Introduction
What is the need for a digital marketeer to know programming ? When someone thinks of a digital marketeer, their mind conjures up images of glitzy ad campaigns, punchy tag-lines and sexy models donning Instagram & Facebook ads. But this is not all there is to it – it goes much deeper than that. Lot of data mining has to be done before creating an ad campaign.
Marketing is very data driven and knowing how to code is very useful. Knowing a programming language can make working with Google Analytics and Google Adwords much simpler and give you much more freedom in customization.
It is not uncommon, and in fact a standard practice for digital marketers to be fluent in many languages. It makes it more practical for marketers to be able to communicate with their developer colleagues.
Knowing some of the following languages will surely give you an edge over the competition. Read on to see how you can accentuate your resume and claim the position you might be yearning for.
How Digital Marketers Can Benefit from Learning to Code ?
It is not being advocated here to become a master of coding, but a basic familiarity can go a long way in enhancing your profile. Having a basic grasp of the fundamentals can multiply your involvement and contribution to your organization and thus make you stand-out among your fellow digital marketers.
Some of the advantages to learning coding are:
- Time-saving and serving as a source of inspiration for others
- Understanding the going-ons in the immediate work environment
- Enabling quick, necessary adjustments
- Enhancing communication with developers
Coding Skills
Python: This easy to master language for beginners is at the top of all tha digital marketing languages. It primes you for any data-related operations, by giving you practical experience in the know-how of data structures
HTML: This is available free for use and is easy to learn. With good versatility in web development, it is a great tool in the kitty of a digital marketeer
Structured Query Language ( SQL ): SQL puts the art of making data queries at your fingertips. For data analysis, this is an ideal tool for digital marketers
Java: This well embellished language let’s beginners take-off on their programming journey instantly. It is well suited to people who are from a non IT background and want to learn
JavaScript: Visual appeal is very important in digital marketing. With JavaScript you can create stunning websites with engaging interactive features, due to mainly its client side operation
PHP: This is used for web development and content management systems, which are important avenues for marketing. It is open source and server-side prejudiced. WordPress and Joomla use PHP
Ruby: Ruby is great for starting businesses as it quickly kickstarts projects due to its simple structure. It is very easy to learn and very popular as well
C: C is good for learning programming fundamentals. It is one of the oldest but still preferred languages among coders.
Bash: The distinguishing feature of Bash is the availability of a command line view and interactive characteristic. It is however not the first language you should learn, but is definitely easy to grasp
C++: While C is close to machine operating language, C++ presents the additional feature of object oriented programming over this. This makes it preferred for its robustness, agility and faster implementing times
Conclusion
So these are the top ten coding skills to go beyond the work of a simple digital marketeer. You can start with the ones you feel comfortable with. The best way is to practice on your own. One can also use some coding Apps from the internet, for practice. With patience and diligence, you will definitely attain a good level of mastery on the fundamentals soon enough!
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