Why Should One Become a Digital Marketing Manager?
Digital marketing offers a unique blend of creativity and management. A digital marketing manager gets the space to experiment with innovative campaign strategies, research on latest marketing trends, and explore human behaviour to maximise their impact. Simultaneously, they get to play one of the most important roles in establishing a brand’s presence in the market, increasing sales, and directly impacting the revenue of a company.
Although the role is demanding, it also comes with immense job security as a digital marketing manager with substantial experience can fit into any industry and thrive there.
What are The Duties of a Digital Marketing Manager?
A digital marketing manager may get hired by companies in different industries like food and beverage, finance, ed-tech, and so on. However, in the job description for a digital marketing manager, one of the most common responsibilities is to oversee the digital campaign for the products. Let us look at some essential duties performed by a digital marketing manager.
1. Build and Implement Digital Marketing Strategy:
To do so, a digital marketing manager must study data, track changes in the supply and demand of products, consumer engagement, and identify the needs of their consumers.
2. Planning and Executing Web-Based Campaigns:
A digital marketing manager would overlook a team of professionals who can help them build and design a social media presence.
3. Internal and External Coordination:
Along with coordinating with internal teams in terms of hiring, product placement, and optimising performance insights, a digital marketing manager also needs to negotiate with external clients to ensure the success of their promotional campaigns.
What are The Skills Needed to Become a Digital Marketing Manager?
Based on the job description, we can understand that a digital marketing manager needs to have a combination of soft and technical skills to excel in their role. Let us look at some of these skills:
1. Social Media Savvy:
Since digital marketing is dependent on search engine optimisation (SEO), a digital marketing manager must be a social media expert to understand the nitty-gritty of the medium and make the most of its use.
2. Effective Communication:
Along with their internal teams, a marketing manager is constantly in engagement with several other stakeholders, so they must be able to negotiate and get the work done by providing clarity to everyone involved.
3. Creativity and Innovation:
As a marketing professional, one cannot rely on the old methods of driving campaigns. A digital marketing manager must be able to come up with new out-of-the-box ideas that would not only grab the consumer’s interest but also compel them into forming a long-term engagement with the company.
4. Attention to Detail and Organisational Skills:
Marketing can be a stressful vertical in any company, thus a digital marketing manager must be able to multitask and organise the work for themselves and their teams effectively while working on several marketing campaigns simultaneously. However, this also means that the marketing manager demonstrates strong attention to detail to ensure accuracy across multiple campaigns.
How to Become a Digital Marketing Manager?
If you have decided to become a digital marketing manager, there are some essential academic milestones that you must achieve.
Since the role of a digital marketing manager does not demand any specific stream, students can choose to pursue commerce or humanities in their pre-university or secondary education (10+2). For the unreserved category, it is essential to score at least 50% to be eligible for the entrance examinations.
In order to pursue a bachelor's degree, some universities may also ask you to appear for entrance examinations such as
- Delhi University: DUET (Delhi University Entrance Test)
- Indraprastha University: IPU CET (Indraprastha University Common Entrance Test)
- Jamia Millia Islamia: JMI EE (Jamia Millia Islamia Entrance Examination)
- Jawaharlal Nehru University: JNU EE (Jawaharlal Nehru University Entrance Examination)
- Narsee Monjee Institute for Management Studies: NPAT (National Test for Programs after Twelfth)
Although a specific stream is not preferred, candidates must study English as part of their graduation as that would benefit them during recruitment. As a marketing professional, it is advised to build a strong portfolio that demonstrates the skills required for the role. Candidates can do this through internships and taking up jobs as associates in marketing immediately after their graduation. This would help them understand the industry better and would be a highlight on their resume when applying for the role of a digital marketing manager.
Then, to consolidate their profile for the role of a digital marketing manager, candidates can pursue a Master in Business Administration (MBA) in Digital Marketing. This is a specialisation that has swiftly emerged with the increasing demand in marketing aligned to the digital age.
Below are the entrance examinations that one must appear for in order to pursue an MBA in Digital Marketing:
- Common Admission Test (CAT)
- Management Aptitude Test (MAT)
- Xavier Aptitude Test (XAT)
- Symbiosis National Aptitude Test (SNAP)
- Common Management Aptitude Test (CMAT)
Prospective candidates can refer to the schedule given below for these entrance examinations.
In order to get admission in the programme for MBA in Digital Marketing, candidates should score at least 50% in their bachelors. In the selection process, the combination of their scores in the bachelor's degree and entrance examination would be considered.
Tips to Crack MBA Entrance Examinations
The standard duration of MBA (Masters of Business Administration) entrance examinations is between 120 to 180 minutes. The examination papers are usually divided into three to four sections. These sections include:
Verbal Ability:
Here, the candidate’s language proficiency is tested through grammar and reading comprehension questions. To prepare for this, candidates must read a variety of passages that would help in developing their comprehension skills.
Reasoning Ability:
Here, the focus is on testing a candidate’s logical and analytical thinking. Therefore, it is important that one must pay attention to detail, be quick to think and come up with out-of-the-box solutions.
Quantitative Ability:
This section deals with a candidate’s mathematical skills. However, rather than focusing on complex theories, candidates must familiarise themselves with number functions and focus on increasing their mathematical speed.
Since some of these entrance examinations also include negative marking, it is important that candidates be extremely careful when answering the questions.
- It would also help if candidates solve past papers and time themselves while doing so
- To improve vocabulary, candidates can also use game-based apps to make learning fun
- Solving puzzles and situation-based questions will help in developing logical thinking
However, along with the preparation, it is important to balance it out with nutritious food, adequate time breaks, and appropriate sleep. This would ensure that you are mentally and physically ready for the examination.
Breakdown of MBA in Digital Marketing
Today, candidates interested in digital marketing can pursue different types of MBAs in Marketing depending on their financial and professional status.
1. MBA in Digital Marketing (Full-time):
This is a two-year regular professional degree that helps students develop various creative and technical expertise. This is most suitable for freshers with minimum experience.
2. MBA in Digital Marketing (Executive):
This is a one-year professional degree that is suitable for working professionals with substantial experience. It would help them enhance their profiles and pursue roles with higher responsibilities in companies. Universities may prefer the score of CAT (Common Admission Test) or GMAT (Graduate Management Admission Test) or GRE (Graduate Record Examinations ) as a requirement for enrolment in this course.
To understand what a regular MBA in Digital Marketing syllabus can offer you, let us look at some important subjects that the course offers:
To build stronger profiles marketing professionals, candidates may also pursue certifications that would help them keep themselves updated with the latest digital trends and ideas being used in digital marketing such as:
1. Digital Transformation:
A 12-week online course offered by Indian School of Business (ISB).
2. Digital Marketing and Analytics:
A 12-week online course offered by the Indian School of Business (ISB).
3. Certificate Programme in Digital Marketing:
A 6-month online course offered by IIT Delhi.
4. Certificate Programme in Digital Transformation and Innovation:
A 16-week online course offered by IIM Indore.
5. Executive Development Programme in Digital Transformation Strategies:
An 8-month online course offered by Xavier School of Management (XLRI).
Job Prospects and Salaries Available after MBA in Digital Marketing
Once you have completed an MBA in Digital Marketing, several career roles are open for you such as brand managers, market research analysts, media planners, product managers, public relations managers, sales managers, and so on.
Some of the top companies that hire digital marketing managers are:
- Tata Consultancy Services (TCS)
- Xebec Digital
- American Broadcasting Company (ABC)
- Amazon
- iStrat
- Webchutney
After an MBA in Digital Marketing in India,the salaries for digital marketing managers who are freshers is usually between ₹3 lakh to ₹7 lakh per annum. For experienced candidates, this could be between ₹15 lakh to ₹25 lakh per annum.
