5 MUST-HAVE SKILLS TO BE A TOP DIGITAL MARKETER

Nearly 9 out of 10 marketers believe they are underskilled.

Why so high? While fundamental marketing methods have not changed, the tools available to digital marketers are constantly evolving. Although the solution may seem simple – train and upskill – it can be difficult to determine which technical skills are most important for a modern digital marketer like yourself to possess.

Here are 5 essential skills you need to catapult your digital marketing career in 2022.

1. Effectively using analytics platforms

If knowledge is power, then customer insights surely equal profit. There is a plethora of analytics solutions available to provide you with data about your customers, ranging from Google Analytics to Facebook Insights and everything in between. To turn this wealth of data into valuable consumer insights that maximise ROI, digital marketing professionals must be comfortable analysing data, identifying trends and recognising opportunities for optimisation. However, 67% of marketers fall into the lowest two quintiles for their analytics and data abilities. By building your data literacy, you'll be able to justify spending, defend budgets, and support successful pitches for further investment.

2. Mastering technical SEO

We're all aware that search engine optimisation (SEO) involves increasing website traffic. A good digital marketer will know their way around on-page SEO. This involves performing keyword research to recognise relevant terms that your target customers are searching for, and then creating quality content around them and embedding these keywords and phrases in suitable locations on relevant webpages within your site.

In 2021, 69% of marketers invested in SEO. But how many marketers are sincerely confident in the more technical components of SEO? In today's competitive online environment, digital marketers must understand how websites function and how search engines understand them. Without this knowledge, you risk missing and misdiagnosing performance issues, which will have a detrimental impact on your SEO.. But how many marketers are sincerely confident in the more technical components of SEO? In today's competitive online environment, digital marketers must understand how websites function and how search engines understand them. Without this knowledge, you risk missing and misdiagnosing performance issues, which will have a detrimental impact on your SEO.

3. Understanding the back-end of websites

Many modern websites are "dynamic" - meaning they are extremely interactive and are built using special code known as "scripting languages". Many digital marketers are proficient at leveraging content management systems (such as WordPress and Shopify) to create and maintain webpages, but how many are familiar with the scripting languages and other technologies that underpin these powerful tools?

Knowledge of the inner workings of web hosting providers and encryption protocols will increase your digital marketing efforts, as well as awareness of prominent cyber threats (such as man-in-the-middle attacks and SQL injection).

This is especially relevant as the average total cost of a data breaches rises – 2021 saw the largest single year cost increase in the last seven years.

It has never been more important to know how to safeguard against them, to provide your customers complete peace of mind. Simultaneously, understanding how cookies are used to create dynamic webpages will help marketers like yourself to create highly personalised consumer experiences that optimise the likelihood of conversions.

4. Reading code with confidence

Let's face it: if you want to build a new website from scratch, you're probably going to outsource this to a web design agency. However, if you can understand and recognise the three key coding languages used on webpages (HTML, CSS, and JavaScript), then you will be able to have significantly more relevant talks with developers since you speak the same language. You will know what to ask for; developers know what to deliver.

But it doesn't stop there. Small fixes will be needed on occasion once your new website is delivered by a developer. If you are acquainted with the major coding languages, then you’ll be able to make such adjustments swiftly and confidently, without needing to bother the developer every 5 minutes.

5. Managing projects like a boss

You're almost there if you’re a digital marketer that possesses all the talents listed above. But to tie everything together, you'll need some project management skills. Sure, these skills will come in handy when managing campaigns, but they’ll also be needed for managing more complex projects such as website development (which often involves juggling complex tasks with multiple internal and external stakeholders). The best digital marketers will understand circumstances, use linear or Agile approaches to match the needs of their organisation, manage objectives, promote communication and urge their colleagues to work together to create something truly innovative.

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