Marketing assistant: job description

What does a marketing assistant do? | Marketing assistant salaries | Typical employers of marketing assistants | Qualifications and training | Key skills

Marketing assistants, also known as marketing coordinators, provide support for marketing teams and campaigns. While some of their work is administrative, they can also be involved in creative tasks such as writing marketing copy, managing social media accounts (including creating images and videos) and coordinating press releases.

Marketing assistants will also often work closely with colleagues in other teams such as sales, advertising, market research, production and distribution. They will often use data to analyse the success of marketing work, so the role is a good way to learn how to develop effective campaigns.

What does a marketing assistant do?

Typical duties include:

• compiling and distributing information such as website and social media analytics
• monitoring social media accounts, creating content and responding to messages
• analysing questionnaires
• contributing ideas to marketing campaigns
• compiling and distributing financial information
• writing marketing and website text
• organising presentations and events
• assisting with promotional activities
• liaising with customers/external agencies
• helping to organise market research.

As a marketing assistant, you’re likely to work within a team. Your working hours are likely to be regular (eg 9.00am–5.00pm) but you may need to work late when deadlines are approaching or if you need to attend events outside working hours.

Graduate salaries for marketing assistants

Salary survey websites suggest that starting salaries for marketing assistants are around £20,000. Your salary is likely to increase with experience as many of the skills involved in marketing are learned on the job.

Typical employers of marketing assistants

Many organisations across the public and private sectors need marketing teams to promote their products or services to an audience. Marketing assistants are commonly employed by:

• large private sector organisations
• local authorities and public sector organisations
• charities
• consultancies
• legal and professional services firms
• manufacturers
• retailers
• media and entertainment companies.

You can find marketing graduate jobs advertised on targetjobs, by careers services and by specialist recruitment agencies. You can also find vacancies on specialist websites such as campaign.co.uk and marketingweek.com. The Chartered Institute of Marketing also lists vacancies.

It’s worth making speculative applications to marketing companies or departments – directories such as The Marketing and Creative Handbook contains useful contact information.

Find out how to write a marketing CV and covering letter for advertised or speculative opportunities.

Qualifications and training required

There are routes into marketing for both university graduates and school leavers.

You can become a marketing assistant with any degree, but a marketing degree or a degree in a subjects such as psychology or social sciences could give you an advantage. You could consider a postgraduate qualification to build specialist knowledge, particularly if you’re interested in marketing in a particular field, such as arts or fashion.

Some jobs, particularly those in industrial and pharmaceutical marketing, may require a scientific or technical background.

Relevant paid or voluntary work experience is essential. This does not have to be within marketing itself: any experience in which you’ve worked with the public, managed projects or information, or communicated with people from a range of backgrounds will be useful. You may find it helpful to take online courses and look for opportunities to apply your new skills – for example, through voluntary work, writing for a student newspaper or your own blog, or running a social media account for a university society. Read our suggestions for activities and part-time jobs that can give you marketing-relevant skills.

You could also look for formal placements, internships and work shadowing opportunities to get insights into the work of marketing teams.

To find out how you can get into a career in this area via a school leaver route, visit the business section of TARGETcareers, our website aimed at school leavers.

Key skills for marketing assistants

• Organisational skills
• Commercial awareness
• The ability to analyse data and spot trends
• Adaptability
• Creative skills, including writing, design and video editing
• Good teamworking skills
• Communication skills
• Numerical skills, including compiling and analysing spreadsheets
• Advanced IT skills, including using spreadsheets to analyse data and creative software to design visual content.