Becoming Digital marketing consultant
A Digital Marketing Consultant is a professional who helps businesses grow their online presence, drive traffic, and increase revenue through strategic digital marketing initiatives. They analyze a company’s current marketing efforts, identify opportunities for improvement, and design tailored strategies across channels such as SEO, social media, email marketing, pay-per-click (PPC) advertising, and content marketing. By leveraging data-driven insights, a digital marketing consultant optimizes campaigns to reach target audiences effectively, improve engagement, and maximize ROI. They also stay updated on the latest digital trends, tools, and best practices, guiding businesses to remain competitive in an evolving online landscape. Suitable for startups, small businesses, and large enterprises, a digital marketing consultant can work independently, as part of an agency, or in-house, providing expertise that transforms online strategies into measurable business growth.
What is the role of a digital marketing consultant?
A digital marketing consultant is a digital marketing expert who helps companies plan, execute, and optimize their digital marketing strategies across all online channels. Digital marketing covers far more than social media advertising—it includes the entire web ecosystem, from websites and SEO to email marketing, content creation, analytics, and mobile applications. Their mission is to ensure that every online touchpoint supports the company’s business goals.
By mastering the full range of marketing activities, a digital marketing consultant guides businesses in attracting new clients, improving customer retention, and promoting products and services effectively. This level of expertise requires solid training and up-to-date knowledge of the digital landscape, such as the high-quality programs offered by emlyon business school.
Beyond technical skills, these consultants bring strategic vision to marketing teams. They analyze data, assess performance, and design tailored recommendations to help companies make informed decisions. Their comprehensive understanding of digital channels allows digital marketers and internal marketing teams to strengthen their online presence and scale their results through evidence-based marketing consulting.
What does a digital marketing consultant do?
The main activities of a digital marketing consultant are diverse and varied, evolving according to the specific needs of clients. Generally, a digital marketing consultant prepares the company’s digital strategy and ensures it is properly followed and implemented. They also regularly audit the company's online presence. Other typical activities of a digital marketing consultant include implementing marketing campaigns, analyzing performance, and optimizing both organic and paid search.
Working with clients, they identify new ways to connect with their target audience. This may involve using social media platforms effectively, creating engaging content, or optimizing websites for search engines. Consultants often work with marketing teams to develop campaigns that address the unique challenges faced by each business.
Other examples of tasks that a digital marketing consultant handles daily include, but are not limited to:
- Creating websites, advertising campaigns, and content for social networks;
- Measuring key performance indicators (KPIs) of digital marketing campaigns;
- Analyzing marketing data and preparing reports to explain the results obtained.
A consultant will also focus on creating a strong brand identity that resonates with the target market. They will use tools like Google Ads to drive more traffic to websites and ensure that marketing efforts align with business goals. This includes using paid media to reach a wider audience and developing strategies to convert leads into customers.
What skills are needed for digital marketing consultant?
Becoming a successful digital marketing consultant requires a mix of communication and marketing skills, technical expertise, and strategic thinking. Strong communication skills are essential, as consultants work closely with clients to understand their goals, clarify expectations, and guide them through each step of their digital marketing strategies.
A solid foundation in web marketing is equally important. Consultants must understand how digital platforms, social media networks, websites, and online customer journeys work. Mastery of key digital marketing tools such as Google Ads, Google Analytics, marketing automation software, and social media management platforms is crucial for creating data-driven campaigns.
Expertise in content marketing and SEO (organic search), SEA (paid search), content marketing, email marketing, and digital media allows consultants to design well-rounded strategies. Strong data analytics skills help them interpret performance metrics, identify opportunities, and optimize marketing channels for better ROI.
Beyond technical knowledge, a digital marketing consultant must excel at relationship-building and understanding customer behavior. They help businesses balance organic and paid efforts, ensuring long-term, sustainable growth across all digital touchpoints.
Studies to become a Digital Marketing Consultant
Want to start your career as a digital marketing consultant? There is no specific path to this profession, but several programs can equip you with the necessary skills.
For those aiming for a generalist education, the Master in Management - Grande Ecole program (MiM program) awards a Master’s degree in 2 to 3 years. Accessible after a bachelor degree, this excellent management program offers progressive and customized specialization.
Brochure of the Master in Management - Grande Ecole program
The Master in Digital Marketing & Data Analytics is divided into 4 skill blocks over the year: you will learn to manage a digital strategy and its performance indicators, produce and analyze data, develop your programmatic skills to meet a company’s marketing challenges, and finally identify new opportunities and development potentials with ethical and environmental considerations.
Brochure of the Master in Digital Marketing & Data Analytics
To acquire specific skills, the Advanced Master's in Digital Transformation, Marketing & Strategy - Work-Study Track (only taught in French) is an excellent choice. Upon completion of this 12-month program, you will become an expert in international marketing.
This program equips students with the ability to develop innovative marketing strategies and apply them in real-world scenarios. The hands-on approach helps students understand the intricacies of digital marketing and prepares them to meet the demands of a rapidly changing market.
What is the salary of a Digital Marketing Consultant ?
The salary of a Digital Marketing Consultant varies significantly based on experience level, geographic location, and company size. The general salary range in Europe often falls between €35,000 and €90,000 gross per year.
For a quick reference, here is the average annual gross salary range for a Digital Marketing Consultant based on experience:
- Junior Consultant (0-3 years): Between €35,000 and €45,000
- Experienced Consultant (3-8 years): Between €45,000 and €65,000
- Senior Consultant (8+ years): Between €65,000 and €90,000
Salaries can be heavily impacted by external factors, making the true earning potential much wider than the averages:
- Geographic Location:
- Consultants in major international cities with high demand for digital marketing expertise, such as New York, San Francisco, or London, typically command higher salaries to account for a higher cost of living and a competitive talent market.
- Salaries in the US for a Digital Marketing Consultant often range from $74,700 to over $120,000 depending on seniority and city.
- Company Size and Type:
- Working for large corporations or international firms often provides opportunities for higher compensation and growth compared to smaller local agencies.
- Specialization and Skills:
- Expertise in high-demand areas (e.g., advanced SEO, data analytics, specific platform management like Google Ads/Meta Ads) can lead to higher earnings.
- Contract Type:
- Freelance Digital Marketing Consultants can set their own higher rates, with experienced consultants charging hourly rates between $100 and $250+ or earning $10,000+ per month through high-value retainers.
Career progression for a Digital Marketing Consultant
A digital marketing consultant can progress into various roles such as digital marketing manager, digital project manager, digital marketing trainer, and more.
These roles allow professionals to expand their skill sets and take on greater responsibilities. The demand for skilled digital marketing experts continues to grow, offering many career opportunities for those who excel in this field. The experience gained as a consultant can lead to positions in top companies where they can lead digital transformation projects.
The Digital Marketing Consultant in summary
A Digital Marketing Consultant is a strategic professional who drives revenue and online presence for businesses by planning, executing, and optimizing comprehensive digital marketing initiatives. They leverage data-driven insights across the entire web ecosystem to maximize ROI for startups, SMEs, and large enterprises.
The consultant's core mission is to align all online touchpoints (SEO, PPC, social media, email, content, website analytics) with a company's business goals, improving customer attraction and retention. They act as a strategic vision expert, providing evidence-based recommendations to scale results.
- Developing and implementing the overarching digital strategy.
- Conducting regular audits of the company's online presence.
- Designing and managing advertising campaigns (e.g., Google Ads, paid media).
- Measuring and analyzing Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and preparing performance reports.
- Creating engaging content and optimizing websites for search engines.
Success requires a blend of expertise, including: Strategic thinking, strong communication, technical mastery of tools (Google Ads, Google Analytics, marketing automation), and deep knowledge of SEO/SEA, content marketing, and data analytics.
Education paths range from a Master in Management to specialized programs like a Master in Digital Marketing & Data Analytics. Salaries are competitive, ranging from €35,000 to over €90,000 gross annually, depending on experience and location. Career progression often leads to roles like Digital Marketing Manager or Director.
Frequently asked questions about digital marketing consultant
Digital marketing offers critical benefits for achieving business goals in the modern landscape. Primarily, it significantly boosts brand awareness by increasing your online presence across various digital platforms. This allows businesses to reach a massive, global audience that traditional methods often miss, ensuring your message is seen where consumers spend their time.
Furthermore, digital marketing is highly effective for customer acquisition. Targeted campaigns, using data and insights, can pinpoint and engage specific audience segments most likely to convert. Leveraging strategies like digital advertising (including search and social media ads) and optimized content provides a measurable return on investment (ROI). Integrating digital efforts into your overall marketing mix gives you a significant competitive advantage. Digital tools allow for constant optimization, real-time engagement, and personalized customer journeys, ensuring maximum efficiency and deeper connection with your audience.
The current landscape in digital marketing is profoundly shaped by Artificial Intelligence (AI) and a focus on hyper-personalization. AI and marketing automation are used across digital marketing strategies to streamline content creation, refine targeting, and enhance the analysis of large datasets. This reliance on data analytics is crucial for optimizing digital marketing campaigns and delivering tailored customer experiences.
Social media platforms are evolving into key digital marketing channels through the rise of short-form video content and social commerce, allowing users to shop directly within apps like Instagram and TikTok. Brands are also prioritizing first-party data strategies to build trust and navigate evolving privacy regulations. For professionals, mastering new digital marketing tools and leveraging AI is key; an online marketing consultant must focus on integrated, full-funnel approaches that blend brand building with performance metrics to ensure maximum return on investment.