5 Coding Languages Every Marketer Should Learn

You may not realize that coding can be a useful skill to learn outside of developer and programmer roles, but it can be a good idea for anyone filling any roll in an organization to learn. There are plenty of coding languages available to choose from, with various languages best suited for various tasks or programs. Here are five coding languages every marketer should learn.

1. JavaScript

JavaScript is a great tool for web-based development, which means it’s a perfect fit for marketers to learn. Marketers need to do much of their work via online spaces in the modern world, so it’s a good idea to familiarize yourself with it. A particularly important component of JavaScript is its use in tracking codes. This capability means JavaScript is an essential aspect of analytics software, cross-domain tracking and scroll depth. Having even a basic knowledge of JavaScript will help you ensure this coding language is implemented appropriately. For example, even if you aren’t the one coding, understanding how tools such as Javascript static analysis work means you’ll be capable of reviewing code to ensure it’s written to best suit your needs.

2. SQL

Another good tool in your data analysis arsenal, SQL is a coding language that enables you to run advanced analytics queries and access extremely granular user data for use in targeted marketing. While both SQL and JavaScript are useful analytics tools, the main advantage SQL has is that it’s much much simpler than JavaScript and therefore much easier to learn about. If you’re familiar with Microsoft Excel, you should be able to apply that understanding to use SQL to refine your market segmentation and create highly detailed reports.

3. Bash

While it’s less well-known than other coding languages, Bash is a great language choice for keeping your programs and algorithms running smoothly, and in some cases for automating them. You can leverage Bash to bridge gaps between Python-based and SQL-based programs to ensure they work together with minimal interruption. Bash is also a good choice for ensuring files are able to be transferred, copied, restructured, cleaned or worked with remotely with minimal interference or risk of corruption or loss. This programming language is relatively easy to learn if you’ve already gained some experience in Python or SQL.

4. Python

Another common and useful coding language for marketers to learn is Python. This language is a bit more difficult to learn than JavaScript or SQL, but its predictive analytics capabilities make it well worth the effort. This language tends to be quite plain and clean. It’s structure is easy to learn and understand once you know the basics. You can use Python to create more accurate and detailed marketing predictions or to run machine learning algorithms to automate the predictive insight generation process. Unlike JavaScript, Python isn’t typically leveraged for website development. Instead its main use is on the back end of a company’s marketing department. Data analysts can use Python-based programs to generate insights and perform complicated equations based on customer or organizational data.

5. Kotlin

Similarly to how Bash can be used to connect SQL and Python-based programs, you can connect Kotlin-based programs with Java-based or JavaScript-based ones. This particular coding language is useful because of its ability to be leveraged for both functional and object-oriented programs. Kotlin is an open-source programming language and it’s relatively easy to learn. It’s also incredibly versatile. You can use it to program many different kinds of software and web-based applications. Some of these programs include servers, desktop applications, website development, smartphone applications and databases. 

As a marketer, it’s unlikely that you’ll need to develop an in depth knowledge of any one coding language, so it can be advantageous to learn the basics in multiple coding languages instead. That way, you’ll recognize certain trends and variations in the most commonly used languages and be prepared to delve deeper into a specific one if you ever need to do so.