Digital marketing is a highly competitive market, so having the skills companies are looking for is important if you want your ideal company to hire you. Developing your marketing skills means understanding the hard and soft skills companies are looking for and how they apply to marketing in the digital era. Let’s look at the essential marketing skills that will help you get hired.
The Soft Skills
Soft skills are the broad skills that enable you to interact effectively with others. These skills are marketing professionals since the interaction is at the heart of everything you do. The most essential soft skills you want to develop include,
Communication – Your ability to share your ideas clearly and effectively. Importantly, communication includes strong listening skills as well.
Interpersonal Skills – Being able to communicate and listen are important. Having the ability to apply those soft skills to build relationships with team members and clients is vital for successful marketers.
Creativity – Marketing tells a story: the story of your audience’s needs and how your client’s product will meet those needs. Developing your creative skills will help you communicate ideas and think outside the box for new ways to reach audiences.
Problem-Solving – As a marketer, you will encounter a number of problems to overcome such as, how to reach a new market, how to help your client’s brand rise above the general noise of social media, how to grow a lead list when your client’s market is already highly saturated. Your ability to find solutions (with Creativity) is essential to your success as a marketer.
Attention to Detail – Imagine creating an engaging and unique social media post that you know will inspire engagement, only for the first comment to be a spelling correction. Attention to detail is vital for a successful campaign, especially in digital marketing where the smallest oversight or mistake can turn your earnest campaign into a mocking meme.
Leadership – Leadership skills are also at the heart of effective marketing. Even if you never plan to move into management or team leadership positions, you will need to delegate work at some point – meaning you will need to provide instructions and feedback.
Adaptability – Digital marketing changes as technology changes, which is typically fast. Your ability to keep up with changes and adapt to client needs is key to your success.
The Hard Skills
Hard skills are technically focused skills that can be quantified. These are the specific skills you can demonstrate to a prospective employer.
Writing – Developing your writing skills is vital to your success in marketing for obvious reasons: much of what you do relies on writing.
Data Analysis & Analytics – Data analysis and analytics are a key part of digital marketing. Develop your skills in analyzing social media and SEO metrics.
Project Management – Digital marketing may start as email or social media or SEO for a client, but it will quickly grow. Being able to organize projects and keep workflow straight is vital in marketing.
Research – You’re an expert at marketing, but not necessarily in real estate or healthcare. Your ability to research your client's industry and competitive marketing practices is a necessary part of your marketing efforts.
SEO/SEM – SEO/SEM evolve every year as algorithms become more sophisticated and companies look for new ways to rise above their competition. Keep your SEO/SEM skills fresh and always Research new changes.
Social Media Marketing – As more people turn to social media, personally and professionally, social media marketing has grown in importance. Your ability to navigate social media and understand the benefits and drawbacks of each platform will set you apart from your peers.
Email Marketing – Email marketing isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. People still rely on email. Understanding how people interact with email and what draws their attention in the inbox remains a vital skill.
Visual Marketing – Visual marketing, from images to video, is a vital match to almost every hard skill on this list. Knowing how to put images together to build interest and imprint your message on a person’s memory is a strong skill to demonstrate.
Website Management – Every company needs a functional, engaging, and responsive website. Develop your skills across a variety of web-building platforms. This kind of variation and Adaptability will make you invaluable to any digital marketing team.
As you can see, many of these skills rely on each other, with hard and soft skills consistently interacting. If you can develop these skills and demonstrate them to prospective employers in your portfolio samples, you will see the offers rolling into your inbox.
Are You Looking for Digital Marketing?
If your business is ready to make the leap into the digital sphere, contact me. I’ll help you meet your evolving business goals.
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