Bonafide Marketing Genius

Online Marketing Manager: The Essential Skills You Need

The fact that you’re reading this means you’re likely interested in becoming an online marketing manager (OMM).

What is an online marketing manager?

An OMM is someone who manages the online marketing activities of a business or brand. The OMM is typically responsible for the strategic planning and execution of online marketing campaigns as well as the measurement and reporting of these efforts. Although the title may vary by organization, the responsibilities of an OM are usually the same.

The Demand For Online Marketing Managers

Based on the projected 2022 Online Marketing Salary Survey conducted by DMA, a marketing research firm, the demand for online marketing managers is expected to increase by 24% in 2022.

The salary for an online marketing manager is expected to increase from an average of $85,000 to $112,000 in 2022.

Why You Should Join Online Marketing

With the explosion of digital marketing and the growing importance of online marketing in a company’s revenue, it’s no wonder that businesses are scrambling to fill the increasing demand for online marketings managers.

Even if you don’t have a formal education in marketing, you can still find a job as an online marketings manager – for example, at a marketing agency or in-house marketing department. Some of the perks of working in online marketing include:

  • Increasingly complex digital marketing campaigns
  • The opportunity to work with some of the biggest brands in the world
  • The ability to make a real impact on the direction of your company
  • The chance to gain valuable job experience that can’t be duplicated by a book
  • The opportunity to network with other professionals in the industry
  • And much more…

The Essential Skills For An Online Marketing Manager

In 2022, it is anticipated that there will be a 24% increase in the demand for online marketing managers. To ensure you stand out from the crowd, simply follow the proven steps below to develop your own unique selling proposition (USP):

Step one: Define your niche

An essential step in the process of becoming an online marketing manager is to properly define your niche — in other words, to specialize in a small area of marketing.

In broad terms, a niche is a “small market or segment” within the larger world of ​marketing. In the case of ​online marketing managers, your niche is the specific area that you will specialize in — for example, search marketing, display advertising, or email marketing.

When it comes to defining your niche, don’t just think about the tools and techniques you know you need to succeed in your role. Instead, you should also consider the niche’s ​clientele, the competitive landscape, and the most pressing problems that your prospective customers face.

Step two: Research the competition

The next step in your journey to the top is to conduct extensive research into the competition.

You will need to know what your competitors are doing, who they are focusing on, and how they are doing it. The information you gather in this stage is invaluable in helping you to shape your strategic plan and to choose the right tactics for gaining a competitive edge.

Step three: Identify the key performance indicators (KPIs)

The goal of this step is to identify the key performance indicators (or KPIs) that you will use to determine your success as an online marketings manager. These KPIs should be both easy to measure and easy to understand — in other words, they should be the fundamentals of good marketing.

The list of key performance indicators you choose will depend on your niche and the type of business you are in. For example, if your niche is web design and you are working for a company that builds web pages, you may consider the following KPIs:

  • Number of website visits
  • Engagement (e.g., ​likes, shares, comments)
  • Sales (e.g., ​conversions, average order value, revenue)
  • Channel performance (e.g., ​video views, social shares)
  • Cost per acquisition (e.g., ​CPA, CPC, CPL, etc.)
  • Acquisition (e.g., ​ADW, ​organic search traffic, paid search traffic)
  • Churn (e.g.,​ customer lifetime value, churn rate)
  • Outsource benchmarks (e.g.,​ cost to acquire a new customer)
  • Inbound methodology (e.g.,​ content strategy, marketing analytics, and SEO)
  • Marketing technology (e.g., ​CRM, SEO, content marketing, and email marketing)

Step four: Create the framework for your plan

The final step in your process is to put everything you learned into practice and to create the framework for your plan. To do this, you will need to consider the following:

  • The strategy — In other words, what are you doing and why are you doing it?
  • The objectives — These are the goals you set for yourself and your organization
  • The metrics — These are the measurements you will use to determine your progress
  • The implementation — This is the part that will get you from thought to action – what steps will you take to make it happen?
  • The review — This is where you reflect on your plan and consider how you will improve it based on experience

The four steps listed above will get you ready to enter the workforce as a confident and capable online marketings manager.