Marketing and advertising have seen some serious changes over the years. In previous years you may have killed to get into the town newspaper, but now that it just cluttered with vulgarity and pyramid schemes.

Those in the industry have conducted stunts, learned psychology, bought Adobe Suite, and became social media masters over the years. 

So, times are changing, what can we expect next? As digital marketing merges with traditional marketing there is one skill we may all soon need to know. Coding. Not extensively, no one will ask you to design their newest app (maybe), but basic HTML, CSS, and JavaScript may soon be beneficial. 

What is Coding?

I am just using short-term when I reference "coding." Basically, what I am referring to is computer programming, but more specifically, front-end development. Front-end development is typically made up of HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. This determines what the site-user will see on the website.

Your knowledge as a marketer would obviously not be as extensive as a developer, but a basic understanding will up your game. 

Why Would I need It?

Front-end developers, or those with a similar skill set, code out what the client ultimately ends up seeing. You may think this sounds ridiculous for a marketer to even touch on, but that is far from the truth. 

Email/Newsletter
Many programs that you use to send out your email blasts or newsletters have a selection of generic templates or drag-and-drop options. This may be great for a small business that has a time crunch, but for a marketing professional you can easily spice up your design with some basic HTML. Break out of the box, and create something everyone will love.

However, use caution and follow proper procedures so that it displays properly across a variety of devices. 

AdWords
JavaScript can be intimidating, but there is a place for it in the industry. Google allows you to edit scripts with a very basic understanding of JavaScript to automate AdWords. 

SEO
The lines are slowly blurring between the SEO professional and marketer. In many circumstances, they are the same, or they at least rely heavily on each other's skills. The first thing that comes to mind is ensuring that all metadata is correct. However, the more you code, the better your SEO will become. 

Slightly More Advanced Tweaks

• Adding and removing "noindex" tags
• Finally dealing with “rel=canonical” on your own
• Cleaning up the website code for a speedy site
• Dealing with 301 redirects

Analytics
Lastly, and one of the important ones for reporting, we have analytics. You need to know how to add tracking code into the HTML whether it is for Facebook Ads or Google Analytics. This is going to crucial for studying your audience and reporting back to your client. 

Where Do I start? 

This was not stressed in my classes in advertising. We were actually one of the first people to start getting digital media courses, let alone be encourage to learn to program. Maybe they were fearful that we would all go on and be developers? Either way, learning any language is incredibly intimidating. However, there are a ton of free and low cost resources out there to get you started. 

• Code Academy
• Khan Academy
• Coursera
• University Consortium
• Treehouse

If you prefer leaving it up to the professionals, we are happy to help. If you have any other coding tips or ideas for marketers, give us a shout on Twitter.