Digital marketing is a dynamic field which requires consistent adaptation from both its strategies and its professionals.
Pressures from new consumer behaviors and expectations and advancements in technology all contribute to the ever-changing nature of this exciting field. To keep consumers engaged, digital marketing professionals need to be more creative and flexible than ever before.
Whether you’re already in digital marketing and want to give yourself a leg up, or you want to break into the field, we’ve compiled the 5 most valuable skills that companies are looking for right now.
Quick breakdown:
- Search Engine Optimization
- Marketing analytics
- Social media marketing
- Video content creation
- Content writing and copywriting
While it may seem like these skills have been around for some time, new consumer trends and technology advances mean new learning curves for marketers within these areas of expertise.
Read on to learn what skills within each of these areas you should master for your digital marketing career!
1. Search Engine Optimization
According to Search Engine Land, search engines change their aglorithms 500-600 times a year! This means that optimizations which worked yesterday, might be different today.
What's important for mastering this skill is knowing where to look for the updates and having a cadence in place to regularly make changes to your online content.
Not all algorithm updates are equally impactful and important, so pay attention to the biggest ones and make changes accordingly!
2. Marketing Analytics
Mastering Google Analytics is a great start. However, you should be prepared to use different reporting systems and adapt to different companies' proprietary reporting platforms if necessary.
Understanding and implementing the data from analytics is not only important for improving your own work, but also in reporting out and up.
If you can clearly communicate your work's analytics and what you're doing to improve, coworkers on your team can offer support and other insights so everyone grows together! You will also be able to learn from your mistakes and successes and show your coworkers the value your position offers.
3. Social Media Marketing
Social media marketing has become a staple strategy for many industries. As Generation Z takes up more space in the market and in the workforce, social media will become even more crucial.
Understanding how integral social media is to this generation's lives will be key to helping businesses continue to see results from their social media marketing efforts.
A few trends to master now are shoppable content, Reels & TikToks, livestreamed events, captivating graphics and photos and content that's immediately useful to the viewer.
4. Video Content Creation
Social media platforms are becoming increasingly more video-centric. Exponential growth is possible right now when content creators focus on videos over static images.
With the rise of TikTok, Instagram and Youtube have created their own short-form video features to compete. Experts say that there's a year or two left to see explosive reach and growth from Instagram Reels and TikToks before the platforms are overally saturated.
You don't have to be an expert cinematographer to create quality short-form videos. If you have a decent phone camera and creativity, you're good to go! If you have a video team, work with them to create a cadence for filming specifically for Reels, TikToks and Youtube.
5. Content Writing and Copywriting
Content writing has become much more than writing in recent years. Copywriters need to be skilled in mobile and desktop SEO, keyword usage, be knowledgable on what's trending, write with correct grammar and an easy-to-read style and much more.
Whether you're writing for blogs, news outlets, social media, emails or webpages, making sure the content represents the company's brand well and clearly communicates what's important are a must.
If you want to stand out as a content writer, collaborating with other teams to add more visual and on-brand elements to your content is a great start.
Final thoughts…
These hard skills are a must for getting ahead in the marketing field. Whether you’re a recent graduate looking to start your career, a seasoned marketer or looking for a career change, learning these skills will put you above the competition and level up your job performance.
If you’re interested in learning more about the world of digital marketing and what services RevLocal has to offer, check out our resources or contact us for a free business marketing consultation!