Where to Learn Digital Marketing
If you are reading this, you probably heard about digital marketing and you're considering a career in it. Maybe you are about to start your own business and you want to use digital business to promote your brand. It is may be safe to mention that all the nice things you heard about digital marketing are true. It is important for every aspiring or current entrepreneur to learn the fundamentals of digital marketing. This knowledge would always come in handy. You do not know what you would need to promote tomorrow.
The question now is where can you learn this? Digital marketing is as easy as expected. You can learn from anywhere in the world and obtain internationally recognized certifications. Provided below are a few options.
Digital marketing degree programs
Online digital marketing certificates can be conveniently obtained from anywhere. Many universities are offering online courses in digital marketing. However, if you prefer to learn in a classroom setting, there are provisions for that too. Universities that have such provisions include:
Online courses and Certifications
The interesting thing about learning digital marketing online is that it is convenient, fast and efficient.
- Google Digital Skills for Africa: it is a course that has 26 modules, with forty hours duration. It has practical exercises to teach the basics of digital marketing. It is an accredited free training with a recognized certification.
- University Of Illinois (Coursera): this program covers areas such as analytics, search engine optimization (SEO), social media marketing and 3D printing. The classes are flexible to suit your schedule. You must complete all the classes for a particular course. After this, you will be given a hands-on project which you must finish. After you complete your classes and the project, you will be awarded a certificate. This certificate recognized by professional bodies and employers.
- Free online digital marketing courses on edX: on the edX platform, you can access much high quality and internationally recognized courses online. At almost no cost, you can get online education from universities like the University of Washington, Wharton, Galileo and Delft universities. Courses like social selling, digital strategy, digital transformation and many more are available.
- American Marketing Association: here’s another flexible but rigorous training to help your digital marketing career. They offer courses in SEO, analytics, social media, user experience, online advertising, content and email marketing etcetera. Classes are online; you can also attend their boot camps which are held in different cities at various dates.
- Digital Marketing Institute: here's another platform for flexible courses, 24-hour access to study materials. They have video lectures, slide presentations, interactive quizzes and practical exercises to help you study. The syllabus is regularly updated to keep up with the trends in the industry. A certificate is issued upon completion of your course, it qualifies you as a professional and it is globally accredited.
- Digital marketing courses on Udemy: here you will learn how to grow your business, work as a freelance marketer and make money as an affiliate marketer. It helps you understand online marketing channels to enable you to direct your campaigns to the right channels. As a member, you will enjoy lifetime access to courses on the app and website.
There are many more affordable online courses you can benefit from. Online digital marketing courses are not difficult to find.
Internships
Digital marketing internships afford you a learning experience of digital marketing. It affords you the opportunity to practice all that you must have learnt. It exposes you to the essential responsibilities of a digital marketer. Internships are typically short-term, but a good internship will be worth your time. You will gain experience, increase your confidence and your network. An internship may not guarantee you a job, but it increases your potentials of getting one. Many companies around the world often hire digital marketing interns. These internships may be paid or unpaid. Platforms like LinkedIn may provide information on companies hiring interns. If you search persistently online, you would find companies hiring digital marketing interns.
Become a certified digital marketing professional
Conferences and Summits
Digital marketing conferences bring together the best digital companies to a single room. Attendees would definitely have a lot to learn from every session. You will get to interact with the best in the industry and learn from them. Such meetings would help to intimate you on digital marketing trends. You can also use this opportunity to build your network with the best heads available. Meetings like this will definitely encourage you to want to learn more about digital marketing.
Mentorship
Mentorship programs are very good ways to learn about digital marketing. Your mentor is usually a professional with first-hand experience and can help you learn and master the art of digital marketing. Mentors supervise your, have one-on-one conversations with you and will push you to meet your goals. You can connect with mentors on Chief Internet Marketer.
Marketing Communities
They are platforms where you can meet fellow digital marketers, exchange ideas and learn new things. You can find many of such communities on Facebook and WhatsApp. Examples of such groups are:
- Future Marketing: experts share tips, hacks, tools and new methods of digital marketing on this Facebook group
- The content Marketing Lounge: beneficial interactions on content making are made on this Facebook group
- Digital Marketing Questions: this is also on Facebook; it allows digital marketers to ask questions. Interact and share information
- Warrior Forum: from this popular internet marketing forum you will gain helpful marketing tools, advice, tips and answers to your questions
Self-tutoring
You can learn and master the art of digital marketing on your own. You can buy and download research books and online resources. You can also subscribe to blogs and newsletters related to digital marketing. As you learn, remember to practice and try new methods and techniques. This method is effective but may not give you digital marketing certifications.
Digital marketing can be learnt at your convenience by different means. However, certified learning programs will help to improve your employment opportunities. As you learn, remember to keep up with current technology. This will not only boost your skills, but it will also boost your employability.