2016 is over and 2017 is here. A new year brings new changes, and that includes changes in marketing. If marketers want to keep up, they would do well to check in to learning some new skills to help them cope when changes do turn up. So, what sort of skills should marketers look into honing in 2017? Are there any that are new and important for them to consider?
1. Data Presentation
Marketing is quickly becoming a collaborative effort, so being able to not only collect data and perform an analysis of it, it will be helpful to be able to display the data and the results of the analysis in a way that is easy for everyone involved to understand.
2. Native Advertising
People are tuning out ads more and more and usage of ad blockers online is growing, so it becoming harder to get the attention of consumers in a more traditional way. Perhaps trying to “go native” with advertising may help to reach more consumers. Native advertising has grown from simply placing ads in relevant publications to being more complex as more media options and channels have appeared. It can now be used on almost any channel, from radio and print to social media, podcasts, and more.
3. Site Speed
With SEO becoming more and more important, it will pay to be able to focus on page loading time and the site’s overall loading speed. A page and site that is fast and responsive has become appealing to both users and search engines.
4. Chatbots
Chatbots aren’t exactly new, but they have started to catch the eye of marketers following advances in AI that have improved chatbot functionality. Being able to work creatively on them will be helpful, in areas such as creative communication, user experience, and social integration.
5. Social Media
Social media is constantly changing. Some social media channels may grow tepid in popularity and others may grow to take their places. Keep abreast of changes in social media networks and learn which might be growing old or becoming popular, and which might be making changes. Facebook is really the platform to watch.
6. Coding
If involved in digital marketing, being knowledgeable about coding can be helpful. Learn about HTML and CSS. You don’t necessarily need to know how to build a website from scratch, but having some basic coding knowledge can be helpful with visual design.
7. Content Marketing
This marketing tactic will still be big in 2017, especially since it’s seen as a major way to get around ad blocking, so having content marketing and writing skills be important.
8. SEO
SEO will always be a major player. In 2017, be sure to have some skill with SEO so you can get your content, website, apps, and products ranking in search engine results and in turn get more customers.
9. Web Design
Your website is in many cases the first thing people will see when they research what they’re looking for, be it information or an item to purchase. Therefore, you will need the skills to design an appealing website in order to draw visitors and convert them into customers.
10. Strategy Development
Having marketing ideas is all well and good, but bootstrapping will only get you so far. For your marketing ideas to really pay off you need to be able to take those ideas and formulate a strategy with them. Then you will really start to see results.
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