Marketing Skills We Need in 2016 : The Marketing Drive ep 14

Let's discuss what skills will make you stand out and also make you a more effective Digital Marketer in 2016.

Last year I wrote a post on LinkedIn about Marketing Skills I thought were important in 2015 with resources. Well...it's a year later and it seemed like the right time to talk about the skills I try to hone on a daily basis and what might be of value to you as a Marketer in 2016. This isn't the biggest list in the world, nor the most exhaustive, it's definitely from my own perspective, experiences and certainly reflects my own goals for improvement this year. Before we dive into the skills themselves, it's important to consider the "T-shaped Skill Set" of Digital Marketing. It's not a magical concept, it basically says that as a skilled Digital Marketer, we are competent and knowledgeable in the broad range of elements that go into Digital Marketing. Emphasis on competent and knowledgeable, rather than specialists or deep experts. This is the "shallow and wide" notion and forms the top of our "T". From that point, you can go "narrow and deep" into your speciality, whatever that might be. If you choose to remain uninitiated in the "shallow and wide" you'll be serving up an incomplete set of skills that make up a well balanced and effective Digital Marketing Pro. In The Marketing Drive Episode 14 the digital marketing skills I think we need to foster in 2016 are:

1. Code, code, code. This is one of the most powerful skill sets for the modern marketer, at least a working knowledge of
2. Knowledge of Mobile capabilities, usage patterns and the importance this is having in the modern marketing landscape.
3. Conversion and Conversion Tracking. How you can implement this tracking into your marketing efforts.
4. Paid Advertising Platforms. It's becoming ever more important to have an excellent understand of the capabilities, formats and advanced features.
5. Design. Effectively beautiful design will increase your conversions and engagement. Canva is a great tool for non-designer marketers.
6. Analytics. Having the ability to provide meaning to the data and patterns.
7. Writing. Everyone is a writer, you just may not believe it. Pro tip: the only way to improve your writing is to write more frequently. You gotta do the work.
8. Emerging Channel Knowledge. The pace of these emerging channels is accelerating, being comfortable with these channels and how you can integrate these into your marketing mix.
9. Conversion Optimization. How do we optimize? How do we learn how to improve our performance?
10. Conversion Funnel Development. As a marketer you need to be able to develop a strong, clear and  funnel. The saddest thing for a marketer is developing a lead list without a plan to convert them into an engaged customer.

There are probably more that i've missed but now is your chance to chime in and add to the list! I'll be covering the latest and greatest marketing, business and start-up tips every day from the road. Agency Life: http://dnedprod.wpengine.com The ups, the downs of agency life. How to build your agency successfully. Marketing Execution: http://honeypotmarketing.com Every day we're launching, reviewing and optimizing marketing campaigns. Marketing and Business: http://marketerknows.com How to survive as an effective marketer without losing your sanity. Marketer Knows is a community for marketers who are in the trenches each and every day. Subscribe to my YouTube channel. Subscribe to the podcast on iTunes.