Marketing careers are not one-size-fits-all, and the variety of career paths in marketing continues to grow each year. Read on to learn more about a few top marketing specialties and which might be best for your unique personality!
Marketing Analyst
What they do:
Marketing Analysts focus on measuring the outcome of marketing activities to ensure brands meet their business goals. These professionals can be responsible for analyzing a mix of online and offline marketing activities, including events, television advertising, social media advertising, influencer marketing, paid search and more. Marketing Analysts are critical in helping businesses get the most out of their marketing efforts and budgets.
This may be the best career path if you:
- Like to dig deep into data to answer a question or solve a problem
- Need to measure results and prefer facts over instincts
- Are “left-brained” and enjoy most math classes, especially statistics
The best competitive events for this career path:
- Entrepreneurship – Business Growth Plan
- Project Management – Business Solutions Project
- Integrated Marketing Campaign – Product or Service
Social Media Manager
What they do:
Social Media Managers oversee a brand or company’s presence across social media channels like Instagram, TikTok and LinkedIn. In addition to managing the content and posting strategy, these professionals are often responsible for directly engaging with followers in comments and DMs. This field can also include influencer marketing, which involves building and managing relationships with influencers to more authentically promote a brand or product.
This may be the best career path if you:
- Are an extrovert who loves to respond to a full inbox of DMs
- Are a pro at mastering Instagram’s latest features
- Shine in journalism, photography and/or creative writing classes
The best competitive events for this career path:
- Project Management – Community Awareness or Community Giving
- Integrated Marketing Campaign – Event, Product or Service
- Virtual Business Challenge – Fashion
Brand Manager
What they do:
Brand Managers are essentially the mini-CEOs of a brand. They’re responsible for setting brand guidelines and ensuring that every marketing activity delivers one cohesive brand experience. These professionals are usually responsible for orchestrating cross-channel marketing and advertising plans, and often manage other teams or agencies to execute them. Some Brand Managers also oversee their brand’s financials and are responsible for keeping the brand’s business healthy and profitable.
This may be the best career path if you:
- Naturally assume leadership roles and can drive others towards a shared goal or vision
- Often see the “bigger picture” of projects and can put a plan in place to bring it to life
- Are collaborative, but don’t mind being accountable and decisive
The best competitive events for this career path:
- Individual Series – Marketing Communications or Business Finance
- Integrated Marketing Campaign – Event, Product or Service
- Entrepreneurship – Business Growth Plan
Digital Performance Marketer
What they do:
Digital Performance Marketers focus on designing, implementing and optimizing paid marketing campaigns to drive more likes, clicks, views, conversions and other performance indicators. These individuals can work for one brand or serve many different clients at an agency. Digital Performance Marketers work closely with Marketing Analysts to uncover insights that help them with their campaigns’ content, targeting, budget and more to constantly improve results.
This may be the best career path if you:
- Are both analytical and creative at the same time (you’re left and right-brained)
- Spend time thinking about the strategies behind the Instagram ads you see
- Are incredibly results-focused and always look for ways to improve your work
The best competitive events for this career path:
- Integrated Marketing Campaign – Event, Product or Service
- Entrepreneurship – Business Growth Plan
No matter what your interests and skills, use DECA’s competitive events to explore and learn more about the exciting, broad range of careers in marketing.
