Is Digital Marketing Oversaturated? Exploring the Reality

The history of digital marketing dates back to the 90s, but the world saw a rise in popularity of this industry in the last decade or so.

Initially, there wasn’t much you could do on the web because of slow developments then, but the case is totally different today.

So, is digital marketing oversaturated?

Is Digital Marketing Oversaturated?

Most people think digital marketing is oversaturated because everyone doing anything related to the space is describing themselves as digital marketers.

Get it clear because making videos of products online is different from doing the same and driving actual sales.

I’d say it is better to focus on the practicality of one’s offerings rather than their job title on different platforms.

Someone can introduce themselves as a digital marketer yet they are a TikToker creating plain content (not with the intention of impacting a purchase decision).

Check out why digital marketing is thought of as oversaturated.

Thousands of Wanabees

Well, there wasn’t a better way to term this group.

I am talking about guys with the idea of digital marketing randomly promoting items for sale online without following proper strategies and campaign plans.

Digital marketing is more than having social media pages for product or service promotion.

You need to know how to create a marketing campaign, plan the concepts, create and execute them, and analyze the results using different digital marketing tools.

Such people will still describe themselves as digital marketers with a general idea of what it is and not the real experience a brand needs to benefit from investing in them.

That is why you need to conduct proper vetting when hiring one and if you are looking to get into it as a career, learning digital marketing is essential.

Your search for more knowledge exposes you to different channels, tools, and aspects of the industry that can make you versatile.

Overgeneralization When You Should Niche Down and Introduce Yourself With Your Specialization

Sometimes, if you can’t beat them, try a different tactic.

Different digital marketing channels exist and some people focus on one or two of them as they advance, but will still generalize themselves as digital marketers.

Well, the field is broad with different categories.

If you specialize in SEO, it would be ideal to identify yourself as an SEO expert and anything along those lines.

For instance, Kath Pay is one of the best email marketers the world knows.

I’ve checked her LinkedIn profile and she doesn’t identify as a digital marketer even if she’s top-rated in one of its channels.

Doing this can give you leverage in case brands decide to narrow down on the expertise they need but clouding yourself under the ‘digital marketing’ group might rank you lower.

Number of Applicants Under Digital Marketing Jobs Posted

Is digital marketing oversaturated because of the number of job applicants?

The secret to expanding your client base is continuous job searching and bidding.

Some job boards and platforms show the number of applicants for each job.

If you are soft-hearted and feel inferior, you’ll conclude that the industry is oversaturated.

I’ve been on UpWork to see how many bidders are under a recently posted digital marketing task and the number is crazy as expected – 100+ under a job posted 57 minutes ago.

Bidding never stops until the client closes the job post, so imagine how many applications this would receive if left open for a month.

Such blinding visuals are what make many think that the field is oversaturated.

But as the client goes through the proposals, some are general article writers, others deal in product reviews, and others are video creators, with few being worthy of the position.

Don’t gauge from the applicants.

Polish your skills and know how to stand out from the competition each time you are bidding on a job.

FAQs on Digital Marketing as a Saturated Industry

Your mind is probably wilding because of this popular myth and the facts you have learned above.

But before it shuts down, here are a few questions to clarify some speculations.

Q) Will Digital Marketing Be Saturated in the Future?

A) Eventually, the digital marketing industry will be saturated, but it might take some time since it is still a relatively new field.

Even with saturation in the future, room for business will remain and there will be a need to package yourself better to be on the curve.

The secret is advancing your skill force, following the best practices to the letter, and being at par with trends.

Q) Is Influencing the Same As Digital Marketing?

A) No! If we dive into their meanings and work descriptions, the two differ from each other.

Influencer marketing is a channel of digital marketing, meaning it is a sub-section of the mother activity.

That is where your favorites like Jaspal Singh, Maxwell Ivey come in with brand content on their socials for review and promotion.

Q) Is There High Demand for Digital Marketers?

A) Yes, there is a high demand for digital marketers because businesses want to reach bigger audiences online, engage, and impact them to purchase.

However, only skilled marketers who can deliver have a high chance of getting clients.

So, the demand is high and will keep increasing as more businesses open.

Conclusion

Is digital marketing oversaturated in your opinion?

It is far from being saturated because of the overgeneralization of the skill force in the marketing industry, wannabes in each corner, and applicant numbers under digital marketing jobs.

The digital marketing field has already employed hundreds of thousands worldwide with the USA averaging the number at 42,300 by 2022 according to Zippia’s research.

You can’t compare this to the number of businesses that exist today in the same country.

The demand for talented and result-oriented digital marketers will remain high for a long time.