In recent years, digital marketing has become a frenzied growth industry. Just how big? About $62 billion in the US, according to a study by Harvard Business School professor John Deighton and Columbia University professor Peter Johnson undertaken for the Direct Marketing Association. Companies are hiring digital marketers and top schools are catering to surging demand.

“The time to invest in a digital marketing education is now. I was heavily recruited by companies,” says Anita Rohatgi, a graduate of University of Michigan-Dearborn, which has a sought-after digital marketing program.

“We had professes who gave us hands-on lessons writing blogs and building websites in WordPress. We learnt about social media marketing, email marketing, and mobile strategies,” added Rohatgi, a digital marketing specialist at DHL Express.

 
Colleges offering digital marketing programs
At the University of Michigan-Dearborn, majoring in both digital marketing and marketing is not permitted. However, majoring in both digital marketing and IT management is strongly encouraged. Their digital marketing courses are geared towards preparing students to enter the workforce with skills to make tactical and data-driven decisions using social media measurement, business intelligence, SEO/SEM, web analytics, and marketing data.

The University of Washington in Seattle is among a growing number of institutions offering a digital marketing program. The university’s Communication Leadership Program is described as a “career booster for professionals who live in this ‘communication first’ world of digital content, online engagement and mobile technology.”

Georgetown University’s School of Continuing Studies offers a professional certificate program in digital marketing. The program helps students grasp the world of multi-channel marketing, and analytic tools to synthesize data. The course feature a blend of lectures, class exercises, individual and group work, and a capstone project. The program is ideal for mid-level marketing professionals.

Separately, both Stanford and New York University’s Stern School of Business allow their full-time MBA students to specialize in digital marketing.

 
Essential skills for digital marketing
Here are some skills which are necessary for a digital marketing career. 

1. A passion For writing: At the top of the list is communication skills. “The word “wrote” should consistently reappear on a resume when describing the previous work experiences of a digital marketer,” says Brett Farmiloe, CEO of Markitors, a digital marketing company that connects small businesses with customers.
   
   “Digital marketers need to be comfortable writing an SEO optimized blog post, a client recap email and a witty status update,” added Farmiloe.
   
   There is a clear correlation between communication and success within a digital marketing career.
    
2. A love of numbers: Interpreting analytical data enables a digital marketer to optimize an SEO blog post, or manage a Google AdWords campaign. Spreadsheets, percentages and trends are your friends.
    
3. Creativity: Digital marketing requires you to take a product or service and talk about that product or service in a creative way on social media through blogs and posts. 

 
Job Prospects
Digital marketing specialist salaries can range from $54,000-$82,000, according to Glassdoor.com, a website which contains company reviews, ratings, and salaries.