With an array of exciting events happened this year (i.e. Twitter IPO and the release of multiple Apple devices), many marketers are expecting even greater things in 2014. However, while many marketers are ecstatic about the future, many are concerned about how upcoming changes will affect them. In particular, many marketers are worried about how digital marketing’s ever-changing environment will affect their jobs and force them to develop new the skills in order to stay sharp in 2014. 

 

Here are 3 skills that every marketer should have in the next year. 

 

First, you need to know how to produce creative, authentic content. This means that you have to write captivating blog posts on the fly, create infographics that are valuable to your readers, and produce images or videos that not only educate your audience but also entertain them. These contents will help you increase your website’s shareability, improve your engagement with your readers, develop a strong voice in your field, and enhance your overall brand exposure. With the prevalence of social media and search engines, intriguing content is the best, and arguably the most cost-effective, approach to reach your audience. 

 

Second, you need to understand the ins-and-outs of analytics and monitoring tools. Not only do you need to know what each metric measures, but also understand what each metric implies. For instance, you have to understand that you’re either attracting the wrong audience, showing inappropriate content in the above-the-fold section, or have a dull introductory sentence if a specific page has a high bounce rate. In this case, in order to enhance your performance, you have to either change your headline to target a different consumer group, do a split test on your above-the-fold content, or improve your introductory paragraph. In addition, aside from becoming a master of analytics tools, you also need to understand the usage of online monitoring tools such as Sprout Social. By knowing how to use monitoring tools such as Sprout Social, you can see what people are saying about your brand and who’s tweeting your articles. This will enable you to examine your brand’s popularity and reputation as well as determine which kind of content receives the most interactions.

 

Third, you have to gain technicality knowledge regarding web design and IT. Today, the line between marketing and IT is becoming thinner and thinner and you have to understand the basics of IT to do your jobs properly. You have to understand the fundamental web design elements such as HTML title tags to improve your website’s search ranking, the implementation of Google Analytics codes to enhance your measurement’s accuracy, and the integration between different digital tools such as Marketo and Google AdWords to increase your workflow efficiency. If you have a dearth of knowledge in this area, you’ll likely face many impediments in effectively targeting today’s consumers.

 

The marketing space is ever-changing. Marketing today isn’t about creating brochures or commercials – it’s about coming up with the most creative, useful digital advertising campaigns to target today’s digital-savvy consumers. As a result, marketers now have to know to leverage social platforms effectively, measure their digital efforts accurately, and adapt to any changes digital speedily. While many marketers may not be ecstatic about their future responsibilities, this is nonetheless the future of marketing.