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Looking out for a digital marketer? Need to know how and where to find the best candidates? Here is a comprehensive guide to finding the best digital marketers. Read on!

How to hire a digital marketer?

“What is freelance digital marketing and what does a digital marketer do?” Freelance online marketing or digital marketing is a means of promoting products or services of a company leveraging online or internet-based techniques like mobile devices, social media, marketing campaigns, etc.

The objective of a digital freelancer is to earn traffic from potential customers into a company’s website, online, or e-commerce business. “How to hire a freelance digital marketing consultant?”

In this article, we will discuss the hiring market, skills, qualifications, and certifications that need to be checked while hiring a digital marketer. You will be provided a guide on the interview questions and the expected answers to list while recruiting a digital marketer.

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Hiring market for Digital Marketer

Digital Marketing essentially comprises email marketing, content marketing, social media marketing, affiliate marketing, advertising, search engine optimization, and pay per click methods. According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, jobs in digital marketing is expected to rise by 8% through the year 2028.

The growth percentage is far higher than the normal jobs in other occupations. The reason behind the increase has been attributed to the modern marketing techniques being applied by a digital marketer.

The methods are innovative and utilize the trending technologies that are being acceptable and easily accessible by the potential audience or customers. Besides, you can reach a global audience and socialize through digital marketing.

It is predicted that by the end of 2021, online or retail e-commerce sales will reach about USD 4.5 trillion. This implies a substantial increase in the demand for jobs of a digital marketer. The digital marketing sector is pacing fast, expected to be one of the highest paying jobs in few years.

About 86% of advertising is expected to be driven by digital marketing. Over and above a digital marketing manager can earn up to USD 97K per annum with over 10 years of experience. The hourly rate of a digital freelancer varies between USD 50 and USD 200 depending on the years of experience, roles, and qualifications.

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Top 15 recent job titles for Digital Marketers

You can hire a person with a digital marketing profile in various job titles. Let us try to understand what are the probable and trending job titles that can be offered to a digital marketer.

1. Market Research Analyst

Entrusted to study market conditions and determine the potential of sale of a service or product. Gathering data on customer preferences and demographics, preferences, and buying habits is their primary activity. The salary is approximately USD 55K per year.

2. Content Marketer/Manager

Responsible for creating content that facilitates faster engagement with customers and helps promote across all digital and social media platforms. The online content prepared by them is supposed to drive organic traffic through SEO methods. The yearly salary is almost USD 40K.

3. Digital Marketing Consultant

Overseeing marketing campaigns, advertisements, social media promotions, SEO projects are the direct responsibilities of a digital marketing consultant. The annual salary is USD 103K for an experience level of 5 to 9 years.

4. Conversion Rate Optimizer

Converting the sales leads to potential customers and converting the clicks on a website into revenue and sales are the two vital responsibilities of a conversion rate optimizer. The average annual salary is quite high, about USD 96K.

5. SEO Manager/Professional

Experienced and knowledgeable on the various SEO techniques, methods, and best practices along with the different search engine algorithms. Proficient in researching and searching keywords, best fit for generating organic traffic. The salary varies between USD 60 to 65K per annum at an experience level of 5 to 10 years

6. Social Media Manager

Knowledge in social media algorithms, advertisement, and marketing strategies, campaign management, and drafting content for the same. He or she must be well versed with the prominent social media platforms like Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, etc. Salary is usually in the range of 60K to 62K for an experience level of 5 to 9 years.

7. PPC Search Manager

Proficient in the internet or digital marketing, knowledgeable on the concept of PPC and how it can be leveraged for gaining traffic. The yearly salary of the PPC Search Manager is almost USD 70K.

8. SEO Executive

A similar role that of an SEO manager but can be recruited with a lesser experience or at an entry-level. The main work involves devising on-site and off-site SEO strategies with detailed keyword research after analyzing the search engine algorithms. The salary varies between USD 50 to 650K per annum.

9. Email Marketer

Entrusted with the responsibility of identifying the target audience or potential customers to include in the email list. Conducting email marketing campaigns, creating email templates, curating newsletters, communicating to customers, etc. are the crucial duties. The salary is almost USD 66K in a year.

10. Digital Marketing Specialist

Identifying the target audience and market through surveys and intelligence, creating a brand image for the company through promotions and campaigns are the key responsibilities of a digital marketing specialist. The annual salary varies between USD 51K to USD 66K.

11. Digital Marketing Manager

Manage and oversee the digital marketing strategies of companies – small, medium, or big enterprises, ensuring the marketing campaigns and strategies are executed properly. Salary is almost USD 107K per year at an experience level of more than 7 years.

12. Head of Business Development

You can hire a digital marketer highly experienced in creating promotion strategies of websites and online businesses through SEO optimizations, quality content, keyword research expertise as head of business development. The salary of the person usually is above 80K per annum with an experience of 10 to 12 years

13. Marketing Managers

Capable of overseeing a team entrusted in digital marketing, social media management, and traffic generation by various search engines. Salary is usually USD 80K to 85K per annum.

14. Director for Marketing

A person in charge of the Marketing department of a business unit and reporting to the Chief Marketing Officer. Contains a team of experts proficient in digital marketing, blog and content management, and SEO optimization. Salary ranges from USD 90k to USD 95k per year.

15. Chief Marketing Officer

A person can rise to the rank of a Chief Marketing Officer after gaining substantial experience in digital marketing. The officer is in charge of the end to end marketing activities of an organization, driving strategies, creating objectives, and striving to achieve the same. Salary is usually USD 110K to USD 120K per year.

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Qualifications to look for in Digital Marketer

You must judge the credibility of digital marketing freelancers by verifying their educational qualifications. The key degrees to check-in digital marketing professionals are,

1. A Bachelor’s Degree in Communications, Journalism, English, Public relations, or Business.
2. Master’s Degree in Marketing is an additional boon

The best colleges and universities in the US offering courses related to freelance digital marketing are enlisted below,

1. Northwestern University located in Evanston in Illinois. The tuition fees are almost USD 27K per year
2. The University of Southern California at Los Angeles, CA. The students need to pay an amount of USD 36K per annum
3. University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. The annual fees of the university are USD 26K approximately per year
4. Stanford University in California. The yearly tuition fees are almost USD 17K.
5. The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The tuition fees are USD 11K per annum
6. Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem in North Carolina. The annual fees are almost USD 27K.
7. Cornell University at Ithaca in New York. The net annual fees are USD 29K
8. The University of Georgia at Athens. Students are expected to pay a fee of USD 16K approximately per annum
9. The University of Florida in Gainesville. The fee structure is less about USD 11K per year.
10. Washington and Lee University in Lexington, Virginia. The tuition fees are almost USD 22K in a year

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Skills to look for in Digital Marketer

While recruiting a digital marketing consultant freelance, you must verify and validate the technical and soft skills of the person with precision and accuracy. Enlisted below are the skills to be verified in a digital marketing profile,

1. Ability to create quick and short videos with power messaging for promotion and marketing and engaging the audience
2. Awareness of search engine optimization and search engine marketing techniques and trend to utilize them at their maximum
3. Capability to generate high-quality and SEO-friendly content in the form of emails, videos, blogs, newsletters, e-books, and so on.
4. Understand the way Google Analytics and other search engine analytics work to identify issues and look for improvements
5. Proficient in design thinking through empathizing, define, ideate, prototype and test with a user-centric mindset
6. Knowledge of the basics of HTML or web coding
7. Excellent written and verbal communication skills
8. Planning and organizing skills for timely delivery of the digital marketing strategies or projects
9. A freelance digital marketer will mainly work in remote locations at their homes or co-working space. They must be capable to handle the majority of their work independently.
10. Check whether the digital marketer is able to interact comfortably and easily leveraging the audio and video conferencing tools.

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Certifications to look for in Digital Marketer

Over and above the educational qualifications, the recommendation is to check additional certifications obtained or learning courses attended for a better focus on digital marketing. The key certifications that you can verify while recruiting a digital marketer are mentioned below,

1. The Google AdWords certification – Valid for 1 year, helps in gaining knowledge on Google AdWords
2. Google Analytics certification – Beneficial for a digital marketer since you need to use it in your toolkit. You need to attend an exam to obtain the certificate.
3. HubSpot‘s Content Marketing certification – Consists of 14 lessons with a time duration of 8 hours. The course covers topics on content marketing strategy, content ideation, content promotion, and many more.
4. The HubSpot inbound marketing certification – Contains 11 classes with a duration of 5 hours. The course deals with the fundamentals of inbound marketing, content creation, social promotion, sales lead conversion, and many more.
5. Hootsuite social media marketing certification – Comprises of 15 lessons with assessments focused on social media marketing. You need to clear a 60-question online exam.
6. The Copyblogger Certified Content Marketer Program –  Advanced program for content creators and content marketing strategists.
7. The Content Marketing Institute (CMI) program – Includes courses comprising of 7 topics for each track. It has different learning plans like Individual, Non-profit, Alumni, etc. Group discounts and corporate discounts are also available
8. Online Marketing Certified Professional (OMCP) provided by Market Motive.

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Rate per hour of Digital Marketer

The digital marketing hourly rate varies on the roles or job titles and the years of experience. As per the latest data of the year 2021 in the US, the hourly digital marketing freelance rates for a person with SEO skills range between USD 100 and USD 150.

Whereas for a content marketing specialist, you need to pay a rate of USD 16 to USD 100 per hour. Video marketers are generally provided an hourly rate of USD 19 to USD 100. In the UK, the average hourly rate of a digital marketer is almost USD 35 that increases with experience and roles.

As per the analysis performed by Market Motive, Netherlands is said to the highest paying country in Europe with regards to the salary of digital marketers. It is almost USD 40 per hour on average. Next comes UK, Ireland, Austria, Italy, and Spain.

In India, you can hire a digital marketer at much cheaper rates compared to the US, UK, and European countries. The average hourly rates are as low as USD 6 to USD 10. But you can rest assured with the skill sets and qualities.

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Top 10 job boards to find best Digital Marketer

“How do I search for an experienced and skillful digital marketer near me?” Are you looking for an answer to these questions? Here is a list of job boards and social media platforms to find a digital marketing freelancer

1. Upwork – One of the largest job boards to post jobs related to a digital marketer in contract, full time or part-time mode of employment.

2. unremot.com – Enables you to gain access into a global workforce to hire freelance digital marketer within minutes of search, collaborating through video calls, messaging, and chats.

3. Indeed – The popular job website containing profiles of a huge pool of digital marketer professionals.

4. AngelList – Recommended job board to hire a digital marketer. They support a huge talent pool of resources for recruiting companies to sort and search for the best marketer profiles.

5. Fiverr – If you need the best digital marketing freelance services, Fiverr is the right place for you to hire them.

6. ProBlogger – Another popular job board for businesses looking for digital freelancers, well suited for their brand and goals.

7. Craigslist – Great place to hire digital marketers for various positions in your company

8. Facebook – If you are looking for the best social media platform to hire a digital marketer, Facebook is the perfect place for you.

9. LinkedIn – One of the biggest professional networking websites connecting companies and interested candidates, ideal for recruiting freelance digital marketers.

10. Glassdoor – A prominent digital marketer job website to look for freelance profiles as per your preferred roles and job description

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Top 10 companies hiring Digital Marketer and salaries offered

In this section, we will focus on the top 10 companies that hire freelance digital marketers for increasing their promotion and marketing pace. The starting salary for most of the ranges from USD 40K to USD 50K per year.

The annual rates vary on the additional certifications and the internships of the candidates. The companies are open to various modes of employment – full time, part-time, contract-based or freelance.

1. Appen, specializing in machine learning and artificial intelligence.
2. NBCUniversal, a media and entertainment company.
3. T-Mobile, a telecommunications company.
4. GoDaddy, a prominent web service platform.
5. WebFX, a web design, and development agency.
6. Buzzfeed, an independent and popular digital media company
7. Lifewire, a company specializing in producing gadgets for the betterment of people’s lives
8. Investopedia, a website providing education in investment and financial information
9. Study, providing video and audio content on various subjects
10. Valnet, leading online publishing, content creation, and distribution firm

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Top 10 interview questions for Digital Marketer

Listing down the probable interview questions for hiring a digital marketer is homework that must be done beforehand. To provide you guidance and assistance in framing the questions, here is a list below of the top 10 interview questions and their expected answers.

1. What do you understand by digital marketing?

Rationale: To understand the fluency of the candidate on the subject of digital marketing and its key objectives

Expected Answer: Ensure the candidate focuses on promotions, campaigns, SEO, SEM, keywords, link building, etc.

2. What are the categories of digital marketing?

Rationale: To check the knowledge depth of the candidate with respect to digital marketing and the key concepts.

Expected Answer: Two categories – outbound marketing for cold-calls, ads, emails, etc., and inbound marketing for social media, e-books, newsletters, webinars, etc.

3. What are the key elements for SEO that needs focus?

Rationale: To understand the awareness and knowledge on the basics of SEO and SEM.

Expected Answer: Ensure the candidate is able to articulate or list down the key elements of SEO like keywords, metadata, link building, quality content, etc.

4. How do you perform keyword research?

Rationale: To check the credibility of the candidate in utilizing tools such as Google keyword planner for keyword research.

Expected Answer: You must verify whether the candidate is able to explain clearly the research process as well as the strategy to be adopted to decide on the keywords.

5. What do you understand about Link Building and its benefits?

Rationale: To validate the expertise of the candidate in using backlinks for increasing webpage ranking and search visibility.

Expected Answer: If the candidate is able to accurately describe the process of link building and how it can increase webpage visibility, you can confirm the candidate.

6. Why should you opt for content marketing as one of your digital marketing strategies?

Rationale: Content marketing is one of the key success criteria for digital marketing. Hence its knowledge is essential while hiring a digital marketer

Expected Answer: It is better to ask the candidates to state their experience in creating high-quality content and how it had been effective in digital marketing.

7. Explain the way Google AdWords function?

Rationale: A good question to ask to judge the basic knowledge of the candidates on google AdWords

Expected Answer: Explanation on the range of bidding prices and the pay per click concept for commission and payment are the expected answers.

8. Mention some of the prominent tools for online marketing

Rationale: To verify the knowledge and experience of the candidate in utilizing tools for digital marketing.

Expected Answer: Google Analytics, Keyword Discovery, Favicon Generator, Digital Point Keyword tracker, StumbleUpon, XML Sitemap Generator etc. are some of the prominent online marketing tools.

9. What is on-page SEO and what is off-page SEO?

Rationale: To check the awareness of on-page SEO elements and off-page SEO elements.

Expected Answer: Ensure that the candidate mentions backlinks as off-page SEO key elements and keywords, internal linking, page speed, etc. as the elements of on-page SEO.

10. How to become a freelance digital marketer?

Rationale: To check whether the candidate has undergone the required qualifications, certifications, courses, or internships to pursue the career of a digital marketer.

Expected Answer: Verify whether the candidate focuses on the degrees to be undertaken, few key certifications or learning courses, and possess the mindset for digital marketing.