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1. UI/UX Design
This entails creating stunning visual work to captivate the users while also taking into account their experience while using the product.
UX (User Experience) is the process of designing products that are both useful and interactive. Its sole focus is to enhance the experience of the user while using the product, ensuring they find value in what is being provided. Practicing design thinking which focuses on understanding the user’s behavior, motivation, goals, wants and needs to the product’s purpose.
UI (User Interaction) focuses on building aesthetically pleasing interfaces. They take into account the overall look and style, anticipating what the user’s decision may be while interacting with the product and therefore ensures the interface has elements that are easy to access and understand.
UI is about how it looks and UX is on how it works. Both require an understanding of the users needs but specializing in either UI or UX is a personal preference that depends on your particular skillset.
A company's product success is dependent on it's users and how they use their products. Fortunately, UI/UX design is a digital skills that is all about that. It's main purpose is to simplify complex information and in turn, help improve the business statistics and income.
2. Copywriting
This centralizes on making the maximum impact with your words. The purpose of the writing is to drive sales and ultimately persuade the reader to take a required action, turning reads into leads.
A copywriter is tasked with writing marketing material (also called sales copy or simply, copy) which assists the company in promoting its products and services and increasing its brand awareness. The writing must be clear and concise, specifically driving the reader towards the pre-determined action.
It is one of the essential elements of a successful online marketing strategy. For branding and marketing purposes, copywriters are incredibly important.
The copy created can either make or break the company and affect the amount of sales either positively or negatively and this is why they are on high demand in today's market.
3. Programming, Web & App Development (Coding)
Ever wondered how we interact with our computers or devices or what makes a particular website flow the way it does? Well, it is all thanks to the thousands of codes that have been put together
This is the heart of any digital company and there is a high level of demand for people with this skill.
Most popular technologies all run on codes. You do not need a college degree to get started.
Computer languages are used to develop apps and websites. Popular coding languages to learn are HTML, CSS, Java, Python, C language and PHP.
Over the years, it became obvious that coding is a skill that can be utilized in many aspects of business to improve customer experience, productivity, efficiency and security.
4. Content Marketing
This is a form of marketing strategy that is used to attract, engage and retain a specific target audience by creating, publishing and distributing relevant content. It answers questions your audience many have, helps build trust, generate leads and develop relationships.
This content can be in the form of blogs, videos, podcasts, e-books, e-mails or other media forms. The final goal is to turn prospects into customers and customers into lifelong buyers. The type of content shared is depended on the product or service offered.
A good content marketing strategy aims to provide value to the customers in a consistent manner. Today, customers expect consistent high quality content from their favourite brands to stay relevant.
5. Search Engine Optimization (SEO) & Search Engine Marketing (SEM)
This refers to the act of polishing websites to increase their performance in search engines like Google. While SEO focuses on optimizing a website’s content to get traffic from organic search results, SEM focuses on increasing the visibility and traffic from both organic and paid searches.
Both have a common goal of acquiring traffic, positioning the website in the search engine’s top list and building the company’s brand image through awareness. A major similarity is in the use of specific keywords to drive traffic toward a website.
Keywords are words or phrases typed by users in search engines when looking for products or services. These keywords give an idea of what your page or content is about. They are also called search queries.
In conclusion, they are both vital to businesses growth because it increases their visibility, builds traffic and heightens the opportunity to convert prospects into customers.
6. BLOCKCHAIN TECHNOLOGY
When you hear the word blockchain, you think of cryptocurrency (digital currency). Cryptocurrency is powered by blockchain technology but blockchain has promising potential beyond cryptocurrency.
A blockchain is a digitally distributed, decentralized, public ledger that exists across a network. The system is maintained in a way that makes it extremely difficult to hack or alter. It offers a secure platform for individuals to directly deal with each other without the interference of a third party (government or bank).
Most companies find it difficult to incorporate into their services due to a lack of understanding of how it works and unawareness of the technology. Today, there are 4 main pillars of blockchain technology which are: ICOs (Initial Coin Offerings), Smart Contracts, Cryptocurrency Wallets and Blockchain NFTs.
Blockchain Technology has been deemed the future of technology and has found its way into various industries such as Healthcare, FinTech, Agriculture, Retail, Education and Real Estate.
The job market is changing by the minute with the influx of new technologies and newer ones are yet to come. So, acquiring these skills would prove to be profitable in the future. You can always start learning for free by searching up free online courses, watching relevant videos, and reading related books. Or, you could sign up for a paid course and even obtain a certification of completion which could be included in your resume.