Over the last decade, there has been an enormous shift in the landscape of business technology. The invention and proliferation of no-code tech have revolutionized the way in which business leaders plan and execute everything from web and app development to large-scale digital transformations.

Before low-code or no-code technologies, barriers were set in place that limited who could develop and maintain web applications and projects. Companies needed large budgets and long turnaround times in order to accomplish small initiatives, creating a technological bottleneck. But no-code technology has given businesses the ability to develop and maintain complex applications with little to no engineering help. In fact, Gartner predicts that 65% of all app development will be conducted in “no-code” environments by 2024. A tremendous amount of work will rely upon technologies that didn’t exist (at least in an accessible way) just a few years ago.

This shift to greater accessibility through technology is being echoed in other spheres as well. A new type of creative technology has emerged as an invaluable tool for marketing teams, what I like to call “no-pro” tech. This category of technology enables people who lack professional or technical experience in a creative field to accomplish tasks that typically would require years of technical practice and knowledge. Everything from graphic design, animation, video editing, interactive content development and podcast production is now possible for marketing professionals with no-pro tools.

Designing The Future With No-Pro Creative

One thing is becoming increasingly clear: Remote work, in some capacity, is here to stay. This means teams are becoming more reliant on their own tech stacks to maintain efficiency and keep content production consistent.

No-pro technology can help democratize the production of creative work. Tools like Canva, Snappa and Adobe Spark have changed the way marketers view graphic design. Teams are no longer entirely reliant on professional designers or high-priced design firms to fill content calendars. Anyone on a team, with a little time and some well-designed templates, can create beautiful graphics for social media, marketing content, sales assets or even printed materials. This is essential for the fast-paced nature of today’s digital landscape and the demand for content from today’s audiences.

When polled, marketing executives said they saw a 44% increase in demand for design assets in 2020. It’s clear that marketing teams must be agile enough to go from concept to social media feed in hours — not weeks or months.

Since no-pro technology lowers barriers to creative production, businesses are able to expand their creative workforce without actually increasing employee headcount. This means that for a fraction of the cost of outsourcing, an entire team has the ability to create professional-quality content.

How To Use No-Pro To Future-Proof Your Martech Stack

While the events of 2020 helped usher in a new era of digital marketing, no-pro innovations have eased the pain of restructuring. Marketing teams have moved from conference rooms to a digital workspace and have adopted remote work as their norm. This means that creative production processes have moved entirely online, which poses a threat to efficiency. Most no-pro technologies are cloud-based, solving pain points in production processes like feedback or transferring and management of assets.

The standard approach to creative production is changing forever. Although marketers are wearing more hats than ever before, they are becoming more efficient in how they work. The advent of no-pro tech can facilitate this efficiency by giving autonomy to marketers, therefore enhancing productivity.

Here are some of the ways marketing teams can leverage no-pro tech to enhance the way they operate:

1. Streamline Marketing Organizational Structures 

No-pro technologies naturally allow for flatter team structures, which marketers should take advantage of and prioritize more efficient processes. Develop shorter production times by empowering your in-house team to handle the execution. Give them autonomy and the freedom to create content. New ideas will emerge as more voices are given space in the development process, which will likely lead to better content.

2. Develop A Content Strategy

Anyone who has browsed Instagram, TikTok or even LinkedIn recently, knows that social media is becoming more visual than ever before. Video dominates every feed and platform. In fact, 78% of users watch videos online each week, and 55% of those watch daily. In a previous article, I spoke on how we’ve entered a “golden era” of video, and no-pro technology is one of the driving factors behind this shift.

Marketing teams should rethink how they produce visual content, understanding that production may require less effort and hours invested, meaning they should utilize that time saved. Allow your team to be creative and experiment with new forms of content. This will help them not only discover winning strategies but become more efficient and support their professional development in the process.

3. Enhance Skill Sets 

As no-pro technology is transforming the future of creative production, the role of content marketers is also evolving. This presents both a challenge and an opportunity for marketing professionals. As marketers seek to keep up with a changing landscape, they should look for ways to elevate their skillset and differentiate themselves. Strengthening skills and proficiency in various low-code or no-pro technologies can be a strategic way to future-proof skill sets. Just as social media and marketing automation have become coveted skills for entry-level marketers, creative production with no-pro tools will be as well.

Considerations

With any new wave of innovation in tech, questions typically arise. Does no-pro tech mean marketers never need the help of design, video, graphic or other creative professionals? No — no-pro tech is meant to support the work marketers already do with creative professionals, and marketers will often still need the help of pros to be most successful with no-pro tech. Bringing creative professionals into the onboarding and setup process of any new no-pro tool can help ensure that you have the right brand guidelines, templates and structure in place to consistently produce content that meets your brand standards.

As the marketing world moves toward an even more digital setting, it is essential to develop more engaging content. Having the ability to introduce and master new platforms is paramount to future growth. In other words, step aside and let the “new pros” take it from here.

source: forbes