The Skills You Need for a Career in Fashion Digital

The digital division is one that has had the most changes in recent years. The advent of social media has led to the introduction of many new roles that did not exist before: social media manager, influencer relationship manager … as well as the figures related to e-commerce, clearly connected to the digital world, are increasingly in demand.
In general, the advent of digital and all its channels has not only led to the introduction of new careers, but has also impacted established roles such as those related to PR, communication and marketing, which have had to learn to measure new metrics to analyze and develop strategies in order to reach customers and optimize profits through these increasingly influential channels. In fact, online sales in the fashion industry are expected to increase from $ 481.2 billion 2018 to $ 712.9 billion by 2022 according to Statista. This is why digital will continue to be increasingly at the center of corporate strategies.

The generation that is preparing to enter the fashion industry, is a digital native. Therefore it is normal that many young talents want to work in the digital department to connect the passion for the fashion industry to a daily habit: the use of social media and the whole digital system.
However, it is not enough to know the social media at a personal level, in order to have the necessary skills to work in this department of the fashion industry. For a successful career in fashion digital, you need specific skills.

Most of the skills listed below and necessary for a digital career can be acquired on your own, thanks to the use of the Internet which provides us with access to sites, reports, Yotuube videos, podcasts and courses.

1. Social Media Management

With social media management skills, we obviously don’t mean the ability to post a photo on Instagram, Facebook or a Tweet. This takes for granted that everyone knows how to do it. You don’t add Explorer or Safari on your resume to your technical skills because it is obvious that we all know how to use Internet on a daily basis. The same goes for social media.
Social media management skills go beyond personal use.
Developing a social content calendar for a brand from here to at least the next month, with included captions, adequate hashtags, localizations, is a process studied down to the last detail, based on a general commercial strategy of the brand. The social media manager chooses to post a specific photo because a new campaign has been published on the brand’s website, the newsletter has been sent or a new product is launched. Everything must be connected. The copywriter will have created the best caption to communicate the campaign and the photo will be posted at a specific time depending on the launch of the campaign and the study of the insights that show when the majority of the public is online (which days, which specific time). The digital strategies of a company do not therefore only concern the world of social media or the online system, but involve the whole company and departments. Therefore, the skills of managing social media on a corporate level, of copywriting, of studying social media and its best practices (when to post, which hashtags to use ..) and of daily updating about these platforms and new algorithms , are the basic skills of those who want to deal with social media management. In addition, knowing how to manage not only organic content but also sponsored campaigns on all the different platforms: Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest is a plus. So it’s better if you know how they work and how to set up an ADV campaign from these platforms.

2. Influencer Marketing

It is impossible to work in fashion today and not knowing what the influencer marketing is. In fact, this new marketing strategy impacts all the company departments. The knowledge on influencer marketing does not only mean being aware that brands collaborate with influencers by giving products or an economic contribution in exchange for visibility on their channels. Influencer marketing is much more. Here too there is a team that develops a strategy: it chooses the right influencers for the campaign, establishes the budgets, coordinates with the rest of the company for new product launches and thanks to companies such as Launchmetrics, today brands can measure the MIV: Media Impact Value. So if you work or you want to work in digital you need to know which are the metrics to consider when evaluating a social campaign with influencers. If you are interested in a professional point of view, I suggest you download the free report on The State of the Influencer Marketing, where you find not only specific data and information on how the influencer marketing works, what figures and numbers we are talking about, but also the point of view of influencers and brands when it comes to collaborations. There is also an interview with Cristiana Monfardini Worldwide Communication Director of Fendi, who talks about their F..is for Fendi campaign, in case you need a practical example of how fashion brands study and use these strategies.

3. Google Analytics

Google is not only the tool that allows us to know anything, but its potential covers the entire digital system. That’s why it’s the number one tool to check and analyze site views or e-commerce sales. Even if you don’t work in e-commerce or as a digital editor, but with social media, you need to know Google Analytics and its main metrics. A social campaign, a magazine advertisement page or an influencer collaboration, must always be measured with a view to the common goal of all companies: increasing profits. So if this month you worked with an influencer or sponsored a post on social media, hired a celebrity, you will need to measure performance results by checking the impact generated on the website and the sales. The tool that tells you if there was an increase in traffic on a specific day, where the visits and sales come from, is Google Analytics. Fortunately Google offers free courses on the subject if you want to deepen it, and this certification is increasingly required by companies, so start taking this course.

4.Online Platforms (WordPress, E-commerce, Magento, CRM, Shopify)

To work in online publishing and then fill roles as a digital editor, online editor, blogger, as well as to work in e-commerce, you need to know how to use the main platforms. In general, the knowledge of WordPress is sufficient for those who will have to manage an online magazine or blog, since it is the most used CMS platform. You can practice with WordPress by starting your own free blog. As for e-commerce, each brand has its own management platform, but in general, knowing how Shopify or Magento works can give you an overall view and get familiar with the e-commerce system.

5. Graphic tools

Digital includes many different roles. Some, such as Digital Designer, require the development of graphics: social media posts, the newsletter, the website pages, digital invitations to events or fashion shows… Therefore a good basis for Photoshop, HTML and CSS, videos editing (After Effects) is always useful. Then, based on the role that you’ll choose, the level of knowledge of these tools must be deepened or not. On Youtube you will find lots of video tutorials on each program and how to develop code.

6. Writing and communication Skills

Digital jobs include PR, Marketing, Social and E-commerce careers. All these departments have communication at the center of their strategy. Without good communication, the (digital) PR would not be able to establish the relationships necessary with journalists, bloggers, influencers, brands, the social networks would not be able to create a connection with their customers and the e-commerce would fail to sell a product without even trying it. Therefore communication skills are essential for a career in digital.