Firstly, I am not a marketing professional, per se, but as an entrepreneur who owns and runs my own business, I wear many hats and marketing is one of them. I do bring in the experts as need be!  

In my world, which is B2B, customer experience, content, and mobile are the focus, as well as learning how to reach out to millennials, since they are on streams other than email. The trend we see is building strategies that harmonize cross-channel messaging with platforms such as Tumblr, Vine, Pinterest and Instagram. Social media strategies need to be fluid and honest. They should continuously demonstrate our brand through storytelling and offering our knowledge in our industry. 

Firstly, technology skills are mandatory these days. Secondly, really understanding sales and marketing supports the sales funnel -- but if you have never been in front of a customer you won’t ever see the bigger picture. Finally, content is king and the delivery of useful content to our customer is everything. The ability to harness your value proposition across many channels and providing facts and knowledge in a creative way is highly important in a B2B space these days. Understanding social platforms, digital, data analysis and engaging in emerging trends such as micro-video are important skills.   

Always be learning. Technology is moving so fast, that staying on top of the trends is key. For example, the trend of micro-videos on platforms such as Vine and Tumblr, which can be viewed on mobile devices, tablets, and PCs is challenging because we need to identify if this is appropriate for our target audience as well as how to execute on multi-platforms.  

Continuous education combined with trial and error, reading lots, listening to and talking with the experts.

Say yes to new challenges, embrace and get excited about change, always present a problem with a solution, commit to continuous learning throughout your career, and don’t be afraid to take risks as this is where the magic can be!

 

You can find Sandra on Twitter at @sandramiles.