Can You Learn Digital Marketing On Your Own?

As is the case with many other professions, digital marketing requires both a core set of hard skills (which can be acquired relatively quickly) and a longer list of career attributes, which may take years to master.

While it is possible to self-learn the fundamentals of digital marketing, self-guided learning may not be the best route because the digital marketing landscape is constantly evolving. Indeed, digital marketing courses and boot camps have grown in popularity over the last few years, assisting aspiring marketers in staying current with industry trends and gaining a better understanding of how the latest fads and technologies can contribute to organizational success.

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After all, mastering a piece of software may take only a few days, but developing an understanding of what resonates with your Twitter versus Instagram followers, for example, will take much longer.

Three of the most perplexing areas for a new Digital Marketer are how to use content marketing effectively to drive traffic, leverage technology to create more efficient and effective campaigns, and best tailor the content you produce to the platform on which it appears.

Getting a Feel for Effective Content Creation

While content marketing is not a new trend, it remains trendy. According to surveys of several US companies on US-Reviews, content marketing is the most frequently used channel for digital marketers, with 79 percent of marketing professionals including content in their strategy. Additionally, if you are in search of the best web hosting for small business online reviews, you can as well visit US-Reviews.

When executed correctly, content marketing’s impact is difficult to ignore. According to research, 70% of consumers would instead learn about a business through content than through advertising. Customers should be engaged in a way that adds value, which results in relationships that are more than one-way sales communication.

While content marketing can be highly effective, developing a content strategy can be more time-consuming than other marketing forms. Not only does it take time to create unique content, but it can also take up to six to nine months to see results. As a result, businesses seeking to develop a robust strategy that consistently delivers content frequently outsource content creation—62 percent of the time, according to one source.

Thus, while mastering this skill can be challenging, an understanding of how content marketing works—whether you’re creating it yourself or overseeing its commission—will make you invaluable to virtually any company.

Knowing How to Leverage User Data

While the reams of user data generated by analytics tools are an invaluable source of actionable insights, sorting through them can be time-consuming, and it can be difficult to know what you’re looking for. As such, it’s unsurprising that, according to BrainStation’s Digital Skills Survey, Digital Marketers believe artificial intelligence will have the most significant impact on their field in the coming years. There seems to be constant talk about AI in every industry, but research is beginning to demonstrate how AI will impact the marketing world.

According to a recent IBM report, 94 percent of businesses believe that personalization is critical to future success. Another study, this one from Accenture, found that 73 percent of customers prefer to shop at retailers that provide a personalized experience and 86 percent of customers say personalization influences their purchasing decisions. This reaffirms the notion that, when done correctly, AI-driven personalization can increase the return on marketing spend.

Much of the value of AI for digital marketers comes from the massive amounts of data available to businesses, which enable marketers to go beyond basic segmentation and create highly personalized campaigns. While this targeting level results in more efficient and effective campaigns, it also necessitates a more specialized skill set—and a great deal of time.