The marketing job market is constantly growing, meaning new job titles are also being created. In this newsletter, we’ll dive deeply into various marketing careers to identify which is best for you!

Table of Contents

• Brand Management

• Social Media Marketing

• Product Marketing

• Marketing Manager

Brand management roles are commonly found in Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) companies like Unilever, Procter & Gamble, and PepsiCo. These roles involve managing specific brands or products within a company’s portfolio. For example, at Unilever, a brand manager might oversee Vaseline's body lotion line, handling everything from sales performance to creative marketing campaigns.

Brand management positions typically follow a progression in seniority, starting as Assistant Brand Manager, then moving to Associate Brand Manager, and finally to Senior Brand Manager. No matter the level, the job combines strategy, analysis, and creativity to drive a brand’s success.

Brand managers split their focus into three key areas:

1. Profit and Loss (P&L)

As a brand manager, you’re accountable for your product’s P&L. In simple terms, this means you’re responsible for the financial success or failure of the product.

If the product under your care isn’t selling well—for instance, Vaseline's body lotion isn’t performing as expected in certain retailers—you’ll need to dig into the data to identify the problem. Is pricing an issue? Is the product not positioned well against competitors? Once you find the root cause, you’ll develop a plan to address the challenges and drive profitability.

Senior managers often lead high-level decisions here, but even entry-level brand managers are expected to think critically and propose solutions.

2. Strategic Analysis

This aspect ties into P&L but focuses on deep-dive analysis. Brand managers spend a lot of time sifting through sales data to uncover key insights. This includes tracking:

• Unit Sales: How many products are selling?

• Dollar Sales: How much revenue is being generated?

• Velocity: How quickly are products moving off the shelves?

• Competitor Performance: How are rival brands stacking up?

Tools like NielsenIQ are essential for this analysis, helping brand managers understand where they stand in the market.

The insights you gather are then shared in meetings with cross-functional teams, such as sales, where you collaborate to adjust strategies for specific retailers. This is a data-driven role, so comfort with numbers is critical.

3. Creative Campaigns

The creative side of brand management is where your imagination can shine. Brand managers collaborate with external agencies to develop marketing campaigns that align with the brand’s goals and resonate with the target audience.

These campaigns may span multiple channels, including digital, TV, social media, and in-store promotions. For instance, if your analysis shows that younger audiences are a key growth area, you might launch a TikTok campaign or influencer partnerships to target them more effectively.

The most successful campaigns are those that blend strategic insights with innovative ideas.

If you’re looking for a role that offers a mix of strategy, data analysis, and creativity, brand management might be perfect for you. It’s a challenging role with high expectations, but seeing your ideas come to life and watching your brand succeed is incredibly rewarding.

Social media marketers play a crucial role in growing a brand’s online presence and turning followers into loyal consumers. If you’re passionate about social platforms and love keeping up with trends, this role might be the perfect fit for you!

This job is all about building brand awareness, creating a sense of community, and using social platforms to drive measurable results. Social media marketing is especially powerful for brands that rely on engaging with their audiences directly.

On a day-to-day basis, social media marketers focus on three key areas: content creation, content strategy, and engagement.

1. Content Creation

Content creation is the bread and butter of social media marketing. While it may sound as simple as uploading a post, creating great content requires a mix of creativity, research, and technical skill.

• Research: Look at what’s trending in your niche. What type of posts are resonating with audiences? Why are they performing well?

• Creativity: Content needs to be eye-catching and relatable to stand out on crowded feeds. Experiment with short-form videos, memes, carousels, or infographics.

• Tools: Social media platforms like TikTok and Instagram have built-in editing tools that are beginner-friendly. Apps like CapCut are also invaluable for adding professional touches to your videos.

Content creation is highly accessible, thanks to the wide array of online resources available to help you learn editing skills or improve your creativity.

2. Content Strategy

A successful social media presence relies on a clear content strategy. This involves researching your niche, analyzing competitor performance, and tracking your own content’s results to make data-driven decisions.

Here’s what this looks like in action:

• Competitor Analysis: Check out the profiles of competing brands. What type of content gets the most engagement? Are they using short-form videos, static images, or carousels? What hashtags and captions are they leveraging?

• Performance Tracking: Monitor your own posts. Look at metrics like reach, likes, comments, shares, and click-through rates to see what resonates most with your audience.

A strong content strategy ensures that every post aligns with your goals—whether that’s increasing brand awareness, driving website traffic, or boosting conversions.

3. Engagement

Engagement is where social media truly becomes social. This involves interacting directly with your audience to build relationships and generate warm leads.

• Respond to Comments and DMs: Answer questions, address concerns, or simply thank followers for their input. This personal touch builds trust and loyalty.

• Share Resources: Use your platform to guide followers to the brand’s website, product pages, or blog posts. Include direct links in your bio, posts, or replies.

• Start Conversations: Polls, Q&A sessions, and comment threads can spark meaningful interactions and keep your audience engaged.

Great engagement not only strengthens the community but also helps funnel followers into paying customers.

If you’re someone who loves storytelling, trends, and connecting with people online, social media marketing might just be your dream career. It’s a dynamic, fast-paced role that combines creativity, strategy, and analytics to help brands thrive in the digital space.

In tech companies, the term “product” often refers to a SaaS (Software as a Service) product, such as a subscription-based app or cloud platform. Product marketers play a critical role in connecting these tech solutions to the right audience.

While responsibilities can vary depending on the business’s objectives, the core focus of product marketing typically involves three key areas: Go-to-Market (GTM) Strategy, Consumer Insights, and Performance Analysis.

1. GTM Strategy

Launching a product or feature into the market requires a well-thought-out GTM strategy. As a product marketer, you’ll work on:

• Product Launches: Planning and executing the rollout of new products or feature updates. This can include creating buzz through pre-launch campaigns, working with sales teams to generate leads, and collaborating with other teams to ensure a successful launch.

• Positioning and Messaging: Developing clear and compelling messaging that communicates the product’s unique value to the target audience.

A strong GTM strategy aligns the product’s capabilities with market needs, ensuring that the launch drives both awareness and adoption.

2. Market Research

Understanding your target audience is at the heart of product marketing. This involves:

• Market Research: Analyzing competitors, identifying trends, and understanding customer pain points.

• Customer Feedback: Gathering insights through surveys, interviews, and usage data to refine the product’s messaging or features.

• Audience Segmentation: Breaking down the target audience into groups based on demographics, behaviors, or needs to personalize marketing efforts.

By leveraging consumer insights, product marketers ensure the product solves real problems and resonates with its intended users.

3. Consumer Insights

Once a product is launched, the work isn’t over. Product marketers track key performance metrics to measure the product’s success and refine strategies. This includes:

• Usage Metrics: Monitoring how customers are using the product, which features are popular, and where users might be dropping off.

• Sales Data: Analyzing how the product is contributing to revenue, including customer acquisition and retention rates.

• Campaign Effectiveness: Reviewing the performance of marketing campaigns to optimize future efforts.

Performance analysis helps product marketers make data-driven decisions to improve the product’s reach, adoption, and customer satisfaction.

This role combines strategic planning, creativity, and analytics, making it ideal for individuals who enjoy variety and impactful work. If you’re passionate about connecting innovative tech solutions to real-world problems, product marketing could be your perfect fit!

Marketing managers oversee the execution of marketing strategies to achieve a company’s business goals. They are often responsible for managing teams, campaigns, budgets, and analytics to ensure the brand grows and performs well in its market. This role is highly versatile and varies depending on the company, but the core areas of focus include Campaign Strategy and Execution, Team Leadership, and Performance Tracking.

1. Campaign Strategy and Execution

Marketing managers plan and execute large-scale marketing campaigns designed to drive awareness, engagement, and sales. This includes:

• Strategic Planning: Defining campaign objectives, target audiences, and key performance indicators (KPIs).

• Multi-Channel Campaigns: Coordinating marketing efforts across multiple platforms, such as social media, email, paid ads, and events, to ensure consistency and maximum reach.

• Collaboration with Agencies: Working with external partners like creative agencies or media buyers to develop high-quality marketing assets.

A successful marketing manager ensures that campaigns align with the brand’s goals and deliver measurable results.

2. Team Leadership

Marketing managers often lead a team of specialists, including content creators, social media managers, and analysts. Their responsibilities include:

• Guidance and Support: Providing direction to team members to ensure marketing initiatives run smoothly.

• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Partnering with sales, product, and customer success teams to align marketing efforts with business objectives.

• Talent Development: Mentoring and upskilling team members to help them grow professionally and contribute effectively to the team.

Strong leadership skills are critical for motivating teams and maintaining a positive and productive work environment.

3. Performance Tracking

Marketing managers must evaluate the effectiveness of campaigns to ensure they deliver ROI. This involves:

• Analyzing Data: Using analytics tools to monitor campaign performance, such as website traffic, conversion rates, and engagement metrics.

• Budget Management: Ensuring that campaigns stay within budget while delivering maximum value.

• Continuous Improvement: Identifying areas for improvement and adjusting strategies based on performance insights.

By focusing on data-driven decision-making, marketing managers ensure campaigns stay on track and deliver impactful results.

If you enjoy combining creativity, strategy, and leadership, this role could be a perfect fit. Marketing management offers opportunities to work on diverse projects, collaborate with talented individuals, and make a significant impact on a company’s success.

Join our Discord community of fellow marketers who are on the same path as you! This is a great resource to get advice, grow, and meet like-minded individuals. https://discord.gg/neRErQj6

Thank you for reaching it to the end of the newsletter! Stay tuned every Monday for a newsletter with help landing a marketing internship for summer 2025!