Top 3 Skills for Today's Marketing Professional
In 2012, I had written a blog post about what I thought were the top 5 skills for marketing professionals. In reviewing the list, while some of the information still resonates, I am revamping the post with thoughts gleaned since 2012.
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. 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 how video fits into the buying process.
What do you think? What other skills should today's marketers have?
Cece Salomon-Lee is director of product marketing for Lanyon Solutions, Inc. and author of PR Meets Marketing, which explores the intersection of public relations, marketing, and social media. This post represents Cece's personal opinions and are not representative of her company's.