Digital talent is key to the future – be ready to take the lead
Are you a master storyteller? Or a data translator? If not, you could be missing out on one of the plum new roles emerging within the marketing industry. Marketing Week has polled our audience of senior executives to ask for the top five roles they’re keen to hire.
You can read our analysis on the hottest marketing roles at the moment here. If you’re looking at your dog-eared business card that says ‘marketing director’ with dismay, fear not. We offer advice on the type of experience you will need to get these jobs and our Secret Marketer weighs in with his top interview tips.
The overarching theme is clear, however – the top marketer of today needs to be multitalented and gifted in using digital media. Marketers in demand have strong all-round digital skills and a clear understanding of how to use data with intelligence. There is also demand for skills that may seem softer – people who can clearly articulate a purpose for brands beyond profit and those who can get under the skin of the customer.
One area where marketers tell us they need more understanding is the world of programmatic buying, which we cover in our essential guide here. According to the Internet Advertising Bureau (IAB), of the £1.86bn spent on display ads across the internet and mobile platforms in 2013, 28 per cent – around £500m – was traded programmatically.
More than a third of advertisers say they are “not very aware” of the different providers of programmatic buying services, according to an ISBA study in conjunction with Infectious Media. A whopping 96 per cent want to know more about this area.
Another area where marketers are insufficiently informed is the recent changes in search marketing where Google is handing out penalties for sites that inflate their search rankings using spam techniques. While everyone is talking about this as the era of content marketing, Google is clamping down on common SEO tactics in this area.
Our sister brand Econsultancy has a brilliant roundup on its blog of the issues. The problem for marketers is that up to 20 per cent of the brand links pointing to their websites could be spam. As Google releases algorithmic updates to target these situations, marketers may be hit with Google penalties.
I’m not suggesting that all marketers need to be on top of every algorithim update, storytellers, data translators, digital experts and social responsibility evangelists all in one. But if these are the people reporting to you in 2015, make sure that no matter what title is on your business card, you are fit to lead the marketing department of the future.
