8 Essential Digital Abilities That Can Boost Your Income

The digital realm is an exhilarating place. It opens up avenues for engaging with customers on a vast scale. It narrows the gap between you and your audience, allowing interactions on their preferred channels. It enables you to tailor your communication and services to meet individual needs. Additionally, it presents innovative ways to share your narratives through engaging and creative methods.

The excitement only amplifies as artificial intelligence (AI) starts to redefine automation and content customization. This cutting-edge tech is becoming a game-changer for marketers across various industries, empowering them to enhance their campaign outcomes and increase revenue (more details to come…).

Many leaders are redirecting their investments from conventional marketing methods to digital strategies. For countless reasons (and then some), this domain has become a focal point for experts in numerous fields: from marketing, analysis, paid advertising, and branding to customer support, sales, hiring, and beyond.

Regardless of your specific area of focus, thriving in the digital landscape requires a diverse skill set to expedite your career growth and, consequently, your earning potential. Here’s a look at some essential skills:

1. Analytics and Insights

In any digital role, the critical practice of measuring impact cannot be overstated. It’s crucial for success, particularly in optimizing conversion rates. Yet, delve deeper than surface-level metrics. Master the skill of deriving meaningful insights from data. Data Scientists, capable of transforming large datasets into actionable business strategies, are in great demand.

Pursue analytical skills in your current position. Explore tools for automating analysis work. Engage with experienced professionals in the field. Or, consider specializing in business intelligence to enhance your marketability based on your analytical prowess.

2. Community Management

Community management is far from a task for the inexperienced. Top-tier brands understand the value of experienced professionals in these roles for good reason.

To effectively cultivate and engage your community, you need a leader who is not only knowledgeable about your industry, brand, and business but also genuinely cares for your customers and can adeptly act as a liaison between them and your brand.

Adept community managers perform a delicate balancing act, meeting both the company’s and the community’s needs.

Gaining this competence involves hands-on experience. You should be well-acquainted with social networks and the tools for managing large volumes of interactions. While hard skills are fundamental, the invaluable soft skills developed through actual community management experiences are irreplaceable. Pursue a community manager role, or initiate a community within your current role, being careful to complement rather than compete with existing brand communities.

3. Storytelling

In the digital world, content reigns supreme. Your online endeavors are grounded in content creation. However, to truly stand out in a crowded digital landscape, excelling in storytelling is paramount. It’s about connecting with your audience through relevant, well-timed, and properly formatted narratives.

Becoming an exceptional storyteller is a journey. Educate yourself on the topic, learn from leading storytellers within and outside your industry, observe stories that strike a chord with you, and document them.

Monitor how prominent brands unfold their tales. Always carry a notebook to capture captivating stories told by others and to brainstorm your own.

For instance, McDonald’s #RaiseYourArches campaign ingeniously focused on the brand’s iconic Arches logo without showcasing its food products. The campaign, leveraging TV, social media, and high-tech installations, sparked engagement using music and the emblematic gesture of raising eyebrows or arms.

4. Social Media Platforms

The unvarnished truth many resist is this: without personal involvement in social platforms, understanding their potential for your business remains elusive. This reality is frequently observed.

Direct experience is crucial not just for immediate goals like customer engagement but also for crafting successful marketing strategies across the entire customer journey.

Get hands-on with different social media platforms, read extensively about their features, and subscribe to specialized outlets like ‘Social Media Examiner’ for the latest updates. Discuss strategies with colleagues to learn how they leverage these platforms effectively.

5. Paid Media

While much of social media focuses on organic content, a comprehensive understanding of all media types—paid, owned, and earned—is essential for success in the digital domain.

Some may argue the era of organic reach is over. While opinions vary, the crucial aspect here is mastering all facets of content amplification in line with your brand objectives. Gaining proficiency in paid media involves collaboration with experts or directly managing paid campaigns.

Helpful resources include:

• Paid Media Campaign Tracker
• Paid Media Scenario Forecasting Tool
• Paid Media Budget Forecasting Tool

6. Technology and AI

Artificial Intelligence, from ChatGPT and Jasper to Google’s Search Generative Experience, is at the forefront of innovation, offering vast potential for marketing efforts.

AI facilitates process acceleration and task automation while enabling personalized customer interactions. As AI evolves, a basic comprehension of the relevant tools is indispensable.

Experiment with AI tools for tasks like generating ad copy or social media content. Remember, as Clark Boyd noted on the DMI podcast, “a tool is only as good as its user.”

AI tools for consideration include:

• Adcreative.ai for ad copy creation
• Hunch as a creative platform
• Craftly for content creation
• DeepBrain for video production
• GrowthBar for SEO optimizations

Stay informed on the latest AI developments by following our AI with DMI series, and keep tabs on TechCrunch or the New York Times for new tech introductions and AI tools that could enhance performance efficiently.

7. Collaboration and Project Management

Digital marketing spans across departments and requires coordination among various teams. This necessitates a duo of essential abilities: effective collaboration skills and robust project management capacities to ensure seamless campaign executions.

These competencies are honed over time, through reading, mentorship, and practical experience. Understanding how to manage intricate projects—from budgeting to partner alignment and execution—is crucial for thriving in the digital age. While obtaining a Project Management Professional (PMP) certificate can be beneficial, simply familiarizing yourself with agile project management methods can significantly impact your success.

8. Digital Trends

Keeping pace with digital trends is fundamental for maintaining a competitive edge in your career. Success comes from forecasting future business necessities and aligning your skills with emerging trends.

To position yourself as an indispensable resource, dedicate time to research and continuous learning. Subscribe to a variety of publications relevant to your field and broader digital interests. Venture beyond your industry’s boundaries to extract valuable insights from global leaders. Embrace innovative ideas and experiment with them on a manageable scale.

Conclusion

Success in the digital domain doesn’t rely on shortcuts or secrets. It’s built on diligent effort, expanding your network, and strategically accumulating a wide range of professional experiences.

Avoid complacency in any role. If growth stagnates, seek new opportunities that challenge you and broaden your skill set. Considering a leap to a more advanced digital role? DMI’s Digital Marketing & Strategy Leadership course offers deep dives into managing digital teams, mastering analytics, budget management, developing digital strategies, and much more.