Dear Employers, Digital Marketers Are Not Developers: Here's Why

If you’re a digital marketer looking for a job, or a company hiring one, you might want to read this before you post (or apply for) another role. Here’s something I saw recently: A company in Accra looking to hire a “Digital Ops & Marketing Officer.” Requirements? Be great at social media and be able to code and develop software. Wait… what? Let’s talk about why this is a problem.

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1. Digital Marketing and Coding Are Not the Same Thing

Digital marketing is a whole profession. It covers strategy, ads, SEO, email, content, analytics, growth…daa..da..daa…da! Coding is a different beast. It takes time to learn, practice, and master. Mixing both in one role? That’s a red flag unless you’re hiring a unicorn (spoiler: they’re rare and expensive).

2. You’re Sending the Wrong Signal

When you say, “Must be great at social media AND build software,” here’s what happens:

Talented marketers scroll past your job.
You confuse your applicants.
You attract candidates who are average at both.

3. It Leads to Burnout or Underperformance

Digital marketing is already full-time. Creating strategy. Managing campaigns. Writing copy. Running reports…daa..da..daa…da! Now add coding on top of that? Good luck. You’ll either burn your hire out fast, or they’ll drop the ball on one side.

4. It Shows You Don’t Fully Understand the Role

This one’s harsh, but true. If you’re asking your marketer to code apps or build backend systems, chances are…

You don’t really know what digital marketers do.
And that’s how companies end up hiring the wrong person.

5. Here’s What’s Reasonable to Expect

Now, don’t get it twisted. It’s okay to want your digital marketer to have tech awareness. Here’s what’s fair to ask for:

Basic HTML/CSS (for landing pages & emails)
CMS knowledge (WordPress, Shopify, Webflow)
Comfort with tools (Google Tag Manager, Zapier, etc.)

That’s modern digital marketing. Not full-stack development.

Final Thoughts

So, to employers: If you want a content wizard and a software developer in one, be clear — you’re hiring two jobs. Or paying double. To marketers: Don’t be afraid to say no to confusing roles. You know your value. Don’t water it down.