Technical marketing skills can be your greatest asset if you want to get ahead in the digital marketing landscape. Building your
toolbox can give you an advantage over other marketers and drive results for your company or clients.
While creativity is crucial for the marketing industry, you need technical expertise to succeed. Technical marketing skills can range from software knowledge to planning strategies.
Read on to learn what technical skills are and find some examples you could add to your resume!
Don’t miss our Marketing Manager Insider emails!
Join 200,000 smart marketers and get the month’s hottest marketing news and insights delivered straight to your inbox!
Enter your email below:
Inline Subscription Form – CTA 72
“*” indicates required fields
(Don’t worry, we’ll never share your information!)
What are technical skills?
Technical skills are a set of specialized abilities and knowledge used to perform tasks, use tools, and accomplish goals. All industries, from health care to finance, require technical skills to perform job duties.
Technical skills are measurable, certifiable features you can showcase to your employer. If you stay in one field, the technical skills may transfer from job to job, but there will likely be different requirements for any position.
For example, if you work in design, you could list your proficiency with Adobe Photoshop as a technical skill.
Soft skills vs. technical skills
Soft skills are personal characteristics that help you work well with other people. Unlike technical skills, these attributes can benefit you in any workplace. They are harder to measure, but they can enhance your technical skills.
Some soft skill examples include:
- Communication
- Organization
- Decision-making
- Stress management
- Punctuality
- Focus
Having a well-rounded skill set with soft and technical skills can help you stand out. For example, a marketing manager’s skills might include communication and a positive attitude. Still, they must also understand the company’s lead tracking software to perform their job.
Why do you need technical marketing skills?
Technical and soft skills are necessary for being a well-rounded team member. So, why are technical skills so necessary?
Having specific technical skills offers the following advantages:
- Highlighting your capabilities: Whether you want to advertise your team’s expertise or push for a promotion, having skills makes you different. You can use technical skills as hard evidence for your capabilities.
- Saving time and money: Working with a specialist prevents beginner-level errors and reduces resource waste.
- Preparing for the future: Having a skill set and staying on top of industry trends can help you prepare for any changes. You will already have a background emphasis, so accounting for industry or company changes will be easier.
Above all, technical skills let you provide better services for your clients. Focusing on your technical expertise is a great place to start if you want to do the best work.
Technical skills examples
Technical skills are different depending on your career focus. Here are some examples of hard skills based on your department:
Design
- Photo and video capturing
- Graphic design software
- Web coding
- File management, storage, and security
- File embedding
Project management
- Budget planning and tracking
- Project outlining
- Timeline creation and tracking
- Task management
- Project management software (Trello, Basecamp, etc.)
Content creation
- Copywriting
- Editing
- Research
- Ad creation and budgeting
- Content strategy
- Social media
- Campaign management
Analytics
- Analytic software knowledge (Google Analytics, social platforms, etc.)
- Data tracking
- Reporting
- Risk management
Digital marketing
- Search engine management (SEM)/ Search engine optimization (SEO)
- Paid advertising
- Email interfaces
- Automation services
How to improve marketing skills — 3 different goals
Now that you have some technical skills examples, you can start sharpening your resume. Check out these tips to improve your technical skills in marketing!
1. Get certifications
Training and receiving certifications will give you hard evidence of a particular skill. Though you don’t need a certificate to perform tasks, the paperwork and training will prove that you care about your craft.
Certifications are a great step if you want to prove your software fluency or showcase your training. Some certifications you can shoot for in the marketing realm include the following:
- Microsoft Advertising Certification
- Google Analytics Individual Qualification
- Google Ads certification
- HubSpot Content Marketing Certification
Any of these certifications can showcase your digital marketing and advertising skills. As new updates and certificates emerge, you can take the latest training and keep learning as your career grows.
You can also take courses without getting a certification. Taking a one-off course now and then can help you learn without taking too much time away from your day.
2. Use tools to boost efficiency
Suppose you want to hone your marketing skills and figure out how to automate or streamline tasks with tools. Part of having hard skills is knowing the best way to perform a job, which can sometimes include using a tool for help.
For example, say you have a certification in keyword research. You can use tools (like KeywordsFX, our free keyword generator) to help you streamline the process while finding short- and long-tail keywords.
Knowing how to use Ahrefs, for example, could make you a master at delivering SEO services and strategies:
Finding and building a routine for technical tasks will help you improve your knowledge and help others. If you have an excellent tool that simplifies a technical task, you can share it, but your expertise is an essential factor!
3. Read industry content
Reading is a go-to option if you want to improve your hard skills and understand the industry. Finding a few marketing-related publishers can help you monitor trends and stay sharp.
You don’t have to set aside hours a day to read marketing content. Instead, take a little time each day to browse your favorite information sources and see what other experts are saying. Some examples include:
- Following popular marketing names on Twitter
- Creating a Feedly account and checking it for 20 minutes a day
- Subscribing to marketing newsletters
- Listening to marketing podcasts
- Finding YouTube channels that specialize in marketing
Find a way that you like to learn and stick with it. If you want marketing tips in your inbox, WebFX has a free newsletter — Revenue Weekly — that can help you stay on top of industry updates!
We’re masters of our craft.
WebFX is a marketing and design industry leader.
Meta, Amazon, and Google Partner
books read
blog posts written
industries worked in
Google Certified team members
CMS experts
Digital marketing and technical skills — the ideal combination
Whether expanding your skill set or hiring more experience team members, understanding technical marketing skills can improve your approach. Part of any modern marketing strategy involves having a solid online presence, and a digital marketing agency can take some work off your plate.
Partnering with WebFX gives you access to a team of marketers with technical skills. Our staff comprises 500 marketing experts who help our 1,450+ clients grow their businesses.
View our case studies to see our work, and call [stat-phone] to learn more about how we can enhance your marketing strategy to drive results!
-
Abbey is a digital marketer, copywriter, and lead editor. She has worked on over 200 client campaigns and WebFX, and she specializes in marketing strategy analysis and industry-specific digital marketing plans. Outside of writing and editing, you’ll likely find her taking pictures of her cat, making a new playlist, or tending to her houseplants. -
WebFX is a full-service marketing agency with 1,100+ client reviews and a 4.9-star rating on Clutch! Find out how our expert team and revenue-accelerating tech can drive results for you! Learn more
Try our free Marketing Calculator
Craft a tailored online marketing strategy! Utilize our free Internet marketing calculator for a custom plan based on your location, reach, timeframe, and budget.
Plan Your Marketing Budget
Share this article
Proven Marketing Strategies
Try our free Marketing Calculator
Craft a tailored online marketing strategy! Utilize our free Internet marketing calculator for a custom plan based on your location, reach, timeframe, and budget.
Plan Your Marketing Budget
