12 Digital Marketing Skills That You Need to Master

Whether you’re a rookie or a veteran marketer, marketing is always changing and evolving. This is why it’s so important to learn a diverse set of digital marketing skills. The most successful marketers are always looking to improve their skillset, and drive success in your career, campaigns, and overall marketing strategies. From personal and soft skills to technical expertise, here is our guide to the top 12 digital marketing skills that you need to master. 

Personal Skills

Oftentimes, personal skills are overlooked in careers. However, personal and soft skills can often be more beneficial than technical skills. This is because technical skills are easier to learn than personal skills. Here are the top personal skills that help digital marketers grow in their careers.

1. Communication

Whether you’re communicating with a client or providing feedback to a co-worker, good communication skills are crucial. As a marketer, you also need to be able to communicate with your audience through writing, speaking or visual content. Good communication skills enable to you to create messages that resonate with your audience, collaborate with your team, and build stronger relationships with clients and partners. If you’re trying to improve your communication skills, try actively listening to your co-workers and clients. And, you can also see how your competitors are communicating with their audience on their website and social channels.

2. Creativity

Creativity is essential for helping your brand stand out from the crowd. It helps you develop unique campaigns, engaging content, and solve problems in unconventional ways. Whether it’s designing visuals, copy, or even brainstorming new ideas, creativity fields the ability to connect with audiences on a deeper level. If you’re looking to improve your creativity, try to consume different types of media for inspiration, participate in brainstorming sessions, and experiment with different types of content.

3. Analytical Thinking

Marketing is as much a science as it is an art. Analytical thinking involves the ability to interpret data, understand metrics, and derive actionable insights from various digital marketing channels. This skill helps in making data-driven decisions, optimizing campaigns, and demonstrating the ROI of your marketing efforts. If you’re looking to get better with your analytical thinking skills, try spending more time with software tools like Google Analytics, setting goals, and talking to your more experienced coworkers. Additionally, it can be helpful to take online courses that help with critical thinking skills.

4. Adaptability

Digital marketing is constantly changing with new trends, technologies, and algorithms. Because of this, adaptability is crucial for staying relevant and competitive. Marketers who can quickly adjust their strategies and learn new tools are more likely to succeed and stand out to their boss. If you’re looking to improve how adaptable you are, try keeping up with industry news and updates, attend webinars, and be open to feedback and willing to pivot when needed.

5. Writing, Grammar, and Spelling

We’ve all seen advertisements with spelling mistakes in them. This is why spelling and grammar are such important yet overlooked skills in marketing. By making spelling mistakes, your company risks looking like they are careless, which is never good. As a result, you could lose out on a sale from such a simple mistake. If you struggle with spelling, ensure you install Grammarly to catch any errors. Additionally, always double check your work before hitting publish.

6. Time Management

Marketers are known for having to juggle multiple campaigns, projects, and deadlines at one time. Effective time management skills will help you prioritize tasks, increase productivity, and reduce stress. Keep in mind that it’s important to ensure that all aspects of your marketing strategy are executed on time and to a high standard. If you’re looking to improve, project management tools like Monday.com and Trello are extremely helpful. Especially if you’re constantly working on multiple projects with different departments.

Technical Skills

Now that you have an understanding of personal skills that you can leverage in your marketing career, let’s go over technical skills that you should also master.

7. SEO

SEO is a fundamental skill for any digital marketer. Understanding how search engines work and how to optimize content to rank higher in search results is essential for driving organic traffic. SEO involves keyword research, on-page optimization, link building, and staying updated with the latest algorithm changes. If you’re looking to improve your SEO skill set, try taking online courses from SEMrush, Google, or Moz. Additionally, it’s important to keep up with the latest SEO trends and algorithm updates from Google.

8. Content Marketing

The term content marketing is pretty vast. But, in general, it includes creating and distributing content to attract and retain your audience. This could be done by releasing gated content, blog articles, videos, and social media posts. This digital marketing skill involves understanding your audience, creating enticing content, and properly promoting it across various channels. Additionally, try to experiment with different forms of content to see what your audience responds best to.

9. Software Skills

As a marketer, it’s important to be tech savvy. Now, you don’t necessarily need to be able to know how to code (although, that can be an asset), but it’s important to be able to use key software. Here are a few of the top marketing software that you should be familiar with.

Google Analytics

Google Analytics is an essential tool for any digital marketer, providing comprehensive insights into website traffic, user behavior, and campaign performance. To fully understand Google Analytics, you must be familiar with setting up tracking, interpreting data, and generating reports that help you gauge whether or not your marketing campaigns are successful. To improve your Google Analytics skills, explore the Google Analytics Skillshop for in-depth courses, practice setting up custom dashboards and reports, and regularly analyze the data to uncover trends and insights that can drive your marketing decisions. As a marketer, it’s crucial to make data-driven decisions. So, Google Analytics should be one of your most used software.

HubSpot

HubSpot is one of the most popular CRM platforms on the market.  Proficiency in HubSpot involves understanding how to use its various features, including marketing automation, CRM, content management, and analytics. So, by mastering HubSpot, marketers can streamline their workflows, nurture leads more effectively, and gain deeper insights into their marketing performance. Adding proficiency in HubSpot to your resume can also be very enticing to hiring managers. Additionally, to improve your HubSpot skills, take advantage of HubSpot Academy‘s free training resources, practice creating and managing campaigns within the platform, and stay updated on new features and best practices.

Hootsuite

Hootsuite is a widely used social media management tool that allows marketers to schedule posts, monitor social media activity, and analyze performance across multiple platforms. Understanding Hootsuite includes understanding how to effectively manage and automate social media campaigns, engage with your audience, and use analytics to refine your social media strategy. To improve your Hootsuite skills, start by familiarizing yourself with its dashboard and features, take Hootsuite Academy courses and experiment with scheduling and monitoring tools. And, regularly review your social media analytics. This can help you to identify areas for improvement.

Visitor Queue

Visitor Queue is a B2B lead generation and website analytics software that identifies the companies that visit your website and provides detailed information about them. Being proficient in Visitor Queue involves understanding how our features capture lead information, setting up conversions, integrating with your CRM, and analyzing visitor data. When marketers know how to use Visitor Queue, they can gain valuable insights into their website traffic, identify potential leads, and tailor their marketing efforts to target high-value prospects. High-value prospects could include a company visiting your pricing page. To learn how to use Visitor Queue, take a look at our Resource Center, practice setting up and managing your account, and regularly analyze the data we provide.

10. Data Analysis and Reporting

Being able to analyze data and generate insightful reports is crucial for demonstrating the effectiveness of your marketing efforts. This skill involves using analytics tools to track performance, interpret data, and present findings in a clear and actionable manner. Without properly analyzing your data, marketers can often make blind decisions that are not based on any factual information. Leverage tools like Google Analytics and Visitor Queue to properly understand your website traffic. Additionally, create detailed reports that highlight key metrics, campaign goals, and additional insights.

11. Video Production

Video content is increasingly popular and can be highly effective for engaging audiences. Skills in video production include scripting, filming, editing, and promoting video content. High-quality videos can enhance your brand’s storytelling and improve engagement. Try to learn how to use video editing software like Adobe Premiere Pro or even Canva. Additionally, there are a ton of videos on YouTube that can help you get started with video production based on the style you’re going for.

12. Automation

Marketing automation helps streamline repetitive tasks and improve efficiency. Understanding how to set up and manage automation workflows can significantly enhance your marketing strategy, allowing you to nurture leads and engage with your audience more effectively. Tools like HubSpot can help you automate tasks like email follow ups, ensuring none of your leads get left behind or caught up in your sales funnel. Try to test out different automations to see what works best for your audience. Additionally, try attending webinars hosted by companies like HubSpot and Zapier to learn more about marketing automation.

What’s Next?

There’s a lot that goes into a good marketer. If you don’t have every single one of the skills mentioned above, don’t worry, you can get there. Marketing is always changing, which is why it’s so crucial to ensure your digital marketing skills are keeping up. It’s important to have a good mix of personal and technical skills to get the furthest in your career. But, if you are missing certain skills, build a team around you who are strong in those areas. As always, if you have any questions about using Visitor Queue for lead generation and website analytics, do not hesitate to reach out.