8 Key Skills needed to Work at a Digital Agency

But what kind of person are we looking to join our world-class digital agency? And what type of skills do we look for in a successful candidate? Don’t worry if you’re not sure, this post will guide you through everything you need to know.

So, if you’re thinking about starting a career in one of the many roles within a digital agency, look no further! We’ve outlined the key characteristic traits, skills and general qualities that we look for when hiring new team members. We believe you’re definitely making a wise choice looking into the digital agency world – one full of excitement, inspiration and innovation. 

We’ll cover:

• Curating and editing content
• Social media marketing
• Search Engine Optimisation (SEO)
• Email marketing
• Paid marketing
• Video marketing
• Lead generation
• Design skills
• Bespoke web and system development

Curating and editing content

Are you passionate about writing? If you are you’d be right at home at a digital agency. Content marketing is massive and its importance will only continue to grow. Therefore, agencies will always need content writers. You need to have a passion for it though – if you don’t, your content will be lacklustre and will, unfortunately, stand out like a sore thumb.

Having a keen eye for editing content is equally as important as writing it yourself. Do you have the ability to spot mistakes? A key attention to detail to know when sections could be improved to appeal more to a set audience? Content marketing is about delivering the right message at the right time – not just about the writing.

Social media marketing

“How hard can it be?” – “That’s not a real job!” – two common misconceptions about the vitality of social media within a digital agency. It’s a lot more than sending a few tweets out and knocking together some LinkedIn posts – despite what some people may think. In fact, it’s one of the most important roles within the modern agency, with social media being one of the largest traffic drivers. 

You need to have the knowledge and understanding of what engages different audiences on a variety of platforms. Plus, you need to be well aware of how to put a successful comprehensive strategy together to help achieve company-wide KPI’s. Deep knowledge within social media marketing is very attractive to have on your CV. 

Search Engine Optimisation (SEO)

Within an agency, you’ll always find a team of SEO whizzes who love learning all about the new Google algorithms and trends – if they can keep up! However, you can never have too many. Plus, it’s a great asset to have within your skillset. For example, as a content writer, a knowledge of SEO can help you shape blogs to be more reader-friendly.

From guest blogging to link building, there’s a lot to be learned about in SEO. And it continues to evolve at a rapid rate too! Algorithms and the way that search engines are indexing are forever changing. There are a lot of areas that need to be covered, however, when you reach that top ranking on Google, it’s an unbelievably rewarding feat. 

Email marketing

Often looked at as outdated and poor performing, email marketing couldn’t be more exciting if it tried! Drawing users in, directing them to your site, converting them into cold hard sales – and the best bit is, there’s no defined blueprint to do this. So, it’s all about tapping into your creative mindset and not being afraid to test out new things. 

It’s often portrayed as a dying trade but what’s the first thing we all do when we start work each day? Check our emails! If you can show that you’re capable of producing high-performing emails with cunning subject lines and impressive design, you’ll be a good asset to any digital agency. 

Paid marketing

Figures, figures and more figures! Analysing data to dictate where partners should invest their spend in order to attain the most successful ad campaigns isn’t an easy role. However, it’s extremely useful and paid marketing is booming in modern times. A knowledge within paid marketing can set you apart from other digital marketers – especially if it isn’t your only skilled area. 

It’s not all figures though, we should warn you. Creating witty copy, realising the requirements and needs of different audiences on various platforms and analysing previous campaigns are just some of the areas of responsibility. Paid marketing is a challenging yet rewarding area. You also need to be good with budget management. Partners won’t be happy flitting their money away willy nilly, which is easy to do with poorly managed ad accounts. 

Video marketing

Video marketing is HUGE. And it’s only getting bigger. Plenty of audiences don’t have time or patience to read through realms of content – they’d rather have it summarised in a short and snappy video. Do you have what it takes to draw in the audience and leave them wanting to find out more? And do you have the skills to wow an audience with your videography and editing skills? If so, you’d fit right in at a digital agency. 

Video marketing has quickly become one of the most important channels within a digital agency. While smartphones have given agencies the tools to get started themselves, by employing a video marketing expert, they’ll be taking their capabilities to the next level. Due to the unpredictable and varied nature, it’s definitely one of the most exciting roles within an agency.

Lead generation

The task of attracting and drawing prospects into your business – lead generation! Of course, this goes hand in hand with content, social media, paid marketing and other areas but it’s a skill on its own. Do you have the art of persuasion? The flexibility to turn your hand to different channels and differing consumer needs? Lead generation is vital to an agency’s success. 

Without partners, you have no business – simple! So, you need to be able to put together a solid campaign that brings the right type of prospects in. Qualified leads – not just any old leads. The last thing you want is a list as long as your arm of businesses who aren’t suitable to work with yours. That’s why your lead generation game needs to be ON POINT.

Design skills

As a designer at a digital agency, you must be compliant with popular tools – Photoshop, InDesign or other popular editing software are the usual starting points. A keen eye for detail is a must as a designer. Plus, the ability to be able to look at a design as if you’re a user, not just because the design looks cool. User experience is everything and directly correlates with campaign and site performance. 

It’s not just designers that’ll need to use editing software either. Marketers are often producing custom creatives for social media channels, email banners, landing pages and more. If you can do these yourself, without having to rely on the design department, you’re going to get tasks done a lot more efficiently, aren’t you?

Bespoke web and system development

Coding – personally, looking at code for longer than five minutes fries my brain. Hats off to you if you can read, create and implement code. It’s definitely not a skill that’s suited to everybody, however, if you possess specialist coding skills, you can expect to be of real use within a digital agency. 

Website development, app development and bespoke systems are HUGELY popular and require coding experts to deploy them properly. You can spot poorly coded websites and systems from a mile off, which is the last thing that partners will want after investing heavily in a brand new system. Coding is an art form – an amazing skill to have in your arsenal.