I was in my gym a few days ago with a father of one of my son’s friends discussing their careers. Both are in jobs that didn’t even exist a few years ago but are now an important part of the new technology-based working landscape. My son is an e-commerce assistant and his friend works in social media marketing. Both are part of a raft of new opportunities brought by technological change.

For the L&D sector that means there will be opportunities in roles that are yet to be created and those that are currently in vogue. This is a rapidly changing market where trainers will have to meet the new challenges that are coming. Here are some of the areas that are currently flavour of the month:

Social media marketing

This is an area which is bound to grow. Companies are beginning to realise the importance of feedback and recommendations from others before buying. Good and bad responses can have a major impact. Building and developing a business that consumers trust and will buy from will be important. Social media marketing is an area set to grow in the next few years. For the L&D sector it will mean showing clients how they can maximise their impact on their market.

E-commerce

Any company not selling online is losing money. It is a sure-fire way to get products and services to a wider market. Building the online framework and web presence along with how to boost e-sales and get repeat business will be crucial. L&D will need to respond to these challenges as e-commerce becomes a dominant force in selling and evolves over time.

Relationship building

Going hand in hand with the two above this area is critical in helping businesses develop. A lot of companies will need to know how to do this and create the K-L-T (know-like-trust) for their business. This could come in a number of ways including article marketing and email marketing. The challenge here is to develop long-term sustainable relationships that will help businesses grow.

Blogging

Another new field that has taken off in recent years through the internet is blogging. People writing about what they know and building a loyal following. This can be anything from fashion to fruit cakes. Some bloggers have massive followings and can help businesses by recommending them. It can also lead to joint ventures and working with the blogger to develop a market. Blogging is a good way to build long-term trust and business which companies need to understand better.

Internet marketing

This is not simply putting items out there and selling online. A key part is relationship building and you will need to understand how to email and name capture people using ‘squeeze pages’ and then start giving them good quality information using an ‘auto responder ‘about your service or product. IM is for the long-term and the know-like-trust comes in here. Trainers will need to understand that this is part of the new consumption model of how people buy. 

Podcasting

In today’s world people consume and buy differently. Having podcasts means you can record information and deliver it directly to your audience about what you do and what you provide. You no longer need to book studio time or spend thousands on equipment it can all be done cheaply and edited on free software. These can be posted online giving another strand to building credibility in your market.

YouTube

One of the fastest ways to reach an audience is to have a video that you put on YouTube. If it goes viral and reaches a huge audience you have really cracked it. Understanding how these work are crucial to business. There are some people who have built and developed businesses simply by building a portfolio of videos that people watch. Again this builds your KLT with your target audience.

Webinars

Another way to build an audience and credibility is holding webinars. Using these you can communicate directly with those who join and again build your reputation and relationship with people. Webinars help to talk to more than one person and can help drive up business.  

L&D professionals will need to respond to these new challenges and keep constantly updating their knowledge and understanding. There is no time to stand still in today’s technological world. What is flavour of the month today might be gone tomorrow. Responding to new roles in these sectors and meeting the shifting demands that each technological revolution brings will be crucial in meeting training needs in the future.