A new year brings a new set of opportunities, but only if you’re prepared to identify where they live and have the tools to grab them. Are you ready?
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Modern marketers know all too well how quickly industry knowledge can develop. Now more than ever, marketing professionals need to commit to continual learning, keeping up with industry trends, and adding new competencies to their skills mix. The hottest marketing jobs of 2015 didn’t exist two years ago, and the top skills that employers are looking for were considered no more than buzzwords. So, what does 2015 hold for marketers? Exciting avenues for specialisation, flexibility and autonomy: here’s a round-up of this year’s most in-demand digital marketing skills that you should learn now:
Across all industries, the prevalence of mobile applications and responsive websites coupled with an increasingly competitive online landscape, demands that understanding and designing interfaces for a top user experience becomes a top priority for organisations. UX designers and developers will be highly sought-after this year, presenting many profitable freelance endeavours for savvy web designers, as well as opportunities for digital marketers to differentiate and refine their skills offering.
South Africa is the 5th largest mobile market in the world, and there are 5 times more mobile phone subscribers than fixed internet users. While an email may be opened in an average of 90 minutes, an SMS is opened in an average of 90 seconds. And, the average adult has their smartphone within arm’s reach 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. With these figures on the rise, is it any surprise that marketers with a strong understanding of mobile marketing are hot property this year?
Search Engine Optimisation (SEO)
Gone are the days of mass link-building and content overflow. As Google’s Search Algorithm continues to evolve, businesses are becoming far more aware of the importance of smart and sustainable whitehat strategies to ensure their websites rank. The balance between customer value and keyword prioritisation is a delicate one. This year more than ever, you need to understand SEO.
Every marketer needs to understand content marketing and strategy. The modern consumer is more discerning than ever, and producing valuable content for a targeted audience should be the cornerstone of any successful inbound digital strategy in 2015. In South Africa this year, expect to see a huge demand for marketers with a strong grasp of strategic content planning.
The University of Cape Town, in partnership with GetSmarter and a team of marketing industry experts, have launched a new range of cutting-edge online short courses, allowing South African marketing professionals to equip themselves with 2015’s most in-demand skills.
Get ready to open doors in your career in 2015, and register for a UCT online short course now:
UCT User Experience Design online short course (NEW)
