The Skills You Need to Become a Digital Marketing Guru

The digital marketing arena is an ever-evolving one. The techniques marketers used a mere ten years ago are now outdated. For this reason, the digital marketing professionals of today should possess an arsenal of skills that cover a range of marketing roles. From analytical thinking and listening skills, through to technical abilities like copywriting and graphic design, the modern digital marketer is a Jack of all trades, and a master of some. Here are the essential skills you’ll need to become a digital marketing guru in 2020:

Stay up to date

As the world moves swiftly into the new decade most people are well aware that digital marketing is constantly changing and evolving.  In fact, savvy digital marketers constantly keep their skills updated by completing digital marketing refresher courses.  This is vitally important in such a fast-paced industry where the only constant is ‘change’.

Sales abilities

Any digital marketing guru worth their salt should possess basic sales skills. You might know exactly what the client needs to achieve their desired marketing outcomes, but they have no clue. It is your job as a digital marketer to sell the idea or strategy to the client.

Analytical approach

Anybody can pull together a few social media posts, write a blog article, publish them, and call it marketing. A true digital marketing guru knows that they need to gather data from every campaign, compare it to data from previous similar campaigns, and improve the strategy where needed.

Copywriting

While it is true that a picture speaks a thousand words, nine out of ten digital marketing graphics feature an accompanying bit of text, like the post copy that goes with a social media graphic. A digital marketing guru should be able to develop punchy, entertaining texts for a range of digital platforms.

Tech-savvy                                  

Since we’re talking about digital marketing, a guru of this variety of marketing is constantly reading up on the latest technologies and trends to hit the industry. This way, their marketing techniques remain relevant and their marketing campaigns can go toe to toe with industry competitors.

WordPress wiz

Well over 70% of the websites you find on the internet today are built on WordPress. When you, as a digital marketing guru, sign a new client, chances are their website will have been built on WordPress. For this reason, it pays to have a clear understanding of how this website platform’s CMS operates.

Graphic design

Digital marketing involves more than just words on a webpage, and the need for engaging imagery on marketing collateral is becoming more and more important. Thus, a digital marketing guru should possess at least a basic level of design skills. You don’t have to be a Photoshop wizard, but should at least know your way around simple design resources like Canva or Figma.

Big-picture thinking

Another critical skill in the digital marketing professional’s arsenal is the ability to think big. Instead of focusing solely on individual marketing campaigns, the marketing guru looks at the big picture to see how each campaign integrates into the brand’s public relations efforts as a whole.

Listening skills

The ability to listen carefully and objectively to both clients and collaborators is an essential skill every digital marketer should have. Not only do excellent listening skills improve overall understanding, it also minimises the chance of client comebacks which ultimately waste time and reduce client trust.

Agility

Nothing is cast in stone when it comes to digital marketing, and things can swing from one extreme to the other in a matter of hours. A guru of the digital marketing trade is agile in their ability to pivot as and when faced with new opportunities or challenges.

Less is more

Brevity is something all digital marketers strive to master, but few ever really do. A digital marketing guru is the one who can communicate a value proposition in fewer than 140 characters. Do this and you’ll be able to get your message across on any digital platform.

The future of digital skills

There are many trends in the busy world of information technology.  In fact, to secure your skillset well into the digital future you’ll need to know all about the latest digital trends that are happening now, such as big data, IoT (internet of things), AI (artificial intelligence), voice search and above all the use of technology to improve the customer experience.

Here are a few of the latest fastest growing trends:

• Voice technology – Voice search has been around for a while and is definitely set to increase its presence.
• Image and video – The focus has shifted from quantity to quality online when it comes to marketing with the use of imagery and videos.
• Artificial intelligence – The digitalisation of everything also means the automation of everything digital.
• Mobile access – With more and more people accessing the internet via their mobile phones, therefore the search engines will start ranking mobile access on your website.
• Complex SEO – Search engines such as Google are constantly updating and changing their ranking algorithms, therefore SEO technique and tips need to be more complex.
• Being more emotional – Yes, believe it or not, this is actually a digital skill and is coupled with customer satisfaction and as online customers are more sophisticated so too does digital marketing.

Become a qualified digital marketing guru

Get in touch with the Digital School of Marketing

Don’t get despondent if you’ve always wanted to be a digital marketer, but you lack one or more of the above skills. The great thing about an ever-evolving industry is that there are always opportunities to learn something new! Gain the essential skills you need to get your digital marketing guru badge by enrolling in our accredited digital marketing course today!