Courtney Bosch is a content manager for e-learning at MarketingProfs and here are her thoughts on digital marketing:

1. What excites you the most about your industry?

   The connection between brands and their customers excites me most. With the advent of social media and the role of content marketing, I feel brands are able to reach people and make personal connections with them like never before. As a marketer and a consumer, this is exciting because marketing is no longer B2B or B2C, but rather H2H (human to human as noted in the new book by social strategist and author, Bryan Kramer.) 
   

2. What do you consider essential skills for a marketing team these days?

   Marketers have to be adaptable and flexible. It is no longer enough to simply go about your work in the "business as usual" mindset. Marketers have to understand the ever changing landscape they are now doing business in, and be willing to learn new skills or brush up on existing ones, to stay ahead of the game. 

3. What do you feel are the most underrated skills in a marketing team these days?

   People skills. I think it goes without saying that as a marketer you need to have good people skills to be able to relate to your customers and understand their needs. However, I think this is a skill that is taken for granted. 

4. What do you see as the biggest challenges for marketing professionals over the next 3 years?

   I think one of the challenges marketers will face over the next three years is spreading themselves too thin based on chasing the next big thing. I find a lot of marketers are so quick to jump on the bandwagon simply because of the launch of a new technology, tool or platform. Marketers need to keep focus on their core competencies and their customers before embarking on new ventures simply because of what their competitors are doing. 

5. How did you get the background and skills necessary?

   I have my undergraduate degree in Marketing and am currently pursuing my MBA. A lot of my knowledge came from my peers and professional mentors (i.e. my superiors, etc.) who taught me things I couldn't learn from a textbook. I also highly recommend keeping your skills sharp through conferences, webinars, training and other means. Don't be shy about asking your boss to help support your professional development needs. 

7. What advice would you give to young people who want to become a content marketer some day?
Find content marketers or organizations that you admire and engage with them - follow them on social media and stay on top of what they are doing. If it's feasible to intern or do some project work for them, go for it. Staying in the know when it comes to what current content marketers are doing will truly help you when the time comes to land your own content marketing role. 

Courtney Bosch is a content manager for e-learning at MarketingProfs, managing the curriculum for professional training programs. She is also a marketer by trade, a social media enthusiast, as well as a freelance writer and blogger. 
LinkedIn: Courtney Bosch
Twitter: @courtneybosch