10 Digital Skills That Can Make Students Instantly Employable in 2023

4 May 2023
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Digital skills refer to the ability to effectively use and interact with digital technologies, such as computers, mobile devices, software applications, social media platforms, and the Internet. Businesses have gone digital, resulting in increased use of artificial intelligence and new skill requirements for jobseekers. In this article, you will find the skills you need to get a good job.

Digital skills 

The demand for digital employability skills has grown exponentially. Digital skills can give individuals a competitive edge in areas such as marketing and analytics. Navigating digital platforms, analyzing data, and effective online communication are some of these skills. These skills are essential for job security and staying relevant in the modern workforce. Identifying the top 10 digital employability skills for students and employers is imperative.

Social Media

A recent survey found that over 4.6 billion people use social media on multiple platforms, with a 10% increase from the previous year. Understanding the connection between brands, influencers, and customers is essential for effective social media marketing. Social media also serves as a customer service alternative, making it important for educators to teach graduates skills across various platforms, including YouTube and TikTok.

Search Engine Marketing

SEM is critical for businesses, as 81% of Internet users search for products/services online, with 70% of traffic coming from Google. Paid advertising is used to increase search engine visibility and acquire valuable web traffic. Optimizing websites and marketing campaigns for mobile is essential for high conversion rates. The pandemic has boosted e-commerce transactions, and online shopping is predicted to continue. Search marketing expertise will be in high demand, making it important to teach these skills to students.

Data Analytics

During the pandemic, some marketers opted for mass communication rather than targeted marketing based on data analysis. This proved to be a mistake, as companies that used intelligence to track and anticipate consumer behavior were able to target their spending and achieve double-digit sales growth. The importance of data analysis in making informed business decisions is underscored by Peter Drucker’s quote, “If you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it”. Using data can help students improve marketing campaigns, maximize efficiency, and increase return on investment. Analytics and SEM skills work together to understand consumer behavior and capture their attention.

Content Marketing

Content is critical for brand awareness and establishing digital opinion leaders, despite the emphasis on keyword optimization and advertising campaigns. Multiple forms of content are accessible, including blogs, videos, podcasts, infographics, and social posts. Lack of content on a website or social media page prevents customers from understanding the benefits of a product or service. New hires need to understand the importance of creating relevant content and optimizing keywords as part of a strategy. Students with expertise in content marketing and social media have a valuable and in-demand skill set for any industry.

Email Marketing

Email marketing is an effective tool for businesses to reach their target audiences with personalized messages. Despite being one of the oldest direct marketing techniques, it is still an effective way to acquire and retain customers. It involves creating and sending engaging newsletters, promotional emails, and follow-up messages. Email marketing campaigns can incorporate various strategies such as A/B testing, segmentation, and lead nurturing. It allows businesses to build long-term relationships with customers, increase brand loyalty, and generate leads and sales. Encouraging students to think innovatively about email marketing in their current and future roles is important.

Mobile Marketing

The use of mobile phones is growing rapidly worldwide, and most people are using smartphones to publish content. Google has begun to prioritize mobile-first indexing when crawling pages, evidenced by the creation of an application to test mobile site effectiveness and speed. Mobile-friendly content can help businesses improve their search engine visibility, especially among consumers using mobile devices. Job recruiters can optimize their campaigns by using the latest technology in mobile search and user experience to take advantage of this trend.

Strategy & Planning

Digital marketing campaigns can lead to measurable results over time when planned and executed using analytics and SEO data. Identifying KPIs and measuring each aspect can help marketers stay on track. Evaluating past campaigns and choosing the most important metrics to measure is important. “Perpetual Evolution” a research paper by DMI, reports that 79% of senior marketers believe strategy and planning are critical to an organization’s success, but finding marketers with these skills is a challenge. Educators should teach students how to plan and execute digital strategy and content to help bridge the skills gap.

Social Selling

Social media has become a critical tool for sales professionals to build and maintain customer relationships. Social selling is essential, with 65% of sales professionals relying on it to achieve their sales goals. Social selling generates a significant portion of revenue across various industries, accounting for 50% of total revenue in 14 major industries. Sales-focused companies are investing in advanced sales technologies, including email tracking tools and sales intelligence software, to optimize their social sales strategies. Customized training programs that focus on social selling techniques and industry-specific best practices are key to empowering the next generation of sales professionals. It is important to teach these skills to students to develop the necessary competencies for finding a job.

Pay-Per-Click Marketing

Larry Kim’s research underscores the importance of high conversion rates on landing pages. The top 25% of pages convert at a rate of 5.21% or higher, double the average rate of 2.35%. It’s also important to note that for every $92 spent on customer acquisition, only $1 is needed for conversion, making PPC marketing advertising a popular choice for quickly generating social traffic. With Google AdWords, businesses can display their search results on the first page of Google and attract large amounts of traffic. The PPC Marketing Tracker is a useful digital tool for eCommerce businesses to monitor their PPC spending. Digital and social media marketing job seekers need to understand important metrics such as impressions, reach, cost per click, and conversion rates.

Video

Video has become a major driver of social media content, transcending its original purpose as entertainment. Social media platforms such as YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram have paved the way for video content creators to become wealthy influencers. The widespread adoption of social media apps as communication tools has also contributed to the rise of video’s popularity, especially among younger smartphone users. Digital video content is easier to absorb and more entertaining than other formats, especially for the millennial generation. Companies can leverage the emotional impact of social media video and the reach of digital advertising to tap into a growing pool of active consumers. Resources such as webinars, toolkits, video series, podcasts, and resource libraries are available to support students’ digital career development.

Conclusion 

Digital skills are essential for companies to stay competitive and for students to succeed in the job market. Companies need employees who can navigate digital tools and platforms to communicate with customers, analyze data, and drive growth. Many industries require digital skills, giving students with these skills a competitive advantage. Digital skills can also be used to start businesses or work as freelancers.

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