Article
Top 5 Cutting-Edge Jobs in Marketing
01 Sept, 20237 minJobs in marketing are changing. Professionals within the field are now expected to master multiple communication channels, from social media to email and everything in between. Economic uncertainty means that those organisations which nail their digital strategies and improve their ability to authentically communicate with audiences will see profitability. Still, they’ll need to invest in acquiring the skills necessary to succeed in the competitive business environment.
In this guide, we’ll discover the jobs in marketing that are taking the industry to new heights and enhancing conversion across all sectors, discussing the duties they’ll commonly be responsible for. We’ll also explore the emerging technologies that marketing hiring managers will seek out when recruiting candidates for many roles, from analytics to marketing manager jobs.
The Emerging Technologies Revolutionising Jobs in Marketing
Technology advances present a raft of opportunities for professionals in social media, content creation, or marketing analyst jobs. At the same time, the increasing use of mobile devices, the web, and the volume of data available as a result of both sources have meant that campaign managers and strategists are increasingly able to personalise their marketing efforts, improving audience engagement and ROI.
Several emerging technologies are revolutionising jobs in marketing, including:
- Artificial intelligence. AI and machine learning technologies are helping marketers to automate tasks and optimise campaigns. Natural language processing and AI-enhanced chatbots, predictive analytics, and recommendation engines are leading to the transformation of customer interactions and brand storytelling.
- Voice technology. With Tesla's voice command technology leading the way, voice assistants and voice-enabled devices are becoming increasingly popular, particularly within the automotive environment. These technologies influence how customers interact with brands and shop for products, meaning that marketers must adapt their strategies and advertising to accommodate voice searches.
- Big data and analytics. 90% of the world’s data has been generated within the last two years. This wealth of data generated by digital platforms, social media, and customer interactions presents opportunities for professionals in marketing analyst jobs to derive meaningful insights, identify trends, predict behaviour, and understand and communicate the key impacts of their work to stakeholders.
- Automation. Marketing automation through software and online services has allowed professionals to speed up the completion of repetitive tasks, improve their workflows, and more efficiently manage campaigns. From email marketing to lead nurturing, social media scheduling, and customer relationship management, marketing automation software is enhancing productivity and helping businesses to scale.
- The Internet of Things (IoT). Interconnected and internet-enabled devices—from washing machines and fridge-freezers to LED room lighting—present marketers with a new way to collect data on customer behaviour, preferences, and usage patterns to deliver personalised experiences, highlight bugs to product development teams and create targeted campaigns.
These innovative technologies are driving trends in today’s rapidly-evolving marketing landscape. Staying ahead of the curve will mean that businesses have to seek professionals who possess the specialised skills necessary to harness the power of these advancements, meaning that jobs in marketing will become increasingly specialised as time goes on and technologies are refined.
If you’re looking to advance your knowledge on the future of marketing, see our guide to whether the cost-of-living crisis is damaging brand loyalty, where our expert consultants explore the impact of rising inflation on campaigns and marketing hiring within the FMCG sector.
Forward-Thinking Marketing Jobs in 2023
With an estimated global market value of $531bn in 2022, the growth of the digital marketing landscape is almost guaranteed moving forward. Researchers believe that the industry will be worth around $1.5 trillion within the decade. As a result, marketing hiring will continue to be a focus for businesses over the coming years.
Traditional roles, however, have been up-ended by the rapid advancement of the emerging technologies explored in the last section of this guide. Hubspot’s report on data and trends from global marketing industries has shown that 78% of professionals agree the industry has diversified more in the three years since 2020 than it has in the last fifty years, pivoting to adapt to dynamic consumer preferences and economic uncertainty.
So, what skills and specialisations are in high demand this year, and how are they changing the way we think about the average digital marketing job?
1. Marketing Technologist
Average salary: £51,000
Given the dependence of the average digital marketing job on new technologies, it’s no surprise that the role of the marketing technologist has grown exponentially over recent years. The use of artificial intelligence within the day-to-day duties of marketing specialists grew by 186% in the three years between 2018 and 2021, whilst a 2023 report on the global MarTech market size has shown that the sector generates over $389bn, which is expected to grow by 19.8% by 2030.
The marketing technologist bridges the gaps in knowledge and practice between a company’s IT and marketing skills, allowing emerging technologies to inspire marketing strategies and vice versa.
Marketing technologists can be found at all levels of organisations, in marketing manager jobs as well as C-suite roles. They often incorporate several aspects of each of the roles in this list, bringing expertise in operations, brand growth, analytics, and software engineering to bear on the complex problems that their clients present. These have been referred to as the “4 roles” of the marketing technologist.
At the same time, the growth of software solutions and the general migration from internal IT infrastructure to cloud solutions and SaaS has meant that digital marketers must understand how to manage a diverse number of channels and responsibilities, from web apps to emails, digital asset management to interactive, personalised advertisements.
As a result, the role of the marketing technologist remains incredibly important—with these professionals making certain that all marketing and communications team members are aligned on their digital strategies
2. AI Marketing Specialist
Average salary: £39,000
As the media attention that OpenAI’s ChatGPT product has experienced, the widespread adoption of emerging, artificially-intelligent technologies within the workplace is well underway. AI is helping to transform roles within the marketing sector, speeding up go-to-market strategies and helping to enhance audience experiences. Due to this, the demand for AI marketing specialists is growing.
Knowing how to effectively prompt natural language processing chatbots, utilise predictive analytics and personalisation to accurately target demographics, and automate repetitive tasks is quickly becoming necessary for any niche within the marketing industry. AI marketing professionals often fill the role between tech evangelists, content strategists, and marketing practitioners, with this specialised digital marketing job helping to enhance the productivity of all internal departments.
These experts will also be vital in addressing ethical considerations and biases in AI content moving forward, ensuring fairness, transparency, and the responsible use of these technologies when producing campaigns that build authentic connections with target audiences.
3. Content Strategist
Average salary: £48,000
Focused on optimising content and devising strategies that lead to conversion, content strategists ensure that marketing departments are aligned on their plans for publishing new blog articles, insight pieces, and gated content to drive marketing-qualified leads (MQLs). In short, they typically hold the keys to an entire campaign and understand the channels that get their clients the best results.
Content strategists will typically have spent time within another content-production role or digital marketing job, whether that’s copywriting, design, or as a marketing generalist—building the expertise and adaptability necessary to control the direction of an entire brand’s communication strategy. As a result, these professionals must be comfortable setting guidelines and delegating work, stepping in where required to ensure consistency and quality.
Alongside these duties, content strategists will be expected to offer their insights when troubleshooting why MQLs aren’t converting to customers. Whether it’s poor website design that makes it difficult for users to find the services they want to purchase, or copywriting that isn’t hitting the right note and is turning readers away, the content strategist will help business leaders understand where friction is entering the equation.
4. Influencer Marketing Manager
Average salary: £56,000
Influencer marketing manager jobs focus on nurturing how content creators share their products and services across multiple channels, from social media to video and streaming platforms. These professionals must keep a meticulous calendar, ensuring that content activities are planned alongside their company’s go-to-market strategy.
Alongside this, they’ll often work closely with social media marketing specialists to make certain that brand messaging is aligned across all platforms and websites. Influencer marketing managers will be expected to measure ROI with the help of their colleagues in marketing analyst jobs to make data-informed choices that enhance their ability to drive conversions. Typically, they'll use specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and timely—or SMART—goals to track their campaigns' impact and how engaged audiences are.
These marketing manager jobs are ideal for candidates that understand how valuable a community can be in boosting sales. Still, they need to be adept at navigating relationships, reporting, and recruiting new influencers to ensure that they can continue to improve their overall marketing strategies.
5. Marketing Analyst
Average salary: £42,000
Marketing analysts are responsible for providing their businesses with data-driven insights that allow them to predict future sales trends, better understand the key demographics they serve, and evaluate the effectiveness of outreach and branding strategies.
These experts have historically been found working within management, scientific, and technical consulting services. However, with the growth of big data and the widespread adoption of artificial intelligence-empowered analytics tools, marketing analysts are becoming an invaluable resource for organisations in any field, from finance to FMCG.
With the number of marketing analyst jobs set to grow by over 163,000 by 2030, this cross-functional role is quickly becoming critical when it comes to product development and long-term business vision. Able to understand and articulate programme performance and key statistics on customers, analysts are crucial to the overall health of the marketing department.
The Bottom Line
This guide explored the ever-evolving landscape of marketing jobs and the skills required to thrive in this rapidly-digitising industry. With the advancements that the emerging technologies discussed here are presenting, professionals have a wealth of opportunities to connect with audiences and drive sales, but they need to adapt to stay competitive.
These increasingly popular jobs in marketing often require candidates with unique expertise, meaning that they’ll need to understand how to articulate their non-standard career experience in a way that is attractive to marketing hiring managers.
The demand for these specialised roles is growing, from technologists bridging the gap between IT and marketing to data-driven marketing analyst jobs helping to understand their campaigns' impact and return on investment. As the industry changes over the coming years, the candidates that master these cutting-edge skill sets will be prepared for career success, whether they’re looking for specialist or marketing manager jobs.
Discover Your Next Digital Marketing Job with McGregor Boyall
At McGregor Boyall, we’re experts in marketing hiring with a track record of placing candidates with industry-leading FTSE 100 organisations across the globe, where they’ve gone on to drive conversions, improve brand availability, and deliver powerful strategies that get results.
Our consultants offer specialist support for candidates through every step of the marketing hiring process, helping them to discover roles that align with their career goals. Get in touch today to learn how McGregor Boyall can help you to connect with businesses offering forward-thinking jobs in marketing.