Essential Traits Of A Successful Digital Marketing Professional
Digital Marketing is the process of marketing the products and/or services of a brand or a business through various kinds of digital media like the internet, mobile apps, social media, etc. A Digital Marketer is expected to help grow a business by increasing its market reach, customer base and sales. So, in order to be a successful Digital Marketing Professional and be a competent one in the industry, one requires specific skills, knowledge and qualities. Here are some of the key traits and qualities you need to become a competent and successful Digital Marketer.
Goal-orientedness
Being oriented towards attaining the objectives or reaching the goals is a crucial aspect of Digital Marketing. At the end of the day, a business or a company wants certain objectives fulfilled, like, closing a particular no. of sales, generating a particular no. of new leads and so on. So, in order to fulfill such objectives, a Digital Marketer needs to be goal-oriented or result-oriented.
For example, a new startup company may need some ‘n’ number of new leads within a particular period of time through google ads and social media marketing within a specified budget. In that case, the digital marketer needs to allocate the budget to various channels and ad campaigns, track and analyze the performance and optimize the ad campaigns and marketing messages to reach the objectives and goals.
Creative Thinking
Marketing industry always needs creative ideas and creative ways of communication to capture the attention of the audience and attract them towards a brand or a business by effectively conveying its value. Thus, Digital Marketers need to be highly creative, with fresh ideas and ways to achieve this. Since Digital Marketing uses various digital media/channels, one needs to match their marketing message to that particular channel while also retaining the brand image of the business they are promoting.
For example, social media ads need to have eye-capturing images or interesting videos along with a compelling ad text and landing page. The Digital Marketer needs to be creative enough to be able to identify and choose those kinds of images and visuals that reflect the brand’s identity. The ad text and landing page content needs to be engaging and persuasive while also including the words and phrases that reflect the brand’s message. And the Digital Marketer needs to come up with new ideas and concepts from time to time and implement them in creative ways to run the various marketing campaigns successfully.
Analytical Thinking
Digital Marketers also need to track and measure the performance of their advertising campaigns, analyze the available budget and spend it efficiently, analyze various channels for promoting the business they are working for, optimize their advertising campaigns, analyze and optimize the content they are producing, and so on. Thus, a Digital Marketer needs good analytical skills and thinking to efficiently reach the objectives of a business they are working for.
There are various parameters and metrics that need to be understood while working with Google Ads, Social Media ads, Google Analytics, etc., like Impressions, CTR (Click through Rate), CPC (Cost Per Click), Bidding amount, Conversion Rate, Traffic Acquisition from various Channels, Bounce Rate and so on. All these parameters and metrics need to be set and optimized as per the goals and objectives defined.
Adaptability
The market of today’s world is ever changing and evolving with time. And digital media is also changing very fast with time. New channels, new technologies, new practices and thus, new opportunities are constantly emerging with time. A successful digital marketer keeps up with this pace and constantly updates himself through learning and understanding the new practices and trends in the industry.
When Instagram came into use as one of the most popular social media channels, it captured the attention of brands and digital marketers to use it as an opportunity to market and connect with the target audience. And Instagram is quite a different platform when compared to Facebook or Twitter considering its structure and content, as it emphasizes high-quality images and short videos rather than text or long videos. Thus, marketing on Instagram either through paid or unpaid ways is much different from that of other social media channels that were already in use. And digital marketers were needed to understand and adapt to it quickly so that they can use the new platform effectively and efficiently.
Communication Skills
Being able to communicate and express ideas and thoughts effectively is one of the most essential traits of a digital marketer. A digital marketer needs to communicate with their clients and co-workers to implement various plans and strategies they are working on. Also, one of the vital components of marketing is effective communication and expression of ideas which help in conveying the value of a brand or a business to its potential customers.
Writing Skills
Digital Marketers need to have excellent writing skills in order to be able to create quality and interesting content, compelling ad copy, compelling advertising script, good website content, etc.
Ad copy and landing page for an ad campaign should be composed in such a way that it reflects the brand and its value and should be persuasive at the same. PPC campaigns and Social media ad campaigns contain headlines and descriptions which have a certain character limit. Hence, they should be concise and attention-grabbing for the success of the ad campaign. Also, the choice of words impacts how the audience interacts with an advert or a landing page. Certain words are appropriate for a marketing message and influential enough while certain words won’t work. The digital marketer needs to understand what words should be included in a marketing message and what words should be avoided.
Ability To Understand Human Behavior
Marketers need to understand and assess basic human behavior in order to effectively communicate a brand message and convince the potential customers to consider a product or service of that brand. Digital Marketers need to understand the common interests and likes of particular target customers of a brand or the common interests of the people of a particular age group, demographic, etc., and be able to create interesting and compelling content, advertisements and marketing messages and thus, engage the audience to the brand. These things require an understanding of basic human behavior.
Desire To Help Grow A Business
Marketers need to have a desire to help grow businesses which should be the driving force behind their work and skills. When a business they are working for grows, they too grow as marketers. The main aim of marketing is to help grow a business by increasing its market reach, generating leads and sales and increasing its customer base.
With these essential traits and the required digital marketing skills, one can be successful and competent and can see exponential growth in their digital marketing career.