Marketing moves fast. These 5 skills will help you keep up in 2026

The marketing industry has always been fast-paced. But 2025 gave us whiplash.

AI, of course, was the main driver of change. But tighter budgets, shifting privacy laws and rising consumer expectations all played their part.

As we hurtle into 2026, here are the top 5 skills marketers will need to stay future-ready – plus practical ways you (and your team) can start building them now.

1. Commercial and financial acumen

If 2025 taught us anything, it’s that marketers can’t afford to operate in a silo.

To earn your seat at the executive table, you need a clear understanding of broader business goals and the ability to align your work accordingly. That means speaking the language of revenue, margin, retention and growth.

It’s no longer enough to report on impressions and engagement. You need to show how your marketing efforts contribute to the metrics that matter across the business.

Marketers who can link creative strategy to commercial outcomes will be the ones leading the pack in 2026.

How to build this skill:

• Get familiar with your company's financial statements and key performance indicators beyond marketing. What are the revenue targets? What's the customer acquisition cost relative to lifetime value? Which products or services drive the most margin?
• Schedule regular conversations or sit in on meetings with colleagues in sales, finance and operations. Understanding their challenges will help you position marketing as a strategic growth lever rather than a cost centre.
• Once you have a better understanding of the big picture, you can build a stronger business case for your campaigns. And map out projected return in terms the CFO will recognise.

2. Data literacy

Data has always been the backbone of marketing.

But with AI tools generating more insights than ever, the real skill isn't accessing data – it's knowing what to do with it. Can you spot a meaningful trend versus statistical noise? Do you know which marketing metrics drive business outcomes?

Raw numbers don't tell stories. You do.

If you can interpret data, ask the right questions and translate findings into more effective, targeted marketing, you’ll have a decisive edge in 2026.

How to build this skill:

• Make sure you understand key statistical concepts like correlation versus causation, sample size and statistical significance. Blogs or online courses can get you up to speed quickly.
• Then, practice working with your campaign data. Pull reports, look for patterns and ask yourself: what's really driving performance here?
• Be inquisitive and analytical. When someone presents data, ask how it was collected, what might be missing and what the numbers really say about your audience. Critical thinking matters as much as technical skill.

3. AI fluency

In the early days, being AI savvy meant knowing how to coax good content out of LLMs. But in 2026, true AI fluency goes far beyond crafting a clever ChatGPT prompt.

Today, different AI platforms can predict the best email send times, auto-generate high-performing ad variations, identify hidden audience clusters – the list goes on.

The future lies in weaving these platforms into a seamless system that enhances performance at every touchpoint.

You don’t need to master every tool out there. But you do need to be able to navigate the wider AI ecosystem: to understand what’s possible, how tools connect and where to apply them in your organisation for the biggest impact.

How to build this skill:

• Map your marketing workflow and identify high-effort or repetitive tasks. Then, explore which AI tools might help you manage them. Think Midjourney for visuals. Optimizely for dynamic content delivery. Pecan for predictive analytics.
• Investigate any untapped features of the tools you already use. Mailchimp now offers predictive segmentation that can dramatically improve campaign targeting. And Salesforce’s Einstein tools can score leads based on conversion likelihood and automatically tweak customer journeys based on engagement.
• Spend time exploring and identifying which platforms and features align best with your workflows. With the right setup, your efficiency will skyrocket – and you’ll wonder how you ever worked without it.

(Remember to use AI responsibly. ADMA’s AI Governance Toolkit is a smart companion as you scale, helping you stay ethical, privacy-compliant and on the right side of regulation.)

4. Privacy awareness and compliance

In a post-cookie world, marketers must get comfortable navigating a consent-based data model.

That means reviewing what data you actually need and ensuring you have active consent from your customers to collect and use it.

Consumers are more privacy-aware than ever, so it’s essential to prioritise transparency and make sure your storage practices meet today’s security standards.

Mishandling data is a fast track to reputational and financial damage.

How to build this skill:

• Stay on top of evolving legislation, from Australia’s ongoing privacy reforms to global standards like GDPR. You can find the latest regulatory news and resources on the ADMA website. And if you haven’t already, join our newsletter for updates sent straight to your inbox.
• Spend some time auditing what data you collect. Make sure you’re requesting only what’s essential – and that you’re storing it securely.
• Ensure your privacy policy is written in clear, plain language. Make it easy for customers to manage their data preferences and ensure everyone on your team understands their role in maintaining compliance.
• Consider enrolling in one of ADMA’s regulatory courses to ensure your approach is airtight.
  
  

5. Content Strategy

AI has democratised content creation. Anyone can now generate articles, reports and social posts in seconds. Which means people’s feeds are becoming increasingly saturated. Standing out now comes down to one thing: strategy.

In 2026, marketers must think beyond creation and approach narrative, channel, timing and audience holistically. Otherwise, they risk adding to the slop.

How to build this skill:

• Study what's working in your niche. Which content gets shared and linked to. Look for patterns in topic, structure and distribution.
• Then, when planning your own content, start with intent. Before creating anything, ask: why does this need to exist? How is it serving our audience?
• Map your content to the customer journey, thinking about the questions people are asking at each stage and what kind of content best answers those questions.
• Treat distribution as seriously as creation. The best content means nothing if it doesn't reach the right people at the right time.

Bottom line: creation is instant. Cut-through isn’t. That’s what strategy delivers.

Ready to sharpen your skillset in 2026? ADMA’s NextGen Marketer courses are designed to future-proof your marketing career. Take a look.