Brand strategy is a specialized area of digital marketing that focuses on a brand rather than a product or service. The role of a Brand Strategist is to build awareness and acceptance of a brand on the internet. This often involves working with many different teams, each with its own responsibilities. If you like a fast-paced job that is changing all the time, Brand Strategist could be a good career path for you.
What Do Brand Strategists Do?
Brand Strategists track how a brand performs on the internet and develop strategies to build or improve that performance. They help companies or individuals create a clear message and put that out on the internet. Brand Strategist is a public relations position that supports a company’s or individual’s public image. They need to work closely with different teams such as marketing, advertising, and sales departments to research industry trends and public perception, and create marketing and advertising campaigns to strengthen brand identity.
A Brand Strategist provides a roadmap for a client to fulfill the company’s mission and vision by using digital marketing tools to create very targeted marketing campaigns. For example, if a company makes sustainably produced, organic baby clothes, they don’t want to target their advertising to all parents. A Brand Strategist would develop a campaign for a niche market, perhaps moms who do yoga, to establish and maintain a brand.
Career Paths for Brand Strategists
To become a Brand Strategist, you will need education and experience. This is a higher-level position. Many companies require a bachelor’s degree in business, journalism, marketing, or a similar field, and some companies prefer a master’s in business administration. Some people start as digital marketers and move up depending on their experience level.
In a larger firm, Brand Strategists will work as part of a digital marketing team. They report to a Brand Manager or Marketing Director and work with an advertising or sales department, Designers, Copywriters, and Videographers. In smaller companies, a Brand Strategist might take on extra roles in data analysis or design. The smaller the firm, the less stratified it is.
When you have at least five years of experience, you can move into a leadership position as a Marketing Manager. You will set the agenda for a team of marketers and take responsibility for projects. The next step after Marketing Manager could be District or Regional Marketing Manager. Others might be more drawn to the creative side and become Creative Directors.
Job Prospects for Brand Strategists
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor and Statistics, jobs in marketing and advertising are expected to grow by 10% through 2030. Employment website Indeed.com reports an annual median salary of $65,550 in the United States, although salary amounts depend upon location. The highest paying cities for Brand Strategists are San Francisco, California at $79,944, New York, New York, at $75,929, Chicago, Illinois at $71,020, San Diego, California at $70.042, and Austin, Texas at $67,756.
Glassdoor.com lists the base salary for a Brand Manager with 4-6 years of experience at $87,419. A Brand Manager with over ten years of experience has a median average annual base salary of $103,765, making Brand Strategists and Manages one of the more highly paid careers in digital marketing.
What Skills Do Brand Strategists Need?
To have a successful career as a Brand Strategist, you need education or training and experience. You also need some skills like the ability to work cross-functionally, creative problem-solving skills, and good communication abilities.
Education
Many companies are looking for people with college degrees when hiring Brand Strategists. People with a bachelor’s degree in journalism or communications with an emphasis in public relations have a good chance of being hired as Brand Strategists, as do people with a degree in marketing or advertising. Brand Strategist is not an entry-level position, and some companies prefer candidates with an MBA, or master of business administration.
Experience
Brand Strategists usually have 3-5 years of experience in marketing before moving into the Strategist role. Project management experience is also very useful for Brand Strategists because they need to be able to work with different teams and in multiple markets.
Valuable Skills:
- Creativity - To be a successful Brand Strategist, you need to be a creative thinker. You need to be able to identify opportunities to amplify the brand you are working with, locate niches that the brand could use, and create engaging dialogue with customers. Originality and freshness is important for strengthening the brand voice.
- Communication Skills - Brand Strategists need to be excellent communicators. One of the most important skills for Brand Strategists is storytelling. The ability to craft a compelling narrative is crucial to increasing brand awareness.
- Familiarity with digital marketing - A good Brand Strategist understands the importance of setting goals, understanding the brand, researching performance, and engaging with customers.
- Computer Skills - A working knowledge of different computer programs is a must for Brand Strategists. From analytics tools to spreadsheets, digital marketing happens on the internet, so being comfortable working with computers is important.
Learning Digital Marketing
If you want to change careers and become a Brand Strategist, a good place to start is to sign up for a digital marketing bootcamp. For example, Noble Desktop’s Digital Marketing Strategies Bootcamp covers the role of digital marketing in today’s business landscape, as well as how to design successful email campaigns, optimize websites and landing pages for conversions, and create content to drive traffic to your or your company’s website by engaging your audience. SEO Bootcamp will teach you how search engines work, how to do keyword research and competitor analysis, and how to use SEO-driven content to increase web traffic. You can also sign up for a Google Analytics Bootcamp to learn how to set up an account, know which metrics to track, and understand the Google Analytics reports. Each bootcamp includes 12 hours of instruction and costs $650.
Another way to prepare for a career as a Brand Strategist is a digital marketing certificate course. Noble’s Digital Marketing Certificate includes the digital marketing, SEO, and Google Analytics bootcamps, plus Google Ads and classes on Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, TikTok, and Twitter marketing, as well as content marketing with blogs. You can choose classes that meet in-person or online. Some people prefer to attend brick-and-mortar sessions when learning new information, but that isn’t always available. Live online classes have a similar set-up with a real-time, remote instructor who can answer questions and take control of your monitor—with permission—to show you how to do things. Training is part or full-time and available weekdays, weeknights, or weekends.
It takes 78 hours of instruction to complete a digital marketing certificate through Noble Desktop, and the tuition is $3,295. An installment plan and loans are available. You can choose between full or part-time classes and classes that meet during the day, evening, or on weekends. When you complete the course, you will receive a verified digital certificate of completion recognized by the New York State Department of Education that you can download or post on your LinkedIn profile. This type of certification can help you get a job as a Digital Marketing Strategist.
Conclusion
If you want to learn more about digital marketing careers, check out Noble Desktop’s Digital Marketing Certificate or Social Media Marketing Certificate. Choose between in-person sessions in NYC at Noble’s location or sign up for live online courses and attend from anywhere. Use Noble Desktop’s Classes Near Me to find other courses in digital marketing in your area.