The Many Hats of Marketers: The Best Skills to Supplement Your Profession

Digital marketers are the workhorses of the marketing world.

The majority of us wear many hats, as we have to be well-versed in numerous skills in various departments. A lot of us build or create content, collect and analyze data, generate leads and communicate with prospects. Some of us know how to do all of this and are a jack of all trades.

This is why it’s crucial to regularly improve our skillsets and toolbelt. We want to be well-rounded, skilled marketers, right?

In this blog post, we’re going to talk about the best supplemental skills to learn for your marketing craft. Whether you work in data, creative, or think you’re already a well-rounded, digital marketer, there is always something new to learn and master.

B2B & B2C MARKETERS

B2B and B2C marketers are proficient in their respective divisions, but does one know enough about the other?

As a B2B marketer, do you know anything about marketing to consumers? Do B2C marketers know how to grab the attention of businesses? Can your marketing learn how to become emotionally driven instead of rationally driven, and vice versa? Can you market to a niche instead of a large market, and vice versa?

COPYWRITERS

Copywriters are the #1 people you want writing for professional needs. You know how to form appealing copy while also proofreading your own work.

But what pairs well with appealing copy? Content marketing. You can create the perfect, appropriate copy but do you know how to mold that into a blog post? Can you create an infographic around it? What about memes? Copywriting is half of all of this.

Another technique for someone with their way with words is SEO and CRO. Learn to create compelling copy and pair it with specific, valuable keywords for content for improved rankings.

DATA POSITIONS

Whether you collect, data, or verify and validate data, you probably have a healthy obsession with detail, numbers, and spreadsheets.

If numbers and spreadsheets are your thing, SEO is a good skill to have under your belt. SEO requires keyword and data research to get more eyes on a website. It also requires being familiar with the website’s traffic performance and interpreting any noticeable trends.

What about visualizing the data you’ve collected and verified? We’ve talked time and time again about how we as humans are naturally wired to visual marketing. Most of us would rather see data in a chart or table than as numbers on a sheet. HIPB2B recently wrote a Quick and Easy Guide to Data Visualization, as well as 6 courses you can take to learn about it.

If you aren’t already a data analyst, this is a great skill for data nerds to learn. You’ll analyze data and develop reports, charts, and presentations that the less numerically inclined can understand. These analyses can shed light on marketplace trends and consumer behaviors.

GRAPHIC & WEB DESIGNERS

Most creatives already equip a variety of creative skills, as artists tend to experiment with different creative callings. It’s in our nature to want to learn new ways to build and create.

For most designers, you already have the core creative skills down. You know how to communicate visually and captivate consumers.

As a graphic designer, do you know web design and coding? Graphic designers and web designers tend to go hand in hand. Graphic design is more of the creative side, while web design/coding is more of the analytical, structured side. As a web designer, do you know graphic design? Do you know how to design a framework for your designs? Do you know proper color theory to make your websites look cohesive and attractive?

Branding is also a great skill to add to your graphic or web design toolbelt. You can create visual elements that make up a brand identity, like logos, color palettes, stationery, products and packaging, email designs, and so much more. The two go hand in hand easily and seamlessly.

What about content marketing and advertising? Graphic designers aren’t inherently marketers or advertisers but since they have space in the arena of both, it’s important to know how to market the graphic content you’re putting out there.

Lastly, you can design a graphic, but can you take a good photo? Chances are, you already know the basics of composition so you likely can capture something on camera. Photography is a good skill to pair with graphic design, especially when it comes to mixed media.

SOCIAL MEDIA MANAGERS

Social media managers handle all of the planning, implementing, managing, and monitoring of their company’s social media strategy. You want to increase brand awareness and improve marketing and sales efforts. What are the best and most efficient skills you could learn to improve your breadth of social media knowledge?

Learning about the psychology behind social media, as well as consumer and decision-making behavior, can set you apart from everyone else in the marketing world. Those with Ph.D.’s in marketing have these skillsets down, so why shouldn’t you learn about it? Learn about what drives consumers to follow yours and others on social media and what they do with that information.

Social media managers could also benefit from knowing how to create content on their social media accounts. You should be able to easily whip up a graphic and some copy to go along with it to post on your accounts, should you need to.

WHAT OTHER HATS SHOULD MARKETERS WEAR?

There are hundreds of skills every marketer can and should learn, but what are the most important?

Most marketers need to know basic spreadsheet skills. If you touch any kind of data, you should know how to input it into a spreadsheet or alter it. Excel proficiency improves workflow and organization. Actually, we should be experienced with most Microsoft programs, if your organization frequently uses the suite.

SEO is a skill I believe every content marketer should learn. You want to write compelling content with attention-grabbing keywords, as well as create visually appealing graphics with appropriate alt tags and metadata.

Copywriting is another skill I think every content marketer (and really all marketers) should be equipped with. We all should be able to research, write, edit, and proofread content. More so than just having the ability to do all of this, we should be articulate at it. We should be able to develop eloquent and intriguing content that other people want to read.

I’m of the opinion that, as intellectual humans with the ability to learn an almost infinite number of things, we should constantly be improving and learning new things. Especially in 2021, we are loaded with an infinite number of resources, from online courses to peer learning to in-person experiences. Jobs and fields and organizations change rapidly and it’s crucial that we not only survive the change, but we thrive as well.

We’ve written several posts on learning and online courses you can take to improve your skillset. Check them out:

• Boost Your Digital Marketing Skillset: Online Learning and Certification Courses
• A Quick and Easy Guide to Data Visualization (Plus 6 Free Courses)
• BYOMC: Build Your Own Marketing Conference
• The Marketer’s Handbook of TED Talks
• 7 Totally Free YouTube Excel Tutorials for Data Marketing
• What other skills do you think should be on this list?
• Do you agree with the coinciding skills for each profession?