The 5 key skills for a marketing agent in the labour market
Posted: Wed Feb 19, 2025 7:10 am
Like anyone else, you like to maintain a good reputation and stand out as a qualified, knowledgeable and well-trained marketing professional.
But you have a challenge ahead of you, and that is that the marketing industry is subject to constant change and evolution. Remember that just a few decades ago, experts in your field were concerned with print ads. You can be almost certain that their daily tasks did not include social media strategies or email campaigns.
Yes, there is always something new to learn. And as you make a living in marketing, figuring out how to best thrive and advance in this fickle field, it can often feel like building a house on shifting sand.
Fortunately, there are plenty of ideas and resources to make this task a little easier. The key is to focus on the competencies that will boost your skills and reputation (in addition to your resume and LinkedIn profile).
What skills do you need to hone your marketing skills? Here's what experts say about how to stay competitive in an ever-changing industry, whether you're looking for a job or trying your best to keep up.
Becoming an expert: 5 essential skills for a marketing agent
1. Digital marketing strategy
This may be one of those skills that makes you think, “Well, okay.” However, as marketing methods become more digital-focused, marketers with knowledge of digital marketing strategy have a competitive advantage.
This skill is increasingly in demand, according to the “Step Up Your Digital Game” report , prepared by The Creative Group, a creative staffing agency that surveyed almost 600 creative marketing agents with hiring authority.
Digital marketing strategy stands out as the fourth most common area that marketing agents assign to external agencies. However, companies find it more effective and cost-effective to have a professional on their own azerbaijan phone number data staff responsible for managing the digital marketing strategy within the company itself.
Desktop image promo promo
McKinley Marketing Partners’ study echoes this finding. In fact, 56% of respondents with hiring plans in 2017 said they would look for candidates with digital marketing experience.
Image source: McKinley Marketing Partners
2. Search engine optimization and search engine marketing
We are in the age of Google, and it is now more difficult than ever for companies to achieve competitive positioning in search engines.
But it's important to get there. Considering that 39% of customers come from online searches ( 75% of users never go past the first page of search results), companies are putting a high priority on figuring out how to rank in search engines.
For this reason, marketers who are proficient in at least SEO and SEM can gain an advantage in an already competitive field.
It is therefore somewhat surprising that LinkedIn's recruiting and hiring analytics revealed back in 2015 that these search engine-related skills were the fourth most in-demand, compared to skills from other sectors.
3. Coding
The question of whether marketers should know how to code has been a topic of debate for years. But the truth is that it doesn't cost anything to know at least the basics.
"With more and more digital projects on the horizon, companies are looking to fill many of their marketing positions with staff who have coding skills," explains Diane Domeyer, CEO of The Creative Group , "Professionals with knowledge of CSS, HTML, JavaScript and other coding languages are in demand."
This skill is considered so necessary that about half of the highest-paying jobs in the United States (i.e. those paying $57,000 or more per year) require candidates with at least some computer coding knowledge.
Don't panic just yet, because this doesn't mean you have to become a coding whiz to stay relevant.
"It never hurts to learn about coding," explains Evelyn Wolf in a post for HubSpot . "However, I don't think a marketer necessarily has to learn to code to be on the same level as a professional coder. In my humble opinion, specialized tasks should be assigned to those who know how to do them well."
Therefore, the important thing is to acquire at least the basic knowledge. It is not necessary to become a coding "expert".
Coding on laptop
4. Data analysis
There is no doubt that the best marketing campaigns are based on data. In fact, the most effective marketer not only knows how to interpret this data, but also knows how to learn from it and implement it to optimize their marketing efforts.
According to the same report by The Creative Group, 71% of marketing and creative professionals say it is difficult to find talent with up-to-date digital skills.
What is the top skill your own teams are lacking? Data science and analytics.
As demand for truly data-savvy talent grows, marketers can find a niche in this sector. “There are areas where absolute data science skills alone cannot drive market success,” says Zach Brooke in an article for the American Marketing Association . “This is where a marketer thrives.”
In other words, traditional data scientists — while important — can get so wrapped up in metrics and analysis that they miss the big picture. However, marketers with data science skills can use this information to move forward and solve certain business problems.
5. Strategy and content creation
I won't belabor the argument that "content is key." However, it goes without saying that content strategy and creation is a skill that is still highly valued when it comes to positioning yourself as a qualified marketing professional.
The same McKinley Marketing Partners marketing hiring trends report reveals that among hires with digital marketing experience, content creation and curation was the second most in-demand skill, after digital advertising.
But you have a challenge ahead of you, and that is that the marketing industry is subject to constant change and evolution. Remember that just a few decades ago, experts in your field were concerned with print ads. You can be almost certain that their daily tasks did not include social media strategies or email campaigns.
Yes, there is always something new to learn. And as you make a living in marketing, figuring out how to best thrive and advance in this fickle field, it can often feel like building a house on shifting sand.
Fortunately, there are plenty of ideas and resources to make this task a little easier. The key is to focus on the competencies that will boost your skills and reputation (in addition to your resume and LinkedIn profile).
What skills do you need to hone your marketing skills? Here's what experts say about how to stay competitive in an ever-changing industry, whether you're looking for a job or trying your best to keep up.
Becoming an expert: 5 essential skills for a marketing agent
1. Digital marketing strategy
This may be one of those skills that makes you think, “Well, okay.” However, as marketing methods become more digital-focused, marketers with knowledge of digital marketing strategy have a competitive advantage.
This skill is increasingly in demand, according to the “Step Up Your Digital Game” report , prepared by The Creative Group, a creative staffing agency that surveyed almost 600 creative marketing agents with hiring authority.
Digital marketing strategy stands out as the fourth most common area that marketing agents assign to external agencies. However, companies find it more effective and cost-effective to have a professional on their own azerbaijan phone number data staff responsible for managing the digital marketing strategy within the company itself.
Desktop image promo promo
McKinley Marketing Partners’ study echoes this finding. In fact, 56% of respondents with hiring plans in 2017 said they would look for candidates with digital marketing experience.
Image source: McKinley Marketing Partners
2. Search engine optimization and search engine marketing
We are in the age of Google, and it is now more difficult than ever for companies to achieve competitive positioning in search engines.
But it's important to get there. Considering that 39% of customers come from online searches ( 75% of users never go past the first page of search results), companies are putting a high priority on figuring out how to rank in search engines.
For this reason, marketers who are proficient in at least SEO and SEM can gain an advantage in an already competitive field.
It is therefore somewhat surprising that LinkedIn's recruiting and hiring analytics revealed back in 2015 that these search engine-related skills were the fourth most in-demand, compared to skills from other sectors.
3. Coding
The question of whether marketers should know how to code has been a topic of debate for years. But the truth is that it doesn't cost anything to know at least the basics.
"With more and more digital projects on the horizon, companies are looking to fill many of their marketing positions with staff who have coding skills," explains Diane Domeyer, CEO of The Creative Group , "Professionals with knowledge of CSS, HTML, JavaScript and other coding languages are in demand."
This skill is considered so necessary that about half of the highest-paying jobs in the United States (i.e. those paying $57,000 or more per year) require candidates with at least some computer coding knowledge.
Don't panic just yet, because this doesn't mean you have to become a coding whiz to stay relevant.
"It never hurts to learn about coding," explains Evelyn Wolf in a post for HubSpot . "However, I don't think a marketer necessarily has to learn to code to be on the same level as a professional coder. In my humble opinion, specialized tasks should be assigned to those who know how to do them well."
Therefore, the important thing is to acquire at least the basic knowledge. It is not necessary to become a coding "expert".
Coding on laptop
4. Data analysis
There is no doubt that the best marketing campaigns are based on data. In fact, the most effective marketer not only knows how to interpret this data, but also knows how to learn from it and implement it to optimize their marketing efforts.
According to the same report by The Creative Group, 71% of marketing and creative professionals say it is difficult to find talent with up-to-date digital skills.
What is the top skill your own teams are lacking? Data science and analytics.
As demand for truly data-savvy talent grows, marketers can find a niche in this sector. “There are areas where absolute data science skills alone cannot drive market success,” says Zach Brooke in an article for the American Marketing Association . “This is where a marketer thrives.”
In other words, traditional data scientists — while important — can get so wrapped up in metrics and analysis that they miss the big picture. However, marketers with data science skills can use this information to move forward and solve certain business problems.
5. Strategy and content creation
I won't belabor the argument that "content is key." However, it goes without saying that content strategy and creation is a skill that is still highly valued when it comes to positioning yourself as a qualified marketing professional.
The same McKinley Marketing Partners marketing hiring trends report reveals that among hires with digital marketing experience, content creation and curation was the second most in-demand skill, after digital advertising.