Marketers rank understanding digital marketing as the most sought-after skill by employers, according to new data from LinkedIn.
Globally, digital marketing is the number one skill marketers list on a LinkedIn profile, followed by social media marketing and search engine optimization. Marketing strategy comes in fourth, followed by Adobe Photoshop, email marketing, and content knowledge.
Advertising comes in eighth place on the skills list, followed by an understanding of Google Analytics and business communications.
Mimi Turner, LinkedIn's B2B Institute manager for EMEA and LATAM, encourages digital marketers to see a "strong balance" between strategic approach and skills along with tactical capabilities. According to data released by LinkedIn at the Cannes Lions Festival in June, the company has seen a 47% increase in technical skills in the industry over the past five years.
Among companies that frequent Cannes, data showed that 67% have increased their share of technology skills and 32% have decreased their creative skills over the past five years.
A modern salesperson has the idea of having a tool kit like a Swiss army knife.
Mimi Turner, LinkedIn B2B Institute
"Technification" is underway, and we're seeing it as expected after the pandemic, when everything has become an online experience. "Marketers are responding by prioritizing these digital skills, and many of the core skills are very specific tactical skills," says Turner.
“We are also seeing a resurgence in marketing, branding and a renewed confidence in branding. In a way, marketing is pretty good, because whether you move or buy a little bit, when you look at them as opposites, you see that these two forces are still the same. I get a lot of confidence from him."
The analysis was derived from aggregated and anonymized LinkedIn profile data targeting professionals worldwide, including marketing, project management, IT, engineering, finance and accounting, and sales functions.
Since 2015, the top 10 skills of marketers globally have changed 50%, a rapid change LinkedIn found is that overall skills have changed 25% since 2015 and are expected to change 41% by 2025.
For Turner, the pandemic has resulted in an acceleration of trends that occurred before COVID-19.
“The pandemic has changed everything for everyone and retailers have had to take the plan they had, look at it, endure the pain of throwing it away and come up with another plan. It was a terrible time when people had to move very easily," he said.
“What we're seeing now is marketers with a 360-degree toolkit. You have to have those technical skills, those tactical skills, the broad vision, the strategic vision, and the content skills. Marketers have responded with a richer skill set. If you break your leg and roll backwards, our skills will get you there."
Seven years ago, social media marketing was the most in-demand marketing skill, followed by digital marketing, advertising and public relations.
Marketing strategy was ranked as the fifth most important skill, followed by event planning, online marketing and event management. Email marketing and sales took the bottom two spots on the 2015 list.
Interestingly, between 2015 and 2022, SEO and content skills appeared on the list of most in-demand skills, while experience in events, public relations and sales disappeared from the current global ranking.
Perhaps given the need for strong internal communication during a pandemic, corporate communication will remain one of the top 10 skills for marketers in 2022, no different than in 2015.
For example, noting that SEO is the third most in-demand skill in 2022 but did not appear on the 2015 list, Turner points to a significant shift to digitality brought on by Covid.
“There are two or three generations of digital transformation every seven-year cycle, so I'm not surprised to see technical capabilities on the list that weren't on the list in 2015. It shows that more technical skills are coming to us," says Turner.
Given that tactical skills develop faster than strategic skills, Turner wouldn't be surprised if another technical skill makes the list in seven years.
The growing importance of email marketing skills along with the growth of content and business communication skills may indicate that marketers have specialized skills that have become increasingly sophisticated over the years.
Looking at the top skills of all UK professionals in 2022, customer service is the most in-demand skill, followed by communication, time management, sales experience, problem solving, business development and organizational skills.
We're also seeing a resurgence in marketing, branding and a newfound confidence in branding.
Mimi Turner, LinkedIn B2B Institute
Among these general business skills, specific marketing know-how was included in the UK's top 10. Knowledge of social media marketing ranks eighth, followed by general marketing and digital marketing.
Time management was the most in-demand skill by UK professionals in 2015, followed by teamwork, customer service and account management experience. Social media skills ranked fifth, followed by communication skills, change management experience, business development and finally event management.
Looking at the data as a whole, Turner says that despite the apparent "technicality" of marketing, the principles of how marketers understood how to do business 10 years ago remain "very true." He believes that in the future, all marketers must balance their technical capabilities with their strategic vision.
"There's a sense that the modern dealer is going to have a Swiss army knife tool kit for that particular tool in that particular environment," Turner said. “I'm happy to see that not all skills are focused on a specific tactic, technology or execution. There is confusion and balance in the list."