The 12 Most Useful Digital Marketing Skills to Invest in For Your Future (2024)

Digital marketing is a career field that attracts many people due to many reasons. Jobs in it are often interesting to do and also can bring you a high and stable salary.

Another big reason why this field is so popular among job seekers is that it is ever-changing, meaning that there is, and always will be, plenty of space for professional growth and innovation.

Finally, another point for choosing this career field in the future is because there are plenty of branches and directions. Therefore, everyone can find something to suit their needs.

Today, digital marketing is one of the most in-demand fields out there. And, in this article, we are going to tell you everything you need to know about it and how to get the job.

Digital Marketing Job Duties and General Demands

This is a rather new opportunity in the job market that escalated in the era of the Internet and social media. Today, due to the global digitalization that requires businesses to go online, these specialists are in high demand, which makes it a good opportunity to consider.

So, who are these specialists, and what do they do?

Long story short, individuals in these positions are responsible for everything related to the business’s online presence. The core duties include building and implementing effective strategies for promoting the business on the Internet and various social media.

The core requirements include:

• 2+ years of work experience;
• minimum a BA degree in a relevant field;
• knowledge of automation and other job-related tools and software;
• understanding of marketing techniques, trends, channels, etc.

These are the standard requirements. But, it’s worth noting that they may alter from one position to another. For example, it’s possible to start a career having only a high school diploma or zero previous experience.

Yet, something you really can’t do without is a solid set of skills. Just as you might use a And if you are wondering what digital marketing skills are there, check out this page on resume helper to learn what skills you might want to seek out in the future, find a full list of skills. Or, you can read on to learn about the most vital digital marketing skills you will need for success in your career.

Top 12 Job-Winning Digital Marketing Skills You Need

As you know now, marketing is one of those occupations that hide plenty of benefits. But, how can you get them all?

There are two ways to jump-start your career. On the one hand, you can take the simple path – apply to lots of different positions and hope that someone will invite you to an interview and, eventually, hire you.

Or, you can go the smart way. That means you will ensure your success by defining what exactly recruiters and potential employers are looking for and give it to them inyour resume right away.

The second path is a way to go. But, how do you know what will engage the recruiter and make you look like an ideal applicant? We’ve got you covered!

In the list below, we’ve collected the top 12 most sought-after digital marketing skills that will help you land your dream job with ease. Let’s start with the basics.

1.) SEO

SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization. It’s one of the most important things for developing a business in the online environment and making it noticed by consumers. Long story short, SEO is what helps websites rank high and appear in users’ searches.

So, if you want to be a good specialist, you do need to be proficient in SEO and demonstrate excellent knowledge and acceptance of the current ranking factors, trends, common techniques, and penalties.

Pro tip: Apart from traditional SEO, it will also give you a competitive advantage if you master local SEO. In a nutshell, the goal of local SEO is to help potential buyers find your company’s stores or offices with ease, which can be very important for the success of certain groups of businesses.

Further Reading: 11 Easily Implementable SEO Tips for Beginners

2.) Content Marketing

No online campaign can succeed without some high-quality content (both visual and written). Therefore, the next important skill is content marketing.

The role of content is hard to undervalue. Today, consumers are seeking value in every piece of content brands deliver, including blog posts, social media publications, contents of the company’s website, etc. Therefore, mastering the art of creating the right content is a must for every professional.

However, content marketing goes far beyond just having the competency in creating different types of content. It also spans a range of other abilities, including content research, strategic thinking, and a data-driven mindset to deliver real value to end-users.

3.) Email Marketing

Although email has been around for quite a while and, thus, can seem a bit outdated, 81% of digital marketers still rely on this channel for customer acquisition and retention. And there are quite a few benefits that it can offer.

In terms of marketing, email isn’t only a tool that enables you to connect with pretty much anyone from the world’s population. In fact, it is another tool used by experts to drive new clients, keep them engaged, improve conversions, and boost sales. According to stats, as for 2019, on every $1 you invest in email marketing, you can expect an average return of $42. Thus, it is another area you must be skilled in to get a job.

Further Reading: 7 Things That Speak to the Importance of Email Marketing Today

4.) Social Media Marketing

This is the absolute must-have skill of the 21st century. There is no secret that various social media channels play a huge role in every modern consumer’s life, which is why these channels have long become powerful tools for business growth and promotion.

According to stats, 54% of consumers use various social media platforms to search for different products. That is, these users already have an intention to make a purchase. So, the only thing that is left for you to do is to take your brand out there and make sure it gets noticed by your prospects.

So, in order to become a real professional, you need to have an excellent understanding of different social media channels, trends, user lifecycle journeys, and performance analytics.

Further Reading: My Top 25 Social Media Quotes for Business to Inspire You to Do MORE with Social Media

If you think that is enough in terms of the digital marketing skills you need, think again! The above are the minimum infrastructure skills you need for organic marketing. Below are the skills you need to make your paid campaigns more efficient.

5.) Understanding the Basics of Targeting

No matter how great your ads, emails, posts, or CTAs are, they won’t bring the desired results unless they reach the right users. Targetting is all about organizing your prospects into more manageable groups with the goal to improve the quality of interaction and deliver better experiences.

By acquiring solid targeting skills, you will ensure higher effectiveness and, respectively, better ROIs of your campaigns. It will help you make sure that you always reach the right people with the right message. So, it is one more key skill you will need to handle the job well.

6.) Social Media and Pay-Per-Click Advertising

While organic advertising tactics for sure play a significant role in the overall marketing success, in order to receive the maximum benefits, businesses blend both organic and paid advertising in their strategies. And, as a marketing specialist, you will need to know how to spend the marketing budget for maximum impact. Thus, two other crucial skills to have are social media and pay-per-click advertising.

This encompasses a solid understanding of the process of ad placement across multiple platforms, good proficiency with popular advertising platforms like Google Ads, experience in creating sponsored posts, etc. These are some of the core basics to master to be an in-demand specialist today.

7.) Sales

Of course, advertising isn’t directly interlinked with sales. But, in order to make your campaigns work, you must have solid sales skills.

To craft winning ads, specialists need to know the needs and pain points of their potential customers, and also know what solution their brands can offer to meet those needs. If you can master the art of sales, you will have a better idea of what drives prospects’ attention and makes them want to buy. So, it is another ability you want to have in order to land a job.

Now that we’ve covered the digital marketing skills you need for organic and paid digital marketing, let’s move on to the must-have creative skills you need.

8.) Basic Design Skills

As we already mentioned, the content you deliver in your campaigns plays an imperative role in the overall success, and this applies not only to the text of the ad but also to its visual appearance.

Although there typically should be an entire team of designers responsible for UI/UX and all the multimedia elements, it is also important for a marketer to have at least basic design skills. Even if you won’t have to create banners, layouts, or other elements on your own, knowing the basics will help you see a bigger picture and gain an intuitive understanding of what your ads should look like to deliver the best results.

9.) Storytelling

Although this may not be very obvious, storytelling is another must-have skill for digital marketers. Today, when consumers are being exposed to 6,000 to 10,000 ads every single day, soulless and faceless advertising slogans are no longer effective. Instead, prospects are craving stories and, as a marketer, you have to deliver them.

In terms of advertising, stories are used to inform, entertain, and deliver a message. If used right, stories can strengthen your CTA, drive more attention, and foster a better connection with customers. And, they can also boost your ROIs. According to stats, 55% of consumers will be more likely to make a future purchase from a brand whose story they love, another 15% will make the purchase immediately, and 44% others will also share the story.

Numbers speak for themselves. So, storytelling is one more thing you should master to succeed in this career.

10.) Creativity and Problem Solving

One thing every marketer should keep in mind is that the modern market (regardless of your niche) is extremely competitive these days. That is, whatever objectives your team pursues, be sure that your competitors are most likely doing the same, and the only way to gain a competitive advantage is to find ways to out-think the rest.

To do this, you will need to constantly come up with creative solutions and foster innovation, which is why solid problem-solving skills and creativity are two more abilities you should have in stock. Being able to find creative pathways for winning over potential customers is one of the most valuable assets for every professional!

Finally, there are core business skills that you will need to implement and report on your digital marketing. to your superiors and others in your organization.

11.) Analytics

Finally, a good specialist should be able not only to create effective strategies but also to analyze their effectiveness. As you probably know, data is one of the most important assets a modern business can have. It is what enables companies to make wiser business decisions and accomplish their goals faster and easier. And, it is a task of a digital marketer to keep an eye on marketing data.

In the workplace, you will be dealing with lots of different data to measure the results of your campaigns. To do it right, you need to have a clear understanding of your brand’s key metrics and know how to analyze them. So, data analytics is one more skill you need to possess.

12.) Strategic Planning

All of the skills we discussed earlier have a huge value in terms of marketing. However, it all eventually gets down not to the scope of skills you have but to your ability to mix them for maximum impact. Therefore, another crucial ability is strategic planning.

As you probably already know, the highest ROIs can only be received through effective combinations of various strategies, moves, channels, etc. Thus, to reach the best result, a digital marketer has to be able to develop effective plans that align with the brand’s vision, objectives, and values. So, this is something you also need to master in order to build a successful career.

The Bottom Line

When applying for a job in this field, you may not yet have a college degree, any special professional training, or experience in the creation of strategies. But, you must have certain skills in order to show that you can handle the job.The skills we shared with you are the most sought-after and important in the job of a digital marketer. So, if you aim to make employers want to employ you, be sure to develop the listed skills to put them on your resume later!

This is a post contributed from one of my marketing partners.

Hero photo by Marvin Meyer on Unsplash

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