If you’ve interviewed marketing candidates straight out of college, you’ve likely noticed a surprising trend. These rising young professionals may be sharp, thoughtful digital natives–but all too often, they don’t have the online marketing skills required in today’s marketplace. The reason? University marketing departments are behind the curve.
The center of gravity for much of the marketing world has moved online. In my firm’s area of specialty, professional services, the landscape has changed quickly from one of brochures and direct mail to online content marketing and social media campaigns. In a study of more than 1,000 professional services purchasers, we found that more than 80% of buyers look to a firm’s website to check them out, making websites the most commonly used resource for initial purchasing evaluations.
Most businesses recognize that the rules are different than they were only a handful of years ago. But it’s increasingly clear that colleges haven’t caught up with the rapid pace of transformation online, and students are paying the price.
What Students Learn–And What They Lack
Typically, university marketing programs offer courses in topics like marketing analytics, quantitative analysis, marketing research techniques, and marketing management. These are useful skills, but they often haven’t been recontextualized for a fast-moving world of digital marketing.
But the most serious problem lies in the topics students don’t cover at length–or at all. The list is long: Content marketing, search engine optimization, social media, marketing software skills (think CRMs, content management systems, and marketing automation), online lead generation strategies, and more. All of these skills have at least one thing in common: they’re the bread and butter of successful digital marketing programs. But they are chronically under-taught in universities.
For marketing students to succeed in the industry, they will need (at minimum) training in three key areas.
1. Content Marketing And SEO
Closing business used to be a matter of the hard sell, but this is no longer the case. Consumers today have become more skeptical of direct pitches. Instead, they’re seeking out firms that have demonstrated their expertise, can educate them, and that can help address their challenges.