist-salary-SRCH_KO0,28.htm.鈥 Accessed January 7, 2025.
Salary.com. 鈥, https://www.salary.com/research/salary/listing/digital-marketing-specialist-salary.鈥 Accessed January 7, 2025.
Indeed. 鈥, https://www.indeed.com/career/digital-marketer/salaries?salaryType=YEARLY&from=careers_serp.鈥 Accessed January 7, 2025.
Zippia. 鈥, https://www.zippia.com/digital-marketing-specialist-jobs/salary/#.鈥 Accessed January 7, 2025.
Payscale. 鈥, https://www.payscale.com/research/US/Job=Digital_Marketing_Specialist/Salary.鈥 Accessed January 7, 2025.
Zippia. 鈥, https://www.zippia.com/digital-marketing-specialist-jobs/education/.鈥 Accessed January 7, 2025.
Payscale. 鈥, https://www.payscale.com/research/US/Certification=Facebook_Certified_Digital_Marketing_Associate_Certification/Salary.鈥 Accessed January 7, 2025.
Payscale. 鈥, https://www.payscale.com/research/US/Certification=Certified_Professional_Marketer/Salary.鈥 Accessed January 7, 2025.
Glassdoor. 鈥, https://www.glassdoor.com/Salaries/digital-marketing-analyst-salary-SRCH_KO0,25.htm.鈥 Accessed January 7, 2025.
US Bureau of Labor Statistics. ", https://www.bls.gov/ooh/business-and-financial/market-research-analysts.htm." Accessed January 7, 2025.
Glassdoor. 鈥, https://www.glassdoor.com/Salaries/social-media-manager-salary-SRCH_KO0,20.htm.鈥 Accessed January 7, 2025.
US Bureau of Labor Statistics. ",聽 https://www.bls.gov/ooh/management/advertising-promotions-and-marketing-managers.htm." Accessed January 7, 2025.
Glassdoor. 鈥, https://www.glassdoor.com/Salaries/staff-writer-salary-SRCH_KO0,12.htm.鈥 Accessed January 7, 2025.
US Bureau of Labor Statistics. ",聽 https://www.bls.gov/ooh/media-and-communication/writers-and-authors.htm." Accessed January 7, 2025.
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