If you’re new to the world of digital marketing, things can seem pretty overwhelming. From a variety of social media platforms and search engine algorithms, navigating the vast digital marketing industry can be difficult, especially for beginners. That’s why we’ve put together this article where we will discuss the top 10 skills a beginner should have to help them become a successful digital marketer.
Search Engine Optimization or SEO is one of the most essential tools a digital marketer should have in their toolbox. When done properly, SEO can increase both the quality and quantity of website visitors and help with brand awareness. For example, when you write a perfectly optimized blog or webpage that contains the keywords you’re targeting, it can continue to move up or down in search engine rankings over time while other forms of advertising require more funds to back efforts. SEO is the marketing practice that keeps on giving, so why pass up the opportunity?
While you may be focusing most of your efforts on organic search or SEO efforts, that doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t also be utilizing a paid media approach. PPC or Pay-Per-Click is an effective way to help your search engine results without having to spend a significant amount of time and money on new content. PPC is a great strategy because you pay if the ads are working. If people are clicking on the ads (or in some cases viewing them), then they are generating more traffic for your brand and thus worth the money spent on them.
Whether you’re writing blogs, creating a video, social media posts, or other assets, it is important to have a well-rounded knowledge of all the different forms content could take. As the core of Digital Marketing, it’s important to understand that if you can generate traffic to your brand or website but have nothing worthwhile or educational to say, people won’t be coming back or utilizing your company. Content Marketing is a big undertaking for anyone due to the fact that you have to be able to find the brand’s voice, speak to your audience and answer their questions, and persuade and engage with them enough to make them want to use your services or buy your products. As one of the major key players in a successful digital marketing strategy, it’s important to brush up on your content marketing skills if you’re going to take on the digital marketing world.
Data and analytics are a critical part of any successful digital marketing strategy. It is easy to access the information that Google Analytics provides for your brand, but it is much more difficult to use this information effectively, to drive traffic to your website, and to get them to convert. This crucial information can help you learn more about your consumers and how they engage with your content. What posts do you have that are generating a lot of traffic? What blogs don’t seem to be doing as well? Data and analytics can tell you all of this, but it is up to you as the savvy digital marketer to be able to tell why and how this data came to be and how to capitalize on it.
Technology and video are a huge part of digital marketing in this day and age and a successful digital marketer should be able to create and utilize them effectively. Research shows that a well-optimized video can increase your chances of being in a top Google ranking position by at least 50%. In addition, people are 80% more likely to purchase a product after seeing a video describing it. In today’s digital age, people are much more visual and have much shorter attention spans, so effective video and use of technology is extremely important to understand.
Social media is arguably one of the most prominent forms of digital marketing in 2020. There are people who make their entire living off of social media advertising alone. This means that it is extremely important for any brand or product to have a social media presence. A good digital marketer doesn’t just post on Facebook but also knows how to use all the platforms and how to generate engagement from their followers. Being able to create unique posts that are relevant for each social media outlet is essential to having a solid digital marketing presence as well.
In addition to organic social media use, paid social advertising is also a very effective tool to have. Having your brand or product pop up on someone’s feed without them even searching for it is an invaluable marketing technique that can help drive traffic to your site and sell your products.
CRO or conversion rate optimization is another essential skill to master. This is a similar method to utilizing data and analytics in order to see which blogs, CTA’s, and other marketing tactics actually drive traffic to your website. Having a good CRO means your content is generating buzz and getting clicks from people on the internet.
Having a brand message that people can relate to is extremely important, and utilizing Instagram pages and creating a cohesive website are good ways to help curate that messaging. Whether it’s posting to social media with a theme in mind on, or updating your website to match all of your social media and blog posts, cultivating a cohesive brand message is important so people can identify with your company, product, or service and better understand if what you’re offering is something they want.
The digital marketing industry is highly tech-driven, so it’s important to at least have a basic understanding of different software, tools, and photo and video editing applications. It can also be beneficial to have a general knowledge of coding basics so you can use Content Management systems (CMS) like WordPress to make edits and updates to websites.
Are you ready to dive into the world of digital marketing but don’t know where to start? Contact our digital marketing strategists to get started on your personalized marketing plan today!