Study highlights significant digital skills gap in Australia

Digital Chameleon’s ‘Digital IQ Index’ poll of 350 respondents working for agencies, media businesses and brands across Australia showed many sales and marketing professionals are hungry for digital marketing learning.

Only four per cent of respondents were familiar with social media marketing, while 11 per cent said they were not familiar with the platform at all.

It also revealed that just six per cent are very familiar with search and only three per cent are very comfortable with mobile.

Patty Keegan, director of Digital Chameleon, said most marketers are not equipped to meet the challenges of the digital world.

“These skill levels aren’t adequate for the competitive nature of fast evolving marketplaces where digital has taken center stage,” she said. “Just look at what digital has done to the music industry, book publishing, and newspapers; they lost rivers of gold classifieds to online businesses that hadn’t previously existed.”

Digital Chameleon added that companies can no longer hire their way out of a digital skills problem by relying on the digital or social media expert in the corner. 

In order to compete, the entire marketing team and ultimately those outside marketing, need to be digitally literate, it said.

“Our Digital IQ Index has highlighted that the leaders who acknowledge the digital skills gaps and put in place initiatives to improve them, will have the marketing teams that are equipped to compete in their marketplace,” Keegan added.