The digital consultant is a professional figure that was born and developed with the advent of digital, i.e., the spread of communication channels and tools on the web.
There are two meanings referring to this role:
- A professional who transfers his activity ordinarily performed offline onto the web. For example, the lawyer, the accountant, the psychologist.
- Professional carrying out activities in the digital world. Ergo, digital marketing consultant.
In this article, I will talk to you about this professional figure, referring to the second meaning. I will point out the characteristics and skills of digital consultants and the job opportunities related to this profession.
As you will see, this is a figure with a T-profile: he or she must first possess a good general knowledge of the various digital marketing disciplines and then verticalize his or her skills, specializing in the area in which he or she intends to provide web consultancy services.
If you intend to focus your career on digital consultancy, the All Specialist Certification offers you comprehensive knowledge in the areas of digital marketing. You will have the opportunity to identify the one most in line with your aptitudes in order to acquire the skills you need to be successful in your profession.
In this article, I talk about:
- What are the key competencies of the digital marketing consultant;
- What to do to become a digital consultant;
- What are the 6 types of digital consultants most sought after by companies?
Who is the digital consultant and what do they do?
Who is the digital consultant? He is a professional who puts his digital skills at the service of companies or other professionals. He is, therefore, not an employee but a freelancer with specific skills and solid experience in a particular area of digital.
What does a digital consultant do? He supports his clients in achieving their business goals. Depending on the specific area in which he works, he defines a strategy, i.e., a plan of action to be followed in order to achieve certain results on the web. This is why he is also called a digital strategy consultant.
The skills of the digital consultant are both transversal and specific, depending on the area of competence.
The most common transversal skills are:
- technical skills;
- communication and interpersonal skills;
- analytical skills;
- adaptability;
- problem-solving.
Technical skills differ according to the different areas of application and can be acquired through ad hoc training courses. Further on, I will indicate the specific ones referring to the main professions. The other skills listed are mainly soft skills, which refer to personal characteristics and aptitudes, but which must then be refined through practice and experience in the field.
Are you interested in a career as an online consultant?
Becoming a digital consultant: the 6 most sought-after professions
How does one become a digital consultant? First of all, one needs to acquire specific digital skills. These are technical skills and practical knowledge of online channels, tools, and platforms. The type of tools and skills to be learned depends on the specific field in which one operates.
What are the areas in which you can offer digital consultancy services? Read on to discover the 6 digital professions most sought after by companies and the skills to acquire for each of them.
1. SEO Specialist
The SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) consultant specializes in positioning and optimizing content on search engines such as Google and Bing. He or she is well-versed in the world of online marketing and has technical expertise in areas related to search engine optimization:
- content marketing;
- copywriting;
- blogging;
- UX/UI Design.
SEO is a multifaceted discipline for which both humanistic and technical skills related to the world of programming and HTML are required.
In Digital Coach, you can obtain the skills you need to work in this profession through specific training: SEO Course, which is necessary to become a digital consultant in this area.
2. Web Advertising Specialist
The Advertising Consultant offers digital consulting services in the field of online advertising.
Unlike traditional advertising, the world of online advertising is very diverse in terms of the tools, channels, and platforms through which companies promote their business:
- Google Ads,
- Facebook Ads,
- Linkedin Ads,
- YouTube,
- TikTok.
If you are interested in web advertising, I recommend that you acquire a general knowledge of all online advertising platforms and specialize in one or two on which you can focus your activity.
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3. Social Media Manager
The third idea for entering the profession of the digital consultant is that of the freelance social media manager. A professional skilled in social media management, who communicates with customers on behalf of a company, manages the online community and takes care of the production of multimedia content to be conveyed to the target audience.
Moreover, it is good that a digital social media consultant shows great empathy, as well as the right amount of curiosity about new trends.
Are you interested in the world of social media marketing?
4. E-Commerce Specialist
Becoming an eCommerce digital consultant requires training at the highest level. At our virtual school, you can find the Ecommerce Manager Course dedicated to the world of online sales and other short courses with which you can deepen your knowledge of ecommerce.
- e-commerce software and Magento;
- regulations on web commerce;
- strategies and management for online sales;
- digital strategy.
We can define the E-Commerce consultancy business as the Olympus of digital marketing, as there is very high and extremely skilled competition in terms of skills and strategies. For example, digital consultants specializing in E-Commerce must be able to devise funnels that lead customers to convert.
Is being an E-commerce Specialist the right profession for you?
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5. Lead Generation Manager
This is one of the lesser-known types of digital consultants but of vital importance to the success of a business. He is a professional who has extremely transversal expertise in digital marketing disciplines, with a specific focus on effective processes, strategies, and techniques to induce a purchase online or offline.
Through an Inbound and Lead Generation strategy orchestrated by a digital consultant, a business can make itself found and engage the user who surfs the net. If you are interested in these topics, you can take a look at the Inbound Marketing Manager Certification Course.
6. Webmaster
The Webmaster is a digital professional specializing in the design of websites, including their management and updating. He does not have to be a programmer or web designer but must have both technical and creative skills and mastery of the most common CMS (Content Management System).
If, for your digital consultancy career, you intend to specialize in website creation, I recommend learning how to use WordPress, the most popular CMS today and also the most in demand.
Learn how to create websites with WordPress and
start your career as a digital consultant!
Which clients do the digital consultant work with?
A digital consultant has an enviable range of working solutions. First of all, the first distinction must be made between digital consultants who choose to go freelance and those who tie themselves to a specific company.
In the first case, if you intend to do this profession on an ongoing basis, you need to open a VAT number, and you will be able to work as a consultant for one or more companies, from the most structured companies to start-ups and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
If, on the other hand, you choose the employee route, you will be bound by a contract to a single business entity, and you will provide your services, perhaps in a specific field. Moreover, it is good to consider that in recent times there are many professionals in traditional jobs (lawyers, accountants, labor consultants, physiotherapists, etc.) who require the help of consultants to digitize their activities and implement digital transformation.
How much does a digital consultant earn?
It is not possible to speak of a digital consultant’s salary since he is a freelancer and not a company employee. His or her remuneration certainly depends on seniority and thus on the level of experience, but also on the type of company where he or she does his or her consulting.
Just to give a reference, Accenture – a well-known multinational strategy consulting company, indicates an average salary between 37,000 – 41,000 USD per year gross.
But the advertisements posted on LinkedIn, the professional network par excellence, also give us a similar situation.
Furthermore, as mentioned above, the complexity of the company and the tasks assigned can directly influence the salary. Digital consultants offering services for SMEs and start-ups usually receive a lower salary than those working for more structured companies.
Discover the highest-paid digital professions.
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The tools of digital consultants
Any self-respecting digital consultant possesses the technical tools necessary for both operations and client management. In this paragraph, I will point out three macro groups of software that you can, if you wish, go into more detail in the Online Consultant Course.
The first group consists of agile project management tools, which enable the digital consultant to manage his activities more effectively.
- Asana: to follow projects intelligently, fostering collaboration between teams or between client and consultant;
- Miro: to create online collaborative whiteboards and support presentations to customers, minimizing misunderstandings;
- Trello: to make it easier for digital consultants to organize their work by breaking down tasks and creating checklists so that the flow of operations is always under control.
The second group is that of software that facilitates the organization and conduct of appointments remotely:
- Book like a boss: to schedule meetings and calls;
- Google Meet, Jitsi, Microsoft Teams, Skype, Whereby: to manage remote meetings between the company and consultant.
Finally, in the last group, there are programs for recording the PC screen, as well as sending guides, tutorials, notes, and much more.
- Descript: is a collaborative audio/video editor that allows transcription, screen recording, and normal and full multitrack publishing.
- Loom: freemium tool offering the possibility of capturing and recording the PC screen.
Conclusions and coaching to become a digital consultant
That of the digital marketing consultant, in an era when everything and everything is happening on the web, is considered strategic for many companies. Companies, like professionals, aware that being online is indispensable, are increasingly looking for the right digital consultant who can support them in achieving their communication and marketing goals on the web.
If you are thinking of pursuing a career as a digital consultant, the first move is undoubtedly to acquire skills in the field of digital marketing through a training course that gives you a general overview of the various areas of digital and, at the same time, allows you to specialize in the area closest to your interests and aptitudes.
If you need to find your way in the diverse world of digital professions, you can rely on the free advice of one of our career experts, who will help you identify the most suitable training path to enhance your strengths and realize your professional goals.
The courses offered by Digital Coach are comprehensive training courses that combine theoretical lessons with field practice through work experiences: real work projects to be realized in teams with precise deadlines and measurable objectives.
Find out now how to have a digital profession!
I direct Digital Coach®, the professional training school, leader in training all professionals who work in the Digital Marketing & Sales field.
As a trainer, I have trained over 35,000 business professionals from over 300 large multinational companies and over 5,000 Italian SMEs.
I devised the “Digital Strategy Framework®” method, thanks to which since 2014 I have been helping companies to define and improve over time a digital strategy that maximizes the generation of turnover and online sales.
