Career spotlight: marketing coordinator
The marketing field offers job seekers a variety of career options, especially in today’s digital age.
A marketing coordinator works with a company’s marketing department to organize its promotional outreach efforts. According to LinkedIn, a marketing coordinator helps develop and implement strategic plans designed to “drive sales for a company, service, or product.” Working with marketing brand managers, the coordinator educates themselves about the market, industry trends, and the competition.
Creating content, working with clients, and tracking the results of social media campaigns are just a few examples of what a marketing coordinator is involved in day to day.
A marketing coordinator’s job description may also include the following responsibilities:
- Developing spreadsheets and reports
- Coordinating meetings with marketing partners and executive team members
- Attending team meetings to discuss sales goals and objectives
- Monitoring marketing trends
For marketing coordinators, Glassdoor reports an approximate average salary of $48,710 across all industries, with the possibility to advance. Note that the salary depends on geographic location, industry, and experience. In 2019, the median annual wage for the entire category of marketing managers, marketing coordinators, and other marketing professionals was estimated at $136,850, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Note that the BLS does not provide a specific marketing coordinator salary, instead grouping marketing professionals in the same category as upper-level positions, so this salary is not likely for the coordinator position.
The BLS anticipates a 6% growth rate in the advertising, promotions, and marketing management field between 2019 and 2029, which makes it an attractive career option for students in communication and business tracks. The advertising industry and marketing field show no sign of slowing down as the global market changes. New businesses need professionals with strong marketing strategies to stay competitive. That creates a lively job market for talent to fill critical positions, including the entry-level position of marketing coordinator.
The career opportunities in all areas of this field are varied and relatively lucrative, offering meaningful growth potential to professionals in different phases of a marketing and advertising career.
You can expect a range of benefits working in this field, including those described here.
Career satisfaction and community impact
As a marketing coordinator, you have the power to drive success for your marketing team. Your focus on the larger picture and efforts at creating departmental harmony allow everyone on your product or brand team to concentrate on their tasks.
Depending on the sector in which you plan to pursue your marketing career, you may be able to positively impact your community. For example, if you work for a health care organization, you may work with marketing teams to launch important community health initiatives, focusing on communicating the organization’s message to ensure that no one misses out on a crucial health opportunity. Other nonprofits that may hire marketing coordinators include food banks, community organizations, and other charitable organizations.
Diverse career opportunities
Professionals with communication, business, and marketing degrees find a variety of career options available, all offering diverse experiences. A marketing coordinator’s job description often involves tasks and goals that include advertising, promotions, content creation, public relations, and brand awareness.
Job security
The BLS reports that the fields of marketing, advertising, promotions, and content and search engine optimization (SEO) management are projected to continue to experience growth, making it essential for organizations to maintain and expand their market share. These fields require marketing coordinators to assist in planning, organizing, directing, and coordinating promotional, advertising, and brand launch campaigns.
Return on your investment
Considering the healthy demand for professionals in every area of the marketing and advertising industry, marketing professionals often command higher-than-average starting and overall salaries, making an education in this field valuable over the coming decade. Marketing coordinator, however, is an entry-level position that offers higher earning possibilities after you acquire experience and training.
In addition to the marketing coordinator job description and salary information included above, aspiring marketing coordinators should understand the future of the industry. Responding to the increasingly digital habits of consumers, the marketing and advertising field relies heavily on technology. Forbes shares that new technologies and techniques, frequent updates, and changes to search engine algorithms keep marketing teams busy trying to keep up.
Here’s a brief look at trends in the marketing industry:
Both virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) have become increasingly common trends in the marketing industry. AR now has surpassed the popularity of VR. Many businesses are launching advertising campaigns that allow customers to experience products virtually in their homes before making a purchase.
Interactive imagery and content
In every buying decision, today’s consumers have several choices. As a result, they increasingly want new experiences and real-time interactions with the product to assist them in making difficult decisions. Marketing teams have embraced this trend because it engages customers in unique new ways, keeps them on the page longer, and encourages them to share the content via social media.
Artificial intelligence (AI) is creeping into the social collective consciousness more every day as well as into the advertising and marketing field. AI can analyze customer patterns and behaviors using data from purchases, blog posts, customer reviews, and social media posts, offering businesses insights into how consumers find, buy, and use their products.
To help their team function effectively in today’s digital marketplace, marketing coordinators must remain versatile and flexible, ready to comprehend, use, and share information about the latest trends. This professional often serves as a liaison with various departments, including marketing, creative, information technology, and executive teams. If you pursue a career in this profession, you must remain open-minded and willing to learn new tasks and technologies to stay competitive and continue moving forward.
Skills in and knowledge of the latest technologies are paramount when pursuing a career in marketing. While working on their degree in marketing or communications, marketing coordinators should develop strong communication and interpersonal skills. They can expand their knowledge of marketing techniques to learn website traffic analysis and project management skills.
As the nature of advertising and marketing continues to evolve and adapt to the changing marketplace, so do the roles available in the industry. Options in media alone are vast, including broadcast, print, web, and social media outlets. Jobs in each media channel are equally varied, creating a large array of professional possibilities.
There are multiple points of entry for those on the marketing coordinator career path, including the following positions:
- Social media specialist
- SEO specialist
- Marketing specialist
- Digital marketing manager
- Email marketing manager
- Web content strategist
- Marketing analyst
- Advertising coordinator
- Advertising manager
- Public relations manager
- Chief marketing officer
- Digital marketing manager
- E-commerce manager
What different types of marketing jobs are available?
Marketing professionals often qualify for a variety of industry roles. As the positions in the marketing industry increase, so do the opportunities and salaries for dedicated professionals.
With such a huge variety of possibilities, professionals should choose appealing core study tracks and remain open to continuing education, especially in emerging technologies.
Entry-level marketing jobs
Earning a bachelor’s degree in communications or a related field can help you pursue a variety of exciting marketing career paths, which can lead to leadership and management positions.
Explore a few entry-level positions and their average salaries, according to PayScale. Note that the salaries are dependent on your level of experience as well as your area of the country.
Advertising copywriter
$46,500
Public relations specialist
$49,785
Social media marketing specialist
$48,539
Marketing strategist
$61,050
Market researcher
$56,802
Advanced marketing jobs
Typically, in any field, the more education you have, the more you earn. That’s why earning an advanced degree in marketing and communications can help equip you with the necessary tools to advance in this evolving position in marketing and advertising.
Marketing, advertising, or public relations manager
$135,900 (according to the BLS)
The future of marketing and advertising requires that professionals remain open, adaptable, and willing to learn new tasks, skills, and disciplines. The foundation of a successful marketing coordinator career begins with a solid education and a working knowledge of marketing techniques, along with the development of a number of technical and soft skills.
The following is an overview of the education, training, and skills you’ll need to succeed as a marketing coordinator:
Education
A bachelor’s degree in marketing, communications, or a related field is typically required for most marketing coordinator roles. Coursework in psychology, sales, and advertising can also be helpful. Some college programs may also require an internship, which can help you develop the experience you’ll need to become a marketing coordinator.
Training
A marketing coordinator should understand various marketing techniques and strategies, including media placement, social media activity, and the use of website metrics. Though not a requirement to become a marketing coordinator, several marketing certifications are available, such as the Google Analytics certification and the American Marketing Association’s Professional Certified Marketer certification. These credentials can help enhance your marketing expertise and boost your job prospects.
Fast-growing marketing skills
As a marketing coordinator, you will need to learn how to harness the power of technology and traditional marketing creativity to deliver effective results. Understanding how technology plays a role is important. According to 2019 research, the fastest-growing skills employers are seeking include the following:
Top Skill |
Projected Posting Growth (2018-2023) |
---|---|
Artificial intelligence | 339% |
Distributed computing | 174% |
Web analytics | 166% |
Machine learning | 134% |
Cloud solutions | 119% |
Data science | 110% |
Scripting languages | 101% |
NoSQL databases | 98% |
Software quality assurance | 95% |
Data visualization | 80% |
Source: Burning Glass Technologies Occupational Insights, 2019
Technical skills
The most often requested technical or specialized skills are:
- Data analytics
- Digitization
- Google Analytics
- Microsoft Office
- Salesforce
Soft skills
For marketing and advertising postings, the top-requested soft skills include the following:
- Digital marketing
- Social media
- Market strategy
- Product management
- Product development
Emerging skills
The advertising and marketing industries will experience an ever-increasing impact from advances in technology and the hybridization of related skills. In the future, experts expect to see the following skills featured in more job postings:
Emerging Skill |
Projected Posting Growth (2018–2023) |
---|---|
Machine learning | 240% |
Data storage | 200% |
Business intelligence software | 189% |
Web analytics | 166% |
Data analysis | 150% |
General marketing | 123% |
Marketing software | 118% |
Source: Burning Glass Technologies Occupational Insights, 2019
Popular tools
In addition to traditional software like Microsoft Office, the following tools are frequently used in a marketing department, and you’ll likely be expected to have experience with them or be able to learn them on the job:
- Google Analytics
- Salesforce
- Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube
- Marketo
When making a new hire, employers often look for training and experience. One way you can add both to your resume is to consider an internship. You can search for internships in your local area and speak to your career counselor about options as well. Some examples of websites that post internships in the marketing coordinator field include:
As a marketing professional, you should network and increase your industry knowledge to help further your career as a marketing coordinator. One of the best ways to do both is to join relevant industry associations such as these:
Stay on top of your own self-marketing
Marketing coordinators and other marketing professionals will remain in high demand over the coming decade. With the right skills and expertise, you can earn a living wage and work in diverse areas of advertising, marketing, sales, public relations, and social media. The opportunities are there if you stay abreast of the latest trends. Seek new skill-building and educational opportunities for your present and future roles.
Find your path
- American Marketing Association
- Glassdoor
- Google, Google Data Analytics Certificate
- Houston Chronicle
- Indeed
- PayScale
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Need help finding the right program?