Over the years, we’ve all developed some bad habits as marketers. Some may be a result of our environment, while others have been self inflicted. As more and more bad habits enter our digital marketing routine, there is less room for healthy exercises to keep us strong.
The most recent CMO Survey uncovered that CMOs consistently rate the level of their staff’s marketing knowledge as average. So while marketing spend and production are increasing, the level of marketing knowledge isn’t following suit.
Avoid a marketing rut by beginning a digital marketing training routine to build strength and endurance over time. To give you a kickstart, we’ve provided the 5 brain training exercises below that will help you down the path to building your marketing muscles.
#1 – Make the Time to Learn
To start, it’s important to get into a routine that allows you to absorb new information each day. You can look both within and outside your organization for helpful resources to further your marketing knowledge.
Set aside some time on your calendar and make it a point to consume content from other marketers on a daily basis. Blog content can be easy to consume (and share) so set a goal of reading at least 2-3 blog posts from other smart marketers each day. If you’re short on time, tools like Spreed can make content consumption a breeze
In addition to reading the content published by our team on TopRankBlog.com below are some additional resources that I visit often:
#2 – Push Yourself to Try New Things
Venturing outside of your normal routine can be scary but the benefits can be great. As consumer needs evolve, the way that marketers deliver information needs to change as well.
Start by making a list of digital marketing tactics that you want to begin incorporating into your marketing strategy and then do your due diligence to research examples and best practices for your top three.
While the concept of video, interactive or live content might seem overwhelming at first, you’ll quickly find that there are some simple steps you can take to begin testing these tactics and adding those that work into your routine.
#3 – Get Certified
It’s important to level up your training routine on a consistent basis. One way to do that is by becoming certified. You’d be surprised at how impactful it can be to take the time to get marketing certified in a variety of areas. If you want to continue your education but aren’t interested in going back for an MBA, you may want to consider some of the certification programs (free and paid) below:
- Hootsuite: Social Media Marketing Certification
- Google: AdWords Certification
- Google: Analytics Certification
- HubSpot: Inbound Marketing Certification
#4 – Set Your Goals Up Front
Large or small, it’s important to set goals for your digital marketing training. What do you want to learn, execute and measure by a specific date? Determining what your goals are early on can be incredibly helpful in sticking to your routine.
For example, if you want to add influencer driven content to your marketing strategy, create a plan to find out what steps need to be taken, and how you’ll “train” to get there.
#5 – Be Patient & Stick with the Program
If you don’t feel like you’re getting the results you want right away, don’t get discouraged.
Learning how to add new marketing skills to your arsenal takes time and dedication. Some weeks you’ll see a lot of progress in your increased knowledge and application, while other weeks will be a bit slower.
Keep following your learning routine and you’ll begin to see the impact that it has on the progress of your digital marketing development.
Put Your Brain Training Into Action
Just like with anything, you will get out of this training what you put in. You may find that some training exercises aren’t quite right for you, but you can quickly replace them with something that does keep you on track.
The hardest part is to take the first step and make a commitment to yourself to train on a daily basis. What digital marketing exercises have you added to help keep you sharp?
