Digital Marketing Salary Guide

Digital marketing is the promotion and marketing of goods and services to consumers through digital channels and electronic technologies. Digital marketing professionals have extensive knowledge of how to increase traffic to a business and build brand awareness through social media, search engines, websites, and online advertisements.

To learn more, here’s a short video briefly exploring what is digital marketing and an article by Equinet delving deep into the world of digital marketing and its strategies.

Digital Marketing in 2024

In recent years, companies have been moving into digital marketing, using digital platforms to connect and engage with their audience. As this transition progresses, there is an increasing demand for digital marketing candidates. Continuing into 2024, Singapore’s technological landscape is undergoing revolutionary changes that are driven by advanced technologies and emerging trends.

Digital marketing is experiencing a consistent increase in demand daily and is expected to continue rising in the upcoming years.

According to the World Economic Forum’s The Future of Jobs 2023 report, large-scale job growth in digitally-enabled roles is expected to grow by an estimated 4 million.

The demand for tech and digital jobs in Singapore has grown significantly since the pandemic, with the need to reskill and upskill digitally being the top priority for employees. Corporations are seeking individuals who can push digital strategy to the forefront.

As digital marketing gains traction, so is the competition in the job market for relevant roles. What makes up the digital marketing department? What skills does the digital marketing specialist need? Most importantly, does this booming industry pay well?

Roles in Digital Marketing

There are typically 3 levels in which the Digital Marketing professionals are divided: executive, manager, and director.

i. Digital Marketing Executive

A digital marketing executive (or assistant manager) is usually a junior in the digital marketing team. They report to the team leads or may have an assigned manager based on the projects they undertake. Their main focus is promoting and marketing the organisation’s products and services to audiences using various digital channels.

They are expected to have a comprehensive understanding of digital marketing concepts as they will need to oversee the online marketing strategy for their respective projects. Their job scope may also include liaising with agency specialists to outsource and expedite tasks.

ii. Digital Marketing Manager

The role of a digital marketing manager (or senior manager) focuses on strategic decision-making and planning on a team level. They are responsible for all aspects of a company’s marketing operations. Their central goal is to help grow a brand’s influence and have a conversion strategy in place while also increasing brand loyalty and awareness. The responsibilities in their roles include planning, implementing, and monitoring digital marketing campaigns across various digital networks.

iii. Digital Marketing Director

A digital marketing director should have vast marketing experience and a passion for digital technologies. They oversee different teams to ensure consistency through all digital marketing channels. They have the gift of thinking out of the box and have the quality of forward-thinking to build and maintain a strong company web presence.

Ultimately, directors need to drive all digital marketing efforts to achieve business objectives for the corporation. It takes about 10 years of relevant experience developing, implementing, and managing marketing campaigns to reach this level.

Examples of Digital Marketing

Digital marketing can be done in the following ways:

Search Engine Optimisation (SEO):

SEO refers to a set of processes aimed at improving the ranking of a website on the search engines. Websites with higher rankings have increased traffic, ultimately generating useful organic leads. As part of any digital marketing strategy, SEO is essential to drive potential customers to your business through online platforms.

Content Marketing:

Content marketing is a technique that consists strategically creating, publishing, and promoting content. This content can be in the form of videos, ebooks, whiteboards, webinars, blog posts, email newsletters, and podcasts. Content marketing is typically used to increase customer engagement and brand awareness.

Social Media Marketing:

This marketing practice involves promoting brand offerings through social media platforms. It provides a convenient way to interact with customers to build brand awareness, generate website traffic, and increase sales.

Email Marketing:

This is a direct marketing channel. It allows engaging with the target audience via effective emails. Businesses often use this marketing strategy to share information about new products, discounts, and updates. This practice of sending personalised emails to targeted customers plays a vital role in converting leads to sales.

per-click (PPC) Advertising:

It is a common advertising model in online campaigns that helps drive traffic to a website. It is cost efficient because the advertiser only pays the publisher when the ad is clicked on. This prevents advertisers from investing their budget into campaigns that cannot be measured quantitatively.

Affiliate Marketing:

Affiliate marketing is a revenue-sharing marketing method where brands partner with external parties (ie. the affiliate) to promote their product or services. In return, the affiliate gets a small commission on each sale, generated by their promotion.

Influencer Marketing:

Influencers have the ability to change behaviours or impact purchase decisions. This involves endorsements from social media influencers who promote a brand on their social media accounts in order to build brand awareness among their followers.

Online Public Relations (PR):

According to Chaffey and Ellis-Chadwick (2019, p. 420), online public relations is “Maximising favourable mentions of your company, brands, products or websites on third-party websites which are likely to be visited by your target audience. Online PR can extend the reach and awareness of a brand within an audience.”

Video Marketing:

Video marketing is embedding videos in your branding campaign. This is a way of promoting your brand via digital channels by using video content. Videos are an interactive way to engage and educate people about your brand.

Mobile Marketing:

Mobile marketing consists of ads that appear on smartphones, tablets, or other mobile devices. It allows companies to connect with and deliver messages to their customers using mobile channels. The mobile advertising market size was valued at USD 139.8 Bn in 2021 it is projected to grow to USD 748.8 Bn by 2030.

The vast domain of digital marketing is divided into various categories. Each marketing technique holds unique significance. Businesses incorporate a blend of these digital marketing practices to promote their brand and increase sales.

Digital Marketing Income

The salary package varies with the candidate’s role, years of experience, and industry standards.

Job Roles	Salary Range (Annual)
Digital Marketing Executive / Digital Marketing Associate	$30,000 - $48,000
Digital Marketing Manager	$45,000 - $110,000
Digital Marketing Director	$84,000 - $250,000
Digital Planner	$42,000 - $54,000
Digital Account Executive	$36,000 - $42,000
Digital Account Manager	$45,000 - $54,000
Social Media Manager	$53,400 - $85,000
Social Media Director	$84,000 - $150,000
Search Engine Optimisation Specialist	$30,000 - $38,000
Search Engine Optimisation Manager	$54,000 - 85,000
Paid Media Specialist	$42,000 - $72,000
Digital Marketing Analyst	$30,000 - $48,000
Content Manager	$45,000 - $78,000
Conversion Rate Optimisation Manager	$52,000 - $90,000

These are not absolute and should only be taken as a guide. Salary figures are sourced from: Morgan McKinley https://www.morganmckinley.com/, Seedly https://seedly.sg/, Persolkelly https://www.persolkelly.com/ & SSG https://www.skillsfuture.gov.sg/, GRIT https://gritsearch.com/, JobStreet https://www.jobstreet.com.sg/?icmpid=js_global_landing_page, Talent. sg https://www.talent.sg/ and Payscale https://www.payscale.com/.

Digital Marketing Skills

A competent digital marketer requires more than knowing how to navigate digital tools and platforms. Aspiring digital marketers should possess a combination of technical expertise, creative thinking, and adaptability.

Strong Communication Skills

Effective communication is essential for conveying ideas, collaborating with team members, and engaging with customers. The ability to condense and present information clearly are some of the core skills of a good marketer. The ideal digital marketer should be able to articulate their thoughts confidently and coherently, both in writing and verbally.

Analytical Mindset

To achieve KPIs and objectives, digital marketers need to constantly make decisions that are backed by. The ability to interpret and analyse data from various sources is crucial. An analytical mindset enables one to leverage trends, make data-driven optimisation, and quickly adjust strategies for better results

Creativity

Crafting successful digital marketing campaigns requires more than just data and analytics. It also involves creating captivating content and innovative strategies that capture the audience’s interest. Creativity is necessary for developing compelling marketing materials, including visually appealing graphics and persuasive ad copy.

Adaptability and Continuous Learning

Digital marketing is a fast paced industry with trends and tools constantly changing. Hence, a successful digital marketer must commit to constant learning and adaptability to remain competitive. Knowing and understanding industry jargon is important when evaluating pitches and holding conversations with a digital marketing agency and with other digital marketing specialists.

For example, SEO strategy, a niche yet essential aspect of any digital campaign, is quickly getting its due recognition as more marketers and business owners observe the long term value of SEO optimisation.

Want a slice of the pie? Start by familiarising yourself with the phrases – check out this comprehensive glossary of SEO jargon.

Wang Yaoxian, Senior Project Manager at Zombits, a local digital marketing agency, says there is high demand for candidates who can demonstrate problem-solving capabilities and have an analytical mindset. “Because in real life, things don’t go according to plan. You need to be able to think on your feet and address the problem at the first opportunity. The inability to assess and process a course of action quickly can be very detrimental.”

For the aspiring digital marketer, he advises, “Develop habits that exercise your brain. I like to stay updated on current affairs, spend some time catching up on what’s happening in the world and think about how it could affect me, my work, or my client, regardless of whether or not it is practical or applicable.”

The Biggest Brands of Tomorrow Will Be Built Online

There is no secret to having a successful career in digital marketing. However, keep in mind that a digital marketer is a creative problem solver and your key driver is connecting with your audience. Having a finger on the pulse of the industry is great but subscribing to ebooks and mailing lists won’t do much to get you that job offer or promotion.

In an evolving industry that moves at an incredibly fast pace, you have to take action and produce tangible results. Look at ways to upgrade your digital marketing skills by attending digital marketing courses, reading up digital marketing resources online, starting a blog or a website, and getting a digital marketing certificate.

Digital Marketing Job Openings

If you’re ready to jump into this field, here are some useful platforms that might help you land your dream job.