Working in a new and ever expanding sector has had some incredible opportunities. Being both qualified and experienced in digital marketing as it experiences a sector boom places me ready for all opportunities that arise.
Or so I thought. Instead I have seen scared companies grasping for online help and instead, offering totally unrealistic job adverts with equally unrealistic wages.
Neither of the above are true managerial roles.
The first advert is more what I’d expect to see pre-covid. But managers are rarely implementing the social media themselves. Managers manage people and this job requires the applicant to undertake all the work themselves. The manager aspect simply comes from heading up all the responsibility of the work needing to be done. Its ridiculous to assume that the role can be offered part time, when the implementation of the social media work alone is a full time role in itself. The audience research, developing of creative strategies, insight analysis and competitor analysis are the management aspect that are also in of themselves a separate job. This job offered is actually TWO jobs with a possible salary of only £25k. £35k if lucky.
The second job advert is even worse and a perfect example of a post-covid offering. This company has a solid Instagram following and wants to expand to other social platforms. Its not immediately clear which role is actually being advertised as content creation which could be a digital marketing assistant role, is the first thing asked for, but under that is an undertaking of autonomous project management which would be a managerial role. Again this role is offered as possibly part time. The ‘about you’ section of the advert is almost laughable due to its specifications. More companies are asking for a ‘relevant degree’. A colleague who recently completed his marketing degree pointed out the digital marketing aspect is one vague module. These modules can be taken separately negating a need for a degree. Experience in design tools only lists Photoshop tools which are subscription based. Free tools such as Canva work just as well but suggesting preferred tools may alienate those not used to working with the software, limiting responses. Requisites also include ‘data reporting’, ‘minimum 1 or 2 years experience’, ‘excellent attention to detail & time management’, ‘genuine passion’ & ‘highly organised’. This is a LOT for an advert that advertises salary ‘based on experience’.
Above is the digital marketing career path and its considered specialities. Too many jobs currently being advertised are expecting all specialities to covered by one individual and to a measurable standard across all the digital areas of expertise. This would be challenging enough without also doing all the actual content creation work on top of creating marketing strategies, which include liaising outside of digital scope to ensure brand continuity, with no mention of marketing budgets for assistance in implementation. Help is supposedly not needed when all work is expected to be carried out alone and only on a part time if needed, all for less than a managerial salary.
As the digital sector continues to grow (with data now outperforming oil as the most profitable market) more workers are joining the sector with vastly differing experience. Job adverts need to be re-tailored in a way that focuses on what work needs to be completed rather than individual requirements. Being clear on what is required for your business to succeed online will in turn attract candidates who feel their skill set will match your needs. This often works well for freelancers but freelancers charge much more than an in-house workers.
At Defiant, the focus is on zero budget marketing which means steering away from subscription based software like Photoshop and where possible and sourcing you free alternatives like Canva as well as using free scheduling software like Facebook & Instagram’s creator studio over Hootsuite. A work portfolio can be provided on request but in an era where intellectual property is being used without consent, examples are not listed on the site widely to avoid this trap. Instead, book a free consultation and Defiant can take you through the services we offer from a digital footprint analysis with working solutions to problems to channel management bundles to suit all budgets.
Defiant Media & Marketing 