Effective marketing is key when running a successful business – it’s how you get the word out about your business, stay ahead of the curve and attract new customers. It goes without saying, that having the right minds in charge of your marketing strategy is paramount!
Here, we’ll have a look at the key marketing skills you should be looking for when you hire the next addition to your marketing team, including how to spot the skills of your next marketing manager while interviewing your next prospect.
Creative flare
Having a sense of creative flare will help marketers come up with imaginative new marketing ideas, as well as creative solutions to different problems they might encounter in the workplace. Keeping an eye out for CVs which mention proficiency in tools that generally inspire creative flare, such as Canva or Adobe Photoshop, is a great way to pick out candidates with a sense of creativity.
Analytical skills
Understanding how to interpret, use and react to different analytics is one of the most important skills of a marketer, as it allows them to spot room for improvement based on objective campaign results. If your marketing team have good analytical skills, they’ll understand how to use analytics and statistics to pick out what works and what doesn’t, and can then use this data to inform key marketing decisions going forward. Look out for candidates who have experience using data analytics tools, such as Google Analytics, Domo and Qlik.
Social media knowledge
Social media is at the core of the business world in 2024, so everybody on your marketing team should have in-depth knowledge of different social media platforms, including how to use them, what ‘works’ on these platforms and what different demographics you cater to between varying social media platforms.The marketing professionals at your company must be proficient in using and posting to platforms such as Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, TikTok, X (formerly Twitter) and the rest.
This skill goes together with data analysis. Understanding how to extract analytics from social media platforms and use it to inform future posting strategies is one of the most important marketing skills in today’s social media-focused landscape. After all, social media analytics allow you to better understand your audience and what kind of content engages them the most, allowing you to tailor your social media content to appeal to your followers on all different platforms.
Communication skills
Marketing is a collaborative industry, where discussions take place throughout a marketing campaign to ensure everybody is on the same page.
From initial discussions between your marketing team and the client to the collaborative internal communications between team members during the creative process, your marketing team must be able to communicate effectively with one another.
Agility and adaptability
The marketing team should be able to adapt quickly and effectively in this ever-changing market, this will help them they can stay ahead of the curve.
Having the ability to remain flexible and be prepared to react quickly to changes along the way is one of the key skills needed for marketing. Perhaps a strategy isn’t working as expected or an advertisement idea falls out of relevance – it can even just be that your client has changed their mind about what direction they want to go in.
Consider designing an application or interview question that will give candidates a chance to demonstrate these qualities, such as asking them to describe a situation during their career where they have had to adapt quickly in the workplace, explaining what happened, how they reacted and what the outcome was.
Knowledge of current tools and platforms
All members of your marketing team should understand how to use a range of different tools and platforms designed to help your marketing team plan, produce and analyse the performance of their content.
From research tools like Semrush and Ahrefs to content creation tools like Canva or Adobe Photoshop, having a strong understanding of how to maximise the potential of key marketing tools is a must.
Of course, marketing is an ever-changing industry and there are new tools in development all the time! As well as having knowledge of current tools, marketers should be ready to learn how to use new platforms as they come along.
Understanding of CRM systems
CRM (Customer relationship management) systems are a crucial part of the marketer’s toolkit, allowing marketing teams to communicate much more effectively with their potential and existing customers when implemented properly. Useful CRM tools include email marketing management, workflow automation and sales analytics. Look out for candidates who have this experience using CRM platforms such as SalesForce, HubSpot, ZenDesk or Pipedrive on their CV.
A proper understanding of how to navigate and use CRM systems is one of the key marketing skills you should be looking for in your next marketing team hire.
Ideally, your new marketing hire should at least understand the basics of CRM systems, as well as why and how they can be used within your marketing campaigns.
What are the skills of a marketing manager?
We’ve explored marketing skills that everyone on your marketing team should possess – so what additional skills do you need to be at the head of a marketing team?
Your marketing manager should be confident in all of the above skillsets. In addition, the key skills of a marketing manager include having a strong sense of leadership and being able to deliver clear and confident pitches to management and clients, backing up key marketing decisions with solid evidence and data. They’ll need to be assertive, strategic and have the ability to think outside of the box, as well as have excellent internal and client-facing communication skills.
How can I spot these key marketing skills
Your marketing team should be a reflection of your brand, so no two marketing teams are ever the same. That said, the skills we’ve explored are essential marketing skills that any marketer should have under their belt.
You can spot these key marketing skills in your potential new hires by incorporating questions into applications and interviews that allow prospects to demonstrate how they’d approach different situations within their roles. You might present your prospects with hypothetical scenarios they could encounter in their work and ask them how they’d navigate them.
We understand the importance of hiring the right professionals for your marketing team, with over 30 year’s experience, we will present the ideal candidates for your business in a timely manner. If you are looking to hiring your next marketing team member, get in touch today to see our tailored approach.
