Keeping your teams on the edge of skills proficiency and innovation has never been more vital than it is now, and especially so for digital marketing teams. Why is it so important? The simple fact is that digital techniques in the marketing field evolve much faster than in other parts of your business. It’s more than just adopting new technology platforms such as marketing automation and mobile channels; you also need to ensure that your workforce is able to master changing tactics in each digital marketing segment.
CareerBuilder’s 2018 Hiring Forecast reported that 66 percent of employers plan to train and hire workers who may not have all the skills they need, but show potential to excel. Digital marketing fits perfectly into this category because of the rapid pace of technological change and its impact on marketing know-how.
In that context, here are five areas you should be focusing on:
1. Hone Your Social Media Approach
Social media may be the fastest moving target for digital marketing teams. Audiences, social networks, and marketing techniques all change at lightning speed in the social space, giving special motivation to managers to enhance social media mastery to maintain the value of their corporate brand. The secret recipe lies in how to promote your story in a way that best resonates with consumers. Almost ¾ of online users follow a brand because they’re interested in the product or service, and 46 percent will unfollow a brand on social media for posting too many promotional messages. Social media managers must capably adjust to market trends, personalize the brand to motivate key audiences, understand the nuances of how certain types of content and campaigns fill the funnel, and know how to apply metrics to optimize resources and hone in on the right strategy. Read more about social media specialist certifications.
2. Stay Current with SEO Techniques
Brands and marketing agencies in the U.S. are projected to spend over $72 billion on SEO services in 2018. It’s easy to see why companies are willing to shell out these huge sums, as 57 percent of B2B marketers say that SEO has the greatest impact on lead generation. SEO is all about how effectively you can drive traffic to your websites and landing pages and fill your pipeline with great leads. And to do so, your digital teams must be cognizant of the latest algorithms used by Google and other search engines, understand how keywords affect search engine rankings, know how to master on-page and off-page optimization, and how to effectively track performance over time and change course as micro-trends impact how consumers are responding to your SEO tactics. Read more about SEO skills training.
3. Optimize Pay Per Click (PPC) Strategies
Pay per click (PPC) and paid search advertising are the real game changers for most companies in the digital space. Digital research firm Search Engine Watch reports that 72 percent of American businesses plan to beef up their pay per click marketing campaigns in the coming years. You don’t necessarily have to be overly aggressive with PPC, but the more you know about how to work the PPC ad system, the better results you’ll see and the more efficient you’ll be with the money you do spend. Much like SEO, PPC effectiveness comes down to getting the most bang for your buck. Digital marketers can improve ROI on PPC programs by writing more focused and compelling ad content, learning auction and pricing models, and developing an entrenched strategy for following up on leads once they do click your ad. Read more about advanced PPC skills training.
4. Put Content Value First
Think of good content as the fuel that powers all of your marketing campaigns, from websites and email campaigns to pay per click and SEO strategies. In fact, 45 percent of all companies say content marketing is highly integrated with SEO strategy, as it can make the difference between a successful campaign and a failed one. There are tricks to the trade for developing content that’s relevant for the right audiences and actually drive consumers to take your preferred action. Your marketing managers should know the do’s and don’ts of content marketing and be careful not to waste precious cycles and touches with your audiences with content that falls short. Read more about advanced content marketing certifications.
5. Measure and Report ROI
Data is everything to a digital marketer, and with the growing importance of data analytics across industries, it’s no surprise that web analytics professionals are in high demand. Analytics are critical for revealing how successful your campaigns are, whether they’re social, website, email, SEO or PPC. Demonstrating your ROI to management is a crucial element to attaining budget approvals for your next quarters. According to Hubspot, 72 percent of organizations that calculate ROI say their marketing strategy is effective. Marketing teams that takes the time to measure ROI truly put their strategies to the test. Read more about advanced web analytics certifications.
Digital marketing can be both an art and a science. Only by empowering your teams to master both – metrics, SEO, and PPC on the science side, and social media and content marketing on the art side – can you raise the bar for your entire marketing operation.
