As consumer needs evolve, budgets tighten, and teething problems continue to arise from clumsy uses of AI, plenty of hurdles stand in the way of marketing success. So, what skills are needed to beat these challenges in 2025?
Every year, we release a report diving into the obstacles, skills, and tools that marketers are prioritizing in the coming year. In this Bulletin, we’re going to look deeper into our brand new Marketer of 2025 report to discover the skills your fellow marketers are prioritizing in 2025. Plus, if you’re in need of a New Year’s resolution, we’ll outline ways you can level up your expertise.
Here’s what you can learn from over 1,300 marketing experts.
Vital skills for marketers
Firstly, let’s kick things off with the skills that matter most.
79% of marketers agree that data analysis and interpretation is the most important skill right now – making it a major focus for teams in 2025. Being able to make sense of data and turn it into actionable insights is clearly a pressing concern.
Up second was strategy, with 78% of marketers agreeing that tactical planning was key for teams in 2025. Staying competitive isn’t luck – it requires careful preparation.
Content creation and storytelling was up next, also at 78%. Marketers are well aware of the power of impactful content and engaging narratives.
So, now you know which areas you and your team should focus on in 2025, how do you actually improve?
Practical ways to boost your marketing skills
There are plenty of traditional ways to bolster these skills – courses, training, and certifications. These can be an excellent way to plug specific knowledge gaps (and they look great on your resume).
Yet these traditional methods don’t suit everyone – they can take time and be costly. If you have the means to get in on these methods, definitely consider them. But if you can’t, don’t panic – there are alternatives.
Let’s have a look at some low-effort, high-reward ways you can absorb marketing content designed to help you level up your skills.
An easy place to start is forums. There are pockets of marketing experts across the internet sharing tips and tricks for you to take advantage of. Take Reddit for example. Subreddits like the r/DigitalMarketing, r/SEO, and r/Analytics are full of interesting insights that can take your marketing to the next level.
So what are the most used marketing-related subreddits this year?
As well as the obvious hitters like r/marketing and r/DigitalMarketing, there are unrelated subreddits in which marketing topics crop up. For example, r/Entrepreneur and r/AskReddit have played host to thousands of marketing-related conversations this year.
Trawling these subreddits regularly can help you level up your marketing skillset. And if you have a specific skill in mind, like data interpretation, follow forums which focus on this area.
Another similar, low-effort method to improve your skills is joining marketing-related online communities. We always talk about the importance of marketers creating communities for customers, but getting involved in existing communities of fellow marketers shouldn’t be ignored either.
Whether you join a LinkedIn group dedicated to digital marketing, an SEO-related Facebook community, or even a regular in-person networking event, there are conversations happening right now which you might be missing out on.
After all, there have been over 47 million marketing related online mentions this year – why not tap into them?
There are plenty of places you can look to level up your skillset. Here are some examples:
- Listen to marketing podcasts, such as Marketing School with Neil Patel & Eric Siu.
- Follow YouTube channels to learn tips and tricks, like Ahrefs.
- Join Slack groups like Online Geniuses, a marketer-based Slack community. Or go more niche with channels like Superpath (specific to content marketing).
- Discover online communities, such as Brandwatch’s LinkedIn group, which is full of social media professionals spilling the latest social media tea.
Encourage your team to immerse themselves in the world of marketing and foster a culture of skill sharing. After all, the best new skill you learn might come from the person sitting next to you.
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