In the world of modern marketing, it's essential to stay on top of the latest and greatest technologies and in order to be an effective marketer, you need to constantly be reinventing yourself â€" just like the market.

As a marketing agency, we are alays looking for the best talent to help us drive business results for our clients.

It's so important for marketers to continue to add to their toolbox and become well-rounded consultants who understand what's possible in the current marketing landscape!

Here are 8 essential marketing skills that we look for when hiring new people to join our team.

1. Content Marketing

As an inbound marketing agency, we are strong believers that content drives consumers' buying decisions. They are well-informed and have constant access to the internet to influence their buying decisions. If you aren't familiar with the world of content marketing, we strongly suggest the Hubspot Inbound Certification as a place to start.

Spend time understanding how you and the people around you interact with content on the internet. How do 20-year-olds search? What about 50-year-olds? Take note of the difference in how people search for a new products. How is searching for a new computer different than searching for new running shoes?

2. Design Awareness

Media is no longer a nice-to-have bonus for companies with large budgets. With access to graphic design tools, mobile cameras, and the largest surge in video consumption yet, it's become increasingly important for companies to have a strong design presence. Not every marketing department is going to have access to a dedicated graphic designer â€" take time to understand the importance of color, space, imagery, etc. 

Having a basic understanding of the visual elements that come into play will not only help you craft better website pages, emails, and blog posts, but it will also aid you in having intelligent conversations with graphic designers that will help you get to the best possible result.

If you are a graphic design newbie, Lynda.com offers a series of video courses that will help you brush up on your skills, from graphic design to Adobe Creative Suite photo editing. This is a great resource that will help you polish up your marketing materials and more!

3. Grammar

In a world where content is the centerpiece of how consumers get their information, it's critical to have a basic understanding of grammar. If you are not a nerd about words and syntax, there are a ton of resources that can help you get the right checks and balances in place. Install the Grammarly plugin, to check your grammar in emails and documents, and if you really need some extra lessons, subscribe to their blog for great insights and tips on how to improve your grammar!

4. Copywriting

Copywriting is about so much more than grammar. As a marketer, the copy you write has the power to compel people to action. Whether or not someone clicks on your blog or registers for your webinar is all based on your ability to convince them that the action is worth their time. This is about so much more than words on a page, it's about understanding the needs, pain points, and buying motivations of your potential customers.

5. Coding (HTML/CSS)

With WYSIWYG editors being prevalent in most content management systems, a lot of marketers can get by without knowing any HTML or CSS code. However, a basic understanding of the coding languages can help you identify problems in formatting, change default colors and spacing, or create a new template without having to rely on a dedicated developer.

Code Cademy is a great resource to help you understand the basics of coding and then provides a creative playground for you to test what you have learned. The site provides tutorials for everything from basic HTML/CSS to Ruby on Rails, SQL, and other more complex coding languages. Adding these skills to your toolbox can help you understand how to bring your creative visions to fruition online.

6. Conversion Rate Optimization 

At it's heart, conversion rate optimization (CRO) is about understanding your visitor's signals. A website's CRO is a customer success metric. If you don't understand how to isolate and identify the pieces that are causing your visitors to pause before converting, then you can't hope to fix it.

Unbounce offers "The Smart Marketer's Landing Page Conversion Course," an 11-part course that is hosted by 10 conversion rate experts. This is a great crash course that will introduce you to the power of images, copy, and social proof in helping the conversion process.

7. Storytelling

Humans have always been captivated by stories, and as marketers continue to improve their ability to craft flashy marketing language, storytelling can be a huge advantage over the competition. Every client you serve, every happy customer is an opportunity to tell a story.

"Marketing is no longer about the stuff that you make, but the stories you tell." - Seth Godin
Learning to be a good storyteller is about learning how to identify the amazings that are happening around you all the time. One of the best ways that you can improve your storytelling skills, is just to set a goal of writing something every single day. Start by writing about something you are passionate about, recount an interesting story from your day, maybe even publish your best content on LinkedIn's Pulse tool.

8. PPC

PPC is about so much more than Google. From Facebook to LinkedIn, Instagram to Twitter and beyond, there are a lot of ways that companies can spend their advertising dollars online. Each PPC channel offers different advantages and disadvantages, so it's important for marketers to understand the role of each platform and how to get the most out of the marketing budgets that are being spent on these methods.

These are just a few of the skills that will help you build your resume and take your marketing to the next level. It's becoming increasingly important for marketer's to have a huge toolbox to be able to draw from at any time. And if you are looking for a marketing job, don't forget to check out our open employment opportunities!

About the Author

Brittany Laeger is an Account Strategist at StoryTeller Media + Communications. StoryTeller is an inbound marketing agency based in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul. Brittany blogs about marketing strategy, blogging and graphic design. Find her on Twitter @bmiyo.

www.storytellermn.com