Acquiring Digital Marketing skills in order to catch up with the emerging trends in marketing, sales, corporate communications and beyond is a global phenomenon. It did not start last year, neither is it isolated to the Nigerian labour market.
Digital Marketing Skills, what for?
To me, getting ahead in one’s job or business by leveraging on digital marketing skills is like one of those myths that the Nigerian workforce believe, but never summon enough courage to try out. We all know digital channels have come to transform the way services are delivered, same way they have altered how products are being sold, even the way worship services take place in and outside churches.
But how many businesses or individuals are ready to pay the price required to get ahead by learning to take advantage of how digital marketing channels have impacted the way their business is being done?
Something came up in a LinkedIn conversation recently, and what struck me the most is the image above. It is an infographic by Jobberman, showing what percentage of Nigerian workers earn what salary range.
It felt to me like a revelation. Having transitioned well from working in a bank for over four years to doing digital marketing for fintech company, media, small businesses and now digital education, I know many of us are aware that the nature of jobs or ‘working’ has changed in the last few years.
Many Nigerians work on a job for so many years receiving little or no raise at all. Some get some raise in income but it does not commensurate with their input on the job. I do not blame employers since they are in to make maximum profit. It is on employees to evolve and get ahead of their jobs in terms of self-development and delivery.
The hard thing about this hard thing is that most of us still strive to cope with the challenges brought upon us by the new war with our old, tired weapons. The new war is digital revolution in our various workplaces. Our old, tired weapons are what universities and polytechnics taught us.
What will Digital Marketing Skills Add to Me?
Nothing in life is constant except change. Change has happened to everybody’s job, especially marketing. Digital is the general term used to describe the august visitor to the world of jobs and businesses. What do we do with digital channels?
How do we get digital marketing skills that will help us come out of this revolution stronger instead of feeling out of date? Â
Let’s look closely into new roles that have recently emerged in marketing teams of different business organizations. Roles such as Social Media Manager, Search Engine Optimization Manager, Digital Marketing Executive, Email Marketing Specialist and the rest did not exist before.
While digital savvy businesses are training and re-training their existing staff to catch up with digital revolution, some hire somebody who knows one’s and two’s about digital marketing. They teach such new employee ‘this and that’ about online marketing.
And the new digital marketing ‘expert’ starts doing ‘hello, testing, testing!’ with their business objectives.
You don’t want to be caught in the ‘personal digital marketing specialist’ setup. Neither do you want to be ‘an advanced social media strategist’ who work on same role for plenty years earning same salary despite the fact that your job role has evolved and can earn you more money on full-time basis or as a side hustle.
What Roles Require Digital Marketing Skills?
I will briefly shed light on new roles that require or revolve round digital marketing skills which you can train yourself to take up. Whether many see them already but choose not to acknowledge them is not the issue. The issue is that these roles are emerging stronger daily and the potentials in them are enormous.
You may get opportunity to take up these jobs without top notch digital marketing skills. Definitely, miracles happen. But you will be limiting yourself in many ways if you don’t train and get certified in order to stay ahead of the game.
These are roles on a marketing dream team, which any forward-looking business organization will be employing for, if they are not doing also at the moment.
Data Analytics
Just like growth hacking choked the digital marketing space last year, big data was mentioned everywhere in business-related conversations. The hype about big data might have simmered down a bit, but data is still very much critical to marketing.
Numbers don’t lie, do they?
This is the more reason smart employees with good knowledge of web analytics, Google Analytics or measuring success of business activities with data will always be needed. With data analytics in your digital marketing skills arsenal, you can help businesses map returns on investment (ROI) with KPI.
Those companies who quantified their gains from data analytics confirmed an 8% increase in revenues and a 10% reduction in costs.
Most times people fail to sell innovation, marketing strategy or new product to decision makers for financing, lack of data to back up their projections is somewhere lurking among reasons for this common failure. Â
As more companies put bigger budget behind digital marketing, there will be greater need for data analytics. There will be greater need to tie budget to success achieved. Someone with digital marketing skills who can analyse campaigns, audience and measure the impact of monies being spent on profitline and competition will remain relevant in marketing.
Content Production & Strategy
Data states that Facebook users share 2.5million pieces of content daily. What about Twitter, LinkedIn, blogs, forums, WhatsApp groups? The Internet boom coupled with the triumph of smartphones have drowned us in massive information overload.
It is easy for businesses to get lost quickly in this information overload. Much as you need unique, engaging content, you will need strategy to deliver your business objectives via content you produce.
Here comes the need for digital marketing skills on marketing teams that are prepared to stay relevant for as long as digital revolution lasts. Churning out content upon content will not cut it. You won’t be able to distinguish your brand if all you care about is to merely create and publish content.
Dream marketing team will need a digital marketing expert with good understanding of content marketing via channels such as blogs, social media, email, forums and many more to stay in touch with existing customers, prospect for new ones as well.
Apart from knowing how to create good content, your knowledge of how different platforms respond or promote different types of content will help you get better results. You will also need to understand how to re-purpose content into different formats for it to work effectively across various online channels. Â
Social Media Marketing
When a business realizes it is time to seek advocacy from their customers, social media is the best place to head towards. Referral from existing customers works better than overly expensive ads we have seen.
If you have ever bought something based on recommendation by someone you know or you have made someone buy something because you like the product, you already have an idea of  how social media impacts business.
Customers are on social media, competitors are there too.
Both of them will talk about you, whether good or bad. Whether you agree with what they are saying does not stop them from talking about you.
Business needs social media manager with digital marketing skills  to Increase trust and brand reputation, save up marketing budget, create a steady stream of new leads, generate more revenue.
Everyone does social media on a good day, buy only few of us can deliver sweet returns on monies invested in social media for business. Choose this day where you belong.
Mobile Marketing
Almost every Nigerian bank has a mobile banking app today. Why?
USSD codes are used to recharge phones, transfer funds, pay bills. Have you asked yourself why?
You are in a shopping mall, and you get notification of coupon or certain discount within the store, have you ever wondered how it happened?
That is mobile marketing in action. It happens on the go!
Mobile marketing is personal. It is taking marketing to that personal space where audience cannot run away from. Thus, someone on a dream marketing team must know how to optimize campaigns for mobile.
Giant bill boards at popular venues cost a fortune to advertise on but they don’t make the same impact as SMS marketing. You have to go to these popular places, maybe pass by, to see bill board ads.
But, mobile marketing follows you to the restroom.
Digital marketing skills with strength in mobile will be a great advantage for you. Don’t get caught up in superstition that mobile marketing is all about optimizing a website for mobile users or getting your business a mobile website. Â
Optimized or mobile website are great mobile marketing initiatives, but there is far more beyond. You will need to acquire hands-on digital marketing skills to navigate your way in the world of selling to mobile users.
Email Marketing
This is the oldest warhorse. Email has been with us like forever. It is not going out of use anytime soon. If you know how to plan, implement and optimize effective marketing campaigns, every business needs you.
Do you agree?
Digital marketing skills is required to succeed in email marketing, though anyone can send email to anybody. Why you need to be trained to do email marketing by experts is that you will learn tips and tricks such as FROM NAME, email title that get receivers to open your email.
It looks ordinary but in some industries, more audience open emails from women than from men. While it is vice versa in some markets. Simple things like addressing email recipient by first name, formatting email copy with bold, italic, using white space well provokes more engagement than when your message comes through as a boring block of text.
Knowing the right time to send what type of email alone can influence the success of your email marketing campaign. So, when I said to succeed in email marketing, you will digital marketing skills, I had your best interest in mind.
These, among other emerging job roles require good digital marketing skills and they will stay relevant for as long as digital channels keep impacting on businesses and jobs.
Digital Marketing Skills, How do I Get Them?
We’ve got your back on getting trained, certified in digital marketing. Our students lead digital marketing teams of banks, multinationals, FMCGs and drive campaigns for businesses across all spheres of life. You will be proud to be one of our alumni.
Our next Advanced Training in Digital Marketing class starts on June 17.
Advanced Training in Digital Marketing program is a practical course designed to empower individuals and to help businesses improve their  online lead generation and customer engagement.
Advanced Training in Digital Marketing program is designed to provide a  detailed hands-on knowledge of Digital Marketing, students learn how to  get meaningful results from the most effective digital channels available today.
Register for Advanced Training in Digital Marketing here.
While our next Professional Diploma in Digital Marketing class starts on June 24. Professional Diploma in Digital Marketing is a practical course designed by  the Digital Marketing Institute, Ireland to help businesses improve their  online lead generation and customer engagement.
Professional Diploma in Digital Marketing is highly sought after by employers as it is exclusively structured by  practising Digital Marketing professionals and carries the coveted  Digital Marketing Institute and Scottish Qualifications Authority accreditations.
Register for Professional Diploma in Digital Marketing here.
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