Even marketing specialists must have a strong foundation of general skills and a robust awareness about other disciplines, says AMOL ROY
We live in a world driven and dominated by technology. From the latest smartphones to diversified apps to wearables, consumers today are connected round-the-clock. As a consequence, marketing has undergone a seismic change. To reach, engage with and delight their end customers, digital marketers need certain skills in order to succeed in the current environment. The mushrooming of hi-tech companies and rise of telecommuting jobs have brought a career as a digital marketer into the limelight.
Irrespective of what role one is in, there are some competencies that every marketer needs to have. Even a marketing specialist must have a strong foundation of general skills and a robust awareness about other disciplines.
Here are the five important skills that make a digital marketer stand out in the online marketing landscape and will help them become highly successful:
Website Analytics/App Analytics
The rise of digital marketing has resulted in huge amounts of data. As marketers have easy access to the performance of marketing campaigns and consumers’ behaviour, they need to be competent enough to analyse this data. Hence, future digital marketers are required to master data analytics. Digital marketers also need to be good with comprehending how data influences customer experience on different platforms. For this purpose, they need to be hands-on with other tools like Google Analytics, Apps Analytics, and Google AdWords.
SEO& SEM
A well-drafted article, newsletter or blog is pointless if it isn’t visible to the intended audience. Including targeted and relevant keywords in the content has become essential as Google keeps upgrading its algorithm from time-to-time. These keywords strengthen the SEO and SEM strategies. SEM is an umbrella term referring to the process of enhancing website visibility in search engine results by investing in paid search advertising. Marketers who know well how to leverage SEO and SEM to a brand's success are in high demand.
Social Media Advertising
Social media has become excessively entrenched within our daily lives. Marketers need to know which social media channel they can tap into to reach their targeted audience. Organic social media marketing has a very narrow and limited reach these days. Therefore, learning how to run social media ad campaigns has become essential. As a digital marketer, one should hone skills in paid ads, creative ad experimentation, biddings, granular targeting of relevant audiences, and social media analytics such as Facebook and Instagram analytics.
Content Marketing
Modern day marketers know the value of content and how it can help generate leads, nurture leads and close them. Strategising and leading a content marketing campaign is another crucial skill that is much in demand. When paired with other sources used for tracking visitors’ website experiences, such as web analytics, digital marketers can effectively determine the relevancy level, alignment and uniqueness which each piece of content is offering.
Google Ads & PPC
Pay-per-click (PPC) advertising helps businesses expand their reach, generate higher revenue, and raise brand awareness. A digital marketer who can scale paid advertising for brands can land well-paid jobs. To do well in PPC, one should be able to think strategically and scientifically. They need to create campaigns from the start, optimise, analyse and report on campaigns using both Google Analytics and Google Adwords.
Digital marketing has emerged as a much sought-after career. In order to be a successful digital marketer, knowing these skills are inevitable. All the required information and tools that one may need are easily available. One just needs to put in consistent efforts and unwavering dedication to make a head start into one of the most lucrative professions today.
The writer is Founder, Shutter Cast