11 Crucial Skills Every Marketer Needs
How to Become a Skilled Digital Marketer with Sundance College
Thinking about a career as a digital marketer? In an ever-evolving digital landscape, the tools and tactics might change, but one thing remains constant: the importance of core marketing skills.
Throughout history, pertinent marketing skills have always been the keys to success. Today, they still are, for two main reasons:
- Employers are prioritizing skill-oriented hiring practices.
- Relevant digital marketing skills ensure a long-lasting marketing career and open doors to advancement opportunities.
To integrate flawlessly into the workforce, we'll explore six key responsibilities of a modern-day marketer and the 11 in-demand marketing skills you need to be effective. This article is useful whether you aspire to be hired by top employers or want to run your own marketing business.
Need inspiration on your career transformation journey? We share the experience of one of our Digital Marketing and Social Media Management (DMSMM) graduates, Elizabeth K., at the end of the article.
What Does a Marketer Do?
It would be a mistake to believe that businesses need marketers only to produce content intended to sell products and services. The role of a marketer goes beyond that. It encompasses a wide array of responsibilities including a deep understanding of today’s sophisticated customers and effective ways for businesses to reach them.
Here are six key marketer’s responsibilities:
1. Content Creation and Management
One of the primary tasks of a marketer is to create compelling content — blog posts, articles, website pages, ads, social media posts, videos, and more — to attract target audiences and turn them into loyal customers. How that content performs directly depends on the marketer’s ability to make every piece of it align with the brand’s voice and resonate with consumers’ needs.
2. Market Research and Analysis
Understanding consumer behavior, preferences, and market industry trends is fundamental. Through research and analysis, marketers gather valuable insights that inform marketing strategies and drive business growth.
3. Campaign Planning and Execution
Apart from generating creative ideas, marketers are responsible for planning, designing, and executing campaigns to achieve desired outcomes. Successful campaign execution requires a blend of creativity, strategy, and precision.
4. Brand Management
The core of a brand’s success lies in consistent messaging, visuals, and customer engagement. A marketer must ensure that every touchpoint aligns with the brand's identity, to gain recognition and foster trust.
5. Customer Engagement and Relationship Building
Another responsibility of a marketer is employing strategies to engage and cultivate lasting relationships with customers. Effective customer engagement contributes to brand loyalty and growth and learning omnichannel relationship-building campaigns will be of great value.
6. Analytics and Performance Monitoring
With every high-performing marketing campaign lies tons of data meticulously analyzed by professional marketers. The insights received from Google Analytics, Mix Panel, or SEMrush help marketers fine-tune digital marketing techniques and increase campaign performance.
To excel as a marketer, you need to be well-versed in each of these six marketing tools, and to increase your capacity, you should master eleven key marketing skills, which will be highlighted in the sections below.
11 Crucial Skills Every Marketer Needs
Let’s dive deeper into the skills you’ll need to become a sought-after marketer and how Sundance College’s Digital Marketing and Social Media Management program (DMSMM) can help you with marketing skills development.
Skill 1: Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
As a marketer, it is important to understand Search Engine Optimization (SEO), which is a tool that helps businesses propel their websites to the top of search results, ensuring that their content reaches a broader audience.
Two courses in our DMSMM Diploma program address SEO topics: Digital Marketing Fundamentals and Content Marketing & SEO. In these marketing courses, you’ll learn the best tools to properly navigate SEO including Google Analytics.
Skill 2: Content Marketing
Content marketing involves creating and distributing valuable, relevant, and consistent content to attract and engage target audiences. Relevant content contributes to creating brand awareness, establishing authority in an industry, and nurturing customer relationships.
Through the Sundance DMSMM courses such as Marketing, Content Marketing & SEO, and Writing for the Web, you'll learn how to implement compelling content strategies, optimize content for various platforms, and measure its effectiveness.
Skill 3: Social Media Marketing
Social media marketing is about connecting with audiences on platforms like Facebook, Instagram, X (aka Twitter), and LinkedIn. Marketers use creative content and engagement strategies to build a loyal following, drive brand awareness, and promote products or services.
To improve your social media management skills at a new job, there is a separate Social Media Marketing Strategies course in our program. There you'll learn how to develop effective social media strategies, craft engaging content, analyze performance metrics, and utilize various platforms to achieve marketing objectives.
Skill 4: Email Marketing
Email marketing involves creating and sending targeted email campaigns to a list of subscribers or potential customers. It is used for delivering personalized and relevant content directly to the audience's inbox, nurturing leads, building customer relationships, and driving conversions.
Courses like Digital Marketing Fundamentals as well as Marketing Automation from our digital marketing education program can equip you with the necessary knowledge and hands-on experience to launch compelling email marketing campaigns. You'll learn how to create email campaigns, segment your audience, optimize open and click-through rates, and measure campaign effectiveness.
Skill 5: Video Marketing
More and more businesses today use videos to convey messages to their audience and for a good reason. A recent survey shows that over 91% of today’s digital-savvy consumers want to see more online video content from brands. It is used for product demonstrations, visual storytelling, building brand identity, and engaging with target audiences in a more personal way.
Throughout the Sundance College Digital Marketing and Social Media Management training program, our instructors will provide you with fundamental training in video marketing in courses like Marketing, Social Media Marketing Strategies, and Content Marketing.
Skill 6: Paid Advertising
Paid advertising enables marketers to reach specific audiences through platforms like Google Ads and social media ads. By crafting targeted ad campaigns, marketers can explore their target customer profiles, maximize their reach, and boost ROI.
Through social media marketing courses like Social Media Marketing Strategies and Marketing Automation, you'll learn how to plan, execute, and analyze paid advertising campaigns across the most popular platforms.
Skill 7: UI/UX Design
UI/UX (User Interface/User Experience) design focuses on creating user-friendly and visually appealing digital interfaces. This skill involves understanding user behavior, designing intuitive layouts, and optimizing the overall user experience to enhance customer satisfaction and drive conversions.
Sundance College offers a separate course, Strategic Web Design, within the DMSMM program. It covers fundamental principles and practical techniques you’ll need to create user-centric designs based on the WordPress platform.
Skill 8: Data Analytics
Data analytics empowers marketers to make data-driven decisions. By analyzing metrics and trends, marketers can extract valuable insights from data, measure the effectiveness of campaigns, and optimize digital marketing strategies for better results.
Through our Digital Marketing and Social Media Management diploma program, you learn the practical skills needed to collect and analyze data in the Digital & Mobile Analytics course.
Skill 9: Emotional Intelligence
Emotional intelligence (EI) plays a key role in building meaningful engagement between a brand and its customers. Marketers need EI to empathize with their audience, gauge their emotional responses to marketing campaigns, and tailor messaging accordingly.
While technical skills are essential, emotional intelligence sets marketers apart by allowing them to connect with audiences on a deeper level. Courses like Organizational Behaviour and Communication & Interpersonal Skills offered as part of the Sundance College DMSMM program, will provide you with valuable insights and practical strategies to develop this vital skill.
Skill 10: Creative Thinking
Creative thinking fuels marketing innovation. Marketers who think outside the box can devise unique campaigns that capture audience attention and set their brand apart.
Creative thinking is a skill that blooms with experience. And our DMSMM instructors foster a creative mindset by encouraging out-of-the-box thinking during the courses.
Skill 11: Teamwork
Effective marketing often involves collaboration with colleagues and cross-functional teams. Marketers who excel in teamwork can combine their strengths to create cohesive campaigns that deliver exceptional results. This skill is a good driver for your marketing career development.
Our DMSMM program encourages students to effectively work together in courses like Organizational Behaviour, Effective Business Writing, and Communication & Interpersonal Skills. As you navigate collaborative projects, you'll refine your teamwork abilities and prepare yourself for a successful marketing career.
How to Become a Skilled Digital Marketer with Sundance College
In today’s fast-paced digital world, mastering these 11 in-demand marketing skills will help open doors to exciting career opportunities. Becoming a skilled digital marketer starts with the right education and training. DMSMM Graduate Elizabeth K. shared her experience at Sundance College:
“I thoroughly enjoyed taking my social media management and digital marketing diploma with Sundance. The courses were very enjoyable, and I learned a lot. I had to power through one of the most challenging times of my life while going to school, and I will be ever grateful for the support and help of the instructors. Thank you, Sundance.”
Get more inspiration from the success story of Levi M., our Digital Marketing and Social Media Management program graduate and 2023 Valedictorian speaker, who shares his experience as a student parent at Sundance College.
With industry-experienced faculty, hands-on training, and comprehensive career services, we are dedicated to helping you successfully launch your career as a digital marketer and start on your career pathway to earning $60,000 per year or more.
Throughout the 43 weeks (about 10 months) of your marketing skills training, you'll have the opportunity to apply your knowledge in practical environments working on real projects that simulate the challenges and opportunities you'll face in the world of marketing. Our 5-week practicum opportunities further enhance your practical experience, allowing you to build a robust digital marketing portfolio.
Whether you prefer in-person classes, online learning, or a combination of both, we cater to your unique learning style and schedule. Don’t have a laptop to start your studies? We’ve got you covered, with our laptop program.
Our admission advisors are here to guide you on your path towards becoming a skilled and sought-after marketing professional. Take the first step now — fill in our contact form.