Digital skills are a range of abilities to use digital devices, communication applications, and networks to access and manage information.
They enable people to create and share digital content, communicate and collaborate, and solve problems for effective and creative self-fulfillment in life, learning, work, and social activities.
Students who learn digital skills make themselves more employable and future-proof their careers by understanding key digital channels. So let’s find out the top 7 employable skills for students and employers
1.Social Media Marketing/Influencing
According to a recent study, there are 4.2 billion active social media users worldwide. Of these, 4.15 billion are active users on mobile devices.
Understanding and using social media effectively is a core and valued skill that every professional should have. Social media marketing goes beyond posting a tweet or Facebook update; it is about understanding the dynamic relationship between brands, influencers, and consumers.
To put it simply, businesses need to reach out to customers in ways that will drive traffic to their website. It now also plays a key role in providing good customer service. Many consumers take to social media to ask questions or make comments.
Educators who recognize social media’s influence should understand the intricacies of each platform, from YouTube to TikTok marketing, and its potential to maximize community engagement to provide graduates with valuable and applicable skills.
2.Search Engine Marketing (SEM)
Students with SEM experience can increase the visibility of a company’s website on a search engine (e.g., Google or Bing) primarily via paid advertising. By doing so, the business will attract valuable web traffic from the search engine results page.
By using SEM, students will capture precious organic search traffic results. That’s why marketers, content managers, and webmasters spend a great deal of time optimizing websites, particularly for mobile and ad campaigns, to ensure the highest conversion rates possible.
This means that jobseekers with knowledge of search marketing will be valuable to organizations to ensure they are searchable and visible.
3.Data Analytics
Businesses focus their media spending by tracking re-openings and using data and saw a double-digit increase in sales.
Data analytics essentially allow students to make educated and data-driven decisions to drive better business insights. Numbers define whether a campaign was successful and by what percentage.
Knowing what data to collect and measure to improve the next campaign is key. Companies don’t want to waste valuable marketing dollars on trends or gut instincts. It’s about maximizing each campaigns’ effectiveness and optimizing the return on investment.
Analytics go hand-in-hand with SEM, so these skills work together to ensure a business understands what consumers want and attracts and retains their attention.
4.Content Marketing
Content comes in many forms – blog posts, videos, podcasts, infographics, even social media status updates.
Marketers may spend their time optimizing keywords and advertising campaigns, but the content is still king. After all, a website or social media page is driven by its content. Without it, customers have no way of understanding the benefits of a product or service.
Content is crucial in driving brand awareness and can establish brands or influencers as thought leaders. Therefore, new hires need to understand the importance of creating content and content relevant to keyword research and optimizing them in a strategy.
With experience and knowledge in content marketing, students will have valuable and employable skills to set them up for a career in any industry.
5.Email Marketing
Email is one of the oldest forms of direct marketing and still packs a punch in customer acquisition and retention. A great email marketing strategy helps launch successful campaigns from startups to multinational corporations.
An experienced digital marketer knows that each funnel stage must be carefully planned. Every step needs to be optimized to attract users and build engagement from the signup page—including its placement on a website—to the welcome email.
People may change social media accounts or home addresses, but people aren’t prone to change their email addresses. That’s why professionals that understand the power of email marketing to connect directly with consumers are in high demand.
6.Mobile Marketing
To comprehend the impact of this change, we need only to look at Google, which has created a mobile-friendly web app designed to test the usability and speed of mobile websites. Using mobile-friendly content can enhance your search presence amongst consumers who don’t have access to desktops.
Job seekers can use this knowledge to their advantage by optimizing campaigns using the latest developments in mobile search and user experience.
7.Video Creation
Video has evolved from being just a form of entertainment to a major social media content driver. YouTube is now a powerful and influential platform. At the same time, networks like TikTok and Instagram have turned the video on its head to create wealthy influencers.
Video is easier to consume than other formats, e.g., a blog post. It’s also more entertaining and appeals to Millennials. By combining the emotional power of social media video with the reach and scope of digital advertising, markets can tap into a growing market of engaged consumers.
