Digital brand consultants are typically third party entities to the client-agency marketing business.
They’re utilized when brand awareness is failing, consumers are struggling to still positively identify with the brand, or when a fresh perspective is needed.
The key difference between digital brand consultants and other digital marketing positions is that the consultant will not normally be associated with their employer. They’re generally needed because they have a fresh perspective.
They may also be sought after if an organization is relatively small and needs assistance. Typically, smaller companies won’t have enough capital to invest in the marketing department. The digital brand consultant can help boost brand awareness and see a small company transform into a large, successful organization.
The position can have very named and some brand consultants will be more focused on one aspect of a brand than another. Others are recognized as ‘jack-of-all-trades’ and can work on increasing brand awareness as a whole.
Other names for this position include digital brand marketing consultant, digital brand development consultants, and digital brand identity consultant.
In the end, the digital brand consultant has several responsibilities. Because they’re often considered as an all-in-one package, their duties vary by the day. Generally, you will need to be the liaison with company directors and employees, evaluate and analyze competitors, align the value of the brand with the client’s business objectives, and conduct market research.
Market research may be a combination of different strategies and tactics that bring in data to help you identify consumers' trends and behavior. This can be distributing questionnaires, tracking publicly available data online, or determine a different method of tracking and gathering.
Last but not least, digital brand consultants need to take their findings after utilizing all of these methods and then present them to a client. You’ll need to explain how the client can use your findings to increase the return on investment of marketing campaigns.
Recommendations may be concerning packaging design, presentation, visual merchandising, search engine optimization, tactics for social media brand engagement, and more.
A common misconception is that digital brand consultants implement these strategies. Typically, this isn’t true. Digital brand managers, digital marketing directors, and other digital managers will usually oversee the implementations of the consultant’s recommendation.
If you’re interested in applying to become a digital brand manager, fantastic! Before you apply, you should understand what a digital brand manager does and what their days might look like.
Digital brand managers work with different marketing agencies and take an in-depth look at various marketing campaigns and how to improve them.
Once a digital brand development manager begins working on a marketing campaign, they’ll need to begin their analysis. They’ll perform a market analysis, analyze the competition in the market, and analyze marketing intent and online presence.
This is all done in the effort to improve their marketing campaigns. Digital brand marketing consultants will work to understand a campaign’s target audience and what will influence them most impactfully.
They do this through various market research methods and tactics combined with an understanding of what the consumer wants and needs. By utilizing this information, they can outrank their competitors and increase the overall market share of the client they’re working for.
While part of this is done by understanding what a target audience needs and wants, understanding what consumers don’t like and what’s driving them away from your client’s brand is key as well. Digital brand managers will work to find pain points for the consumer and provide solutions to those issues.
Digital brand identity consultants will often work closely with search engine optimization (SEO).
SEO is the process of increasing a website’s search engine rankings for specific keywords. These keywords may be the name of the business, the name of the product, or a description of a service that the user commonly enters.
Increasing SEO is a huge boost to the sales of a company as well as increasing brand awareness. Because of this, the digital brand identity consultant will need to be an expert in best practices. This can be confusing because SEO is relatively new and is based on an unknown algorithm produced by Google. This algorithm is known to constantly change and affect SEO performance, so you’ll need to be aware of emerging and current trends.
Brand consultants will normally work a typical nine-to-five day. Although, when deadlines are near and work needs to be produced quickly, they may work extra hours to meet a tight schedule.
Day-to-day activities will include evaluating marketing campaigns, analyzing data, and constantly communicating with clients, upper management, and any related departments that will need to provide input.
The typical day for a digital brand consultant may be varied, which can be a bonus when compared to standard day jobs. Here is what a typical day may look like:
It should also be noted that prominent and large consulting firms often work with international clients. Digital brand consultants will often be required to make domestic and international flights meet with them in person. While you may simply communicate with a client online, it’s normal to travel to them as well.
By now, you should have an understanding of the functions of digital brand consultants and what their work-life activities consist of. However, it’s important to understand the perspective of the hiring manager if you’re looking to begin a career as a consultant.
With that in mind, this next section was created to help you navigate the ins and outs of the expectations of you before you apply.
Keep reading to find out more about the career outlook and digital brand consultant salary.
At a minimum, digital brand consultants will typically need an undergraduate degree. Ideally, this degree should be in advertising, marketing, business, business management, public relations, or another related field. The key is to gain an education that will enhance your ability to identify consumer needs and dislikes.
However, becoming a brand consultant is a frequently sought-after position. The more robust your background, the better off you’ll be when applying. Receiving a Master’s degree, or higher will significantly affect your visibility as a candidate to employers. In some cases, they may even require applicants to obtain one before consideration.
Because digital brand marketing consultants are expected to be experts in the industry before applying, thus considerable work experience in digital marketing will be to your advantage. Working as a digital marketer for a market research company, or other integrated marketing agency will help boost your knowledge and prepare you to be a consultant.
Typically, you’ll want at least two to three years of work experience before applying. However, prominent consulting firms may require five to 10 years of experience before applicants may be considered.
If you’re interested in breaking into the field as quickly as possible, a common method is to enter via a graduate training program. Many institutions offer a program with consulting agencies that allow their students to work with them. This may lead to permanent employment if there is a good working relationship.
Digital brand consultants will need a large and varied skill set to perform their roles effectively. This is because the position is considered an expert within their field and is looked to for guidance when something isn’t going well.
This increased responsibility will demand a need for a specific skill set. Hiring managers understand this and adjusted their preferred skills accordingly.
Here is a look and what skills you’ll be expected to have mastered:
The U.S Bureau of Labor Statistics doesn’t provide information on brand consulting. However, they do provide data on the employment of market research analysts. This is a closely related field that reflects the need for digital brand consultants as well.
Market research analysts are projected to grow by an average of about 20 percent between 2018 – 2028. At the same time, the demand for marketing managers is expected to increase by approximately eight percent.
This makes the prospect of becoming a digital brand consultant an excellent idea. Even without the required experience, considering a career in digital marketing will prove to be worthwhile as well.
According to PayScale.com, most brand specialists earn between $39,000 and $72,000 per year. This data was collected amongst those who were employed in August of 2019.
The median salary was listed at approximately $55,000.
Because the internet is becoming engrained into human culture, it’s speculated that the need and pay for digital markets to rise in the future. As the need for businesses to be more involved online, so will the need for digital brand consultants.
By now, you should know everything there is to know about the digital brand consultant’s responsibilities and how to become a successful applicant.
Before applying, ensure that you consider if you have all the necessary qualifications and experience. If you decide that becoming a digital brand consultant is right for you, search for listings near you right here at Digital Media Jobs.
After you found the job or you, submit an application using the recommendations and information above.