Completing the Digital Marketing's Skills Gap

Digital marketing continues to be at the forefront of US-based advertisers by 2022, according to a recent CMO study. Investment in digital marketing has increased across the country, with data analysis being the most popular investment destination. These data-related investments highlight how companies continue to invest in the ability to analyze, store/manage, and automate their data automatically.

As businesses continue to build their digital marketing infrastructure, the skills and knowledge needed to run them are lagging behind. Marketing technology and social media platforms continue to produce new jobs and advertisers should continue. A recent study conducted by the UK-based Chartered Institute of Marketing shows that advertisers' ability to value digital skills stagnates or decreases between 2020 and 2021 at all high levels. Content marketing and social media have experienced a significant decline compared to the previous year; and skills such as eCommerce, digital strategy, online advertising, and usability remain constant.

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The marketing role has grown with increasing technology and data processing. While traditional marketing skills focus on location, communication and creativity are still important, employers are increasingly looking for professionals who can code, understand statistics and be able to use technology. The set of most needed marketing skills is a combination of quality skills, values, and technical skills.

Businesses are exploring different ways to ensure that their talent has the right mix of marketing skills. Consumer goods company, Unilever, has invested in advertisers who develop digital skills and other "future-proof" skills. “The challenges of working with a wide variety of e-commerce across the entire game and omnichannel require real expertise in our teams,” explains Connie Braams, Unilever's Chief Digital Officer and Marketing at WARC.

Unilever proposes in-house training programs, including its Flex Experience program which allows employees to spend up to 20% of their time on various tasks. Other examples include having professional marketers working with outside agencies to gain new skills.

Universities are also aware. Despite ongoing efforts by colleges and universities to revitalize their marketing curriculum, a 2016 report by the Digital Marketing Institute highlighted the role of universities in providing a digital marketing skills gap. Several studies have insisted on curriculum changes in advertising that incorporate the first digital approach.

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In line with the 2019 review of digital marketing courses at US-based AACSB-based business schools, most marketing departments offer at least one digital marketing course. At the same time, many have not yet offered a wide range of digital marketing courses that can enable students to explore and learn about the topic in more depth and breadth.

Then there are technical forums that offer certification training for their products. Google ads and Google Analytics certificates are popular, especially with the search engine rankings of Google. Meta also provides certification for Meta products with capabilities such as media purchasing, creative strategy, and social management among others.

Not just by knowing the tools, but using them in specific situations and projects. With that in mind, we are designing our courses to be of the highest quality and resource-based, ”explains Anke Audenaert, CEO and founder of Aptly, an online education-based company that focuses on digital marketing education.

Unlike traditional marketing strategies, digital marketing is driven by data and statistics, which focus on personalization, collaboration and duplication. It requires developing new skills and often relying on technology products that need to be updated regularly. Completing this digital marketing skills gap requires a process of evaluation and recognition that skills retraining, skills development and new skills opportunities will emerge from the integration of both new and traditional education service providers.

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