With the world of digital marketing getting ever bigger, companies and organisations throughout the country are sizing up a big investment in their recruitment drives.

With the continuing shift to social, the top skill set likely to be hired over the next few years is in the digital and social arena. Recent industry research has shown that  54% of companies are set to look for applicants that can provide such talents this year.

Online writers too are in big demand, with the research also showing that 44% of marketers are looking to invest big in content creation.

Big data and analytical staff are also on the radar. With more and more information being collected by firms, such as customer spending trends, habits and preferences, there is set to be an uplift in investment in this area of around 33%.

Conversely, the research also found that traditionally sought marketing skill sets are less of a hunt.

It found that just 24% of enterprises are looking to take on staff with their speciality in creative services, for example. Meanwhile, only 22% of companies are looking for people with expertise in branding.

The continued use of handheld devices, such as smartphones and tablets, is also driving further investment, with 30% of marketers looking to target mobile strategy workers as their prime focus. This is also the platform that most professionals polled in the survey expect to be the main thrust for customer engagement in the near future.

The research showed that, at the moment, 24% of marketers see mobile platforms as the key driver for engaging with their customer base. However, it went on to show that 70% expect it to fuel interaction over the next three to five years.

Social presently acts as the key driver for 38% of marketers, with this set to rise to 50% in the same time frame.

Steven Morris