The Top 4 Tech Skills To Market Your Online Business Better

Back in the day, marketing was more straightforward than it is today. A marketer was expected to be a channel expert, and it was relatively easy to do so. Direct marketing and press advertising hadn’t changed much in years. Sure, a couple of innovative ideas would pop up now and then: smaller print formats, laser printing, radio as a marketing channel. But, on the whole, if you had worked in a medium for over ten years, you were well-versed in almost all aspects of it. And then came the digital explosion, and everything changed.

A multitude of online channels seemed to burst onto the marketing communications scene, such as PPC, SEO, email, affiliate marketing and display advertising. You had so many new content types open to you, where do you start? Fast forward twenty years and things haven’t slowed down. If you’re a digital marketer today, there are any number of tech skills you need to be aware of, even if you’re not using them yourself, to keep up with the changing landscape. Here are just four of them – how do you measure up?

 

1. Data Analysis

Do you know if an activity is working and why? In the digital age of analytics tools, there’s no reason why you shouldn’t. Everything is trackable. How many people are clicking on your content, where they came from, where they went afterward, how long they spent engaging with you, what they bought, how much they spent, what keywords are your highest performers, how much competition you have on them, where do people’s eyes go when they look at your web page – these are all things you can now gather concise, insightful data on. But data is only as good as the person interpreting it. If you don’t know how to understand what the information is telling you, you need to learn so that you can take advantage of it.

 

2. CSS Frameworks

CSS (Cascading Style Sheets) controls web page design. You may not be a web developer, but a background knowledge of CSS will enable you to understand any limitations or constraints to your content requirements. If, however, your team uses an easy to use CSS framework, such as Bulma CSS, there’s no reason not to learn how to use the program itself. They tend to be easy to learn and are regularly updated so you’ll stay abreast of the latest developments simply by taking a hands-on approach.

 

3. Video

While you don’t have to be the next Steven Spielberg, having an appreciation for the video options available to you will enable you to brief someone who is. You need to think about understanding the different formats each platform requires; what is the optimal video length a user will sit through and how that changes by site; is drone footage or traditional filming styles best; are you shooting a tutorial? A vlog? A webinar? Get clued up on this, and you’ll be able to source the best video content creators for your project.

 

4. UX

UX (User Experience) Design has been around since before the days of the Ancient Greeks. However, it’s only in the last 25 years that it’s become a term associated with web pages and apps. UX design in the context of websites is the process of constructing a user journey so that every encounter a user has with a brand’s site is positive and adds value to the customer. But it doesn’t just have to apply to websites. It applies equally to content, customer service and interaction. To grow, you need to constantly be looking at every touchpoint someone has with your digital channels and ask if it can be better.

 

You’ve worked hard to develop your digital marketing skills. Don’t allow yourself to be left behind. Whether you need to understand the data analytics process or you’re keen to learn how to use a CSS framework, your personal development in these areas will keep you up to date on latest trends.

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