Digital Marketing Skills

The 6 Most Important Digital Skills to Develop Today

Technology is evolving, the world is becoming more digital, and the business landscape is finally catching up. Digital competencies are no longer reserved only for the tech sector; companies across the board are realizing just how important it is to hire knowledgeable, competent, and cross-disciplined employees. As a result, recruiters are now looking for more digital expertise and experience in new hires, thus forcing candidates to enhance their skill sets in order to remain competitive. No matter which job you are aiming for, here are some of the most important digital skills you should develop to ensure success:

1.     App and web development

Coding is at the core of all digital products and services. The most important programming languages employers are currently looking for in terms of app and web development include PHP/JavaScript, Bootstrap, MySQL, jQuery, and others. Expanding your knowledge of these languages and demonstrating your programming skills through a portfolio can be of great help in validating your capabilities and landing higher-paying positions. Knowledge and experience in app and web development can give you a great advantage over other job candidates. Programming will also be vital for newer technologies such as virtual and augmented reality, both fields with great personal and professional growth potential.

2.     Design and data visualization

Applications, websites, and other digital services all have one simple thing in common – a user interface. Any designer that has extensive experience in developing dynamic and effective user experiences will be highly regarded among tech companies and recruiters alike. Certain designers might also be able to visualize complicated data in an effort to help companies in making important business decisions. This capability is known as data visualization and is an incredibly beneficial skill that allows business leaders to leverage data in order to gain valuable insights. Designers often use tools like Power BI and Tableau for analyzing and visualizing data, which is an additional skill you might want to consider for increasing employability.

3.     Electronics and communications

Although often overlooked, electronics and communications are vital aspects of today’s business environment. This field usually involves installing control systems and electronic instruments, operating and adjusting equipment, connecting voice communication tools, and troubleshooting any issues that may arise. Creating and typing messages for transmission, as well as interpreting code and converting it to plain language in order to receive messages is also a common aspect. A certificate in this sector can be a brilliant upskill, but keep in mind you may need additional practical experience to make yourself more employable. Consider finding an apprenticeship or traineeship program with a reputable organization such as 1300apprentice to develop your skills. This is a great way to reach vocational excellence.

4.     Digital business analysis

Digital business analysis can help companies in making the best possible decisions. It provides an objective and independent perspective by using a number of established analysis techniques in order to make a convincing case for investing in certain digital solutions. Since digital transformation is vital to all businesses in the current economy, digital business analysis capabilities have quickly become some of the most sought-after skills job candidates can have on their resumes today. Digital business analysts are currently at the heart of all digital transformation projects. They aid companies in developing digital ecosystems of sophisticated technologies that will encourage digital transformation along with business growth and success.

5.     Project and product management

Digital project management is a vital tool in nearly all industries, enabling the development of digital services and products in a quicker and more cost-effective way. If you want to stand out as a job candidate, consider exploring methodologies like AGILE or SCRUM and putting them on your CV. It’s also crucial to understand the entire process of digital project development, from ideation and prototypes to finished products and services. Similarly, digital product management may be a valuable skill to expand. By developing, delivering, and refining digital products to thrive in specific markets, digital product management enables companies to continue growing and succeeding.

6.     Digital marketing strategies

Of course, digital marketing is still among the most important skills for companies across the board, enabling them to advertise their services and products more efficiently. Understanding how to leverage a broad range of networks in an effort to increase return on investment and boost revenue will be critical here. The most important skills for digital marketers at the moment include search engine optimization (SEO), user experience design (UX), content marketing, social media marketing, analytics tools, and other digital marketing tools. Regardless of the specific position you are going for, it’s recommended to focus on these competencies in order to make yourself a more attractive and desirable job candidate.

As technologies continue to evolve, companies are changing with them. If you want to advance your career and land a great job in this highly technical world, aim to develop some of the most important digital skills mentioned above.

---

by Nick Loggie

9 Qualities That Every Digital Marketer Should Develop

Are you a digital marketer, or planning to be one? It's a simple matter to put it on your resume, but an altogether different matter to possess the traits that make you successful. The qualities needed are more varied than you think. They encompass both skills and aptitudes. Read on for a rundown.

1. Mental Toughness

Mental toughness doesn't necessarily mean aggressiveness. It has more to do with inner stability and the capacity to adjust and keep moving forward when times are rough. Your example will keep your team inspired, your clients invigorated, and your enterprise humming. Do you need additional support? Try a search using terms such as 75 hard program to find helpful resources.

2. Creative Ability

Effective digital marketing is more than just applying strategies. It has to do with understanding the underpinnings of the strategy and determining if it will attract potential customers and lead to conversions. Your creative skills and acumen should enable you to correctly judge the impact your visual content has on potential customers.

3. Specialized Knowledge

This means both having previously acquired knowledge, and the willingness to gain new knowledge. It also has to do with applying it. For example, take SEO. If your or your employee's knowledge is deficient, all of the creativity and mental toughness in the world won't compensate for a lack of this essential knowledge.

4. Engagement Skills

Emotional intelligence is crucial for a successful digital marketer. It's imperative that you constructively and compassionately initiate and respond to discussions within your circle. Responding to Facebook posts, checking your Twitter feed, and winsomely (and effectively!) addressing grievances are all key aspects of digital marketing. Wise marketers also know when to set boundaries, too.

5. Marketing Skills

Digital creators should know how to generate high-quality, SEO-optimized content across all channels, and optimize on the fly to increase lead generation and conversion. Content marketing is an extensive, strategically significant task. It's important that creativity is wedded to an evidence-based plan.

6. Data-Crunching Skills

A high-level digital marketer should have strong analytical skills. These skills will help you decide on better information-driven actions for future campaigns. Using the tools is one part of the equation. The other part is the manner in which you accumulate and use data, so you can apply it to boost sales. It's easy to get overwhelmed, so try analyzing a few key metrics first.

7. Time Management Skills

The ability to effectively work with a limited schedule is a crucial aspect of digital marketing. Coordinating social media can take inordinate amounts of time. It's crucial that marketers know about and use time-saving tools to help schedule posts and analyze results. Do everything you can to streamline your processes so you have more time for creativity.

8. Planning Skills

Comprehending and anticipating the thought processes of potential customers is part of the ongoing work of a digital marketer. It requires a great deal of planning to gather information and translate it into an effective strategy. Also, effective planning is a powerful method of self-care.

9. Visionary Outlook

Keeping things fresh and forward-looking helps increase creativity and prevent burnout. Even if you have a traditional approach to digital marketing, be sure to stay informed about new developments, and try a few of them. The feedback you get will help drive new innovations and set up your company for future success. Do you feel unsure about which new road to take? Study your competition. This will help move you from stagnation to innovation.

To cultivate the key traits of a successful digital marketer, it's important to think holistically. Give these suggestions a try to boost your effectiveness.

---

by Nick Loggie

7 Critical Skills Required to Amplify Digital Marketing

‘Ignoring online marketing is like opening a business and not telling anyone’
 KB Marketing Agency

With the transformations in the contemporary world, everyone is now very well aware of the fact that digital marketing is now not an option, it is a necessity. That is the reason the demand for digital marketing specialists is increasing more than ever before. 

To elaborate, digital marketing not only helps you in building your online presence but also assists in forming a personal connection with your target audience. However, in order to make that happen, there are many professional digital marketers that can assist businesses in creating high-quality business strategies. 

Almost every business today is applying effective digital marketing strategies but success depends on the effective utilization of required skills. There are multiple skills that can assist in differentiating a good digital marketer from a great one. 

Nevertheless, now the question arises what are the skills that are required in order to make you stand out from the bunch of competitors? This blog effectively highlights the key skills that are essential for a digital marketer to enhance their game of digital marketing. 

7 Essential Skills Necessary to Enhance Digital Marketing  

1. Copywriting 

Everyone is aware of the fact that it is not about what you sell, it is always about how you sell it. Hence, the first and most important skill that is required to enhance digital marketing is the skill of effective copywriting. 

Content copywriting is like the soul of your advertisement, without it, you wouldn't be able to convey the right message to the target audience. Moreover, there are chances that all your investment in digital marketing can go to waste. 

In order to enhance copywriting skills, it is essential to stay updated with the type of content the audience likes and is engaging with the most. Moreover, it is always necessary while copywriting for any company to keep it short and concise in order to deliver more information with fewer words. Because let’s face it, nobody likes to read a big and lengthy content and they will simply scroll to the next. 

2. Social Media Marketing

Social media is the core of digital marketing and it is very much safe to say that handling social media is not a piece of cake because it is evolving on a daily basis. The trend that is getting viral today, may not be even visible on your feeds tomorrow. 

Hence, effective social media handling skills are required in order to successfully create your online presence. 

Every social media platform has different algorithms and principles that decide the engagement and reach of the content. Hence, creating effective content won’t be enough, proper knowledge to make that content reach the audience is also necessary. 

In order to enhance social media marketing skills, you can attend various webinars, and take different courses in order to get effective tips and tricks to gain a competitive edge over your competitors. 

A major trend that is thriving on social media is video marketing. Every platform is launching its own features such as Reels and Tic-Tok which allows users to create content of various lengths and post it on social media. 

Hence, as a digital marketer, it has now become essential to lay hands on creating interactive and engaging video content as well in order to hop on the trend of video marketing. 

3. Search Engine Optimization Skills 

Search engine optimization is definitely not a new field of expertise but it is now gaining more and wider popularity all across the globe. People have realized that in order to make your customers land on your website, it is essential for the website to rank higher on the search engine result page. The better rank the increased chances of getting a good CTR (click-through rate). 

In order to make that happen, digital marketers need to possess effective SEO skills to get the job done. Basic knowledge of keywords, link building, and on and off-page SEO is required in order to effectively optimize the search engine.  

Moreover, there are various tools such as Ahrefs and Moz that can assist in providing strong insights on different keywords volume, traffic, and domain authority of your website. These insights can further assist in measuring the performance of various tactics and strategies implemented to enhance SEO. 

However, SEO is not that easy because Google keeps evolving its algorithms on a regular basis. Hence, it is also essential to stay updated with the latest transformations in Google algorithms in order to satisfy the needs of Google. 

4. Analytical skills 

The ability to analyze data is another must-have skill for digital marketers. Digital marketers should be very well aware of the effective methods to analyze the data in order to effectively create future strategies required for business growth. 

Various tools such as Google Analytics, Sprout Social, and Google tag manager can assist marketers in effectively measuring the engagement, traffic, and time spent by users on the website.  

Moreover, many companies have access to multiple forms of customer data that can assist in estimating the preferences and needs of the customers. A digital marketer should be able to analyze the data effectively in order to find the gaps using different key performance indicators that are affecting the growth of the website or other domains.

5. Project Management Skills 

Effective digital marketing is not the job of one person, it is efficient teamwork and constant efforts that lead to the success of any project. Especially, when you are leading digital marketing projects, for optimized success you need great project management skills.  That will ensure great team coordination and the right execution of digital marketing campaigns.

An effective digital marketer should be able to 

• Effectively distribute the task among the teams according to the skills and abilities of the members. 
• Get the assigned project finished within the deadline. 
• Communicate effectively in order to gather updated information on the assigned project.
• Provide relevant feedback to its team members

Various project management tools such as Asana and Monday.com can effectively come in handy for many digital marketers. They will assist in organizing the projects in the most efficient way possible. 

Moreover, digital marketers with effective project management skills will be able to deliver quality content to clients within the assigned deadline. This will assist in increasing your personal brand value in the market as well which can benefit your business in the long run. 

6. Creativity and innovation 

In the increasingly competitive market, innovation and creativity is the only key to leaving an impactful impression on your target audience. In order to deliver high-quality content, it is essential for digital marketers to have high creative and innovative thinking abilities. 

Using creativity and innovation to draw some out-of-the-box ideas will assist in engaging the audience and will increase the brand value of the company. The first and foremost step to bringing innovation in the content is to understand and analyze the thinking ability of your target audience. If your audience is not able to get a clear idea of your business, then innovation in content might not be effective at all. 

Effective mind mapping and brainstorming discussions with the team can assist in creating some out-of-the-box ideas. They can further assist in creating unique content which can hook the audience to your post and can even convince them to make a purchase. 

7. Design Skillfulness

A unique idea and good words are never enough to engage the audience, designing is another important element that is required to hook the right target audience. The design is the first thing that consumers lay their eyes on, attention to words goes after that.

From the design of the website to the design of your very single post on social media contribute to the experience of the target audience with your brand. Hence, design skillfulness becomes another requirement for amplifying the game of digital marketing. 

A designer should always keep in mind that the design of a website or post should be 

• Relevant to the content
• Appealing to the eyes
• Easy to navigate and read  
• Simple and concise 

Adding too many elements of design to a website will make the space look cluttered which can further disengage the target audience. Digital marketers should have the basic knowledge of principles and elements of the design in order to effectively create or evaluate the designs for the clients. 

Effective knowledge of basic tools like Photoshop, Canva, and UX/UI design tools are also required to meet the demands of the customers or clients. 

To encapsulate, the competition among the digital marketers is rapidly increasing and the need is to hone the skills that are required to gain a competitive edge among all. Therefore, the given above skills will effectively assist in accomplishing your digital marketing goals and objectives. 

Author Bio

Doing what you love is the cornerstone of having abundance in your life." Wayne Dyer's thoughts are well suited to Kiara Miller. She has been working as a content marketing professional at 'The Speakingnerd’. Her passion for writing is also visible in the innovative joys of material she provides to her readers.

---

by Nick Loggie

8 Ways to Become a Great Digital Marketer

Knowing how social and digital media work together and how they communicate is digital marketing. Being a digital marketer today is very different from a decade ago. Digital marketers have grown into something more similar to orchestra conductors, where they used to concentrate almost solely on website content and SEO, working as professional engineers.
That's a big job because there are so many instruments, so many people, and so many moving pieces. To make it all work, you, as a digital marketer, must be aware of the complexities and how all of the components communicate. Otherwise, you're left with nothing but noise.

Let's take a look at how you can grow your passion and become a better digital marketer so that your own "orchestra" doesn't sound like a kindergarten band.

1. Invest in Social Media Ads That Is Compensated

The "likes" and "follows" gold rush is winding down. The free global scope remains, but social media platforms such as Facebook now have so much data that they can sell it to companies, which benefits those businesses. Social ad spending reached $25 billion in 2016, with Facebook accounting for a large portion of it.

Facebook is winning in this area because social advertising, when performed correctly, can be incredibly successful due to Facebook's precise targeting. From promoting your blog to advertising pool financing companies. 

To improve your social ad skills to become a better marketer, learn more about audience customization and granular targeting. Also, see if using artistic photos will help boosted/sponsored content perform better.

2. Understand How to Use Data to Your Advantage

There has been a lot of discussion about the significance of "big data." It's not about the data, though. It's all about how you use it: you'll need to learn how to become an analyst so you can do more than just recite numbers. 

The problem is that the world is changing so quickly that the prospect of analyzing data makes some marketers tremble. However, analysis is needed. It's uncommon to come across a marketer who only knows and lives by numbers.

It's fine if you're not a numbers person. At the very least, consider the importance of using numbers to develop and revise plans, and then team up with someone who is your "numbers man."

3. Maximize the Effectiveness of Email Marketing

Though social media is a fantastic tool for brand recognition and interaction, the most devoted prospects and customers prefer to communicate through email. Email has evolved into a sophisticated marketing tool that yields significant results.

Niche targeting and list segmentation, as well as split testing and evaluating metrics such as bounce, open, and clickthrough rates, are important tools that are often overlooked. As a result, many advertisers and companies fall short, so being the expert will help you.

4. Anything You Do Should Be Branded.

While it's easy to think of a "brand" as something that only big businesses and corporations have, the fact is that everybody has one – even if they aren't aware of it. Your brand is essentially your credibility or how other people perceive you or your company. It's up to you to make sure your brand is sending the right message to your fans when you use personal promotional methods.

From your CV to your website and business cards, any strategy you use to sell yourself should represent your distinct "name." This entails carefully considering the sound of your voice, the colors you choose, and even the typography that works best for you.

5. Increase Your Visual Marketing Efforts

People connect better with visual material, which includes everything from stand-alone images to video, infographics, animated GIFs used on social media, and images embedded within blog content, according to research.

In one survey, 35% of marketers said visual assets were their most valuable content, and 65% of senior marketing executives said visual assets were critical to how their brand story was communicated. This is due to the fact that content with related images receives 94 percent more views than content without them.

6. Develop Your Content Marketing Skills

All marketing is built on the basis of content. It is for this reason that the quest was established in the first place. You'll see an uptick in interaction, leads, sales, and overall organic exposure if your content is done well and provides superior value to your audience.

However, good content isn't always easy to come by. It is crucial to learn and comprehend what kind of material the target audience prefers. Are you making truly amazing material (content 10 times better than that of your competitors)? Understanding the most effective methods for promoting yourself will set you above the rest. 

7.Experiment With New Technologies

New applications and tech services are released on a regular basis. Others innovate inside their room, whereas others recycle the same features. To better handle the job and maximize the performance, a good digital marketer knows to constantly broaden his or her toolbox with new technology tools.

Getting to know the different tools and platforms available will make you a valuable asset in digital marketing and will help you better represent your clients/employer.

8. Learn More About Social Media Marketing

The flipside of social media is organic social interaction, which has a lot of moving pieces. Understanding how different social networks operate, which ones to concentrate on, what goals to apply to different networks, which strategies can help you achieve those goals, where your audience members spend their time, and the best types of content to use to encourage interaction are all important factors in achieving success.

If you're selling your own business, you don't have to use all of them to be effective. It's best to gain experience with a range of outlets if you're selling for others. The more social media marketing expertise you have, the more value you will provide to clients or employers.

Final Thoughts

The skills you'll need can appear to be extensive, but mastering digital marketing is a marathon, not a sprint. Prioritize what's most important to you first, and then begin gaining expertise in each field by using some of the tools mentioned above.

Make a list of objectives and get started on achieving them. The best way to improve as a digital marketer is to get started right now.

---

by Nick Loggie