In the early years of social media, it was reasonable to delegate social media and blogging tasks to an intern. Now, it’s clear that you need to perform an integrated strategy if you want your digital marketing efforts to help your business succeed.
We live in a world where real life is connected to the digital space. Digital marketing is no longer part of a marketing plan-it is the marketing plan. We rely on the Internet to research and make purchase decisions on a product or service.
1. The Skills Gap in Digital Marketing
With these reasons, there is an increased demand for jobs in digital marketing and creative fields-content writers, graphic designers, and social media experts.
Unfortunately, there’s a strangely low level of competency in the area. Businesses often resort to outsourcing their services for search engine optimization, social media marketing, and other tasks.
According to the Digital Marketing Institute’s Skills Gap Study, only 38% of digital marketers in the US reached a competent skill level when measured during a test.
Digital marketers in the UK received 37%, while countries like Bangladesh and South Korea received subpar scores. Digital marketers surveyed by the DMI admitted that they struggled with strategy and planning.
2. The Source of the Skills Gap
According to the report by the DMI, educators and professionals’ efforts are not enough to develop capable digital marketers. Several universities are just beginning to include online marketing into their coursework.
Not surprisingly, the digital marketing field changes quickly that educators and professionals struggle to keep up.
Several digital marketers learn skills is through real-world experience.
This involves experimenting, making mistakes, and learning to apply their foundational knowledge using the latest technologies.
3. Addressing the Skills Gap
Businesses and educators alike need to commit to teaching the skills necessary in digital marketing. Educators can shorten the skills gap for non-marketing majors who have the skills that can be used in digital marketing. These include:
- Art majors can be trained to create beautiful websites and engaging in advertising materials.
- Journalism majors can be trained to create valuable and SEO-friendly content.
- Statistics majors can learn how to make sense of data for marketing analytics.
- Accounting majors can learn to audit campaigns and run paid media accounts.
Employers and industry associations can do their part by setting amenable salary benchmarks. Digital marketers who possess strong skills are underpaid, so their talent becomes fleeting as they look for more rewarding opportunities.
Industry associations need to commit to investing in continuing education. By helping employees master skills and grow in the industry, businesses can provide their clients with high-quality service. Industry associations must also collaborate with universities to spread the word about career opportunities in digital marketing.
Every year, the digital marketing field continues to grow, leading organizations to embrace technologies and techniques to compete in a global economy. However, this need is coupled with the fact that digital marketers feel they don’t have the necessary skills to help their organizations succeed.
If you want to get ahead, investing in technologies is not enough. Educators and professionals must invest in training and skills education. Otherwise, they risk being left behind the competitive environment.
