So, you’ve collected some digital marketing certifications on your resume, tried out a few projects, and perhaps you’ve even complimented your abilities with some web development for optimal UX/UI design. You’re ready to change your career, and hard work has paid off—you scored an interview! First of all, congratulations!
Now, you may feel nervous about the interview process. Much like the field of coding, digital marketing is available to learn and practice without a formal education. While that’s fantastic for those yearning for a career change, it does take some self-driven learning that results in concrete skills that you will need to show off for whatever job you are interviewing for.
To prepare for the impending interview, here is a compilation of the most common digital marketing interview questions potential employers will toss your way. Treat the interview like another test or project, and get studying!
What does digital marketing mean to you?
This question will almost always pop up in some variation or another. The interviewee is searching for evidence of your knowledge about digital marketing, but also a hint at how you relate to the field. A suitable answer will not only include a definition in your own words but also an example of what makes digital marketing interesting to you personally.
As broad of a field as it is, digital marketing can be summed up as a way of reaching, interacting with, and marketing to a wide pool of potential customers through digital technology. A simple statement encompassing the scope of digital marketing is sufficient because it’s impossible to fit the entire spectrum.
On that note, employers want to see that you can differentiate digital marketing from traditional marketing. Avoid an answer like: “Digital marketing is just marketing but digitally.” It just doesn’t drive home the real complexity of the field.
Digital marketing vs. Traditional marketing
The long-standing field of marketing uses physical ways of promotion to target an audience that is generally local. Think billboards, direct mail, print ads, and even people, like sales associates and brand ambassadors.
The more modern digital marketing has a variety of methods of marketing on a larger global scale, customization based on the audience, and the newer ability to get real-time feedback on strategies.
If the interviewee wonders what led you to digital marketing as opposed to traditional marketing or other careers, be sure to integrate the potential growth of digital marketing into your answer.
What are the Two Categories of Digital Marketing Channels?
Before we get to the numerous kinds of digital marketing strategies and platforms, there are two main categories within digital marketing. Be sure to know the difference even if the interviewer doesn’t directly ask.
Online vs. Offline Digital Marketing
Digital marketing as an organized field is quite recent, but offline digital marketing existed long before the rapid evolution of technology. Offline marketing is marketing done on digital devices without an internet connection. Television commercials, cold-calling and telemarketing, and the radio all fall under offline digital marketing.
Online digital marketing is what we’re more familiar with. Internet connection is necessary to advertise online through social media, email, and other platforms that have live engagement with consumers. There are a lot more subtypes under this category because the world-wide-web is so vast.
What are the Major Types of Digital Marketing?(And What Type(s) are you Most Skilled in?)
For this question, you get to not only convey your general knowledge of possible digital marketing strategies, but also show your passion for whichever one you specialize in. Employers want to see that you have talents focused in one or two areas, rather than lackluster skills diffused across every kind of digital marketing. Always be specific when making the case for your specialized knowledge by recounting experiences where you used a certain marketing strategy.
Your answer doesn’t necessitate a comprehensive list of all the digital marketing types but talk about some of the major ones.
- Search Engine Optimization
- Search Engine Marketing
- Content Marketing
- Pay-per-Click
- Social Media Marketing
- Email Marketing
- Video Marketing
Other things interviewers might ask is what channels or social media (Youtube, Instagram, Twitter) you prefer or what types of content you are best at (blogging, videos, e-books).
What Digital Marketing Tools do you Use?
The tools utilized in digital marketing are endless but necessary. The breadth of digital marketing can be overwhelming, and for digital marketers, there’s usually at least a dozen different information, analytics, and strategies to keep track of at any given time. Luckily, available tools are equally abundant.
Analytics are vital to marketing online, especially since it is what distinguishes digital marketing from traditional. The ability to view the effects of a marketing strategy in real time is revolutionary, when for decades before, marketers could only measure their efforts by the sales they made.
Many tools might specialize in just keyword research, certain analytics, Customer Relationship Management (CRM), email marketing automation, or A/B testing. Most are all-purpose: providing a content management area to organize all the metrics, planning, and data necessary to stay organized. The list is endless, but some popular ones include Moz, Ahrefs, MailChimp, Kissanalytics, SEMrush, Wordstream, GoogleAds Keyword Planner, Cyfe, Klipfolio, etc. Social media platforms also offer metrics on engagements, followers, likes, comments, and audience demographics.
A smart option is to research beforehand what tools the company you’re interviewing for uses, and become familiar with them. You’ll be using them anyway once hired, so you may as well start early.
What Analytics do you Track?
Analytics are necessary to see the effects of a digital marketing strategy. Is it performing well or does it need some tweaks here and there to optimize it? The broad field of digital marketing allows for a variety of analytics to choose from. Just a few types of analytics include conversions, click-through rates, engagement, and web traffic.
An interviewee might want to know which analytics matter to you most or which ones you believe to be valuable. For this question, any answer is fine, but some answers could be wrong. For example, in social media marketing, likes and followers are not as useful for a brand as engagement.
What digital marketing trends do you see gaining traction?
Employers want to know that you have an ongoing interest in the field. Digital marketing is vast and dynamic, with many informative sources keeping an eye out for updates. Make sure you have a list of such sources in your pocket: popular digital marketing blogs, Youtube series, podcasts, and books.
By keeping track of the industry, you’ll know what’s up and coming—the next trend. Currently, it’s looking like 2020’s trends will consist of video marketing, continued influencer marketing on social media, and marketing automation—these are just a few. Digital marketing experts can get extremely detailed in foreshadowing trends.
General Tips for Acing a Digital Marketing Interview:
Some digital marketing interview questions are not easily predictable. An interviewee might want to know if you’ve had experience creating a marketing strategy, if it was successful or not, or how you would approach a certain strategy.
Just remember to always be honest. Whether your expertise comes from having completed a marketing degree, having worked in the field for several years, or having attended a free digital marketing coding bootcamp, make sure the employer knows from the get-go. Some interviewees might want to see how you theoretically plan out a potential strategy.
If it comes to that, here are some key things to keep in mind:
"Career Karma entered my life when I needed it most and quickly helped me match with a bootcamp. Two months after graduating, I found my dream job that aligned with my values and goals in life!"
Venus, Software Engineer at Rockbot
- Focus on the areas you know best, and devising a content strategy will come easily – even if you’ve never done it before.
- Begin by asking about the brand image, values, and goals. This does half the work for you, helping you narrow down your strategic focus.
- Most strategies include a few cycles of assessing analytics and re-strategizing for improved performance.
- When in doubt, remember the digital marketing sales funnel. Match the brand up to where they may be in the sales funnel. For example, to attract the audience into the theoretical mouth of the funnel (the top), figure out a way to increase brand awareness.
These digital marketing interview questions certainly do not cover the full possibilities. However, they can guide you, at the very least, in brushing up on your digital marketing knowledge and in increasing your confidence. Good luck!
About us: Career Karma is a platform designed to help job seekers find, research, and connect with job training programs to advance their careers. Learn about the CK publication.
