What skills do marketers need in 2025?
“New year, new job” might be a cliché, but it’s one for a reason: January can be when people take stock and consider if they are happy in their current role.
With that in mind, it’s important to know what skills recruiters are looking for, and what areas are in demand.
But before we look at some of the most in demand skills, what is happening in the Scottish marketing recruitment industry as a whole?
For Brian Fraser, Associate Director at MAC Recruit Group, there has been a change in the way recruiters are thinking: “The days of hiring quickly to fill seats are gone. Companies are more calculated now because they’ve been burned. In 2025, it’s about finding marketers who bring both technical and soft skills: solid technical know-how and the soft skills to make it all work.
“Things like stakeholder management, cultural fit, attitude, passion and soft skills come into play…it’s about being adaptable, being able to convince and have conversations, and being able to win over stakeholders.”
Meanwhile, Kerry McFarlane, Director at Nine Twenty Recruitment, noted that Scotland is starting to see a chokepoint for mid-level marketers. She explained: “Senior-level marketing salaries in Scotland have remained static over the last 3–5 years, with few roles exceeding £85,000. Entry-level salaries, however, have risen to £25,000–£28,000, creating a bottleneck for mid-level professionals earning £35,000–£50,000 for up to a decade of experience."
According to Sally Rae, Business Manager at Eden Scott, the creativity of the Scottish marketing sector has never been in such high demand.
"As our start-ups, scaling companies and international brands gear up to compete on the global stage, the demand for, particularly, senior talent who can bring together the various elements of the mix to drive commercial success is high.
Marketing professionals are invariably taking their seat at the top table now, and given the uncertain economic outlook in 2025, businesses will be relying heavily on the creative industries to drive customer acquisition."
What does all this mean? Well, with more consideration given to hiring and a bottleneck for mid-level marketers wanting to take that next step, upskilling and tweaking your CV to hit what is needed for the job is essential.
Below are three of the top skills that marketers need to succeed in 2025 – either to have basic knowledge for a generalist role, or for a specialist role.
Paid media knowledge
Paid media specialists were in demand in 2024, and this trend looks to continue in 2025. With research from WARC finding that online advertising accounts for slightly more than 58% of total marketing spend—and expectations that online video and social media spend will increase in 2025—it’s no wonder this is a key area for recruitment and an important skill for marketers.
McFarlane said: “Paid media is now in higher demand than PPC, with social ads, sponsored content, and programmatic advertising increasingly grouped under the same umbrella. Many businesses are unsure about the specific expertise they need in this space, leading to a growing focus on educating clients.”
Ability to be data-driven…including AI
AI might be the buzzword on everyone’s lips when it comes to skills you need, but in marketing it is more than just knowing your way around a ChatGPT query.
Fraser noted: “In Scotland, we’re seeing more data-heavy roles, like CRO specialists and AI-focused positions, which were once rare here but more common down south. At the same time, AI-generated content is everywhere, making authenticity in marketing more important than ever. It’s all about staying ahead of the curve—these tools are here to enhance what we do, not replace it.”
Training courses on AI as well as learning more about how to analyse data—from GA4 to Power BI—therefore can help make a CV shine, whether you are looking to be promoted internally or get a new role.
Influencer and creator marketing
Influencer marketing is still big business, with research should that over 50% of brands plan to increase budget spend on influencers and creators in 2025. And it’s no wonder, given that 54% of the UK are more likely to trust an influencer’s sponsored post over one from an A-list celebrity, and that 51% admit to have purchased a product promoted by an influencer.
However, with this sector booming, companies are struggling to find senior marketers with those skills.
McFarlane explained: “Influencer marketing and partnerships is ever evolving and there is a shortage of leaders in this space who have experience overseeing large campaigns, this is still an area often lumped into social media and so this is an area struggling to find true senior specialists.”
Rae explained: "Despite some challenges around trust and the changing dynamic relating to the ownership of the various channels, influencer marketing will still play an essential role in the mix in 2025. Finding senior marketers who can drive value from this tactic and build it into a broader strategy is crucial for 2025. Finding those with the right level of experience in this is not easy.
No matter your career goals in 2025, we wish you luck – remember to check out our CIM Scotland events throughout the year to stay on top of trends and meet like-minded marketers.