If you’re a beginner, you may be wondering what skills are required for digital marketing. And if you’re an expert in your field, you may have been asked from time to time what skills are needed to perform certain digital marketing tasks. Whatever the scenario, no matter how far along your personal journey in the industry is, it’s always a great idea to establish and update a list of key skills.
There are quite a few software skills that one would need for digital marketing. Most of these digital marketing skills can be obtained as a result of working in the field. Skills such as web design, online business, and copywriting are some examples.
Data Analysis
Data Analytics refers to the utilization of functional procedures and modern softwares to gather and process a wide range of information from different online interactions of your target market. These online interactions could be in the form of content consumed, online transactions, search queries and other relevant footprints relevant to your business. With number of online tools now available to measure data across different platforms, it becomes relatively easier for marketers to analyse and make relevant marketing decisions. Marketers need to understand the concept of data cleansing which refers to the process of getting rid of incorrect, duplicated or incomplete data from the database. It is recommended to constantly update the database and get rid of unwanted data to make effective decisions.
SEO and SEM
None of the work you do as a Digital Marketer matters unless people see it! Driving traffic to your online properties, particularly your landing pages, is the first and arguably most vital step in connecting with your audience. To succeed as a Digital Marketer, you’ll need to be an expert at using SEO and SEM to their utmost.
Video
Video is taking the internet by storm and this isn’t about to stop. According to MarTech, videos have the potential to hold customer’s attention on retail sites for two minutes longer than average (which is really like a lifetime in the digital world) and a well-optimized video can boost your chances of being in a top Google ranking position by at least 50. In addition, more than 80% of customers are more likely to purchase a product after seeing it detailed in a video.
Bear in mind that these are just loose statistics are going to vary depending on who you ask, but the point is that most statistics point to much higher conversion, engagement and higher SEO rankings when it comes to video.
What makes it so engaging? Because it’s personal. When people can see your face (or the face of the person promoting the brand), they are more likely to trust the entire enterprise. It’s also a wonderfully versatile content to use through different platforms.
Digital marketing professionals don’t have to know everything about video production, of course, but knowing how to create a quick intro video from your laptop is a good place to start. And if you have some training in this area and you love it, your skills and talents will not be wasted as video will continue to be in demand.
Organization and project management skills
Running multiple digital campaigns can get complex quickly. Building an omnichannel marketing plan includes various technologies and different measurements that lead to a lot of moving parts to coordinate. Digital markets need to also have the skills of a project manager and bring together disparate teams to move marketing ideas from concept to completion.
Project management skills include leading and directing internal and external teams to manage projects and deliverables. Project managers must have technical skills, but they must also be able to break down complex projects into actionable steps. They must be able to clearly communicate objections and then motivate teams to create a seamless experience.
Digital marketing project managers need to manage the workflow process. They should be proficient with tools such as Trello, Basecamp, or Wrike. They will need experience with agile development methods and content management systems (CMS).
Content Creation
The heart of digital marketing is generating content that will pull a company’s target audience to the brand. The aim should not only be to create high-quality content and SEO-friendly content, but also to understand the process of how to effectively get audiences to engage. It is recommended to make “creating evergreen content” a part of the goal. This means that if a customer finds the content a day later or years later, the information will still be relevant to their needs.
Social Media
It should go without saying that Digital Marketers need to have a good feel for all the social media platforms they use to post content and reach out to an audience. And each platform has its own quirks; you’ll need to know what works and what doesn’t, when and what to post, and how to adjust the tone of your posts to resonate with the different segments of your audience that use different platforms. Even within the realm of social media marketing, there are different techniques Digital Marketers can prioritize, including social listening, live-streaming, direct messaging, and hashtagging.
Understand Design-Based Thinking & Planning
Design Thinking is a term that basically refers to a way of approaching problems from a user-centred perspective. The approach essentially encourages us to think in a human-centred way when solving large-scale complex problems.
According to The Interaction Design Foundation, there are 5 key phases to this process: empathize, define, ideate, prototype, and test. The reason why this works so well in the digital marketing sphere is that so much of it is (or should be) centred on the user experience. Another interesting thing about this approach is that it can be used in a non-linear way – so that in some instances you may get to the testing phase and then come back to the middle phase, for instance, to re-consider ideas.
Designers and developers are likely to use an approach like this, so even if you’re not one, it’s a good idea to at least have a solid understanding of it and apply it when feasible.
Knowledge and appreciation of automation
Marketing automation streamlines, automates, and optimizes marketing efforts. It allows businesses to target customers with marketing and sales messages using workflows. Online marketing efforts can be customized on the fly to send different messages to different prospects at different points in the customer buying journey. Implementing automation helps the team get more done and also creates a better experience for the customer.
Marketing automation has allowed more precise messaging and it’s being widely adopted. Around 68% of marketing leaders currently use automation in some way. Tomorrow’s marketers need the skills to develop automation and content marketing strategies across the customer lifecycle. The diagram below is taken from our Email Marketing and Automation Learning Path.
CRM
Monitoring customer experience helps companies understand the growing needs of their target audience. Digital Marketers need to develop skills of Customer Relationship Management which involve strategies you can use to monitor and maximize customer experience. Connecting with your customers on a more emotional and personal level is always an added advantage for the brand as it increases the chances of customer loyalty. Skills such as empathy and communication should be installed in a marketer to improve Customer Service Management.
Conclusion:
Software skills used in digital marketing? Of course. But they aren’t the only essential tools in a digital marketer’s toolkit. In fact, many of the most valuable skills have little or nothing to do with specific software applications or technical knowledge.