5 Ways an MBA Can Catapult Your Digital Marketing Career

Digital marketing – the type of marketing done online – has taken off. As a result, job demand in the industry is growing right along with it.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, jobs in advertising, promotion, and marketing management are set to grow at a rate of 8% from 2018-2028 – faster than the average for full jobs.

Why the digital marketing boom?

Because digital marketing is modern marketing. It’s the way to reach beyond a local audience to a global one, to connect with people where they search for information, socialize, and make purchases of all kinds.

Almost 4.54 billion people across the world are active internet users. Of them, 2.05 billion shop online, and they spend even more than they do in physical stores. By 2021, worldwide retail ecommerce sales are set to top $4.5 trillion.

Done right, digital marketing effectively connects businesses with internet users, including other businesses.

As a digital marketer, you might create and lead marketing campaigns to capture their interest and attention. You might create content to nurture trust and build loyalty. You could spearhead native advertising campaigns on social media for budding brands.

The best part? All of these possible methods to reach target audiences are just the tip of the iceberg. Here are a few more:

• Email marketing
• Content marketing (creating blogs, articles, videos, and more)
• Search engine optimization (SEO)
• Paid search (PPC)
• Social media marketing
• Native advertising
• Affiliate marketing

With so many people online and so many ways to reach them, the field is busting with opportunity, and people are jumping at the chance to get a piece of the online marketing pie.

The only problem: In a hot job market, how can you stand out? What will give you a competitive edge in the digital marketing world?

The answer might be to get an MBA.

A modern Master of Business Administration program could be your ticket to that big promotion or dream job opportunity. Keep reading to find out how.

How a Modern MBA Program Prepares You for the Digital Marketing Landscape

One of the factors setting apart digital marketing from other fields is the rate of change within the industry.

Trends come and go as fast as you can blink. Technology advances seemingly overnight.

The only thing you can count on as a digital marketer is ways to reach customers and audiences will never stay static.

Luckily, a modern MBA program prepares you for the rapid change you’ll come across in your digital marketing career. It also gives you the foundational tools and knowledge to lead a digital marketing team in any industry.

1. What Are the Typical Topics Covered in an MBA?

An MBA program is the way to learn business and marketing concepts from a holistic standpoint. You’ll learn about all the facets of running a business, which gives you a greater understanding of how digital marketing fits into the larger puzzle.

Topics covered in typical MBA courses:

• Marketing management
• Strategic management
• Financial management
• Data analysis
• Business accounting
• Human behavior, ethics, and human resources

Most MBA programs give you additional options for concentrations, where you’ll focus on a major aspect of business – like marketing.

2. What Skills Will You Build?

The skills you build in an MBA program definitely will prepare you for a career in digital marketing management. A few major ones include:

• Leadership: Learn how to manage and lead a team of people and spearhead projects.
• Communication: Understand effective ways to communicate with your team, your employers, and your clients.
• Problem-solving: One of the best skills you’ll learn, problem-solving includes creative thinking and analysis applied to business and marketing roadblocks that hinder growth.
• Strategizing: You’ll learn how to build strategies for business and effectively execute them.
• Management and multitasking: You’ll gain an understanding of how to juggle multiple balls in the air, including overseeing teams, projects, campaigns, and initiatives.

3. How Long Will It Take to Complete Your Degree?

Depending on where and how you earn your degree, your MBA program could take as little as 12-14 months to complete. Some on-campus programs will take longer – sometimes up to 2 years.

Opportunities to earn your MBA online are more ubiquitous than ever. Earning an online degree also comes with a lot more flexibility. Your classroom goes wherever you do, so you can pursue an MBA while also working at your current job.

5 Ways to Supercharge Your Digital Marketing Career with an MBA

There are plenty of reasons why an MBA could set you on the fast-track to career success in digital marketing. Here are just a few of the major ones:

1. Develop a Thorough Working Knowledge of Digital Marketing Management

As we already mentioned, completing an MBA program gives you a well-rounded education in business fundamentals. You’ll learn everything from data analysis to marketing management to accounting and strategy.

Your education will position you perfectly for a high-velocity digital marketing job where you must wear many hats and constantly pivot to adapt to the rate of change in the industry.

For example, look at these real job listings in the digital marketing field from Indeed. Highlighted in yellow are keywords detailing the knowledge and skills you’ll need across many disciplines to be a true, high-earning, digital marketing master:

As you can see, a well-rounded business education could put you ahead as a candidate for these types of digital marketing positions.

Here’s another example from a remote digital marketing job listing, where the required skills and knowledge span from data analysis to accounting principles and good written/verbal communication:

2. Get Tons of Opportunities to Put Theory into Practice

Earning an MBA sets you apart in other ways as you look toward a career in digital marketing – it gives you those valuable work experience opportunities you need to catch the eye of a hiring manager or employer. In other words, you’ll get more chances to put business and marketing theories into practice.

Most MBA programs put you in touch with a network of prospects to practice your skills: internships, externships, group projects, conferences, and more.

All of these can lead to beneficial contacts and job opportunities later.

And each of these opportunities looks equally good on a resume, too.

3. Earn Higher Pay Out of the Gate + Increased Employability

One of the most compelling reasons people choose to get their marketing MBA is because it automatically positions them for better pay and better job prospects.

With an MBA, you’ll be sure of standing out. Data from Zippia shows nearly 60% of all digital marketing managers have a bachelor’s degree, but only 24.4% have a master’s.

Many employers and hiring managers value higher education when looking at job applications. If you have an MBA, you’ll automatically get separated from the slush pile of resumes.

An MBA also positions you for higher pay if you have the experience to go along with it. In late 2019, the median weekly pay for salary workers with a bachelor’s degree was $1,281, according to the BLS. For advanced degree holders, the median weekly earnings jumped up by 21.7%, to $1,559.

4. Advance in Your Organization by Leaps & Bounds

If you work in digital marketing and want to further your career, an MBA can help you take the next step to that promotion or a swankier job title.

You already have a better chance of promotion via your department or company versus an outside opportunity.

According to ADP’s State of the Workforce 2019 report, companies and departments in the information sector are more likely to promote from within – more than any other industry. On top of that, the average wage increase due to a promotion is 17%, which is among the highest out there.

That means leveling-up your business marketing knowledge and skills with an MBA is a smart idea, because there’s a great likelihood it will lead to bigger and better things in your current environment.

5. Make Valuable Connections

Last but not least, one of the best reasons an MBA will supercharge your digital marketing career is due to the connections you’ll make.

Your professors, classmates, advisors, and other contacts in your MBA program will be valuable networking assets both before and after you graduate. Whether you choose to learn on a campus or online, you’ll have unlimited opportunities to create mutually beneficial relationships with the people in your classes and program.

If you work on building those professional relationships along the way, you’ll be set up with a dependable resource once you’re ready to get out there and leverage those connections.

Investing in an MBA Could Be Your Smartest Career Move

Your career in digital marketing gets fast-tracked if you invest in an MBA program. That’s because earning a marketing MBA gives you a solid foundation for thriving in a hot market that’s not slowing down.

Digital marketing hopefuls and professionals alike need a competitive edge in this field, which can change as quickly as the weather.

An MBA program offers you a deeper understanding of business and marketing concepts, more chances to add to your resume, increased employability, and a better likelihood of advancing within your current job environment.

Add the networking possibilities to the pile of benefits, and you’re left with an investment in your future you can’t deny.

An MBA can help you reach farther and faster in your digital marketing career. Ready to make it happen? Check out the online MBA program from St. Ambrose University.