Technology has dramatically shifted the dynamics of the workplace, revolutionising communication and opening new possibilities within business. COVID-19 has revealed more than ever, the importance of being online.

According to Facebook 51% of business have increased their online interactions with their clients since March 2020. Businesses simply have to have an online presence to win customers, and a digital skillset is, therefore, essential.

The marketing industry has been completely transformed by technology. No longer do we rely solely on print or television advertising; the way we consume content has shifted towards digital, and so must our advertising.

The modern market is buyer-centric, meaning that businesses must promote their products and services as a solution to consumer problems. Technology also heavily impacts the way buyers make decisions, many researching the products before they buy and with the lockdowns and lifestyle changes resulting from COVID-19 customers are increasingly preferring to purchase online rather than instore.

As digital technologies continue to change, ensuring that your team are up to date with the latest digital skills is vital if you wish to attract new customers and, ultimately, grow your revenue.

A small investment in your team’s digital skills could reap dividends in the short to medium term allowing you to take control of your own marketing. Bringing the day-to-day tactical marketing tasks in-house is a cost effective alternative to outsourcing where you have internal resources that with a bit of training could take on activity.. It could also give your brand greater consistency of messaging and allow easier communication with customers whilst also improving customer experience as a whole.

What Are Digital Skills?

There are a range of skills associated with digital. These include;

  • SEO – Having a website that is optimised is essential in the world of digital marketing. Skills in SEO covers everything from ensuring that your website ranks well in Google searches, to using the correct keywords that are relevant to your business and making sure that your website pages answer customer questions.
  • PPC – Paid advertising ensures that you get your website in front of the right people; those searching for your products or services. PPC advertising makes you easily accessible to those customers who intend to buy from you.
  • Email marketing – Email marketing is a great way to effectively communicate with your customers. Those who have opted in to receive your latest news and information are your warmest leads and want to hear from you. This communication builds trust and loyalty, which in turn, increases the lifetime value of the customer.
  • Social media – The power of social media is vast, and so improving skills in this department is becoming increasingly popular among businesses. Social media allows you to interact directly with your customers through instant messaging and comments and helps to promote your business beyond your own network.
  • Analytics – Understanding the data from Google Analytics is key as it reveals vital information about your customers. Analytics can tell you your customers’ gender, location, which pages they viewed before they checked out, and what devices they’re using. It can also help to determine which pages aren’t working so well on your site, your bounce rate and which marketing platform your customers are coming from, e.g. email, social media, other websites etc. Understanding Analytics allows you to set and track your business goals by gathering vital statistics which then feed back into your business decisions and strategy.

Benefits for Your Business

 Training your employees so they have a digital marketing skill set will benefit your business incredibly. Here’s just a few reasons:

  • Increase Brand Awareness – Using all the different digital channels will enable you to build brand awareness, reach a bigger audience and grow your bottom line.
  • More Competitive – Targeted campaigns through social or advertising increase your competitive edge enabling you to get your products and services in front of your key audience.
  • Customers Come Direct – Whether it’s through Google Ads or social media posts, being skilled in these channels enables you to bring customers directly to specific pages of your website, allowing you to funnel them and convert them.
  • Increased Agility – Having the skills to do your own digital marketing tasks means you can react to market changes instantly, changing adverts, the messaging in social posts or sending an email as quickly as you need to.
  • Closer to the Customer – Managing your own social media enables you to interact even more closely with your audience forming relations through real time comments and reactions to your posts or responses to your emails.
  • Greater Control – If you’ve been paying an agency thus far, taking these tactical marketing tasks in-house gives you complete control over your marketing and allows you to tweak and change aspects instantly.
  • Saves Money – Managing your digital marketing yourselves, means you can save on agency fees and only use them for bigger and strategic projects where you need their strategic advice and expert input.
  • Boost Employee Motivation – Employees are happier when they are invested in the company performance, when they are valued and when they are being challenged and learning new skills
  • Grows Revenue – Ultimately training your team in digital marketing skills grows the number of avenues available and the opportunity for your business to reach more of your target audience and therefore grow your revenue.

Benefits For your Employees

Whilst there are clear benefits for the business, there are also some great benefits for employees too:

  • Feel Valued – Employees feel valued if they are being invested in by their company and are more likely to be happier and content at work, which increases productivity.
  • More Motivated – Learning a new skillset or taking on a new challenge or responsibility empowers employees and increases job motivation.
  • Work More Efficiently – Training your team enables them to be better skilled at their job and work more efficiently.
  • Add to Strategic Decisions – The skills and knowledge learnt through doing the tactical digital marketing tasks will enable your team to feed real-time data and insight into strategic decisions.

Train Your Team with All Things Web

Our trainers are real-life experts. We use the tools and techniques that we use daily and are highly knowledgeable in our field. We offer;

  • 1-2-1 training.
  • Virtual or face-to-face. (At this time all our training is being conducted virtually)
  • Bespoke training – tailored specifically to your needs, current level of knowledge and your business goals.
  • Straight-forward and practical strategies that you can go back to the office and implement from day 1.

For more information on digital training, get in touch with a member of our team today on  01285 50 55 50.

If you want to receive our latest blogs and articles in your inbox, just sign up for our monthly newsletter using the form on this page.