The Juicy Marketeer

Possessing the right skills is essential to succeed in the digital marketing field!

Whether you’re a small B2B or B2C company, a marketing student, or just someone looking for a digital marketing side hustle, understanding the digital marketing realm and acquiring relevant skills are key to staying competitive. 

This comprehensive guide delves into the essential skills in demand, the importance of digital marketing strategy, and where to find valuable resources to enhance your proficiency.

What is Digital Marketing?

Digital marketing is about creating and sharing content through digital media channels (websites, landing pages, social media, and more). 

It’s also about promoting that content through different strategies on paid, earned, and owned digital channels, like SEO, SEM, pay-per-click (PPC) advertising, content syndication, social, email, messaging, and more.

In-Demand Digital Marketing Skills List

If you’re wondering about the skills needed for digital marketing to stay up to date with industry trends or to find better career opportunities in digital marketing, here are some of the most sought-after skills:

Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

Imagine your website is not a website. It’s a lemonade stand. You want more people to visit it and drink your juicy lemonade, so what do you do? You put up big, colorful signs and put your stand in a busy spot. 

Optimizing websites and content is like putting up signs for your lemonade stand, and the umbrella term for these techniques is SEO.

When you search for something on the internet, you get a list of results. These are called SERPs (search engine results page). If your website is at the top of the list, more people will see it and visit your lemonade stand (aka your website). 

Also, most people click on the first few results, so how do you get to the top? That’s precisely where SEO comes in. It’s like adding special ingredients to your lemonade to make it better. You use keywords in your website and content. This helps search engines like Google understand what your website is about and show it to the right people.

Search Engine Marketing (SEM)

Search engine marketing (SEM) is like planting a signpost on a busy street to let people know about your lemonade stand (in case you’re wondering, yes, I like lemonade a lot). But instead of doing it in the real world, we’re doing it online.

Here’s how it works: When people want to find something on the internet, such as the best lemonade stand in town, they usually go to a search engine like Google or Bing and type in what they’re looking for. SEM makes sure that your lemonade stand shows up at the top of the search results when people search for things related to what you’re selling.

I know what you’re thinking…isn’t that what SEO is for?

Well, yes. Both have the same goal, which is to increase traffic and visibility to your website, but they go about it in different ways.

While SEO generates organic results, SEM involves paying to show ads for your website at the top of the search results. You can do this by bidding on specific keywords, like “delicious lemonade” or “best lemonade stand,” and creating ads that appear at the top of the search results when people search for those keywords. It’s like saying, “Hey, come check out my lemonade stand!” right when people are looking for lemonade.

The great thing about SEM is that businesses only pay when someone clicks on their ad (PPC) and visits their website. 

Content Marketing

Content Marketing is about creating content people want to read, watch, or listen to. Instead of just talking about products or sales, content marketing focuses on making things that are helpful or interesting to people. This could be articles, videos, podcasts, or even funny memes.

And just like how you might share your favorite book with your friends, content marketing involves sharing this stuff on different places, like blogs, social media, or in emails. 

By creating valuable and engaging content, businesses can attract people who are interested in what they have to say. And once you’ve got their attention, you can keep them coming back for more by continuing to create stuff they love.

Social Media Marketing (SMM)

Social media marketing is when businesses use social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok to promote their products or services. It’s like having a big online billboard where you can share pictures, videos, and messages about what you’re selling.

The cool thing about social media marketing is that you can reach a lot of people quickly. When you post something, all your followers can see it, and if they like it, they might share it with their friends. It’s like word-of-mouth advertising, but online!

Businesses also use social media to talk to their customers. If someone has a question or a problem, they can send a message or leave a comment, and the business can respond right away. It’s like having a direct line of communication with your customers.

Email Marketing

Email marketing is a way for businesses to send emails to customers to promote their products, services, or events. It involves building an email list of people who have chosen to receive emails from the business. 

The emails can be a newsletter or include offers, product announcements, updates, and more. The goal is to build relationships with customers, encourage loyalty, drive sales, and keep the audience engaged with the brand.

Basically, email marketing is all about using emails to connect with customers, and keep them engaged with your business. It’s like sending a friendly message to say, “Hey, don’t forget about us!”

User Experience (UX) and Web Design

UX design is about making digital products easy to use. UX designers study how people use the product, do research, create prototypes, and test designs. UX design is about understanding how people use technology and what they expect from it.

Web design specifically focuses on designing websites that are visually appealing, functional, and user-friendly. So, web designers need to know UX design techniques to create layouts, graphics, and typography that make a website look attractive and professional. 

But pay attention: do not confuse web design with web development. They are two separate things. A web developer is involved in the technical aspects of building a website, such as coding, programming, and database management. A web designer is not.

Highest Paid Digital Marketing Skills

Among those mentioned above, UX Designer is the highest-paying digital marketing job. Let’s have a quick look at the numbers:

• Social Media Manager: $54,000 – $98,000/yr
• Email Marketing Specialist: $56,000 – $88,000/yr
• SEO Specialist: $47,863 – $86,925/yr
• Social Media Manager: $54,000 – $98,000/yr
• Content Strategist: $65,000 – $113,000/yr
• SEM Specialist: $71,000 – $127,000/yr
• UX Designer: $93,000 – $159,000/yr

(source: Glassdoor)

Free Online Digital Marketing Courses by Google with Certificates

Now that you know which digital marketing skills are in demand in 2024, you might be wondering where to learn them.

If you search “digital marketing courses” on Google, you’ll get about 2 billion results, which can be pretty intimidating. But do not worry, Google itself has a library of online courses and tools that you can use and learn from. 

Which Digital Marketing Course is Best for Beginners?

Google’s Digital Marketing & E-commerce Professional Certificate in collaboration with Coursera, which offers a certificate of completion that you can add to your resume or on LinkedIn, is a great way to start!

This course is optimal if you’re a complete digital marketing beginner looking to land an entry-level job. In fact, you’ll learn the fundamentals of digital marketing and e-commerce, including some of the skills mentioned above (email marketing, SEO, SEM, and more).

Conclusion

Congrats! You reached the end! 🎉

Did you know that only 11% of people read to the end of an article online?

Now that you successfully learned the most in-demand digital marketing skills and career opportunities in digital marketing, you’re ready to start!

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

What is the best field for marketing student? 

The best field for a marketing student depends on their interests, strengths, and career goals. Some popular fields within marketing include digital marketing, social media marketing, content marketing, brand management, market research, advertising, and public relations. It’s essential for students to explore different areas to find where their skills and passions align best.

What is the actual job of a marketing person?

The actual job of a marketing person varies depending on their specific role and industry. However, common tasks include market research, developing marketing strategies, creating promotional materials, managing advertising campaigns, analyzing data and metrics, and collaborating with other departments such as sales and product development to ensure cohesive branding and messaging.

Why is digital marketing important for students?

Digital marketing is crucial for students because it is rapidly becoming the primary way businesses connect with their customers. It offers a wide range of career opportunities and allows students to develop valuable skills in areas such as social media marketing, search engine optimization (SEO), content creation, analytics, and online advertising. Additionally, digital marketing is constantly evolving, providing continuous learning opportunities for students to stay updated with the latest trends and technologies.

Where to find digital marketing jobs?

Digital marketing jobs can be found in various industries, including technology, retail, healthcare, finance, and entertainment. Students can search for job opportunities on online job boards such as LinkedIn, Indeed, Glassdoor, and industry-specific websites. Networking through professional associations, attending career fairs, and leveraging connections from internships or academic programs can also help students discover job openings.

Which digital marketing course is best for beginners?

There are many excellent digital marketing courses available for beginners, both online and offline. Some popular options include:

• Google Digital Garage: Offers free online courses covering various aspects of digital marketing, including SEO, SEM, social media, and analytics.
• HubSpot Academy: Provides free courses on inbound marketing, content marketing, email marketing, and social media marketing.
• Udemy: Offers a wide range of digital marketing courses at different price points, catering to beginners and advanced learners alike.
• Coursera: Provides digital marketing courses from top universities and institutions worldwide, offering a mix of free and paid options.