Improving Your Soft Skills in Digital Age
How do humans compete with technology in this digital era?
Many experts and forward thinking marketers agree that the age of marketing automation and intelligent marketing are no longer far away in the future, it is in fact a reality now. Businesses have invested in new technologies to adapt to the rapid digital revolution that is happening worldwide. In fact, it is estimated that approximately 1.4 million people will be replaced by machines by the year 2030.
This significant disruption caused by constant innovations will definitely impact the overall structure of organization and workforce. So how will humans thrive among those changes driven by technological advancement?
READ ALSO: AI and Marketing Today here.
The Future of Organization
The organizations of the future are expected to be composed of a variety of job configurations: remote vs office or full time vs part-time. Likewise, technology will continue to create new challenges and opportunities for businesses, for instance, AI and machine learning to increase productivity.
As the role of automation increases, the lifespan of human workforce will become shorter.
This is why it’s important for us as marketers to continue building our skills by investing in relevant soft skills. This is especially true for companies undergoing a digital transformation. Without workers who possess the ability to solve problems, get things done, and work well with others, managing change at that scale is a risky move.
Important Soft Skills to Possess in Digital Age
Many business leaders acknowledge the importance of having a diverse, skilled workforce and who are willing to invest in career development for a range of technical and soft skills. I believe, possessing a specific or a set of soft skills are also one of the ways to differentiate you from your competitors.
Here are some of the important soft skills that I think every marketer should have today.
- Critical thinking
Critical thinking helps you solve problems which usually involves conceptualizing, synthesizing, and analyzing data. For marketers and entrepreneurs, critical thinking enables them to make logical reason to back their decisions/actions and draw conclusions from their analyses.
In this digital era, it’s important for marketers and future entrepreneurs to sharpen their thought process so they can make important decisions as well as solve complex problems through research, deliberation, or collaboration.
2. Social skill
These days, teamwork is important. Business relies on team members who are willing to work in a team, listen to different ideas, brainstorm, communicate, and take feedback, to achieve their marketing goals. Improving your communication and people’s skills is thus necessary to survive in this technologically-driven environment.
Moreover, carrying out important meetings and conferences, closing out important deals, developing meaningful partnerships, they all require good social skills. In addition, social skills can also help you create the most engaging content on social media.
3. Analytical skill
I strongly believe that the future of marketing will most likely depend on data. From crafting relevant brand story to personalized email messaging, data-driven marketing strategies help marketers to engage their audience effectively. That’s why the ability to analyze these data to create useful insights is highly sought after today.
Analytical skills help us to interpret the data and understand how to use the output to plan an effective campaign, design a proper marketing strategy, as well as measure the overall performance of our campaign.
4. Creativity
Today, creativity goes beyond the ability to paint or to write. Creative marketers are capable of coming up with solutions to a certain problem and thinking outside the box during brainstorming session.
Competition in digital marketing world is fierce. We as marketers need to ensure that we stand out from our competitions. Having a creative mind is what will separate an ignored content from a highly sought-after one.
Learn how to leverage Ephemeral Content Marketing now.
5. Flexibility and adaptability
Digital marketing industry is constantly changing and we need to be able to keep up with the trends to stay relevant. Having high flexibility will allow us to adapt and transition ourselves into any situation we’ll face in the future.
Holding onto the same strategies, tactics, or beliefs won’t serve any marketer or business well. We need to be willing to unlearn what we know and adopt new practices to constantly evolve ourselves to be better.
Key Takeaway
We all have accepted that data and marketing teams of the future will definitely need an expanding skill set. The question is, what skills are the most important? I believe that the modern workforce requires a blend of both soft skills and digital skills, along with an understanding of their role in the digital age.
In your opinion, what can humans do that robots and technology cannot?
=======================================
Viral Access is an AI and data-driven social communication company — we help you tell your story through social media. We pair your brand with relevant micro and nano influencers that help you increase awareness, engagement and conversion. We have the systems and team in place to support large scale communications throughout Asia.
For business inquiries, contact us at: info@viralaccess.asia.
