Hi friends and followers. The research on NZ small business social media marketing training needs that I co-authored last year has been published by the International Journal of Advanced Science and Technology.

In short, we found out that email marketing, marketing automation and video marketing are top social media marketing skills currently recognised and required by SMEs. Interestingly, research participants often pointed out the problematic nature of existing training in relation to video content production. It came as no surprise that many SMEs we interviewed tend to outsource video marketing as there is a lack of training available.

Overall, the following training priorities have emerged: 1) understanding customers’ needs/preferences and behaviour online; 2) designing social media-friendly customer services that are relevant to target markets; 3) designing effective strategies via marketing automation; 4) creating targeted content for video marketing. Plus, networking and ongoing support after trainings were perceived as value adding services that should be included in training offerings.

The list of top social media marketing skills may be different next year, but today it’s in line with some future skills predictions. This definitely provides some food for thought.