Gut Check:12 Must-Have Entry Level Marketing Skills to Learn Before Entering the Workforce

The Myth:

Collegegivesyouallthetoolsyou’llneedtosucceedaftergraduation.

The Truth:

Collegeisexcellentforbuildingafoundationalbaseandcriticalthinking,butlacksthepracticalskillsyou’llneedwhenstartinganewjob.

Why?

1. Curriculaareslowtoadapttomarketchanges

2. Differentjobsrequiresdifferentskills,whilecollegeisbroad

3. Youdon’tknowwhatyoudon’tknow!

Our Goal Today

Iwantyoualltohaveanunfairadvantage.Today,I’llsharesomeofthehardandsoftskillsthatwillbenefityouacrossavarietyofentry-levelandintermediatemarketingroles.

Disclosure:Yourmileagemayvary!Noteverythingappliestoeveryoneofyou.

Methodology

IgnorethefancytitleIusedforthisslide– myprocesswasbasic.Ilookedatthreemainthingswhenbuildingmyrecommendations:

1. Isentaquestionnaireto15individualswhoworkforagencies,in-housemarketing,orasconsultants

2. Ireviewedjoblistingsforavarietyofroles(enterprise,SMBandagency)

3. Ipulledfrommyownpersonalexperience

Know Your Numbers

Excel,AnalyticsandtheMagicofMetrics

The Stakes

Everyonethinksmarketingisabout“thenextbigidea”.WeallwanttobeDonDraper.Butinreality,themagichappensattheiterativelevel– refiningandimprovingyourcreativethroughanalysisandtesting.

Skill 1: Excel at Excel

Whentouseit:Daily.Seriously,youcandoamazingthingswithexcel.Fromorganizingandtrackinginformationtoperformingcalculations,youcandonearlyeverything.Becomeamasterandyourjobprospectswillgowayup.Putthishighonyourlist;Excelisnearlyuniversal.

Howtolearnit:o Lynda.com – Seeifyourschoolhasasubscription.o YouTube– Lessstructured,butstillgreatinfo.o Getyourhandsdirty!

Skill 2: Google Analytics

Whentouseit:Alotofmarketingtodayisdoneonline,andacompany’swebsiteisatthecenterofitall.GoogleAnalyticsisafreeandpowerfultooltoseewhoisonyourwebsite,wheretheycamefrom,andwhatthey’redoingthere.

Howtolearnit:o GoogleAnalyticsAcademyisafreecourse(Googleit.)o Bonus:Completethecourse,takethetestandgetcertified(cha-ching!)

Skill 3: Basic Statistics

Whentouseit:Abasicunderstandingofstatisticswillhelpyoumakesenseofthedatayoucollect.It’simportanttoseparatetrendsfromcoincidences,andtomakemoreinformeddecisions.

Howtolearnit:o NakedStatisticsbyCharlesWheelan:Highlyaccessible,nottoodry.o Takeaclassatyourschool.o Vegas(I’mkidding…kindof.)

“ Get your certifications. I would say

getting Google Analytics certified

is huge no matter the digital field

you land in.

- Wesley G., Search Marketer

“ Become familiar with all of the free

tools out there in the digital space,

especially Google Analytics.

Understanding numbers is important

across the board.

- Sean F., Account Manager

Tell a StoryBecomeamasterofcommunication.

The Stakes

Thepeoplewiththebestideasdon’talwayswin.WhenwasthelasttimeaneconomistorascientistbecamePresident?

Instead,itsthosewhocaneffectivelycommunicatetheirideasthatarethemostsuccessful.

Skill 4: Public Speaking

Whentouseit:Whetheryou’repitchingaclient,askingforaraise,orspeakinginfrontofalargegroup,youneedtocapture(andkeep)youraudience’sattention.

Howtolearnit:o Practice!Practice!Practice!o JoinyourlocalToastmasterschapter.o Readaloud(Getusedtohearingyourvoice!)

Skill 5: Email (Yes, Email)

Whentouseit:Theaveragebusinesspersonsendsandreceives131emailseachday.Youneedtolearnhowtogetyourpointacrossquicklyandcutthefluff.Lessismorefolks.

Howtolearnit:o Beconcise.Stateyourintentions.Alwaysincludenextsteps.o ReadthisarticlefromtheMuse.o Petpeeve:Don’t”ReplyAll”unlessyouneedto.

Skill 6: Learn Communication Styles

Whentouseit:Everyonehasadifferentcommunicationstyle.Learnthemostpopularstylessoyoucanbeabettercommunicator.Understandyourownstrengthsandweaknessestoidentifyopportunitiesandlandmines.

Howtolearnit:o TaketheDISCtest,andreadalltheprofiles.o TaketheMyersBriggstest,andreadtheprofiles.o Self-evaluate– behonestandwriteyourstrengths/weaknesses.

“Learn to communicate by presenting

your ideas in a structured way, so

others will understand. This is

especially true with written

communications.

- Jennifer G., Red Bamboo Marketing

“Most of my day is spent

communicating with clients through

email, phone and meetings. I never

learned this skill in school, and it was a

big adjustment for me when I started

work.

- Sean F., Agency Account Manager

Talking Technical

Coding,searchandotherpracticalskills.

The Stakes

Inmostroles,you’reresponsibleformorethanjustideas– youneedtoexecutetoo.

Bylearningsomebroadtechnicalskillsandsoftware,you’llbecomemoreattractiveandgiveyourselfanopportunitytomakeanimmediateimpact.

Skill 7: Get Familiar with HTML

Whentouseit:Writingablog?Sendingamarketingemail?Tweakingalandingpage?Inallofthesesituations,knowingsomeHTMLbasicswillgoalongwayinhelpingyoutroubleshootproblemsandgetthingsdone.

Howtolearnit:o TakeafreecourseonCodeAcademyo StartafreeblogonWordPress.com

Skill 8: Design Fundamentals

Whentouseit:Muchoftoday’smarketingisvisual.You’llneedattractivegraphicsforsocialmediaposts,websitepages,printedcollateralandmore.I’mnotsayingtobecomePicasso– butyoushouldunderstandthebasics.

Howtolearnit:o VisitCanva.comforbeautifulpre-builtdesigntemplateso Learnthebasicsoftypographyo Learnthebasicsofcolor

Skill 9: Dig Deeper into Search

Whentouseit:Understandinghowsearchenginesworkisessentialwhendealingwithonlinemarketing.Thisincludeslearninghowtogetmoreoutofsearchengines,andhowtogetfoundonsearchengines.

Howtolearnit:o ResearchlikeaprowithGoogleSearchOperatorso LearnthebasicsofSEOwithGoogleo LearnevenmorewithMoz

“ Learn PhotoShop and basic HTML.

Marketers are expected to know all of

these things right now, you can't just

be a great writer and have good ideas.

They want you to handle all of it.

- Christine R., Public Relations Specialist

“ Understanding how people search goes beyond SEO. It teaches you to think the way

your customer’s think, to understand their motivations and to speak their language. This

skill applies across the board.

- Stephen Murphy, Red Bamboo Marketing

Be humble. Sayitwithyouractions.

The Stakes

Today’smostimportanttakeaway?It’sokthatyou’renotanexpertdayone.Youwillneedtolearnonthejob.Youwillmakemistakes.Andyou(probably)willbeabitoverwhelmedatfirst.

Butthat’sok.Becausewewereallinyourshoesonce.Andweallmakemistakes.It’swhathappensnextthatmatters.

Skill 10: Ask Questions

Whentouseit:Askingquestionsisnotasignofweakness.Itisanattributeofinnovatorsandleaders.Ifyoudon’tknowtheanswer,asksomeonewhodoes– orgofinditonyourown.

TipsforSuccess:o Followthe“5minuterule”– ifyoucan’tfigureitoutonyourowninlessthan5minutes,asksomeone!

o Keeparunninglistofquestionssoyoucanaskallatonce.

Skill 11: Learn to Listen

Whentouseit:“Wehavetwoearsandonemouthsothatwecanlistentwiceasmuchaswespeak.”- Epictetus

TipsforSuccess:o Beanactivelistener.o There’sadifferencebetweenwhatsomeonesays,andwhattheymean.Findoutwhattheywant.

o FollowSkill10.Askmorequestions.

Skill 12: Self Educate

Whentouseit:Marketingisconstantlychanging.Whilefundamentalsandstrategymaystayconsistent,tacticsoftodayaredrasticallydifferentfromevenafewyearsago.Youmustalwaysbelearning.

TipsforSuccess:o Readeveryday.Blogs,books,magazines,socialmedia,forums,etc.o Runexperiments.Trysomethingforyourself,seeifitworks,thenreplicate.

“ I can’t stress the importance of

listening enough. You need to listen

closely to understand the needs of

your boss, your company and your

customers.

- Jennifer G., Red Bamboo Marketing

“Try to do your own projects to get

experience. Master your day-to-

day, and then focus on what you

can do outside of what is

"required" of you. Managers love

this go-getter attitude.

- Wesley G, Search Marketer

Questions? Don’tbeshy.

Contact Me

linkedin.com/in/sbcmurphy@stephencmurphy