Digital Is Not An Option. Learn These 4 Things.

If you’re reading this, you’re probably in Gen Y, which is the generation that “gets digital”. We grew up with it, we use it every day, it’s woven into every piece of our lives. Despite this, I’ve come to realize that using it and understanding it are two different things.

What’s the difference between WordPress and Tumblr? Why would you use exact keyword matching instead of phrase? What’s the importance of using alt tags on images?

If you don’t know the answers to these questions, you should do your best to learn them – either through classes or delving into it on your own. Having a working knowledge of social media, paid search, SEO, CMS, CSS/HTML, analytics, and other digital marketing practices can help you advance your career and differentiate yourself amongst other candidates. Don’t know where to start? That’s what this post is for.

1 | Learn CSS/HTML

HTML and CSS are two basic web languages that can have a huge return for your career. Together, they will enable you to build and design web pages as well as greatly improve your blogging capabilities. Most marketing jobs these days require a basic knowledge of the two to help maintain WordPress, Tumblr, Email templates and other web properties, so its important to understand the difference between these content management platforms and how to customize them. My favorite free tutorial is with Tuts+, which walks you through everything from the very basics.

2 | Understand Analytics

Creativity is the foundation of advertising, however clients are now looking to quantitative metrics to measure the effectiveness of such efforts. Therefore, it’s important to understand analytics so that you can optimize campaigns moving forward and backup your strategy in presentations. Google Analytics is a free tool that is widely used. It has all the functionality you need to gain an understanding of analytics, and there are plenty of tutorials out there. I recommend installing Google Analytics on your personal site or blog to get familiar with the basic metrics.

3 | Stay Active On Social Media

Social media profiles are replacing the resume, so its important to be active on as many platforms as possible – Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, Foursquare, Pinterest, etc. You need to build an online presence and personal brand by curating and creating content that represents your interests and shows thought leadership. It doesn’t have to be all about business either. Companies want to see your true personality, interests, and more, so don’t be shy about posting your thoughts and non-industry insight – within reason anyway. Beyond building a personal brand, it’s important to be familiar with as many platforms as possible. People made fun of me for using Pinterest in the beginning saying it was girly. Now, they’re asking for invites and advice on how to use it effectively.

4 | Read Every Day

TechCrunch, Mashable, Fast Company, The Next Web, Betabeat, GigaOm, VentureBeat, AllThingsD, SEOmoz, SearchEngineLand – the list could go on for days. It doesn’t matter which ones you’re reading, just that you’re reading them consistently. Technology moves fast, so its important to keep up with all the latest trends, companies, and news. You don’t have to know everything, just be familiar enough to hold a basic conversation and use the right terminology.

In conclusion, understanding digital isn’t an option anymore, and can be a huge competitive advantage for your career. The amount of information may seem overwhelming at first, however once you get the basics you’ll likely fall in love.