A digital marketing manager plays a crucial role in driving a brand’s online presence, managing campaigns, and ensuring that marketing efforts lead to measurable results. But what skills truly set apart a great digital marketing manager from an average one?
In today’s competitive landscape, simply knowing SEO, PPC, and social media marketing isn’t enough. A successful digital marketing manager needs a mix of technical, strategic, analytical, and leadership skills to navigate the ever-evolving digital world.
This guide will walk you through the essential skills you should look for when hiring a digital marketing manager, along with practical ways to assess them.
Why Digital Marketing Manager Skills Matter
The role of a digital marketing manager is becoming more complex, requiring professionals to juggle multiple responsibilities, including:
- Developing and executing multi-channel marketing campaigns
- Managing paid advertising, SEO, and email marketing
- Analyzing data and optimizing campaign performance
- Leading and coordinating teams across different digital functions
Hiring a marketing manager with the right skill set ensures higher ROI, better brand positioning, and more effective audience engagement.
For a complete guide on evaluating digital marketing candidates, check out: How to Evaluate Digital Marketing Skills for Hiring.
Top Digital Marketing Manager Skills to Assess
1. Strategic Thinking & Planning
A digital marketing manager should be able to see the bigger picture and develop marketing strategies that align with business goals.
💡 Key Areas to Assess:
- Ability to create a long-term marketing strategy
- Understanding of customer journey mapping
- Experience in budgeting and resource allocation
🔍 Assessment Tip:
Ask candidates to create a 6-month digital marketing plan for a brand and explain their approach.
2. SEO & Content Marketing Expertise
Strong SEO and content marketing skills ensure organic traffic growth and audience engagement.
💡 Key Areas to Assess:
- On-page and off-page SEO strategies
- Keyword research and competitor analysis
- Content marketing best practices and ROI tracking
🔍 Assessment Tip:
Provide a web page and ask the candidate to identify SEO weaknesses and suggest improvements.
For a detailed list of digital marketing skills, read: Top Digital Marketing Skills List to Assess for Employment.
3. PPC & Paid Advertising Management
A digital marketing manager should be skilled in Google Ads, Facebook Ads, and LinkedIn Ads to drive high-quality leads.
💡 Key Areas to Assess:
- Bid management and audience targeting
- Conversion rate optimization (CRO)
- A/B testing and ad performance analysis
🔍 Assessment Tip:
Give the candidate a budget and a campaign scenario and ask how they would allocate the budget across different platforms.
4. Marketing Analytics & Data Interpretation
Data-driven decision-making is key to improving marketing efforts. A manager should be comfortable using Google Analytics, Google Tag Manager, and data visualization tools.
💡 Key Areas to Assess:
- Understanding key marketing KPIs
- Experience with Google Analytics and campaign tracking
- Ability to derive actionable insights from data
🔍 Assessment Tip:
Ask candidates to analyze a marketing report and recommend optimizations based on the data.
For more insights into digital marketing technical skills, check out: Digital Marketing Technical Skills to Assess for Employment.
5. Email Marketing & Marketing Automation
Email marketing is still one of the most profitable marketing channels. A digital marketing manager must be proficient in CRM tools and automation platforms.
💡 Key Areas to Assess:
- Experience with email marketing tools (HubSpot, MailChimp, Marketo)
- Understanding of automation workflows
- A/B testing and performance optimization techniques
🔍 Assessment Tip:
Ask candidates how they would create an email nurture sequence for a new lead.
6. Social Media & Community Management
A marketing manager should be able to create engaging content strategies across different social media platforms.
💡 Key Areas to Assess:
- Knowledge of platform-specific content strategies (Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter)
- Experience with social media advertising and influencer collaborations
- Crisis management and community engagement skills
🔍 Assessment Tip:
Ask the candidate to outline a social media strategy for a new product launch.
7. Leadership & Team Management
Beyond technical skills, a digital marketing manager must lead a team and coordinate between different marketing functions. Interestingly, many of these leadership and organizational qualities overlap with what’s expected from digital marketing executives, who often grow into manager roles. If you’re curious about the core digital marketing executive skills that complement a manager’s responsibilities, this guide breaks them down in detail.
💡 Key Areas to Assess:
- Ability to delegate tasks and manage cross-functional teams
- Strong communication and stakeholder management skills
- Experience in mentoring junior marketers
🔍 Assessment Tip:
Ask about their experience in handling conflicts and motivating teams in a fast-paced environment.
8. Basic Graphic Design & Video Editing
While they don’t need to be designers, marketing managers should understand basic graphic design principles to manage branding efforts.
💡 Key Areas to Assess:
- Experience with Canva, Adobe Creative Suite, or Figma
- Ability to create social media and email visuals
- Understanding of video content marketing
🔍 Assessment Tip:
Ask them to suggest improvements to an existing ad creative.
Hard Skills vs. Soft Skills in a Digital Marketing Manager
| Hard Skills | Soft Skills |
| SEO, PPC, Google Analytics | Leadership & Team Management |
| Social Media & Paid Ads | Communication & Collaboration |
| Marketing Automation & CRM | Problem-Solving Skills |
| Email Marketing & Copywriting | Creativity & Innovation |
| Data Analytics & Reporting | Adaptability to Trends |
To test a candidate’s technical expertise, use a Digital marketing skill test to evaluate their proficiency in different digital marketing areas.
How to Assess Digital Marketing Manager Candidates
During interviews, practical tests help evaluate a candidate’s real-world skills.
| Skill Area | Example Interview Question |
| SEO & Content Strategy | “How would you improve organic traffic for an eCommerce site?” |
| Paid Ads & PPC | “How do you optimize a Google Ads campaign with a low ROI?” |
| Analytics & Data | “Which KPIs do you track for social media performance?” |
| Email Marketing | “What’s your process for increasing email engagement rates?” |
| Leadership & Teamwork | “How do you manage conflicts within your marketing team?” |
For interview-specific questions, check out: Digital Marketing Manager Interview Questions to Evaluate the Right Skills.
Final Thoughts: Finding the Right Digital Marketing Manager
A great digital marketing manager is both a strategist and a hands-on executor who can analyze data, manage teams, and optimize campaigns for maximum impact.
By assessing both technical and leadership skills, you’ll hire a high-performing marketing manager who can drive results for your business.
To test a candidate’s expertise, use a Digital marketing skill test to measure their proficiency before hiring.