Having the right job skills is absolutely essential for success in the modern marketing landscape. Members of the Young Entrepreneur Council suggested the following:

As marketing tools develop, so must the skills of the people you hire. What is a newer skill or skill set that has become critical for marketing, and why does it matter so much?

Here’s what they said:

1. Writing

Content marketing is a crucial element in our marketing strategy so we have a large team of writers that are responsible for writing great content. We take our readers’ time seriously, so I care most about the quality of the writing and their ability to provide value to our customers. If they know how to research keywords that’s a plus, but if not, we’ll teach them. – Syed Balkhi, WPBeginner

2. A/B Testing

We A/B test so many things that it has become an important skill to have. Whether it’s A/B testing different Facebook ads or experimenting with the placement of a button on our site, we’re always looking for ways to increase conversions. Take a look at some of the latest tools and start running experiments on your own site to gain the experience. – Jared Atchison, WPForms

3. Paid Digital Marketing

Paid digital marketing is very important these days for any type of company or business. We spend a lot of money on digital marketing, especially pay per click. It is very important for any marketing person these days to know how to run paid campaigns, analyze the data, optimize and target the campaigns. This is also being taught in all marketing courses as well. – Piyush Jain, SIMpalm

4. Google Analytics

Every marketing staff person should be at least fairly well versed in the use of Google Analytics to help the company analyze and track how traffic is coming to the site via organic search, paid search, directly, via referrals, emails or social media. Learn how to compare progress year-over-year and month-over-month, and how to follow the popular customer’s paths from discovery through purchase. – Diego Orjuela, Cables & Sensors

5. An Awareness of the Cultural Zeitgeist

While it’s tempting to get bogged down in the specific details of a certain skill set, I have found that it is crucial to hire someone who possesses the visual acumen to see the bigger picture. This means that an employer should look for an employee who has a finger on the pulse of pop culture and is aware of how all the moving parts of a company address the cultural zeitgeist. – Shu Saito, Fact Retriever

6. Live Video

Video skills are critical. Better yet, live video skills. We depend on live video for two reasons: 1. Organic reach on social media is garbage right now. Posting live content immediately alerts all of our followers and garners significantly higher viewership (especially on Stories and SnapChat). 2. Live video is spontaneous and authentic. Creating authentic content is the goal, after all. – Eng Tan, Simplr

7. Audience Targeting and Research

Knowledge about digital marketing, data analysis and automation tools is important in this day and age, no doubt, but all your marketing efforts might come to a naught if you cannot put a finger on the pulse of your target audience. With marketing becoming increasingly personal, it is important to appreciate customers, get insight into their likes and dislikes, and appeal to them accordingly. – Derek Robinson, Top Notch Dezigns

8. The Ability to Learn New Skills

These days, new marketing channels rise and fall rapidly. Rather than hire someone with a skill in a particular platform or channel, it’s best to hire someone who has the ability to learn new skills as they’re needed, fast. Today’s best marketers can juggle multiple channels and skills to come up with new data-driven ideas to become the chosen marketing method of tomorrow. – Arry Yu, Stealth Mode, WTIA