Dive Brief:

• Upwork put together a list of the 20 most in-demand skills from marketing freelancers with Asana work training, Instagram marketing, A/B testing, brand strategy and Marketo marketing automation leading the way, per a blog post from Upwork Senior VP, Marketing, Rich Pearson, made available to Marketing Dive.
• One trend noted in the post was higher level skills like brand strategy and communications saw growth in Q1 with companies hiring marketing freelancers to help with annual planning.
• Other key trends revealed by the list include the importance of project management skills and the growing demand for videography-related skills.

Dive Insight:

By pinpointing the skills companies are looking for in marketing freelancers, Upwork's research highlights what the emerging skill set might include for forward-looking marketers, according to the company. Previous research from The Digital Marketing Institute suggests that because the digital landscape is quickly evolving, the only way to keep pace is through continuous professional development.  

For example, the high growth in demand for Instagram marketing skills last quarter makes sense as marketers increasingly use Instagram Stories to tell stories and place ads. As the platform starts to become a more standard part of marketing strategy, it is likely marketers will start to look for full-time staff to have expertise in this area. 

The need for project management skills is no surprise, but the growth in demand for Asana work training suggests it has become the project management tool of choice for marketing teams in Q1. Asana work training was the first non-tech skill to top the list of in-demand freelance talents.

Not surprisingly, videography talents are also in demand as marketers invest in more video content. Freelance skills around video that are in demand include storyboarding, sound editing and 3D animation.