What are the Top Essential Marketing Skills You Need to Become the Marketer with Skills that Employers Want, or to start your business?
Marketing is a very large field of work with many sub-specialties, like Paid Marketing, Google Marketing, and more. In this comprehensive guide, we will show you all the essential skills you need for a marketing career.
What is the overall scope of marketing skills you need?
Marketing Skills is a given name for a collection of skills used to find new customers that fit your product and make a sale. There are many skills involved in marketing, but in this guide, we’ll categorize them as follows:
- Technical skills or Hard Skills
- Marketing Soft Skills
Once you master these essential marketing skills, you’re on your way to become an effective member in your marketing team, or for your business.
Top Marketing Skills: Technical Hard Skills
Technical Skills Definition
Technical skills are defined as a set of knowledge and expertise required to perform a specific operation. They may also require knowledge or usage of a very specific tool to complete the task. In this section, we will outline the areas of marketing that require these technical skills.
Carrying out marketing operations, such as creating content, buying ads, and customer research, requires specific skill sets and knowledge of the tools on the market and how to use them.
Marketing Data Analysis
Fundamentally, when you’re marketing, you’re looking to understand your customers. To do that, you need to be able to:
- Formulate guiding questions to understand your customers’ behavior online (and offline)
- Know how to find data to demonstrate the customer’s buying behavior (and extract the data)
- Make sense of the information
- Recommend actions for the Marketing Strategy
The Technical skills you need for that may include working with Excel, Google Analytics, Google Search Console, and more.
Search Engine Marketing (SEM)
Search engine marketing, also known as ‘Paid Search Marketing’, are relating to how you work with an advertiser to show your ads to the right customer segment at the right time, and at the right price. Skills you’ll need to acquire include:
- Keyword research. You’ll need to know how to find the right keywords for your campaigns and how to use them effectively.
- Ad copywriting. You’ll need to be able to write effective ad copy that will get clicks and conversions.
- Bid management. You’ll need to know how to set the right bids for your keywords and how to optimize your campaigns for the best results.
- Knowing tracking and analytics. You’ll need to be able to track your campaign’s performance and make changes as needed to improve results.
If you have these technical skills, you’ll be well on your way to becoming a paid search marketing expert.
SEO Copywriting
SEO Copywriting are the skills you need to help grow your site’s traffic and customer conversion without the assistance of Paid Advertising or paid sources. SEO copywriting has similar skills to Search Engine Marketing, or SEM.
However, there is a difference when it comes to SEM Copywriting and SEO. While SEM is mostly to aim for the hard sell, SEO Copywriting aims to satisfy the following criteria:
- To compete against competitors
- To meet Google’s Standards for Quality Content
- To attract customers and end their search journey.
Graphic Design and Video Production Skills
Graphic design and video production skills are among the most marketable skills in today’s job market. Graphic designers are in high demand by businesses of all sizes, from small businesses to large corporations. Video makers are also in high demand by both businesses and individuals. The skills required for both graphic design and video making are highly transferable, which means that they can be used in a variety of industries and settings.
This skill requires technical know-how and tools, especialyl when it comes to using Adobe Products, or similar apps.
Marketing Strategy
Key Marketing Skills: Soft Skills
Top Marketing Soft Skills
- Given that marketing is a very broad field, the hard skills you’ll need to get hired will vary tremendously from role to role, but for the purposes of this article, we’re focusing on some of the most common skills employers are looking for when hiring an entry-level marketing generalist (typically a coordinator or assistant role).
- Depending on your role, this could mean taking charge on a specific project, acting as a point person for a vendor or client, or helping junior members of the team in their work.
- Adaptability Marketing is a fast-changing field, with new best practices, tools, and standards emerging constantly.
- Additionally, marketing teams often have to work under tight deadlines and may be assigned last-minute projects or find priorities shifting with little notice.
Public Speaking and Communication
Public speaking and communication are important skills to have. Public speaking can help you communicate your ideas to others, and communication can help you understand what others are saying. Both skills are important in many aspects of life, from work to personal relationships.
In a marketing context, you’ll need this skill when debriefing your team, communicating with vendors and partners, and your audience. If you are running a Youtube channel, or have a Podcast, public speaking to relay your message or value proposition is essential.
Analytical Thinking
Analytical thinking is a process that helps us to understand and solve problems by breaking them down into smaller, more manageable pieces. When it comes to marketing, analytical thinking can be applied in a number of ways, from understanding customer behaviour and developing targeted campaigns, to measuring the effectiveness of advertising and gauging customer response.
By using analytical thinking skills, marketers can gain a greater understanding of their customers and what motivates them, which in turn can lead to more successful marketing campaigns. In addition, by analyzing data and customer feedback, marketers can continually adapt and improve their strategies to get the best results possible.
