By definition, marketing refers to the process or technique of promoting, selling, and distributing a product or service. So marketing teams do just that — work together to create compelling campaigns and programs that grow the business.
Marketing roles are needed across industries and at organizations of all sizes. If you are interested in a career in marketing, there are many different opportunities within the field — especially because the marketing landscape has dramatically changed in recent years. Outbound vs. inbound marketing
Historically, almost all marketing was outbound — paid advertising to attract prospective customers. This is also known as “interruptive” marketing because it involves interrupting your audience with your message to convince them to purchase your product. Examples of outbound marketing include billboards, pop-up ads, and telemarketing.
However, with today’s average consumer being inundated with interruptive advertising and ad-blockers on the rise (eMarketer reports that 27.5% of American internet users — almost 80 million people — used ad-blockers in 2018), marketers cannot rely on outbound marketing alone for their entire marketing strategy. Craft your own marketing strategy →
Inbound marketing, by contrast, is a relatively recent approach. Also known as “permission” marketing, inbound marketing involves attracting a qualified target audience to a product or company by creating content that potential customers will want to engage with and share.
The goal of inbound marketing is for the customer to reach out to the company for more information or to make a purchase. Examples include creating blogs, videos, and social media campaigns, as well as performing activities related to searching engine optimization (SEO) like keyword analysis.
In the modern world, these two types of marketing can blend into each other, creating a hybrid model. For example, a content marketing team might create a blog post intended to engage their audience (inbound marketing), which the digital marketing team will actively promote in banner ads (outbound marketing). It is important to know the strengths and weaknesses of each marketing philosophy to reach your target audience effectively. Marketing skills and job titles
All that change requires a variety of marketers — with varying skills — to get the work done. And this can bring on some confusion.
There are many different job titles used for marketing roles in different organizations. There are also other job titles and disciplines that are often folded into the marketing team, such as internal communications or public relations. Marketing is a collaborative discipline by nature, so there will always be some overlap between roles.
Here are the most common focus areas in marketing, along with a list of job titles that are commonly associated with each: General marketing
Most marketers have been a generalist at some point, planning and overseeing a variety of marketing activities. They are often referred to as marketing managers. This role is common in smaller companies or mid-sized organizations with more limited resources. A generalist performs tasks that might otherwise be spread across several specialists at a large company with a more complex structure.
A marketing generalist does it all — manages email marketing campaigns, plans content, crafts product announcements, and maintains relevant social media accounts. This role represents marketing at cross-functional team meetings, supports the sales team, and measures the success of the marketing programs.
Senior-level marketing leaders can also be grouped under general marketing. For example, the chief marketing officer (CMO) reports directly to the chief executive officer (CEO) or chief operating officer (COO) and is responsible for all marketing activities within a company, promoting the company’s brand as well as the products and/or services it produces. CMOS depends on a thorough understanding of market trends and work with other chief executives and the board to create a bold vision for the future.
Under the CMO is often a vice president of marketing who works across multiple teams and departments to ensure that everyone is aligned towards the same strategic goals. They are adept at uniting cross-functional teams under a common purpose and work with other executives to develop a marketing strategy with measurable outcomes. Depending on the size of the company, there may be a director-level marketing role as well.
Some common job titles for marketing generalists include:
- Chief marketing officer
- Marketing and promotions manager
- Vice president of marketing brand marketing
A company’s brand is its identity. Branding is more than just logos, color schemes, and fonts — it involves every quality that a customer associates with the company. For example, if a customer associates a company with intuitive design or personable service, they are more likely to seek out that company’s products (and try any new products that the company might introduce in the future).
A brand marketer’s job is to ensure that the company and its products are associated with the right message. The goal is not just to convert prospective customers to actual customers, but also to convert customers to brand advocates who will identify themselves with the company and act as a megaphone, sharing that core brand message.
Some common job titles for brand management marketers include:
- Brand activation manager
- Brand marketing manager
- Director of brand marketing
- Director of brand strategy content marketing
Content marketing is at the core of inbound marketing. It is a content marketer’s job to create a variety of media, including blog posts, videos, podcasts, newsletters, and landing pages. Content marketers must reinforce information about the product or service, geared towards the target audience. So, a content marketer must understand who they are creating content for and the types of messages the audience will be most receptive to in which mediums.
On a day-to-day basis, content marketers build and manage an editorial calendar that delivers content aligned with the company’s objectives and business goals. They ensure that all content is on-brand — in terms of style, quality, and tone — and they optimize the content for search engines and social promotion. The content marketing manager is also responsible for tracking the performance. At the management level, some content marketers manage creative resources as well, including designers and writers.
Some common job titles for content marketers include:
- Content marketing manager
- Content marketing producer
- Content writer digital marketing
At its simplest, digital marketing encompasses any marketing effort that exists online. Digital channels include search engines, social media, company websites, blogs, and online advertisements. Because so many people spend so much of their time online, it is rare to find a marketer today whose role does not involve digital marketing in some capacity.
Digital marketers, however, specialize in those channels. They are data experts and thrive at the pace of real-time campaign analytics. They craft digital marketing strategies, design content to fit each digital channel, and constantly monitor the analytics to measure the efficacy of each campaign. Content and product marketers depend on digital marketers for performance insights, and marketing managers depend on them to measure the success of the programs.
Some common job titles for digital marketers include:
- Digital marketing manager
- Director of digital marketing
- Director of web marketing
- Director of SEO operations
- Internet marketing specialist
- Internet marketing specialist
- Web marketing specialist email marketing
With email marketing, a company can tailor its message to existing and potential customers. This message might be as simple as a coupon code, product announcement, or monthly newsletter. At a deeper level, the email marketer is responsible for establishing an ongoing relationship between the company and its audience.