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Winsome Habits that Help You Stand Out in the Crowd
The digital marketplace is proliferating; those who can take advantage of this wave will see their business grow. This means being well-trained and positioning yourself to grow your career!
Digital marketing is a relatively new profession. It has also been identified as an area of growth. Formal education and undergraduate and graduate-level training have lagged behind this growth. This creates problems for hopeful candidates and their employers – creating a skill gap. Focus on closing the skills gap to win the digital marketing opportunity. Arm yourself with digital marketing skills and ensure you can present them in the best way possible for prospective employers.
Digital marketing will only be enriched by harnessing the expertise of individuals and bringing innovation to the forefront.
The Skills Gap as Seen By Employers
The Google Skills Academy commissioned Talent Revolution, a study that outlined the specifics surrounding the skills gap within digital marketing. This study measured the progress made in closing this gap. The study’s research helped establish a framework to determine and share best practices. Collaboration across the industry is crucial, especially when formalized training has emerged, and yet jobs continue to grow.
The study found that digital marketers are lagging in their efforts to support mobile and video, even though consumers seem adamant about these media. Some companies have a hard time adopting new technology and conducting testing. The companies have failed to engage with customers throughout their experience by integrating sufficient touchpoints.
Senior management has shown some resistance to the implementation of the tools and to making the necessary adjustments to leverage digital marketing to support growth directionally. Early adopters are often resistant to new ideologies and technologies. While many companies know the importance of digital marketing, they don’t invest as much as they should in training and recruitment. They prefer to spend their money on areas where they have had success.
This shows that companies willing to take advantage of the opportunities here will be far ahead of their competition. Understanding companies’ digital marketing deficiencies can help you increase your value by addressing those weaknesses.
Here are some tips on positioning yourself for success in companies looking to expand their digital marketing efforts.
What is your personal skill gap
Digital marketing is a multi-faceted field that requires expertise in various areas. Consider your weak areas. What about social media? What about content marketing? What about mobile and search engine optimization?
Find your weaknesses and make them your strengths. This will help you to stay ahead of your competition. You should learn about all marketing channels but focus on a few.
Focus on Personality and Skills
You can’t fill up your resume with much education or experience in this industry, as it is still in its infancy. You should instead promote your full range of skills and what you’ve learned on the job. You are, therefore, a great candidate for growing the digital marketing department of any company where you work.
It’s not the length of experience that matters (because the industry is still young), but rather the quality and variety of your experiences. The recruiters can’t compare candidates’ experience ‘apples-to-apples.’ Use it to your advantage.
You must be able to think outside the box and creatively solve challenges. Can you translate high-level theories into a successful strategy? Are you a consummate team player? Are you able to rely on both your left and right brain? What is your preference for logical or creative thinking? These soft skills,’ as they are called, will greatly benefit you.
Specific Skills
Digital marketing requires a variety of marketing skills. These skills are not just soft skills but also marketing knowledge and skills. The must-haves are social media strategy and content curation. SEO knowledge, marketing technology knowledge, and user experience design knowledge.
Digital marketers are required to wear many hats. It’s important to have a wide range of skills.
Leading
Leadership is one of the biggest challenges in early adoption. Not only must you identify the best direction to take, but you must also convince others of the correct path. Belief in the digital movement is key. Support followers by sharing success stories, collaborating to develop best practices, and holding open discussions on the best way forward.
Be Incredible Versatile
Digital marketing differs from traditional marketing because there is no set formula for success. The planning process is not linear. For example, identifying your target audience, performing A/B tests, formulating a branding proposition, and developing and rolling out media plans are all steps that don’t follow a linear path. Digital marketing requires you to be proactive and reactive at the same time.
To stay on track, you must be open to changes and willing to adapt. Digital marketing has the advantage of producing data much more frequently and faster than traditional marketing campaigns. The challenge is reacting quickly enough.
Be Innovative
You must be innovative and creative when you don’t have an industry roadmap. It’s not necessary to break all the rules. Still, it is important to know the criteria and strategies that will make your marketing more compelling, relevant, and superior to your competitors. Listen to your customers and how they like to be reached. Then, repackage the brand to fit that message.
Always Learn
This industry is still in its infancy and will require tools and training. Consume information to deepen your understanding. It’s important to be willing to learn new things, even if you think you know them.
It is also important to share your knowledge and experience with your co-workers.
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