How to become a digital consultant: the guide

What is a digital consultant?

Digital consultants are web engineers. Also known as a digital transformation consultant, he or she is responsible for implementing a marketing strategy for a company.

Generally self-employed, they carry out assignments for a portfolio of customers interested in their general skills or specialization.

What's the difference between a digital consultant and a growth hacker?

None, except for the purpose. A digital consultant's mission is to help a company grow over the long term, by attracting customers who will become fans of the brand.

Conversely, a growth hacker is expected to build a strategy for rapid short-term growth.

What qualifications does a digital consultant need?

There's no diploma that opens the door to the digital consulting profession. However, most members of the profession have a university degree. The best routes into this profession are :

• A Master's degree in business
• A Master's degree in marketing with a specialization in digital marketing
• A Bachelor's degree in one of these two fields

But don't forget one thing: a digital consultant is first and foremost a freelancer. 

In other words, the only things you need to succeed are :

• Solid digital skills
• Practical experience

In other words, if your passion is IT, the path to becoming a digital consultant is also wide open to you. So don't hesitate to seize this opportunity and make a living from what you love.

What are the missions of a digital consultant?

The job of digital consultant is multidisciplinary. It covers all areas of digital marketing. From the design of a website's front-end to the targeting of an advertising campaign, the digital consultant is a web expert. Their mission is to :

• Find keywords
• Create performance indicators
• Consolidate and synthesize data
• Optimizing websites for search engine optimization (SEO)
• Manager
• Communicate with your teams via CRM
• Improve the UX (User Experience) of its customers' websites

What skills does a digital consultant have?

• A thorough understanding of SEO
• Proficiency in front-end languages (HTML, CSS, Javascript)
• Understanding website mapping and how backlinks work
• Implement long-term marketing strategies
• Know the rules imposed by Google, Facebook, etc.
• Creating profitable advertising campaigns

It must also be :

• Curious
• Creative
• Flexible
• Empathetic
• Open-minded
• Open to others

And know :

• Demonstrate leadership
• Managing a team
• Constantly challenging yourself
• Accepting criticism

While the above-mentioned skills are essential for the digital consultant to succeed in his or her profession, the soft skills are debatable, except for one: constant self-questioning.

Why is this? Because the digital consultant runs a lot of tests that fail. Not all advertising reaches its target. There are many reasons for this:

• Wrong content
• Poor data collection on targets
• Poor data analysis
• Incorrect reading of performance data
• Wrong targets
• Bad landing page
• Etc

Identifying the problem(s) and correcting them means being able to hear criticism and be self-critical. It's not something everyone can do, but it's essential if a digital consultant is to last in the profession.

How much does a digital consultant earn?

• Beginner: €35,000 gross per year
• Senior: €55,000 gross per annum
• Specialist expert: €65,000 gross per annum

What are the specialization paths for a digital consultant?

A digital consultant often tries to find a specialization to attract clients and fight off lesser competition. Possible specializations include

• SEO
• Email campaign
• Facebook Ads
• Google Ads
• Data collection and synthesis
• Etc

Other digital consultants prefer to remain generalists, but specialize in specific sectors:

• Construction
• Health
• Luxury
• Training
• Etc

What are the career prospects for a digital consultant?

After gaining experience in their field, digital consultants can focus their careers in one of three directions:

• IT
• Marketing
• Business consulting

He may become a project manager in the IT field, or head up a marketing department in a large company. They may also decide to set up their own consultancy offering training courses to companies.