Alas, marketing communication in the digital age is anything but simple. In fact, it’s become a vast and complex field what with online activities like social media engagement, blogging, search engine optimization, Internet advertising, and other such elements greatly impacting business goals.

Whether you are planning to start a marketing communications career or are already in the midst of it, you should know that the way marcomm used to happen a few years ago is no longer adequate to achieve your marketing goals. Everything from the channels of communication to the messaging and the market have changed thanks to digitization.    

So, what marcomm professionals need is to constantly update themselves and work on improving their skills. Here are a few ways to do just that:

1. Never stop learning: As mentioned earlier in the post, marketing communication is a broad field. In fact, not only is it broad, it’s also dynamic and ever evolving. As a marcomm professional, you need to keep in step with the latest changes in the field. One way to do is through continuing education. Stay on the lookout for new marketing and communication courses and certifications that you can do to upgrade your skills. 


2. Brush up on presentation skills: If you haven’t done it already, make sure you are an absolute wizard at MS PowerPoint. Being able to give impressive presentations can really take you places in your career. However, it shouldn’t just look good, but also sound convincing and that’s where your confidence in delivering the presentation comes into play. Whatever channel you are using – face-to-face in a conference room, over video chat, or via email – the words you choose to communicate your message should be powerful. The only way to become better at making presentations is practice, practice, and more practice.

3. Improve your written communication: This one is a no-brainer. All employers expect their marcomm professionals to have excellent communication skills. However, while you may be great at verbal communication, writing a simple email could leave you completely flustered.  As a marcomm professional, the written word should be a major ally. You should be able to tell a story to your audience – a story so interesting that it piques their interest and keeps them engaged. Make it a practice to write – keep a journal, blog, or Tweet – whatever helps you pen the thoughts in your head in an engaging manner. While you are working on your writing skills, try to expand your vocabulary by learning synonyms and antonyms. Crossword puzzles, word games, and Scrabble are excellent tools to help develop your language.

4. Stay updated on marketing technology: More and more companies are now moving their marketing efforts to the online space as they realize the potential of these channels to reach a wider audience. A modern marcomm professional is expected to be tech-savvy and have thorough knowledge of the latest marketing technologies such as analytics, conversion tools, marketing automation, etc. These tools help them not just reach the right audience with the right message at the right time, but also track the performance of their marketing efforts.

5. Work on your relationships: Again, this is a basic requirement that all marcomm professionals need to fulfill. They need to be people-persons and should be able to build strong relationships. Unfortunately, it’s not as easy as it sounds and does not come naturally to everybody. Does that mean you are not fit for the job? No, it just means you need to step out of your comfort zone and start getting out there. Invest in your professional relationships consistently – you never know when you might need them. With training, building your network need not be as tough as some make it to be.

6. Develop a customer-focused attitude:   All your marketing efforts will amount to nothing if your customers are not happy. How do you make your customers happy? By not patronizing them. By talking to them, not at them. By making them feel important. By putting their needs before anything else. By keeping things simple for them. By being transparent and honest. What marcomm professionals need is to develop a customer-focused attitude and you can do that by putting yourself in their shoes.

Some of the above mentioned skills are not taught in schools. You need to acquire them as you go along your career path. The mark of a brilliant marcomm professional is his or her willingness to walk on the path of constant self-improvement. Do you have the courage to walk this path? Start your marketing communications management course now.