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Digital marketing jobs are in high demand in the UK. According to 2021 data from LinkedIn, digital marketing roles saw some of the fastest growth of any sector, with an overall 52% rise in demand. Many roles saw double-digit growth over the study period, with the top roles including:
Eager to join this fast-growing industry? Want a role that allows you to flex your creative muscles? Excited by the prospect of diving into data to understand what makes customers tick? Give yourself the best chance by reading our guide to the most valuable skills needed for digital marketing.
Digital marketing is a broad industry. Your job could involve writing persuasive copy, handling client communications, improving the user experience of your company’s website, or countless other things.
However, some skills cut across individual roles and disciplines. Here is our roundup of the 10 most important skills needed for digital marketing jobs, segmented into soft and hard skills:
Communication
Few, if any, marketing jobs are 100% individual. You’ll almost certainly be working as part of a team, while also collaborating with people in other teams and departments. You may also be working remotely at least some of the time. So you’ll definitely need to be an effective communicator, capable of expressing yourself clearly in person, in writing, and on phone and video calls.
Accountability
Marketing campaigns are often complex, involving multiple channels and deliverables, with responsibilities that cut across several teams. That leaves a lot of scope for things to go wrong. No one expects you to be perfect. We’re all human. If you do make a mistake, don’t try to hide away from it. Be accountable, explain what happened, and provide a solution to get the project back on track.
Empathy
Ultimately, marketing is all about getting inside the head of your customers and seeing things from their perspective. That requires a degree of empathy. At the same time, empathy also helps you work more effectively as part of a team.
Multitasking
Whatever digital marketing discipline you’re working in, it’s rare that you’ll start your day with a single task or priority to tick off. More likely you’ll have a host of immediate responsibilities to dip into and out of. You’ll need to be able to juggle all those demands on your time while figuring out which are the highest priority. Learn more by reading our list of 10 essential tips to help you multitask.
Curiosity
The marketing world doesn’t stand still. Trends change all the time; platforms rise and fall in popularity; what works one day might not work tomorrow. If you’re naturally curious, you’ll be better able to stay abreast of these constant changes and able to capitalise on the “next big thing”.
Search engine mastery
Two-thirds of all trackable website traffic originates from search engines. So whatever marketing job you’re applying for, it pays to have a strong understanding of search engines, particularly Google.
Spreadsheet proficiency
Even at the more creative end of the spectrum, most marketing roles require you to spend a lot of time in spreadsheets. At a minimum, you’ll need to be able to perform basic spreadsheet functions. If you can use pivot tables and VLOOKUPs to make sense of large data sets, all the better.
Data analytics
Just like spreadsheets, all marketers have to spend time using analytics programs, the most popular of which is Google Analytics. It’s free and it contains an overwhelming amount of data and insights about how people interact with websites.
Software skills
There are literally thousands of marketing tools designed to help marketers with everything from keyword research to link-building to scheduling social media posts. You won’t be expected to have hands-on experience with all of them, but it definitely pays to be familiar with common tools like:
Coding
Coding isn’t an essential requirement for every digital marketing job. But at the same time, it definitely helps to have a working knowledge of basic HTML, and maybe even a more advanced programming language like Python. It’ll help you stand out from other candidates and because coding forces you to think logically, it can be useful for teaching you to solve problems.
For more information on the most in-demand skills in the marketing sector right now, download our Marketing Salaries and Skills Guide today.
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Even if you already possess a lot of the hard and soft skills needed in digital marketing, you’ll inevitably need to develop new ones as you progress in your career. Here are three ways to build your digital marketing skill set:
1. Complete a professional qualification
Professional qualifications have two benefits:
Lots of organisations offer industry-recognised qualifications within the digital marketing industry. For general qualifications, check out the Digital Marketing Institute and the Chartered Institute of Marketing. Alternatively, the likes of Google Analytics and HubSpot offer their own, platform-specific accreditations.
2. Attend networking events
One of the best ways to learn new digital marketing skills is to speak to your peers. They can recommend useful resources, teach you about their own experiences, and generally challenge your thinking.
Fortunately, there’s no shortage of digital marketing-related networking events across the UK or online. Platforms like The Marketing Meetup and Eventbrite can help you find events in your area.
3. Find a mentor
Whether they’re a boss, a more experienced colleague, or simply someone within the digital marketing industry you admire, finding a mentor is an excellent way to expand your skills. Ideally, your mentor will be familiar with your role and the challenges you’re facing. To find out more, read our article on the merits of finding a mentor.
Looking for more career development advice? Check out our advice on how to ask for a promotion or read about the best online courses for upskilling. Don’t forget to also take a look through all the live job currently on our site and set up a job alert to stay in the know about exciting new roles.
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Alternatively, if you’re ready to look for your dream job in digital marketing, submit your CV to the team at Michael Page and someone will be in touch if we have any suitable roles!
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