Digital Skills: In today’s world, people rely on online channels and technologies when it comes to finding information about the product or service and also they prefer buying stuff online. And because of that, companies are seeking people who are experts in digital skills and knowledge which are in trend currently.
There is a huge demand for people who are talented in digital skills, all the companies are in desperate need of such people who have all the skills necessary to make the companies stand out in the online world. To beat the competition, it’s necessary to hire digital experts who can make strategies that will attract new customers to the website and generate more sales and profit.
So, how is it beneficial for you in 2022, as a marketing expert and what new job opportunities are available in the digitally evolving business world? Now let’s consider what are the new digital skills and job trends are there in 2022:
- Marketing in remote, hybrid and nomad areas
- Increase in competition for some who well equipped In digital skills
- Tremendous growth in the gig economy marketing.
- Marketers must keep upskilling them to stay important for the current business scenario.
1. Remote, Nomad and hybrid marketers demand more from companies
After the covid-19 pandemic, the way people work is totally transformed. Work from home is the new normal now, as people can’t go to the office or travel to go to work.
This new way of working caused a shift in paradigm in people, they began to value work/life balance more, it became a need for a lot of people to be able to have balance in their personal life (especially health of oneself and beloved ones) and their career. And others reconsidered their choice of career and left their previous job which was based on fixed set rules and habits and shifted to a job which required more flexible skills and roles.
In 2022, we will be seeing a lot of change in the way marketing is done, because marketing figured out the way which works for them in today’s business world. Finally the control is in the hand of an employee, if he or she is expert in a lot of skills that will help the company then the employee can pretty much decide where and how he or she will work.
According to Orla Stack, HR director of Digital Marketing Institute (DMI), employees have a lot of control in their hands. She says that, in today’s business world, the perspective of employees and candidates has totally changed towards the market, and also the way employers view the market is also different now. It’s like building a scenario in which all the facilities available for the employees to work in a remote environment and also all the support necessary to help employees work in a hybrid environment. The needs of the employee are considered primarily in that scenario described above.
Also, it’s not only about salary and incentives nowadays. Candidates look for flexibility and various career options. They want roles in their jobs where their work is flexible in many areas especially in work hours. Because of this 2022 will be a challenging year for the companies. But for candidates who are looking for new different opportunities it will be a great year.
What’s all this signify to marketers? Now it’s up to you to decide what will be your work and what you will desire from your career. Digital specialist in search marketing, digital marketing manager or social media marketer, what will you choose? Now decide what career you will select after considering your skills, dreams, desires, personal preferences in work and also personal lifestyle.
2. Increased competition among digital experts:
From the past few years the demand for digital skills is constantly rising and it will keep on increasing in 2022 as well. But the only thing different is that now companies are looking for specific skills that will help them achieve their goals in the online business world and get more sales and profit. Connecting and converting more customers through all the digital platforms they use is the key objective. According to DMI, in the future, marketing will be considered wholesome when it will be done through talent in people skills and use of technology both. According to the analysis, the key skills you will need in 2022 and future for your success in marketing are as follows;
- Technology related skills
- Creative ability
- Analytical mind
- Marketing skills
- Willing to adapt to change
The thing which is surprising is that these skills mentioned above are not the traditional marketing skills. So in 2022, a marketing professional should have an open mind and willing to learn and grow his or her skillset and constantly improve according to the situation and challenge in the business world.
Companies are looking for really effective skills e.g. content marketing, social media management skills, analytics, paid search and SEO. As the evolution in the way people use the internet and do shopping online, an organization should upgrade and adapt according to the behavior of customers, and the skills to make this happen must be there in the individual dealing with marketing.
The only thing is that these skills and the skills necessary for future growth are not that easy to find. And because of this there is a huge competition between the firms of all sizes for marketers who have both digital and marketing skills. But also the jobs that are most desirable are also the most difficult to get. Even though nowadays employees have the upper hand but still getting the desirable jobs will be very difficult as there is a lot of competition for them. So what exactly should people do when it comes to getting their desirable job?
According to Stack, marketers first need to do introspection and realize that where is their career leading them with the current skills they have and also look at where the opportunities exist nowadays in the business world. The digital space has a vast presence and it will expand more and more in the future, so as a marketer you need to identify what are the skillsets you will be needing for your growth.
3. There is tremendous growth in the Gig Economy for marketers.
The current way of working developed a boom in the Gig economy (gig economy means a market where people work on short contracts and freelancing offers). Becoming a freelance digital marketer is very much convenient nowadays and also you can earn a good amount of money with it.
There are more benefits in becoming a freelancer, like freedom to choose your working hours, you can work from anywhere, and you will have more time to do what you love doing.
Along with the jobs, there is also an increase in the number of companies that support working as a freelancer, some of the examples of such companies are Patreon, substack etc.
4. Marketers must keep themselves upgraded in their skills to stay important in the current business world.
As it’s obvious that marketers need the necessary skills which are relevant in today’s digitally dominant business world. But the thing which is problematic is that most of the marketers lack all these skills which are beneficial for a company’s digital growth.
So what should you do as a marketer to keep your skills up to date? Here are some way you can do that;
- Look for experts in digital marketing near you, they will guide you properly, some areas you can choose are like search marketing, social media marketing etc.
- Subscribe to the podcasts and blogs, (e.g. DMI Blog and DMI podcast) doing that will provide you all the necessary information and you will be aware about the current trends.
- You can join a digital marketing course.
- If you are currently working in a company, you can seek training from the company itself.
- Improve your connections with professionals, work on your LinkedIn profile.
It may take a while to learn and master these skills, but once you become good at them, rewards are deeply fulfilling.
FAQs about Digital Skills and Current Job trends;
- What exactly are digital skills?
Answer: Digital skills are the skills which are useful in performing well in the digital space, social media and managing content in general.
- What are the 5 most important digital skills?
Answer: Here’s the list of 5 very important skills in digital world;
- Ability to communicate online.
- Ability to handle content and data
- Online transactions
- Solving problems
- Ability to safely function online, in legal terms.
- Why should students learn digital skills?
Answer: As the future demands expertise in the digital skills, all students should consider learning them for their better career.
- Why are digital tools important?
Answer: Digital tools can help you present your content (text, image, audio, and video) in a much more impressive way.
- Is it important to have certification in digital marketing?
Answer: A valuable certification will tremendously improve your value in the market so you must consider it.
