Top 5 Marketing Skills

Photo credit: by Will Lion via flickr: http://bit.ly/23RCVAD

One post that continues to get views is from 2012 about about the top 5 skills for marketing professionals. In reviewing the post, while some of the information still resonates, I decided to provide an updated list of skills.

1. Digital Marketing: Previously, I had written that search engine optimization (SEO) and pay per click were key skills for today’s marketer.  I’m updating this to fall under the general category of “digital marketing.”  When 57% of the buying research happens before they contact you (Source: B2B’s Digital Evolution), digital marketing will ensure that potential customers find your company during the buying process through banner ads, remarketing, SEO, PPC and more. Plus, digital marketing is one area where you can literally track a prospect from first touch, downloading content, visiting your website to completing a lead form. Understanding these touch points and rich data will provide insights to better refine your marketing programs.

2. Content Marketing: Today every company is a media company. And great content helps you stand above the noise. This requires not only understanding your keywords, but also understanding your buyer personas and the questions they will ask during the purchasing process. In addition to driving top of the funnel sales lead, this content can also increase lead velocity, enabling sales to provide relevant content throughout the buying cycle.

3. Public Relations: Public relations has evolved greatly over the past few years. With better tracking tools and the importance of digital marketing, public relations is an integral element in driving your online presence through quality links which promotes traffic to your website – both direct and indirect. It’s integral that marketers understand how to leverage PR and properly measure it as part of a larger marketing strategy and event marketing campaigns related to product launches, tradeshows, and more.

4. Social Media: When you look at the first three things above,  social media becomes an important avenue for distributing your content, driving SEO and increasing brand awareness. It’s more than broadcasting your own content (known as “owned” media).  You have to “earn” media, which is defined as content that people want to share, like and comment.  Engage influencers, customers, partners,  and prospects where the conversations are happening. For example, new prospects may be asking questions in LinkedIn groups, influencers may be on Twitter and customers in dedicated online communities. Finally, use “paid” media – sponsoring content or advertising on key social channels – to increase awareness and drive traffic. Test, measure and iterate owned, earned and paid social media to see what the optimal mix is to drive your objectives and goals.

5. Video Marketing: It’s estimated that 74% of all internet traffic in 2017 will be video (Source: Syndacast infographic). For marketers, it’s not about recording and editing the video directly. Rather, it’s understanding how a video is produced (such as creative brief, scripting, story boarding, tone, voice, etc.), the key messages to shape the story, and the role of video during the buying process.

I’m curious to hear what other skills today’s marketers must have.