The rapid evolution of the media landscape and the rise of digital marketing have created new professional opportunities. One of these emerging roles is that of Media Scientist, a professional in online advertising campaigns. In this article, we'll explore what this job entails, its responsibilities, the skills required, as well as the training needed to access this position.
What is a Media Scientist?
A Media Scientist is a professional specializing in the analysis and optimization of online advertising campaigns.
This role involves in-depth understanding of digital marketing strategies, as well as technical and analytical skills to maximize campaign performance across different digital channels.
What are the Media Scientist's missions?
The tasks assigned to the Media Scientist may vary according to the organizational configuration of the company. However, here are the main tasks a Media Scientist may be faced with:
Media acquisition
The Media Scientist is responsible for managing online advertising campaigns on various channels, such as Google Ads, Facebook Ads, Instagram Ads, LinkedIn Ads and so on. Their main aim is to generate qualified traffic and attract relevant users to customers’ websites or applications.
Post-click experience
After a user clicks on an ad, the Media Scientist focuses on optimizing the user experience to increase conversion rates. This involves analyzing user journeys, identifying friction points and implementing strategies to improve the usability and relevance of landing pages.
Data marketing
The Media Scientist is responsible for collecting, analyzing and activating data from a variety of sources. They work with first-party data (collected directly from the company), second-party data (data supplied by partners or affiliates) and third-party data (data from external sources).
Analysis of this data enables informed decisions to be made to optimize advertising campaigns and maximize results.
What skills does a Media Scientist have?
The skills of a Media Scientist can be grouped into two categories: hard skills (technical skills) and soft skills (interpersonal skills).
For Hard skills:
- Mastery of the conversion optimization process (CRO) and UX design: The Media Scientist must understand the principles of conversion rate optimization and be able to propose improvements based on user experience.
- Certification and mastery of analytics tools: In-depth knowledge of analytics tools such as Google Analytics and Google Marketing Platform is essential for tracking the performance of advertising campaigns and extracting meaningful insights.
- Certification and mastery of media activation tools: Media Scientists need to be proficient in the use of the main online advertising platforms, such as Google Ads and Facebook Ads, in order to configure, manage and optimize advertising campaigns.
- Knowledge of product flow management tools: An understanding of tools such as Google Merchant Center and Google Manufacturer Center is important for managing product data flows and ensuring the quality of ads delivered.
- Basic knowledge of Google Cloud Platform: Familiarity with Google Cloud Platform tools such as BigQuery, Google Function, Dataflow, etc., can be useful for handling and analyzing large amounts of data.
- Knowledge of Data Science: Although advanced Data Science skills are not mandatory, an understanding of basic concepts such as statistics, data analysis and predictive models is beneficial for interpreting advertising campaign results and making data-driven decisions.
For soft skills:
- Professional experience: A Media Scientist should have at least 3 years’ experience in areas such as consultancies, SaaS publishers, agencies or companies specializing in online marketing. This hands-on experience is essential for understanding customer needs and developing appropriate solutions.
- Multiskilling and customer relations: As a mediator between technical teams, customers and partners, a Media Scientist must be able to communicate effectively, understand customer needs and develop strong relationships. The ability to work in a team and collaborate with different stakeholders is also important.
- Passion, curiosity and rigor: A Media Scientist must be passionate about their work, curious about exploring new ideas and rigorous in analyzing data. They must be willing to invest themselves fully in their role and constantly seek ways to improve the performance of advertising campaigns.
Media Scientist salary
The salary of a Media Scientist varies considerably according to seniority and experience. In general, annual salaries can range from €35,000 to €75,000. However, this also depends on the company and the tasks requested for the position on the job offer.
What training courses are available to become a Media Scientist?
To become a Media Scientist, you generally need to have a 5-year university degree. Graduates of business or engineering schools are often well suited to this position. Specialization in digital marketing, data analysis or data science is also recommended.
If you’d like to learn more about media acquisition, the post-click experience, and data tools in general, take a look at our Data Marketing training course on DataScientest!
