Freelance vs Full-Time Digital Marketing Jobs: Which One to Choose?

Are you wondering about the prospect of a career in digital marketing? But with a variety of options available, you find yourself in a dilemma. You're not alone! Many professionals get confused between full-time digital marketing jobs and freelance ones. In this blog, we’ll dive deep into the career prospects of both freelancing and full-time jobs in digital marketing. 

What is Digital Marketing?

Digital marketing refers to the act of promoting your services and products through internet and digital technologies. Online tools such as social media, search engine optimization and other multimedia methods are used in this form of marketing. Therefore, in simple words, digital marketing is essentially the promotion of brands through the Internet. It serves as a link between the brand and its potential customers.

It is a great way for companies to understand consumers' behavior through tracking likes, click-through rates and impressions. This is an effective method as it relies mainly on consumer data. However, digital marketing has become so popular that the main challenge is to stand out from the crowd. It's much more than just the use of e-mail or social media.

It involves researching the target audience and catering to their needs while upholding company beliefs. Many sub-branches of digital marketing have emerged such as social media marketing and push notifications.  

Freelance vs. Full-Time Digital Marketing

The digital marketing landscape quickly became saturated. Just like opportunities in digital marketing increased, the demands for freelance digital marketers skyrocketed. This often leads to confusion on which path to choose. Here, we will analyze the pros and cons of both freelancing and full-time digital marketing jobs. 

Pros of freelancing:

• Flexibility: You can choose your work hours according to your availability. Thus, your routine would be more flexible.
• Help in Gaining Relevant Experience: As freelance allows you to work with different clients from diverse industries, you will be exposed to a lot of relevant experiences. 
• Maximised Earnings: As you are your boss in freelancing, you would be free to set rates of your choice and you’d earn accordingly. You could maximise those earnings by taking up multiple projects. 

Cons of freelancing: 

• Income Uncertainty: In freelancing, income depends on the paycheck you secure. This provides less income stability. 
• Lack of Employee Benefits: This path does not grant you access to employee benefits such as paid leaves, and/or retirement benefits unless you are funding them yourself. 

Pros of full-time employment:

• Stable Income: You will be financially secure as you will get a paycheck after every month. 
• Structured Work Environment: Your job roles and responsibilities will be defined with access to training and supervision. As a result, your efficiency would improve.
• Employee Benefits: You will get perks such as paid leaves, health insurance, and a provident fund. 

Cons of full-time employment:

• Less Flexibility: Your personal time may be limited by fixed working hours.
• Limited Client Exposure: You will be working with the same company. As a result, you might not gain experience in multiple fields. 

Freelance vs. Full-Time Digital Marketing Jobs: Which one should you go for?

You must make a clear choice concerning which field you’re going for, as this will help shape the rest of your career. But do not worry, you can shift from freelance to full-time and vice versa.  

• If you are all in for the prospect of higher earnings and are capable and willing to engage with clients yourself, then going for freelancing would be more suitable. 
• If you want to prioritise a set schedule and fixed earnings, then choosing full-time employment will be the best option for you. 

Digital Marketing Courses

In India, digital marketing courses have gained popularity recently. As a result, digital marketing jobs are growing at a steady pace. Digital marketing courses offer an organized and smooth way of mastering essential SEO skills. You could learn these skills irrespective of whether you’re a student, a working professional, or even an entrepreneur. These include SEO, social media marketing, content marketing, PPC, and more. 

Digital marketing course fees range from Rs 15K to 1 Lakh, depending on the institution and number of skills. 

Some of the key skills that you’ll learn across most courses are: 

• SEO (Search Engine Optimization): You will come to understand how a search engine algorithm works and you'll also learn how to optimize websites.
• SEM (Search Engine Marketing): This involves running paid ads and promotions on search engines. 
• Content Marketing: You will learn the science behind creating and distributing valuable content to grab the attention of the readers.
• Social Media Marketing: It involves managing social media platforms and campaigns. You will also learn to attract the attention of the audience. 

• Web Analytics: You will learn how to use tools like Google Analytics and Semrush to track performance.

   

Digital Marketing Job Opportunities

As we know, technology is developing at a fast pace in India. Internet users have grown significantly, thanks to the Digital India initiative. As a result, digital marketing jobs for freshers have also increased, providing opportunities for young minds to start their careers.  

Here are some of the promising job opportunities in the field. 

• Digital Marketing Manager: They are responsible for developing, and managing marketing campaigns. As a digital marketing manager, your salary will range somewhere from Rs. 6 LPA to Rs. 15 LPA, but it also depends upon your experience. 
• SEO Specialist/Manager: They optimise websites and webpages to rank higher in search engines. They stay updated with Google algorithms and design webpages to rank in Google. Their salary ranges from Rs. 3 LPA to Rs. 7 LPA.
• Content Marketing Manager/Writer: They create engaging and unique content for blogs, websites, and social media. Their work is to develop content and strategies that will bring attention and engagement to the company. On average, their salary ranges from Rs. 4 LPA to Rs. 7 LPA. 
• Social Media Manager: People in this profession manage brand presence across social media platforms like Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and X. As a social media manager and handler, you may earn somewhere between Rs. 4 LPA to Rs. 8 LPA.

Conclusion

The digital marketing industry is expected to grow at an exponential rate of 11.66% CAGR. With thousands of new opportunities, we hope that this blog was able to bring some clarity regarding freelance vs full-time digital marketing jobs. 

Now, Amity University Online is offering an exclusive online MBA program that will help you gain a comprehensive understanding of the business world, including digital marketing. Enroll in the program to secure your future!

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