Amy Edmondson, professor of leadership and management at Harvard Business School, once said, “The soft skills are the hard skills.” In the ever-evolving world of marketing, change is the only constant. Nowadays, whatever you do will be less according to the market, but I don’t want to scare you; instead, I want to give you an idea of how Soft Skills can add more plus points to your journey.
If you are open to accepting everything without judgment, then you will understand that soft skills are the real key! People will evaluate you with your soft skills more than your portfolio. These soft skills will help you build relationships with your clients, work with a team, and build something massive.
Why Is It Important?
Everyone will ask you to have a skill, but do you think that marketing skills are all you need? Perhaps no! In a world where everyone is doing something extraordinary and unique, you need to stand out. So, it’s time to mix your soft skills and marketing skills to be someone in your industry. In this blog, I will help you with the top 10 must-have soft skills that will give you your desired position in your industry.
Digital marketing is the game of algorithms and data; in this vast ocean, human connection is the only fundamental and must-have component.
Before jumping to the first point, I would like to remind you that soft skills are the gateway to something big! It will be your asset to be a good digital marketer. Shall I start with the first point?
Soft Skills For Digital Marketers
Adaptability:
As I mentioned earlier, In this world of marketing, the only constant is change, so you have to adapt yourself to this. Every day, you will see something new, Like AI is something new to us, but after six months, maybe you have to study prompt engineering. So you as a marketer need to understand that whatever comes, you have to be ready to understand and deal with it.
Time Management:
You will often listen to people saying that they spend 14-15 hours a day, but that’s not how it works. They are lacking in time management. It is the most crucial aspect of anything you do, primarily in marketing. You may need 5 hours to set up an ad campaign, or you need 10 hours to write an ad copy; yes, it varies according to the project, but that doesn’t mean you need to sacrifice everything and just keep doing this.
It would be best if you prioritized things according to their importance. In this case, I suggest you use Toggl to track your time for at least one week and then analyze it and act further. It’s all about staying organized.
Critical Thinking:
Critical thinking is the difference between an employee and an employer. An employer just plays the role he is assigned to, and the employer thinks of various ways and analyzes them to find the best way to execute tasks. It is the most essential trait if you want to build something on your own, even in the team game, to stand out.
Every marketer out there has a ton of ideas, analysis, and visuals behind their one campaign or one social media post. It will help you to understand what is working for you and what is not So you can work on it further to make it awesome.
Leadership:
According to Leroy Eimes, “A leader sees more than others see .”The only difference between the CEO of an ordinary company and the CEO of Apple is leadership. The team can perform at their best only when you know how to input them to bring the best results; no one is incapable of doing what you want.
Of course, talent and skills still matter. If you can give them the best understanding of what you want from them and how to make it happen, they are much more likely to execute the tasks, even more than you expect. Don’t be a boss be a guide. Build a crisis management system and guide your team through hell and heaven. If your team is happy and comfortable, you are likely to earn and thrive.
Did you check my previous blog Understanding Digital Marketing Terminology
Networking:
Networking is Net worth; repeat it with me. Ever imagine why so many people recommend someone x but not you? There might be two reasons: one, your content could be more extraordinary, or your network could be better. Building a solid network is more important than you think.
Working around a strong network will give you the best outcome, as it will always push you to do better, maybe writing better or selling better. Networking is one of the most critical soft skills: building a solid network. Whenever you meet someone new, try to connect with them on Linkedin or your preferred social media and keep grabbing knowledge. Offline or online networking helps.
Emotional Intelligence:
It is the best skill to acquire if you want to connect with your audience at a deeper level. It will help you to understand your target audience’s needs, desires, and pain points. It will help you to build a real connection that will be authentic and increase loyalty.
Creativity:
Creativity doesn’t mean to be stunning graphics only. Instead, it is more tuned thinking in the ten different ways to come to the exact thought of creating the illustrations. As technology is evolving, you need to bring something new to the desk every day. It is the path to think out of the box, break the orthodox, and leave a long-lasting impression.
Curiosity:
I should have kept this one in the first of this list, but I kept it for later as I just want you to understand things step by step. As I am saying throughout the blog, you need to adapt to the only constant change.
So you need to have an open mind with curiosity and be ready to learn. Marketers stay at the top of their game as they dive deep into the pool of knowledge and consume so much that is necessary for their growth. Start with simple browsing, and you will finish in a hundred open tabs.
Empathy:
It would be best if you built a connection beyond the advertisement and content. Empathy forms the basics of the relationship. It will help you to understand sentiments, needs, and desires. Like you are sending a message beyond a sales pitch and, at the same time, considering yourself in their shoes and understanding what they will come up with.
Listening:
The important one was ready for the final point: Be an active listener. Everyone can be a speaker, but everyone is not a good listener. People will only give you the value when you listen to them. Use pauses, listen, and try to understand it as a whole before proceeding with your words.
One bonus line is always to be transparent. The more you will be evident, the more you will receive the desired results.
Digital marketing is not about playing with data and earning money. It is beyond money, and you will be able to understand it only when you can add your soft skills to it. As digital marketing is evolving, you must maintain soft skills. It’s time to go beyond technical expertise and acquire the best possible skills you can get.
Get it from anywhere, be it a webinar, meet-up, event, or whatever, and whenever you get the opportunity, try to apply them, and you will be able to see the changes. Let me know how you use your soft skills to build your marketing journey smoothly.