The digital marketing industry is becoming more competitive, so it pays to try and expand your skill set wherever possible. Assuming you’ve got the basic skills down in your chosen field – PPC, SEO, etc – which others can you take on that’ll provide real value, but that are less well known?

In short, how can you set yourself apart?

Despite video itself being pretty ubiquitous, you might be surprised just how few digital marketers are capable of whipping up a video with even minor edits. This, despite YouTube widely being considered the web’s second largest search engine! If you can demonstrate to employers that you can help them harness the world of video, you’ll immediately be seen as more valuable.

In the post-panda, post-penguin world, the days of ‘conning’ Google are long-gone. The only way to get SEO results is to build genuine relationships with your market. If you can demonstrate an ability to manage and communicate with a number of other users online, you’re definitely ahead of many applicants. How can you build your skills? A number of ways: you could get experience being forum admins, managing larger social media accounts or using e-mail lists. Any knowledge of mass communication will be beneficial.

A more efficient candidate is a more valuable candidate! The majority of the web’s most successful marketers use automation in some way. Some make use of e-mail auto-responders, others will use social media tools to schedule their posts or arrange blogs to go out according to a set schedule. More advanced sellers will set up entire funnels to work automatically. The more you can learn about automation, and the more you can demonstrate your knowledge, the better.

Now, we’re not suggesting you need to be able to custom build an app from the ground up. (Though it won’t hurt if you can!) However, if you’re able to modify websites and pages using basic HTML and CSS knowledge, you’ll instantly be more valuable than someone who can’t. Development work is expensive, and if you can save your potential employer time and money by being able to make basic changes yourself, you’ll be ahead of the competition.