The Top 5 Digital Skills You Should Know About: Digital Marketing

We’re onto our final digital skill of the series and we’re finishing on an exciting one: digital marketing! According to the UK government, digital marketing skills make up 20% of digital demand, have an incredibly fast projected growth, and are the second most versatile digital skill cluster. It’s also a skill we’re covering at our upcoming skills event Digital Growth Live, so if this article gives you a taste for digital marketing, you know where to go!

What is digital marketing?

Digital marketing refers to skills relating to online marketing and advertising, including the use of social media in campaigns, the production of web content, and optimisation (SEO) and analysis of web traffic. Digital marketing skills also include the use of a set of online tools designed to help marketers reach increasingly narrow and targeted audiences. While you may hear “marketing” referred to without the “digital” aspect, due to the increasingly digitalising modern world and the importance of social media for reaching and connecting with audiences, there is now nearly always a digital component to any kind of marketing.

How could digital marketing skills be beneficial to your career?

Like other top digital skills, digital marketing skills can be beneficial to your career in more ways than one. While a career in marketing might be where you’re wanting to go (and that’s why you’re reading this article), there are other reasons you should consider upskilling in digital marketing too.

Open new doors at any level

Digital marketing is the third fastest-growing and second most versatile skill cluster, making it a particularly strong option if you’re looking to upskill to advance in your career or get onto the job ladder. It’s also easily accessible to a range of people in different places in their career, with 35% of positions demanding these skills being low-skilled, 38% being middle-skilled, and 27% being high-skilled roles. Jobs demanding these skills also have fewer IT entry requirements, making them an appealing option if you’re a job seeker looking to place yourself  in the centre of the digital economy, but are not necessarily interested in upskilling in programming or other more “traditional” IT skills.

If you do want to learn more about programming though (it’s more accessible than you might think!), then check out our article.

Access high-paying roles

Digital marketing skills can help you no matter where you are in your career, whether you’re a first time job hunter or you’re looking to access high-paying digital marketing roles. For this reason, the average salary for the digital marketing skills cluster is around £34,100, reflecting the sheer variety of roles in the industry. If you’re looking to access the highest paying roles (and there are plenty of them), as many of you may well be, upskilling in analytics platforms such as HubSpot, Marketo, and Google Analytics is a great way to go. Plus, these higher level marketing skills are also valuable in many other high paying roles that demand analytical thinking and analysis of data, for example.

Access other versatile roles

The digital marketing skills cluster is the second most versatile, meaning these skills are a great option if you’re looking to open doors and appeal to many different employers. Digital marketing skills, for example, include communication tools (such as social media platforms and programs for emailing marketing and outreach), which can be viewed as extensions of productivity software tools that enable efficient communication. They are therefore in-demand in an array of jobs, particularly sales and recruitment roles, and not limited to landing you a career in digital marketing.

What is the industry doing to help bridge the skills gap?

The digital marketing industry is doing it’s part to help bridge the digital skills gap in a variety of ways. One of these ways is companies and organisations setting up events (or if we’re talking 2020, virtual events) that allow attendees to explore a range of digital skills, including digital marketing skills. Digital Women’s partner brand SocialDay, for example, hosts an annual social media marketing festival dedicated to delivering topical sessions and masterclasses on everything digital marketing. And of course, Digital Women is hosting its own upskilling event, Digital Growth Live, which covers a range of social media and digital marketing skills in its wide-ranging schedule.

There’s also the more traditional way of upskilling: taking part in a specific digital marketing course. And with lockdown presenting an opportunity for many people to upskill from home, the number and popularity of online courses has soared. Some popular learning sites include FutureLearn, which offers a free 2-week digital marketing course, and Google’s Digital Garage, which offers a free 40-hour digital marketing course accredited by the Open University. It’s really never been easier; 2020 is the year of upskilling!

Summary

Digital marketing skills are versatile, in-demand, and widely accessible to almost anyone who’s interested in upskilling. With more online courses and virtual skills events than ever before, now’s the time to embrace the digital skills of the future.

If you’d like to learn more about digital marketing, Digital Women’s very own social media manager is delivering a session on how to implement digital marketing tactics at our upcoming event Digital Growth Live this week. There’s also plenty of fantastic sessions on digital marketing, Artificial Intelligence, social media, data, and so much more, so make sure you book your ticket today!