What is a digital marketer?

A digital marketer uses various online channels to get your brand in front of potential customers. They typically run campaigns on your website, social media profiles, email lists and ad platforms. For each channel, a digital marketer optimizes the content to resonate with the audience and improve performance in search engines or social media algorithms.

A digital marketer’s scope of work varies based on your company’s size and marketing team. In a small business, this role might handle all digital marketing activities. Larger companies with marketing teams may hire a digital marketer to manage online channels and a traditional marketer to cover print and offline campaigns.

If your company can support a full-scale marketing department, this employee might be a good addition to your digital marketing team, potentially specializing in social media, video editing or content marketing.

Read more: Digital Marketing Manager Job Description: Top Duties and Qualifications

What is a social media marketer?

A social media marketer uses social media channels to communicate your brand message to specific audience segments. They create campaigns that align with high-level marketing objectives and deploy them on platforms such as Facebook, Instagram and TikTok. They aim to connect with your company’s target audience , increase brand recognition and strengthen customer relationships.

Social media marketers are typically involved in the creative components of a campaign and its data analytics. They monitor key metrics and use insights to adjust copy, hashtags and artwork for better performance. These professionals spend time online, learning about the audience and the latest trends.

Related: How to Hire a Social Media Manager

Similarities between digital marketers and social media marketers

A social media marketer is a specialized digital marketer. Both roles work with social media platforms and company marketing objectives. In a small business, the digital marketer might act as the social media marketer.

Differences in social media manager vs. digital marketing manager roles

Learning about the aspects that separate digital marketer vs. social media marketer roles can help you determine which could be most effective for your company.

Job duties

A digital marketer’s job duties depend on the team’s size but may include:

• Setting or following the company’s digital marketing strategy

• Coordinating with marketing and sales employees

• Building, updating and maintaining a website

• Publishing content to a blog

• Performing search engine optimization on the website and blog

• Optimizing content on each digital channel

• Sending marketing emails

• Taking and editing photos and videos

• Posting to your company’s social media profiles

• Analyzing campaign data and making adjustments

Digital marketers are usually generalists, potentially writing marketing emails, designing social media campaigns, shooting videos and writing blog posts. They might coordinate with freelance or in-house copywriters, graphic designers or photographers to complete each project.

By contrast, social media marketers have a deep knowledge of one or more platforms and how to build and engage a following. Large companies may have more than one social media employee.

The responsibilities of a social media marketer typically include:

• Building a content calendar

• Planning social media campaigns

• Establishing a keyword and hashtag strategy

• Taking photos and shooting videos

• Writing captions

• Engaging with comments

• Experimenting with different types of content and copy

• Tracking analytics for each post

• Monitoring trends and online discussions

• Adjusting strategy to accommodate relevant trends

• Coordinating with other marketing team members

Pay

According to Indeed salary data, a digital marketer’s salary averages $66,011 per year. A social media coordinator is paid an average of $48,644, and a social media marketing manager makes $59,854.

Deciding whether to hire a digital marketer vs. a social media marketer

The decision to hire a digital marketer vs. a social media marketer depends on your company’s needs.

When to hire a digital marketer

Consider hiring a digital marketer when your company needs help establishing or growing an online presence. Companies of all sizes can benefit from this type of employee.

A digital marketer may be the right fit for your company if:

• You need help establishing a cohesive digital marketing strategy.

• You’d like extra help maintaining various online channels.

• You want to nurture strong relationships with your target audience .

When to hire a social media marketer

You might hire a social media marketer when you’re ready to invest in a more robust social strategy.

Other reasons to hire a social media marketer may include:

• Your current social posts have a promising conversion rate.

• Your products and services are relevant to social media users.

• Your company is expanding to new audience segments.

It may be best to hire a social media employee once you’ve hired other marketing employees and established a high-level marketing strategy.

FAQs about digital marketing vs. social media marketing

Should I hire a digital marketer and a social media marketer?

You might need to hire both roles when your company expands. If you have a large website, a complex ad strategy and a booming social media presence, the digital marketing workload might be too large for one person. In that case, you could hire a digital marketer to oversee your high-level online strategy and bring on a social media marketer to focus on promoting the company on social platforms.

Can you outsource digital marketing and social media marketing?

You can outsource digital and social media marketing tasks. However, it’s essential to establish a marketing strategy first with detailed creative briefs for each project. This guidance can help freelancers and independent contractors maintain a consistent brand voice and style.

If you need help with strategy, consider bringing on a digital marketer for a set number of hours each week. They can set priorities, build a content calendar and coordinate with freelancers. This continuity can keep your marketing activities running until you’re ready for a full-time employee.

Can digital marketers and social media marketers work remotely?

Digital and social media marketers can generally work remotely. To ensure they have the necessary assets and information to build an online or social presence, you may need to do more prep work. This might include:

• Providing them with resources, such as photos and videos, to implement into your campaign

• Sending products to remote employees so they can better understand your brand

• Holding regular video conferences to keep remote marketers updated with company changes or adjusted goals