The rising popularity of remote work and digital collaborations has increased the importance of good communication skills exponentially.
A person can have a phenomenal business idea, but if they don’t know how to communicate it properly, it would be of no use. Effective communication skills allow you to smoothen the processes while helping you mitigate human error and confusion.
In digital marketing, the importance of communication skills is more significant because this field requires you to work with teams, share ideas, and persuade people into buying your products or services.
In the following column, you’ll learn about the top 5 communication skills a digital marketer should have and how to develop them:
Top Communication Skills a Digital Marketer Should Have
1. Copywriting
Copywriting has been a crucial marketing skill for ages, but it’s more important than ever now. Thanks to the quick-scrolling interfaces of modern devices, capturing the attention of your audience in a few words is a golden skill these days.
Copywriting is the art of writing text to advertise products. Over the years, it has expanded into various domains and has become an integral part of modern-day SEO writing.
You might have the best content on a topic, but if it doesn’t have a lucrative title, it won’t get the necessary attention it deserves. While effective copywriting skills will help you substantially in designing and creating landing pages, sales pitches, and direct promotions, they will also help you write convincing social media posts and blog posts.
For example, 36% of SEO experts believe that the title tag (the headline) is the most important element in SEO.
Hence, apart from enhancing your advertisements, copywriting will help you improve the results of your fundamental SEO implementations, a crucial aspect of digital marketing. Some areas you’ll use these skills specifically are:
- Blog writing
- Sales pitches
- Cold emails
- Landing pages
- Social media posts
- PPC ads
- Social media promotions (Facebook ads, Instagram ads, Twitter ads, etc.)
How to improve this skill:
To improve your copywriting skills, do the following:
- Experiment with SEO titles – See which kind of titles bring you the best CTR.
- Follow prominent copywriting resources – You can start following the content on Copy Blogger, Copy Hackers, and Enchanting Marketing.
- Focus on crafting attractive one-liners – Analyze popular TV advertisements and see whom their tag lines help them convert (and stand out).
2. Public speaking
One of the biggest responsibilities of a digital marketer is to lead a team of marketing professionals. This skill becomes particularly important for those in the PR business.
Apart from your staff members, you’ll have to interact with the media and speak at conferences. Digital marketers are responsible for representing their companies in many conventions and settings.
All of these sections require robust public speaking skills. Public speaking is the skill of speaking with an audience. Developing this skill would help you become a better influencer, leader, and marketer.
Good public speaking shows confidence and makes you an attractive prospect. Recruiters are always on the lookout for digital marketers who excel at this skill, as it’s a sign of competent leadership.
How to improve this skill:
There are several things you can do to enhance your public speaking skills:
- Record yourself giving speeches – Watch your recordings and try to identify areas where you lag.
- Know the goal of your speech – What should be the takeaway of your speech? Keeping the goal in mind will help you set the pacing.
- Employ body language – Use the stage platform, move around, and capitalize on gestures to draw attention and explain ideas.
- Watch inspiring orators – Watch your favourite leaders and their speeches. See how they captivate their audiences and try to replicate their methods.
3. Confidence
Marking confidence as a communication skill might seem like a stretch, but it plays a huge role in determining the level of your communication. A confident professional can speak with clarity and conviction.
Like we mentioned earlier, digital marketers are team leaders, and it’s imperative for a leader to be confident. Confidence commands respect and helps you share your thoughts effectively.
When you’re confident, it becomes easier to share information in a more comprehensible way. Apart from aiding you in communicating effectively, confidence will boost your career growth significantly.
It’s vital for digital marketers to project confidence during their interactions with clients and stakeholders. Confidence comes from knowledge, honesty, and transparency. A great way to instill confidence in the people you’re communicating with is by being honest about things you don’t know during such interactions.
How to improve this skill:
Contrary to popular belief, it’s quite easy to seem confident during communication:
- Make eye contact – Make sure you maintain proper eye contact with the people you talk to (this doesn’t mean you constantly stare at them either).
- Don’t be aggressive – Aggression isn’t confidence. Be self-assured and hear what others say, and respond appropriately.
- Employ humor – One of the best ways to instill confidence is by utilizing humor effectively. It shows you’re comfortable with being yourself.
4. Conveying ideas
Conveying your ideas effectively is vital when you’re a digital marketer. You’ll constantly have to meet with stakeholders, clients, and your seniors to discuss future marketing plans and strategies.
Being able to convey your ideas properly will help you considerably during those events. It will also assist you in leading your team of digital marketing professionals. When you know how to convey what you want to properly, you can easily guide your team and help them function effectively.
You should know how to communicate with clarity. When you’re excellent at conveying your ideas, you can mitigate the chances of miscommunication by a lot.
Most occurrences of miscommunication happen due to the lack of this ability.
How to improve this skill:
Use the following tips to enhance your ability to convey ideas effectively:
- Be precise in your speech – Focus on remaining concise and precise while speaking.
- Listen – Understand what others are telling you and respond accordingly.
- Break down complex information – Try to break down advanced concepts into smaller ones. A practice exercise is if you had to explain SEO to a kid, how would you go about it?
5. Using visual media
According to HubSpot, 70% of companies invest in content marketing, where the primary form of media is video.
40% of digital marketers estimate that around 51% to 80% of businesses will rely on visual content in 2021. Certainly, visuals have become an integral part of digital marketing.
The rising popularity of visual-centric social media platforms such as Tik Tok and Instagram has contributed a lot to the growing demand for experts who can use visuals effectively. Hence, as a digital marketer, you should know how to use visuals to capture your audience and share information in an immersive and creative way.
This doesn’t mean you have to be an artist or a video producer to know how to use visuals properly. It simply means you should be familiar with various media forms and know how to use them effectively for digital marketing.
How to improve this skill:
Do the following to improve your ability to use visuals:
- Analyze social media platforms – See which media types work the best on different social media platforms.
- Learn about their creation – Get familiar with the process of how to create visual media. It will help you work better with creative professionals in your team.
- Consume content – See how different brands use visual media to convey their messages, persuade audiences, and generate brand awareness.
How to Become a Digital Marketer
The role of a digital marketer carries a lot of responsibilities. Apart from having the necessary communication skills, you should also be familiar with the industry trends and the latest technologies.
That’s why companies always prefer digital marketing candidates with certifications.
Conclusion
Developing communication skills can do wonders for your professional progress. The rule of thumb for improving any skill is practice. Be sure to practice and test out these skills as much as you can. The more you’ll practice, the better you’ll get.
We recommend checking out the digital marketing course we mentioned in the previous section. It would help you develop the necessary technical and soft skills for becoming a proficient digital marketer.
