I have been a marketing practitioner for 38 years. And I am happy to report that my skill set has kept up with the latest marketing concepts and technologies. So, how do I stay abreast of the latest developments? Here is my list of the things that one can do to stay current:
- Hold a variety of marketing positions over time – I held positions in product management, new product development, trade marketing, brand management, brand licensing, advertising, promotion, media planning, marketing research, CRM, corporate communications and marketing management
- As a consultant, help other companies solve their marketing problems – I have helped more than 200 organizations in 60+ industries develop successful brand strategies
- Read every new marketing, marketing research, customer service, psychology and behavioral economics book that is published
- Read as many other genres as possible
- Go to marketing conferences and take lots of notes
- Speak at marketing conferences
- Attend marketing webinars and take lots of notes
- Develop marketing webinars
- Watch marketing “how to” videos on YouTube and Vimeo
- Volunteer to help not-for-profit organizations with their marketing
- Teach marketing as an adjunct professor at a local college or university
- Conduct marketing seminars at a local library
- Develop and produce marketing e-learning courses
- Publish a marketing blog – so far, I have written 1,460 posts for three different marketing blogs
- Create a marketing-related YouTube channel
- Create a marketing podcast
- Become a guest on other people’s podcasts
- Interview CMOs for your podcasts, videos and blog posts
- Write a book on marketing
- Write marketing-related articles for professional journals
- Volunteer to judge marketing competitions
- Join the local chapter of the American Marketing Association
- Join the local chapter of PRSA
- Join the American Advertising Federation
- Network with other marketers
- Create and publish a marketing industry survey to identify the latest marketing trends and issues
- Create websites and manage social media for your favorite hobbies and organizations – I manage five different Facebook pages for five different organizations in which I am involved
- Make sure you understand social media marketing, mobile marketing, CRM, email marketing, marketing automation, geofencing, retargeting and OTT and CTV marketing
- Use Chat-GPT in a variety of ways to make sure you understand it
This list may seem overwhelming but true experts never stop learning. They relentlessly explore deeper and deeper into every aspect of their field of expertise. And they do the same with closely related fields of expertise. This is how one becomes a world-class marketer.
I hope this provides you with some ideas of how you can stay at the top of your game throughout your marketing career.
