Membership Update Spring 2024

Depending on where you are in the world, you’re either enjoying the seasonal blossoms (or pollen) or enjoying some autumnal colours. Whatever the season, we’re always focussed on our mission to help our members continue their learning, by bringing you more insights, practical tips, and new topics, and for us all to stay curious! 

Since I last checked in with you at the end of the year, we’ve had 4 webinars, 1 webinar series, and 7 podcasts, as well as plenty of toolkits, articles, and videos to keep you informed in this dynamic world of digital marketing. We’ve also seen our community become very active on our social media channels, particularly LinkedIn, where you can follow along to see all our upcoming events and join in discussions. 

Monthly Webinars

Well, yesterday’s webinar on AI for Copywriting was a smash! If you were there watching Kerry Harrison, you’ll have learned lots of new ways to use four key AI tools, ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, and Copilot (which still surprises people). She presented really practical demos on the pros and cons of the different tools, while reminding us how to balance the efficiency of AI with the creativity and common sense of the human. You can hear more about Kerry’s stance on this on the podcast we released for International Women’s Day.  

We had a record number of registrants at the webinar and, thanks to your feedback, we know that AI is a topic you definitely want to keep learning about! Below are the results of the poll we ran to see how many of the attendees are already using AI tools: a clear majority.

Industry Trends

We’re always keeping an eye on trending topics that look like having some staying power. So we’ve covered issues like TikTok as a search engine, possible opportunities with Threads, the latest on Reddit, the changes brought in by Google and Yahoo email in February, and the latest in programmatic advertising.   

We’ve been wanting to cover the practicalities of short-form video and in January we had an excellent, practical webinar with Zack O’Rourke – you can catch that on-demand, or read our blog summary.

We continue to update our go-to list of AI tools for digital marketers (that’s one to bookmark) and have done some research into how you can use AI for your job search. And if you missed it, do go back and watch our webinar with Morgan Cummins on the tricks to successful job-hunting in 2024.

GA4 is not going away and just before our 2-part webinar series about it in March, we had Chris Coomer and Cathal Melinn on the podcast to discuss both the frustrations and glimmers of light on the platform. 

Don’t forget to also bookmark this blog, which has tips on all the ways you can keep up to date on what’s happening out there: The Digital Marketer’s Guide - 9 Simple Ways to Stay Relevant and Up-to-Date

Podcast News

We were rather chuffed (that is, pleased) to welcome Rand Fishkin to the DMI podcast where he was characteristically generous with his insights and wisdom from his years in the industry. We will be welcoming him back to do a live webinar in the summer.

Other podcasts you can catch up on include an entertaining chat with the founder of social media management platform Agora Pulse, and some insights into the world of data security and AI. And one of our most interesting conversations to date was with Roy Sexton on heading up marketing at a global law firm while keeping his theatrical interests close to his heart. 

Did you know? Each episode is now on our YouTube channel as a full video podcast. Feel free to subscribe there and share episodes.

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What’s Coming Up

We’re setting up the mics for new podcasts, such as one on the digital nomad lifestyle and on LinkedIn, which many consider to be the hot platform of 2024.

A key topic everyone is keen to learn about is where search marketing is going, in the wake of the momentous changes being created by AI. We’re keeping a close eye on this and are planning to keep you informed: starting with Friday’s podcast which is a conversation with Luke O'Leary, a VP of media operations at Neil Patel Digital. 

Upcoming webinars:

• Our May webinar will focus on new ideas for your social media strategy with Mark Pollard of Sweathead.
• In June we’re lining up another series on AI-related marketing with Will Francis. 
• In July we’ll have Rand Fishkin reviewing where we’re at with 2024’s trends.

Our Glossary – already the largest online digital marketing glossary out there – is undergoing an update and will shortly have hundreds of new terms added. 

Keep an eye on the videos section where we’ve curated some clips for you of real career stories and practical walkthroughs. We’ll continue to add more AI-specific walkthroughs.

AI and You

As you know, we always want to hear what our members think of digital marketing developments and trends. That's why we asked in our recent survey for your opinions on the impact of AI on marketing and your skillset.

As usual, the insights were very valuable and will not only help us to develop content that can help you navigate this new age of AI but also inform our course content. 

We found that while 60% of marketers are familiar with AI and its applications in marketing (and may already use it), 40% have not implemented any AI-driven initiatives in their business.

Could this be because marketers are still trialling the various AI tools out there to see how they can be useful or adopting a more gradual and cautious approach to integration? Or indeed, are looking for advice on strategies to put in place to make best use of tools within teams and organizations?

When it comes to the benefits of using AI in a marketing role, here are some of the highlights we found:

• 68% of marketers say it's the automation of routine tasks.
• 46% believe it's improved customer experience.
• Improved targeting and segmentation is cited by 45% as a benefit, followed by enhanced personalisation at 44%.

For AI know-how, 54% of marketers believe the current level of AI skills on their team is low, while 84% would invest in AI training to upskill their team - 68% of them with DMI.

We also learned that AI skills are in demand. 64% of members said that they are more likely to hire a new employee who had an AI certification vs. someone who didn't.

This is food for thought if you're looking to progress or kickstart your career.

AI and Us

We at the DMI editorial team have, like so many others, been getting used to using AI tools for some everyday tasks, such as summarizing transcripts, totting up calculations, and helping with keyword research.

We have also been following the general conversation about AI in the media and discussing issues of authenticity and ethical AI use with our subject matter experts – such as with Rand Fishkin and Kerry Harrison.

We want to let you know that it is the DMI editorial team’s policy that no content is created using AI alone, and all original content is written the old-fashioned way: in the case of this newsletter by the very human me. 

In cases where content is created with the use of AI – such as imagery, text, video, and so on – that will be indicated. If you’re interested in submitting your work for consideration in the library, note that we do not accept any AI-generated content. 

Premium content for power members

If you’re a Power member and are CPD-eligible, make sure to keep track of all available resources to boost your CPD credits.To refresh your memory about CPD points check our knowledge base.

Here’s a reminder of what is eligible for CPD credits: 

• eBooks - Explore all in-depth ebooks
• Toolkits - See which ones you might find useful 
• Webinars - Live and on-demand
• Short Courses - 9 courses covering a variety of topics 

That’s enough of a rundown to keep you caught up! Don’t forget, if you’d like to write something for us, or share a handy template or tool you’ve made, you can submit your work here.  

Do please get in touch if you have topics you’d like to see us cover or have other comments at membership@digitalmarketinginstitute.com.