So you’re looking to start your career in digital marketing? The good news is you’ve made an excellent choice! Working a digital marketing job is a lot sexier than, say accounting or retail and marketing folk seem to be having more fun (I know many marketers who can vouch for that).

Now the bad news is that it’s a minefield and also highly competitive as many graduates seem to want to get a digital marketing job these days.

With very little or no experience, your chance of securing that exciting digital marketing job in a swanky office is pretty slim – but not impossible. And just by reading this blog, it’s a good sign that you’re already ahead of the game.

As bold as it sounds… here are my top 5 hottest skills and qualities that will guarantee to get you a job. That’s right – a job in digital marketing no less! So if you’re looking for one, please do read on…

Digital marketing job essential skills (in no particular order):

1. Social media

Knowing how to use Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and other social platforms isn’t enough. It’s important to understand how to use social media to promote your products or services in a way that makes sense to your customers. Talking about yourself too much at a party isn’t going to make you popular – the same goes for social media.

It’s all about understanding your audience and engaging them with relevant information. It’s also a good idea to research the company’s social media profiles, as well as its competitors profiles before going to an interview. Suggesting a clever idea or two on how the company can get more customers or social followers is a sure fire way to get you some brownie points!

2. Data-driven mindset

The days when marketers just follow their gut instincts are long gone. Unless you have a lot of money to burn, the only way forward for any sensible business is following what the data tells you. Don’t worry! You don’t have to be a mathematical genius but you should have a basic grasp of understanding and interpreting data which will help you know more about your customers and make better marketing decisions.

Do you know how to create a pivot table, for example? It’s definitely worth brushing up your Excel skills if they’re getting rusty. Excel is used in every digital marketing job to varying degrees, but you will definitely use it.

3. Copywriting

This is one of the most important skills for marketers. Being able to write engaging text (known as copy in the trade) is essential, not only for content marketing but also for most marketing activities such as emails, website pages, search engine optimisation (SEO), online and print ads, pay-per-click ads (PPC), and even social media.

Great copy always plays a huge role in the success of a marketing campaigns. For example, you can sometimes increase sales just by changing a few words on a website page or an advert.

If you haven’t done much writing previously, why not start a blog and write about your hobby? Not only will it help sharpen your writing skills, it also looks fantastic on your CV and will get you well on your way to a fab digital marketing job.

4. People skills

At the end of the day people buy from people. Strong people skills will help you communicate effectively and win customers as well as the support of your team whether you’re in a startup or a larger organisation.

This is particularly important if you want to work in an agency where you will have to deal with your clients on a regular basis. Attending a meet-up or small networking event is a good way to practice your networking skills, plus it can open up a lot of opportunities. It’s really true –  it’s not just what you know – it’s who you know.

5. Creativity

Your job as a marketer is to find new ways to attract more customers so it’s incredibly useful if you’re naturally creative and are able to come up with ideas. Most companies particularly startups are usually strapped for cash so it’s up to you to ‘think outside the box’ and come up with solutions and get results. If you’re not a creative person naturally, you should read more marketing news and keep up with what’s going on in the industry. This will usually give you new ideas which you can adapt or use in your job.

If you have all of the above, most employers will snap you up! If not, it’s never too late to start working on these skills as they will come in handy and help you land that job that you’ve always wanted.

If that doesn’t work out, you can always contact me for internship opportunities! 🙂

Thanks for reading the article — I hope it helps inspire you to get stuck in to digital marketing whatever stage you are at in your career. If you enjoyed the read, please recommend it so others can find it as well 🙂