With every passing year, the list of credentials that falls under the digital marketing title expands more and more, giving us more to learn, and more to do. With that knowledge, however, comes the need to keep up with current events, and making sure that we’re staying on top of things as they progress. The online highway is quick—it changes, constantly, and often affects the way we do our job. With social media on the rise and mobile features being higher and higher on the list of priorities, it’s hard to make sure that everything you need is currently under your belt of refined digital marketing skills.
That’s where we come in. We’re experts in the game, just like you! And we know how hard it can be to try and keep your metaphorical ducks in a row while the world around you is constantly changing, morphing, and catapulting itself into the future. That’s why we’ve wrapped up what we think are some of the most important and essential digital marketing skills you should have in the game of online marketing! From social media marketing to Google Adwords, and everything in between, these are the things you should be able to hold your own with, and the things that should be at the forefront of your digital marketing venture towards success. Let’s get started!
1: Video Marketing
Maybe the biggest thing on the rise in the world of digital marketing is the use of video to further advance your reach towards your audience. Facebook Live, Instagram stories, and SnapChat all fall under social media platforms that require your digital marketing skills to be fluent in video editing, and being able to reach a wider reach (and live, nonetheless), gives you the upper edge against your competitors. Plus, interacting with your customer base is important for building trust, and a strong channel of communication!
2: SEO
You know it, you love it, you need it. SEO is among the most important digital marketing skills and strategies to have up your sleep. Google controls nearly everything we do and making sure that the content we’re writing to gain traction and generate leads and interest in what we do is important in the world of digital marketing. Making sure our keywords track, our websites rank, and our visitor count increases rely entirely on how well we know and can learn, the tips of SEO.
3: Content Marketing
Digital marketing skills that tie in with SEO is the power to harness content marketing strategies. When we write content, we’re doing so with the intention of sharing valuable and knowledgeable information that can help our audience with issues they could be having. It’s about getting the answer to the bigger picture, and helping these people solve their problems by providing them with the right information and the best possible way to achieve those results in order to get from point A, to point B! It’s a must-have in the world of digital marketing.
4: Data and Analytics
Being able to track what you’re doing, and how well you’re doing, is imperative when it comes to digital marketing skills you need to know. Analytics gives you the best idea of what areas you can improve on, what areas you’re succeeding with, and how—overall—your content, business, and brand is being received by the people who visit your sites. Being able to read data and analytics, and apply what you’ve learned to your future endeavors, will definitely help your long-term digital marketing career.
5: Design Based Thinking
Though we don’t always want to admit it, the world of digital marketing can be very appearance based. If your website doesn’t look its best, then you’re missing an opportunity to collaborate with future clients and customers. You need to make sure that design based thinking is one of the refined digital marketing skills you have when you’re starting your business. Making things aesthetic, accessible, and informational is the exact comfort zone you want to live in!
6: Tech Savvy
On top of being forward-thinking, you—of course—need to know how use the internet to your advantage, and being able to harness the power of the amazing and ever-changing technological advances that we’ve made in the last 6 months alone is one of the most important digital marketing skills a business owner can have! There’s a lot to learn if you haven’t dipped your toes into the digital marketing realm yet, but it’s important to be able to hold your own when it comes to the internet, and for online marketers, it’s non-negotiable.
7: Be Persuasive
Being in the world of business means having the will and charisma to talk to strangers in your field and convince them that what you have, is something they need. The ability to be persuasive is among the must-have digital marketing skills. You need to be able to talk to people with an air of confidence that makes them believe what you have to say, without them really knowing you beyond a surface level interaction. Being persuasive gives you room to open up the conversation before it’s even happened, and having a likable personality makes you easy to trust, thus solidifying a strong foundation between you and customers!
8: Social Media Marketing
Among the top tier, digital marketing skills are the ability to use a large variety of social media platforms for your business. Building outreach that’ll get the word out about your business is essential to creating a foundation for your brand, and social media is the best way to ensure that you’re getting in front of the best possible audience that resonates with your message, and your services. Social media is one of the most powerful things that’ve come out of the past 5 years, and it’s important for businesses to get their names out there.
9: Google Adwords
As stated before, Google controls much of what we do as digital marketers, and being able to use the power of Google Adwords is one of the most important digital marketing skills a business owner can have. Google Adwords is one of the most efficient ways to create an ad campaign that’ll reach the right buyers and the right customer fan base that you’re looking to generate. Knowing how to use Google Adwords is a must for any person diving into the world of digital marketing,
10: Email Marketing
Though social media has taken over a large part of the way we communicate with each other, emails are still important, and one of the many digital marketing skills you should refine as a business owner. With ways to automate when your emails go out, how to reply to people who give you favorable reviews, and sending out weekly newsletters and updates about what your customers can expect, email marketing can give you a serious edge above the rest in terms of communication, and fostering trust between you and your clients.
11: Cold Marketing
It’s a hard game to play, but as a digital marketer, you have to do it! Cold marketing is an outreach towards an audience that doesn’t know you yet but can benefit from what you’ve got to offer, and mastering the art of it is among the most important digital marketing skills you can learn. Though some people find cold marketing a little disruptive and intrusive, there’s a variety of ways to get the job done without being overbearing, or overwhelming towards people you’re trying to help.
12: Building Up Strategies
Digital marketing is all about making sure that you’ve got a plan to achieve success, therefore designing and creating strategies for your marketing campaigns is among the top digital marketing skills you need to succeed! Going in blind doesn’t work, and making sure that you know what you’re doing relies on a strong plan, a steady and open stream of communication between your team, and an endgame goal that you know is attainable through the work you’re willing to put in.
13: Content Creation
Content is one of the most important things a business can create, and being able to make your own content is one of the most important digital marketing skills you can learn. Not everyone is a writer, and that’s all right—content comes in many different forms. Whether it be pictures you share that’s relevant to what you do or videos that give people an idea of how to replicate some of the most successful tips and tricks in the digital marketing world. Being able to create something original from your work and share it with your audience is integral for your business growth!
14: Basic Coding Skills
You don’t need to know the ins and outs of making your own website from scratch, of course, but having some coding skills up your sleeve is something that’ll come in handy as a business owner, and a digital marketer. Your digital marketing skills are what puts you on the map and using some of your knowledge to help build and construct what you know is your vision is something that’ll make sure you’re integral to building your brand to what it can be, and what you know it should be.
15: Paid Social Media Advertising
Social media, as always, is a powerful tool when it comes to digital marketing, and using paid advertisements to get your message out is one of the top digital marketing skills a business owner should have! Facebook offers its own version of paid advertisements, and—with how popular other social media platforms have become—so does Instagram, and Twitter, and even things like Quora! Check with the platform you want to use, create a powerful message, and reach your audience!
16: Sales Skills
It seems slightly redundant to say, but it still rings true! Among the top digital marketing skills, perhaps the most important one is being able to sell! It seems easy, at first, but it takes hard work and practice to fall into a sales strategy that works for your business, your services, and your clients. You can’t be pushy, overbearing, or too forceful with what you have—build up a good rapport, find a dialogue that feels natural and works your way into the world of sales.
17: Channel Marketing Expertise
A method that used too much success in the B2B marketing world, channel marketing expertise will certainly give you an edge up on your competition and is among the best digital marketing skills for you to inherit. Channel marketing relies on you, the business owner, making connections and relationships with other marketers and distributors in order to find a way to sell your goods effectively, and to a wider audience than just you alone can reach. Finding a way to use channel marketing to your advantage is certainly something a business owner should be able to do!
18: Thinking Objectively
As a business owner, you need to be able to think on your feet and keep a critical eye when it comes to the things your business wants to do. One of the best digital marketing skills relies entirely on you, and your own assessment of how things are, and should, be working. Being able to take a step back and look at the bigger picture without letting your own passion cloud your judgment for what you know is best will help you achieve success in the long run.
19: Visual Storytelling Abilities
Digital marketing is not only about making sales, and connecting with your audience, but also telling a story with your business, and what you want to do with your services. Visual storytelling is certainly among the best digital marketing skills for every business owner to have, and being able to show people exactly what you mean when you tell them how you can help them, and what you’re willing to do to give them the results they’re looking for gives them a sense of trust and relief, opening up a pathway for immediate connection.
20: WordPress Experience
WordPress is easily among the best ways to start your first website, with how customizable and accessible it can be to use! Plus, it’s free for all users, making it essential on your list of digital marketing skills. WordPress makes itself very self-explanatory, and using it is extremely easy, for marketers new and old. Having experience with a software that most, if not all, people in the world of online marketing have used more than once will help you in the long run, especially in the future if clients seek to create their own website the same way you did.
21: Self-promotion Skills
It sounds hard to do, especially if you’re not comfortable with the idea of talking to strangers, but selling your product means you have to sell yourself, too. If customers and clients aren’t sold on the idea of you as their marketer, then they’ll have trouble believing your services will do enough to get the job done. Therefore, being able to promote yourself, and sell yourself to your customers in tandem with your business, should be among the most important digital marketing skills you can learn.
22: Listening Skills
When you’re in the business field, you need to be able to listen, absorb, and take in everything that people have to say. Sometimes, they aren’t good things—sometimes, it’s critiqued, and people trying to tell you how they think you can improve your business. You need to be able to take it in stride, to be able to listen to these people, regardless of what they have to say, to not only learn more about the digital marketing world but to refine your own digital marketing skills as well.
23: Customer Centric Marketing
The customer is always right, as the saying goes, and making sure that your marketing is centered around your customers is one of the most important digital marketing skills you can learn. If the people you’re helping haven’t happened, then your business won’t get very far—you need to make sure that you’re doing everything you can for the sake of the customer base you’ve cultivated. After all, your success relies on them. Making sure that you’re being as confident, as forthright, and honest as possible is the best way to build a strong connection between you and your clients.
24: Speed Reading
That’s right—speed reading! It might sound silly at first, but trust me—being able to take in a lot of content in a short amount of time is one of many digital marketing skills that make you more well rounded. There’s a lot of stuff to look at out there—blogs, articles, lists, infographics. It seems never-ending, but the quantity doesn’t decrease the quality, and being able to read through and absorb as much of that content as you can (in the little free time you have, of course) will let you educate yourself at your own pace, in your own time.
25: Building Relationships
I’ve mentioned it before on this list, but it’s important never diminishes in time. Your business and your digital marketing skills are heavily reliant on your ability to connect with other people in your field, and build strong relationships in order to progress your own business, and help others do the very same. The digital marketing agency is a community, and we work together to collaborate and help each other rise in the ranks.
26: Interviewing
Being able to talk to other people in the digital marketing community will certainly help you foster those relationships, and being able to both give and partake in an interview is certainly among the digital marketing skills you need to reach out and build in this community. Facebook live, Instagram, Twitter, and so many other social media platforms allow you to share your story with your clients, but being able to share your story with other marketers will help you reach out on a relatable level, and help people trust you easily!
27: Podcast Marketing
Tieing with being able to give an interview is the ability to be on podcasts! In the digital marketing community, podcasts have become an amazing way for other marketers to connect with each other, while also sharing some of the best tips that’ll give you an edge in the world of digital marketing. It’s a little intimidating at first, but luckily, either hosting or being a guest on a podcast is one of the best digital marketing skills you can learn by connecting with other marketers.
28: Blog Marketing
Running a blog is second nature to most business owners, and yet, there’s still a handful of people who don’t believe the importance of running your own content. Blogging is nearly essential when it comes to creating a steady stream of interested and quality traffic to your site, and being able to write the content yourself based on the successes of your business and how you’re helping people is one of the best digital marketing skills to have.
29: Describing the End Game
For a lot of people, the end game is more of a concept, rather than something they can talk about tangible. It’s important to be able to know what you want to do with your business, and where you want your success to go. The end game is, essentially, what you’re working for, so being able to discuss it at length and know what you’re reaching for is one of the best digital marketing skills a business owner can cultivate.
30: Public Speaking
The digital marketing game has a lot to it, and though you might not be speaking to people directly and face to face all the time, you’re still speaking to masses of people through things like social media, and podcasts, and—hopefully—planned events. That’s where public speaking comes in handy, and teaching yourself one of the most important digital marketing skills you can learn revolves around being able to speak to people without fear or worry. Confidence is key, here, and being able to form your thoughts coherently is important in spreading your philosophy.
31: Planning Events
One of the best ways to get people to engage in what you have to offer is by planning and hosting marketing events! Digital marketing takes place, for the most part, over the internet highway, therefore we don’t really get to communicate with each other outside of screen time. One of the best digital marketing skills is having these conversations face to face, and giving people a chance to get in on the first floor by inviting them to an event where you can show your audience what you can do for them in the flesh!
32: Being A Good Teacher
We know that you’re not always going to be spending time telling people how to do things step by step, but part of being a good digital marketer is having the skills to show people how to get things done the right way. Among your top digital marketing skills, you need to be able to show people who work for you—and potential future clients—how you want to get things done, and being an excellent teacher, and leader, paves the way for less confusion and more success down the line!
33: Being A Good Writer
You don’t have to be the next Shakespeare, of course, but having the chops to churn out weekly blog posts and articles that shine a light on relevant information centered around your business is among the top digital marketing skills you should hone. Writing isn’t for everyone, of course, and content doesn’t always have to be an article that stretches the length of a webpage. However, basic writing skills are necessary in order to get the job done, so make sure you can—at the very least—construct a paragraph or two. It’ll only help you as you grow!
34: Collaboration
The ability to work well with others is something we learn when we’re young, and in the world of business, the very same notion applies. We can’t always get everything done by ourselves, after all, and being able to collaborate with our team, other marketers in the field and top consultants for things like social media marketing is a must among your best digital marketing skills. Don’t be afraid to reach out and make connections with important people in the field!
35: Giving Feedback
I get it—sometimes, it’s hard to be the person who says ‘no’ when you’re already the person in charge. However, being a business owner means you’re the one people look to when they need advice, or a strong answer or something that’ll affect the business as a whole. Develop the ability to give feedback, and critiques, without crossing the line into something that could be taken negatively. Giving people the push they need to go in the right direction is among the best digital marketing skills you can have.
36: Be Adaptive
Along the same lines of being able to give people a push in the right direction, you also need to learn how to be adaptive! Being able to change with the situation as it unfolds is a must among digital marketing skills. The business world is fast paced and changes at the drop of a hat, if things swing a certain way—being able to be cool under pressure and roll with the punches, will certainly give you an edge up as a leader, and as a marketer.
37: Results Oriented
Digital marketing is, as its core, about the end game. You need to be results oriented when you’re starting a business, and thinking about what’ll come of your actions truly makes you think about what you’re doing, how you’re doing it, and what you can do to make it better. Being results oriented is one of the best digital marketing skills you can have, and keeping the end goal in mind while you’re working hard to provide people with the best service you can only help your business evolve.
38: Negotiating
A large part of marketing is finding a happy medium for all parties involved, and being a good negotiator will really give you the upper hand in growing your business. Brokering good deals and helping people find something they’re happy with while also making sure everyone else in the deal is just as happy is part of being a marketer, and the best digital marketing skills rely on you being able to have these conversations confidently, and comfortably.
39: Public Relations
PR is a huge part of the digital marketing world, and being able to put your best foot forward when showing the internet what you have to offer is certainly one of the best digital marketing skills you can have. Public relations is something that helps you not only establish strong and reliable connections between powerful influencers in the business field, but PR also helps you stand out among the rest with a good reputation, and a strong foundation to back up what people are saying.
40: Multi-tasking
This almost goes without saying, but in order to manage the job of a business owner, being able to handle multiple things at once is important, and among the best digital marketing skills you can have. Multi-tasking is nearly inevitable when you’re in the business world, and being able to take on tasks as they come and balance them evenly in an environment that doesn’t always slow down when you need it to is something that’ll keep you in the game when it changes as quickly as it does.
41: Leadership
As a business owner, and a CEO, you’re the one in charge, and the one people look to when they need answers. In order to successfully run your business and make sure that your customers are trusting in what you can provide for them, you need to have a sense of leadership. Being able to confidently lead your team by squashing problems before they happen, creating a strategy that your team can rely on, and providing your customers with excellent service is one of the best digital marketing skills to have!
42: Research Skills
When you work in the digital marketing field, it’s important to be able to find information for yourself when you need it, and having research skills that get the job done is important when running your own business. Being able to know where to look to get the information you need is among the best digital marketing skills to have! Research is a big part of our jobs as business owners, and using your time wisely to find what you need in order to progress is something that’ll help your business grow time and time again.
43: Authority Building
More often than not, you’ll hear the discussion of “authority backlinks” when deciding how to branch out and grow your business. Authority building relies on your ability, as a business, to create a reputation that not only you can be proud of, but that other businesses know they can be proud of, too. To be an authority business means to be one of the best and a business that customers can rely on when they need help only you can provide. Building up to authority is certainly one of the best digital marketing skills you can learn as a business owner.
44: Networking
Networking is essential in the world of marketing, and building up strong relationships based on the people you can meet at things like events and summits is one of the most important digital marketing skills you can have. Networking gives you a chance to meet other people who work in the same field you do, and know how to do things that—sometimes—you don’t. Being able to connect with these people and build bonds you can rely on down the road is something every business owner needs.
45: Testing
Regardless of the kind of testing you conduct, it’s important that you test what you’re doing before you put it through to the public. Trial and error isn’t always an ideal way to find out what campaigns work the best, and being able to test what you want to do before you do it is one of the best digital marketing skills a business owner can have! Testing is one of the most important parts of working in business, after all, and having a way to see what works and what doesn’t eliminate wasted time as you move forward.
46: Mobile Marketing
The future of marketing relies entirely on the palm of our hands—literally! Mobile marketing is one of the biggest trends of the upcoming year, and making sure that you know what to do when it comes to making your website mobile accessible is one of the most important digital marketing skills you can learn. Advertisements, applications, mobile accelerated pages—these are things you need to know and love as 2024 approaches because mobile isn’t going anywhere. In fact, it’s just getting started!
47: Organization
One of the most important digital marketing skills that any business owner should have is the power of organization. If your workspace is cluttered, messy, and hard to follow, it’ll be difficult to get things done in a timely manner. Luckily, there’s plenty of amazing organizational programs out there that can keep your information tied neatly together, giving you a chance to view everything as it should be and allowing you more time to get things done.
48: Motivation and Dedication
These things go hand in hand and are among the best digital marketing skills you can have as a business owner. Having the motivation and dedication to your business, and to keep pushing forward when things seem to be too much. Businesses that succeed are not only businesses with great ideas, but businesses with people who’re passionate and dedicated to the cause they create. If you put your all into what you establish, you’ll find that the rest comes naturally.
49: Branding
Digital marketing skills are essential when it comes to branding your business, and being able to create an image that represents who you are, and what you want to do with your business, is important in building a foundation for your business to grow on! Branding is a necessity when you’re a business owner—constructing how you appear to the world, and how you get your message across, determines the inflow of customers you generate, and how much traction you gain in the process.
50: Social Media Messaging
One of the best ways to keep in touch with your customers is through messaging on social media, and with many applications and extensions that make it possible for you to establish that connection with ease, it’s safe to say that social media messaging is one of the best digital marketing skills you can have. Things like ManyChat are on the rise, which connects your Facebook Messenger directly to your customers, giving them a chance to talk to the head of business without any loopholes or roundabouts.
51: Landing Pages
Establishing landing pages is something that every business needs to do, and creating those pages is among the top digital marketing skills that every business owner needs. Landing pages are what bring people to your technological front door, and by giving people a chance to see what you’ve got to offer by constructing a landing page designed to show off your best offers and assets is how you get traffic flowing, and how you generate a customer base!
52: Marketing Funnels
When you work in digital marketing, being able to create a marketing funnel that works for your business model is one of the best digital marketing skills a business owner can have. Funnels are important when it comes to the connection you have with your customers, and how they land on your page to buy your services, products, and goods. Mastering the marketing funnel is a necessity in the world of business, and being able to craft something that works in your favor is important to success, and growth.
53: Using Free Tools and Software
Taking advantage of every opportunity that the marketing community gives you is an amazing way to grow your business, and free tools and software that other marketers have created to make our lives easier is one of the best digital marketing skills you can use. Things that make emails easier, posting more efficient, and creating a workplace that feels easier to manage, and less cluttered with things that have no place to go.
54: Marketing Automation
Nothing makes marketing easier than things being done for you, automatically, and having the digital marketing skills to make it happen is something that you’ll find makes life better, and simpler. Marketing automation is easily achievable when you’ve got the tools that support it—scheduling posts across social media at the same time, spreading those posts to go live consistently throughout the week, and maintaining a schedule is easy and achievable.
55: Mobile Advertisements
In line with mobile marketing is mobile advertising, and being able to create content that’s designed specifically for use of a cell phone. The requirements are different for things created for a desktop, and making sure that you’ve acquired the digital marketing skills it takes to make content that fits mobile sites, mobile marketing, and mobile applications is important with the way the digital marketing pendulum is shifting in the 2024 business year.
56: Crafting Customer Journeys
When we talk about the customer journey, we’re talking about how a potential client gets from point A, to point B, and one of the most important digital marketing skills you can have as a business owner is making sure that journey is carefully crafted and customized for the people you’re creating it for. When people feel like they’re being heard and appreciated, the channel for trust and communication is more open and reliant, and giving yourself a chance to make things personal for the people you want to work for is how organic growth cultivates.
57: Managing Your Brand
When you create your brand, you’re creating what represents your company to the public. But, making that brand is only the first half—the second half is learning how to manage your brand, and your business. Among the best digital marketing skills is having the ability to lead your brand in the right direction, and by making sure that you know the message you’re sending out is resonating with the right people, you’re ensuring a growing audience and a bigger channel for traffic.
58: Understanding Your Audience
Tying in with managing your brand is understanding the people your brand was created for! One of the best, if not the most important, among digital marketing skills. Your audience—your customer base—is what drives the success of your company, and making sure that you understand the type of people who can benefit from your business and your services is integral for your business to grow.
59: Actionable Leads
Business owners know that leads are built on campaigns that give a call to action, something that a customer or a client can do to bring them one step closer to closing a deal with you. Whether it be giving you their email address to get something in return, to share an article that gets them involved, or partaking in a contest to get a promotion of something new that you’re trying out—actionable leads are among the best digital marketing skills to have when you’re creating a business model.
60: Being Honest, Open, and Confident
Maybe among the most important digital marketing skills, you can have as a business owner relies on being honest, open, and confident. Not only in yourself, but in your business, your brand, and the services that you can provide to others. If you don’t believe in yourself, then it’ll be hard for others to want to believe in you, too. Being authentic, being considerate, and being genuine is the best way to connect with customers, and build your business on integrity, as well as the incredible product.
The Best Digital Marketing Skills: Hone Your Craft
And… that’s all she wrote! It’s a lot to take in at first, but being a digital marketer means having a lot of practice in different fields and requirements. Being able to tackle anything that the business field can throw your way with refined digital marketing skills and the knowledge it takes to get through even the toughest of times will set you apart from the rest, and give you a chance to rise above the ranks as your business grows!
