Businesses shared ideas for online success at the marketing, technology and social media conference Digital in Kent.

Event chairman Jonnie Jensen shares his opinions on the challenges ahead.

The biggest challenge for businesses in digital marketing, the internet and tablet devices is the skills shortage.

In 2013, there has been such as sea change in technology and the way we use the internet.

Google has made big changes to how websites are ranked in search engines, and big software companies like Salesforce and Adobe are acquiring and merging with other software solutions to provide ever more intelligent ways of profiling and communicating with customers.

If you have the people in your business to capitalise on all these changes then you could be in for a very exciting 2014. If you are not and your competitors are, then it could be rather challenging – especially if you rely heavily on your website traffic and internet presence.

If your work involves any aspect of the internet, social media, data or digital marketing then there has likely never been a better time to work in this industry. You might need to do some extra training and remember to stay abreast of the news but your value to businesses that need your services are about to become priceless.

The changes at Google and the expected sales of tablet devices like the iPad this Christmas mean websites need to work well on all devices. They call this responsive design and a web designer will know any site they build now needs to have this feature. If you have a website, test it on a number of devices and see how it looks.

There are about to be hundreds of thousands of websites that need redesigning.

For companies that work with data, CRM and marketing communications the sophistication of products like Adobe Campaign – as illustrated at the Digital in Kent conference – are about to make communication with customers more targeted and effective than ever.

All the information we pump into social media sites such as Facebook and LinkedIn can now be applied back to our customer information. The competitive advantage will be had by companies that know how to use these tools or who work with agencies that do.

Think about email marketing and pay-per-click advertising. They are the biggest drivers of sales still on the internet and they are about to become more intelligent than ever before for companies that care enough to put the effort in.

Social media of course cannot be forgotten. Where some companies are still questioning the value or need to use it, the arrival of Google’s new Hummingbird algorithm and their decision to no longer tell us what search terms people are entering to find your website, means your online conversation and content needs to be more relevant to your business than ever before.

The skills required to do this are no different to what made good customer services effective long before the internet arrived.

Leonard Weinreich, also speaking at Digital in Kent, reminded us authenticity, caring about what customers need and responding effectively has always been the difference at successful companies.

Now with all these digital channels at our disposal we need to know where to find the comments and how to channel them into our business.

Think less about social media management and more about community engagement.

Like the use of data, if you have this skill in your business or use external partners effectively, then the benefits will be tangible around the success of your business.

The internet and digital marketing technology really does need to be at the heart of any business today.

There has never been a better time to be a provider of these services and if your businesses harness them effectively the opportunities for your continued success are great for 2014 and beyond.

Jonnie Jensen is chairman of Digital in Kent and the founder and social business strategist for Maidstone-based LiveandSocial.com