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Digital Marketing in 5 Minutes
A rapid-fire guide to the basics of digital marketing management for anyone looking to understand the industry at a glance. Ideal for prospective new entrants who want to find out more.
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Digital Marketing Manager
Who’s responsible for Airbnb’s viral referral strategy, Gymshark’s influencer-fuelled rise, and Nike’s record-breaking ad campaigns? A Digital Marketing Manager.
They turn ideas into action, using SEO, content marketing, paid ads, and social media to help brands cut through the noise and reach the right audience at the right time. Some digital marketing managers work in-house for major companies, while others freelance or even start their own agencies, building businesses that help brands thrive in the digital space.
Whether you’re crafting compelling ad campaigns, analysing web traffic to uncover trends, or leading a team of specialists to deliver a viral campaign, this role offers creativity, strategy, and flexibility. No two days are the same, and the challenge of keeping up with an ever-changing digital landscape makes it one of the most exciting careers in marketing today.
Summary
Do you love creative problem-solving? Are you excited by the idea of shaping how people interact with brands online? If so, a career as a Digital Marketing Manager could be both rewarding and dynamic.
There are no formal barriers to entry, meaning you can build your career in a way that suits you. Many professionals start as freelancers, interns, or specialists in areas like SEO, social media, or PPC advertising, before progressing into management. Some go on to lead in-house teams, while others launch their own digital marketing agencies, working with multiple brands and growing their own business.
Success in this role comes from combining creativity with data-driven decision-making—knowing how to write compelling content, analyse campaign performance, and leverage platforms like Google, Meta, and TikTok to drive engagement and sales. The role offers strong career flexibility, whether you prefer to work in-house, remotely, as a consultant, or as a business owner.
As businesses invest more in digital marketing, demand for skilled professionals is soaring. This career offers high earning potential, rapid career progression, and the thrill of shaping the digital world—all while keeping you at the cutting edge of online trends.
Responsibilities
A digital marketing manager is responsible for the content and strategies that drive online sales of products and services. Their key responsibilities are as follows:
Marketing Strategy Creating the overall direction of the marketing campaign and making sure that it aligns with the core aims of the business. The marketing strategy will typically need to be agreed in advance with senior stakeholders.
Campaign Monitoring All digital marketing campaigns will need to be tracked with key metrics such as a click rates and conversion rates to assess how effective they are.
KPI Creation Digital marketing managers will also take on responsibility for determining the metrics that describe how a campaign is performing.
Creative Direction Many digital marketers coordinate teams of creatives that include copywriters, ad specialists and designers. The digital marketing manager will typically be the central point of contact.
Influencer Networking Digital marketing managers take an active role in identifying and approaching high-profile influencers in relevant niches.
Key Skills & Traits
Working as a digital marketing manager isn’t as simple as passing a brief to a team of creatives and waiting for the results. Here are the key skills needed to build a successful career.
Marketing & Advertising
Understanding the fundamentals of marketing products and services and the core elements of high-conversion ads.
Communication
As well as reaching out to target audiences, digital marketing managers need to communicate the purpose of their work to their team of creatives. They will also have to interact with senior stakeholders.
Collaboration & Management
Often a Digital Marketing Manager will need to collaborate with a multitude of other roles, including web designers, software engineers, media buyers, SEO managers and more!
Understanding Customers
Creating a campaign that is effective requires identification of pain points, consumer desires and aspirations. Understanding how to profile and separate demographics is essential.
Writing Skills
Having excellent written communication is important for almost all digital marketing managers. Whether you are writing marketing plans, briefs for team-members or copy for advertisements, clear writing will be a bonus.
Technical Know-How
The ability to move between different platforms and online tools is essential. Digital marketing managers will often need to self-teach and then share what they have learned with their team.
Creative Problem Solving
Upcoming releases of new products and services can require fast turnarounds, new approaches and a dynamic approach to solving problems. A flexible approach is highly valued by employers.
Content Creation
While not all digital marketing managers create content on a daily basis, a working knowledge of multi-media content creation is essential.
Education & Qualifications
Anyone can become a Digital Marketing Manager—no specific degree required! While many employers appreciate formal qualifications in marketing, communications, or business, what truly matters is your ability to plan and execute campaigns, lead teams, and drive measurable results. Plenty of successful Digital Marketing Managers started in entry-level roles and worked their way up by mastering platforms, understanding audiences, and delivering results.
Success in this field is all about performance, creativity, and strategic thinking. Whether you’ve come from content, paid ads, SEO, or email marketing, your ability to lead digital growth is far more valuable than your academic background. A strong track record of campaigns, analytics, and leadership experience will speak louder than any certificate.
Lifestyle
Digital marketing management appeals to those who enjoy a balance between independent work and collaboration, as it involves both strategic planning and team coordination. The role offers strong flexibility, with many professionals working remotely, in-house, or freelance, making it an attractive option for those seeking a better work-life balance. However, the fast-paced nature of the industry, tight deadlines, and the need to adapt to ever-changing trends can make it demanding. Financially, earnings vary based on experience and specialisation, with freelancers and agency owners having the potential for higher income, while in-house roles provide more stability and benefits, including paid holiday and pensions.
75%
Remote SuitedWhile digital marketers can be fully remote, companies are more likely to ask the digital marketing manager to be in-office 1-2 days a week to meet with senior stakeholders.
50%
StressfulThe management of a larger team and taking on responsibility for meeting targets can make digital marketing management stressful at times.
80%
Work Life BlanceMany professionals achieve a good level of balance and are able to work around short-notice projects while managing their stress levels.
Our reviews from industry professionals have scored being a digital marketing manager as 4.5 out of 5 on average.
40/hrs
WeeklyFreelancer managers or full-time managers working on an urgent deadline will have to work more than the weekly average at times.
Salary Data
The average salary for a digital marketing manager in the UK is £45,000. Junior digital marketing managers will make approximately £37,000 per year, while digital marketing managers with 5+ years of experience often earn over £53,000. A mid-level freelancer can expect to earn £25+ per hour.
£37,000
Entry
£45,000
Average
£53,000
Senior
Career Path
Digital marketing managers do not necessarily follow a fixed career path. Many digital marketing managers begin as entry-level marketers before specialising in a specific aspect of online marketing or content creation. This is done either freelance or in-house, with many freelancers choosing to remain self-employed and charge higher average hourly rates.
Some digital marketers will choose to specialise further in a given niche, while others will go in the other direction and learn a wider range of skills. It’s the marketers who decide they want to offer a comprehensive service that typically move into digital marketing manager roles as the head of their own agencies. Others will be hired by businesses who need an in-house digital marketing manager to coordinate and oversee their online marketing efforts.
A digital marketing manager is much more of a hands-on role than more traditional managerial roles, with many managers of small agencies regularly creating content and executing campaigns.
Some digital marketers will choose to specialise further in a given niche, while others will go in the other direction and learn a wider range of skills. It’s the marketers who decide they want to offer a comprehensive service that typically move into digital marketing manager roles as the head of their own agencies. Others will be hired by businesses who need an in-house digital marketing manager to coordinate and oversee their online marketing efforts.
A digital marketing manager is much more of a hands-on role than more traditional managerial roles, with many managers of small agencies regularly creating content and executing campaigns.
Digital Marketing Intern / Freelancer
Working part-time or as an intern allows new entrants to learn one or more key components of digital marketing. The focus here is likely to be tasks such as copywriting, ad creatives, SEO research and social media scheduling and posting.
Digital Marketer
Expected to have a comprehensive knowledge of at least one component of digital marketing strategy and a working knowledge and ability to learn many others. Email marketing, social media marketing, content creation and managing paid ad campaigns should be expected.
Digital Marketing Manager
A role typically performed in-house as the head of a team of creatives within a business or as the head of a digital marketing agency. Responsibilities include liaising directly with clients, strategy development, reporting KPIs and networking with influencers.
A Digital Marketing Intern / Freelancer will typically look to specialise so they can command a higher salary / charge more for their services.
An example would be a freelance copywriter who decides to specialise in email copy and then begins to run all aspects of email marketing campaigns. A Digital Marketer who is confident in their ability to create strategies and pitch them to decision makers as part of their work for an in-house team may also decide to leave their position and start their own digital marketing agency.
The pathway from intern / freelancer to digital marketing manager provides many sideways moves into each of the digital marketing specialisms. Some professionals may decide they do not want to manage a team and instead decide to focus on providing consultancy services to businesses or digital marketing agencies.
An example would be a freelance copywriter who decides to specialise in email copy and then begins to run all aspects of email marketing campaigns. A Digital Marketer who is confident in their ability to create strategies and pitch them to decision makers as part of their work for an in-house team may also decide to leave their position and start their own digital marketing agency.
The pathway from intern / freelancer to digital marketing manager provides many sideways moves into each of the digital marketing specialisms. Some professionals may decide they do not want to manage a team and instead decide to focus on providing consultancy services to businesses or digital marketing agencies.
History of the Profession
While digital marketing is a relatively new profession, it’s one which has undergone seismic changes in a short space of time.
Reviews
No one can explain the role of a Digital Marketing Manager better than someone with years of experience in the job. Our reviews section is the place to look for real-world feedback on what the industry is like to work in.
Senior Digital Marketing Manager
John
I transitioned from running my own startup agency to landing a position with a major advertising firm. They needed to refresh their digital marketing efforts and I have loved working there for the past 18 months. Digital marketing is changing and becoming much more professional and highly resourced. Working as head of a large in-house team allows me to use my skills on much larger projects that have significantly bigger budgets. With that comes greater responsibility and accountability when it comes to driving engagement and sales, so I make the most of my time off.
💰£57,000Annual
salary
salary
💼50Weekly hours
🏝️70%Remote suited
🤷♀️40%Stressful
⚖️20%Work life balance
Freelance Digital Marketing Manager
Lauren
I love the fact that I can work on the projects that interest me and set my own hours and hourly rates. There can sometimes be a little stress about filling my pipeline with new work but that is something anyone can learn to manage better. Finding new creative talent for specific tasks is often a matter of hiring via freelance platforms. Building up a network of influencers who are easy to work with is essential in my industry.
💰£51,000Annual
salary
salary
💼40Weekly hours
🏝️90%Remote suited
🤷♀️55%Stressful
⚖️45%Work life balance
Digital Marketing Manager
Chris
My job allows me to work on a wide range of briefs and take the time to get to know my clients. I run my own agency, direct a team of 6, and enjoy how I can still get my hands busy with the creative process.
💰£46,000Annual
salary
salary
💼44Weekly hours
🏝️80%Remote suited
🤷♀️25%Stressful
⚖️30%Work life balance
If you've worked in this role, feel free to leave a review to help out other potential Digital Marketing Managers!
Similar Careers
The following careers closely align with the role of a digital marketing managers. They allow for sideways moves, close collaboration and more in-depth specialisation if desired.
Resources
Want to find out more about what it’s like to be a digital marketing manager? Take a look at our curated resources below and keep learning!
Book
Digital Marketing Strategy
A comprehensive guide to the finer points of online strategy for digital marketing managers looking to move into senior positions or scale their agencies.
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Article
The Evolution of Digital Marketing
A comprehensive guide to how the industry has shifted and evolved over the years. Highly recommended entry point for anyone looking to understand the varied life of a digital marketing manager.
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Specialisms
Digital marketing is a broad field with various specialist roles that focus on different aspects of online growth, engagement, and advertising. Here are some of the most common specialisms
Each specialism allows you to develop expertise in a key area, whether you prefer creative storytelling, strategic advertising, or data analysis. Many professionals start as specialists before progressing to management roles, making digital marketing a flexible and rewarding career path.
Each specialism allows you to develop expertise in a key area, whether you prefer creative storytelling, strategic advertising, or data analysis. Many professionals start as specialists before progressing to management roles, making digital marketing a flexible and rewarding career path.
Regulatory Bodies
Digital marketing in the UK is governed by several key regulatory bodies, ensuring ethical and legal practices. The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) enforces rules on truthful advertising, including influencer marketing disclosures, while the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) prevents misleading ads and fake reviews. The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) regulates data protection under GDPR, requiring businesses to obtain consent for cookies and email marketing. Although not a regulator, the Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM) promotes industry standards through training and certifications, and the Internet Advertising Bureau (IAB UK) provides guidelines for digital advertising transparency. Together, these organisations shape responsible marketing practices, protecting both businesses and consumers.