Necessary Skills for Becoming a Digital Marketing Manager

content marketing

Like most prosperous careers, the job of a digital marketing manager requires a diverse range of skills, some that need more extensive knowledge, and others that are a bit simpler to pick up. While certain soft skills such as strategic thinking, planning, problem-solving, and sales capabilities are always helpful, hard skills are arguably more crucial for success in this field. If you’re looking to become a digital marketing manager yourself, here are some of the most essential skills and competencies you should have:

SEO and SEM

Search engine optimization (SEO) refers to optimizing websites in an effort to rank higher in search results and drive more organic traffic. Search engine marketing (SEM), however, focuses more on using paid strategies along with SEO, such as pay-per-click (PPC) ads, in order to bring more paid organic traffic to a site. Even though the difference between SEO and SEM might be subtle, both of these aspects are essential for connecting with an audience, and are among the most crucial skills any digital marketing manager should have.

Social media

Social media knowledge is another must-have for all digital marketers, allowing you to easily reach out to and engage with an audience. As every platform has its own characteristics, a good digital marketing manager should know exactly which methods work on each one and which don’t, as well as what and when to post, and how to adapt the tone of the posts in order to connect with different audiences. Even within the sphere of social media marketing, there are various different tactics marketers should be familiar with, including aspects like hashtagging, direct messaging, live-streaming, and social listening.

Social advertising

Apart from content creation, every digital marketing manager should also be familiar with the nuances of paid social media advertising. This means understanding how to use the relevant tools around the web for successful paid advertising, whether that means utilizing sponsored posts, investing in Facebook and Instagram ad campaigns, or going through platforms like Google Ads. In combination with a good social media marketing tactic, social advertising leads to maximum impact, and can bring higher revenue and success to future clients and employers.

AWS skills

With the cloud gaining more prominence in the digital world, having more extensive knowledge of this subject has become an important skill for digital marketing managers to have. This is especially true in countries like Australia, where Amazon Web Services (AWS) are among the most widely deployed cloud platforms. Here, prospective marketing managers often decide to acquire the best AWS certification in Australia that provides proper training and credentials. By providing relevant and suitable learning paths, these courses take digital marketing managers from having no AWS knowledge to becoming highly skilled industry professionals that can effectively use, manage, and deploy these beneficial services.

Email marketing

In countries across Europe, on the other hand, email marketing skill remains among the most popular advertising techniques, making it an essential skill for any digital marketing manager to have. While newsletters aren’t the most attractive tools to industry professionals, they are an effective marketing tactic, as they allow you to easily engage with a larger group of already interested consumers. The importance of email marketing campaigns might depend on your responsibilities as a digital marketing manager, but it’s still advised to learn more about aspects like click rates, open rates, and A/B testing, to perform your job efficiently.

Data analysis

Regardless of the specific role or position, every digital marketing manager should know how to utilize Google Analytics and other data analysis tools. The important information and detailed insights these tools bring is among the most valuable resources for any digital marketer, as it includes crucial data such as the most popular keywords, the most active times of day, information about the gender, age, and location of the audience, the interests, needs, and demands of the audience, data about where the traffic comes from, as well as the devices the audiences are using to reach you.

Storytelling

Whether you’re writing a lengthy article for a blog or a short social media post, exceptional storytelling capabilities are also among the most important skills a good digital marketing manager should have, including writing, visual storytelling, and editing. This is especially crucial in terms of content marketing, as you’ll need to communicate ideas clearly and efficiently to audiences, but also in a manner that is compelling and engaging to the target demographic. Chances are high many digital marketing managers will need to have some knowledge of WordPress or a similar CMS as well.

The skills needed for becoming a digital marketing manager are quite broad, and will likely expand as the industry continues to evolve. However, the competencies mentioned above are some of the most essential skills all digital marketers should have in order to achieve success in this field.