If you had a way to take yourself to the next level…
In your career, in your business, in your relationships—okay, maybe not that last one, unless marketing skills are really important to your relationships…
Would you do it?
See, here’s the thing. It doesn’t matter what job you have or what kind of business you run. There is one skill that will help you with all of them.
Marketing.
Marketing is the connection between a business and their customers.
It’s the reason people fall in love with brands like RXBAR, a protein bar company with such a fanbase that it sold to Kellogg for $600 million or Native, a natural deodorant company with so many customers willing to pay $12 per deodorant stick that it sold to Procter & Gamble for $100 million.
But odds are, the LAST thing you want to do right now is drop everything and enroll in a marketing degree.
And honestly, you don’t need to.
See, degree programs and college classes have a few major downfalls when it comes to learning marketing.
- You’re listening to one person’s advice, not the advice of several industry leaders
- You don’t have time for hands on experience, just studying for your next test
- By the time you’ve graduated, everything you’ve learned is out-of-date
The marketing world is moving too fast for you to not be listening to marketing leaders, practicing your new skills, and using everything you’re learning right now before the next technology wave changes the industry.
This is why certifications can take your marketing skills to the next level.
Here’s why online certifications are a better alternative to traditional marketing degree programs and college classes.
Why Online Marketing Certifications are Better
#1: You’ll be learning about what strategies to use in marketing right now
Not what worked when the required textbook was published. Marketing is moving fast. A few years ago, nobody was talking about chatbots and today—almost every startup is figuring out how to enable chatbots on their website.
What was taught in marketing 2 years ago isn’t nearly as relevant as it was. While some marketing foundations are timeless, like the customer value journey, not everything ages as well.
Spending an entire semester learning about how to use paid ads on Facebook isn’t productive if Facebook changes their policy the day after you hand in your final exam.
Being up-to-date in marketing is essential to leveling up your marketing skills.
#2: You’ll hear advice from industry leaders on the strategies that are currently driving traffic and conversions for them
What’s better than having top marketers show you their email templates, copy strategies, and paid ads settings?
Not much.
What we love about being DigitalMarketer is that we’re able to lead by example.
We’re going to tell you about the email template that we used to drive $100,000+ in sales. Then, we’re going to bring in a copywriting expert to show you exactly what to put in that email template so you can get conversions too.
And, you guessed it—afterwards we’ll have one of the top paid ad experts show you exactly how to set your ads up to drive the traffic that will turn into those email subscribers.
Learning from industry leaders (who are currently creating and executing on digital marketing strategies) is like having a fireside chat with your mentors where they spill all of their secrets.
In this case, their secrets are within the certification that will level up your marketing ability.
#3: You’ll be able to apply that knowledge immediately
What’s better than spending 12 hours studying for a final exam?
Spending 12 hours practicing your new marketing skills in the real world.
Online marketing certifications teach you what strategies to use right now, how industry leaders are using them, and then give you the freedom to practice these strategies.
They don’t reduce the amount of time you have to craft yourself into an expert marketer by forcing you to study for a two hour long exam.
That’s not productive and as a marketer you’ll learn efficiency is everything.
Why not practice what you’re learning, as you’re learning it?
The beauty of the Internet right now is that you’re able to learn copywriting techniques, and then apply them on your own articles and social media posts to see how they convert.
Practice makes perfect as a marketer and the sooner you can start, the faster you’ll become a great marketer.
#4: You can do your online marketing certification at your own pace
If you’re building your marketing skill set as a side hustle—👏👏👏.
There’s a lot that goes into marketing, from learning the basics of SEO, to the emotional triggers that drive email click-through rates, to retargeting. Nobody expects you to cut all ties with the outside world, find a cave in the middle of nowhere and not come out until you’ve become a master at every single aspect of marketing.
Your life can continue on while you’re becoming a marketing expert.
Online marketing certifications fit into your current life. You can finish each certification on your own time, pausing when you have to focus on family or work, and hopping right back in when you’re ready to continue.
What Makes a Good Marketing Certification
All marketing certifications are not made equal. If you’re investing in a marketing certification, you want to make sure that it’s going to give you an ROI.
Ask yourself these 3 questions about the online marketing certification that you’re considering and make sure the answer to each question is a confident, “Yes.”
Question #1: Is the instructor active in their field?
Remember, marketing is changing fast. While someone may have been the best ecommerce marketer 2 years ago, if they’re not actively marketing ecommerce products TODAY, their strategies are going to be outdated. While some fundamentals are still going to be relevant, you’ll end up paying for information that isn’t relevant today.
That isn’t going to give you an ROI.
Question #2: Has the content in the certification been updated recently?
Let’s say the online marketing certification that you’re considering passes the first test, the instructor is currently working as a marketer. Now, you need to make sure the content in this certification has been updated recently.
Some online marketing certifications have been around for a few years. While the marketing strategies worked great in the past, these strategies aren’t going to be relevant to you now. Even if the marketer is working full-time right now, if they’re not talking about what’s working for them TODAY, then you’re not getting useful information.
Question #3: Is there a test to showcase your expertise?
You might have read this answer and thought, “ewwww.” We know the feeling—does anybody actually like taking tests?
The reason you need a test in your online marketing certification is that without it, there’s no credibility around the certification. Someone could buy the certification, never watch a single video or read any of the content and then say they’re an accredited marketer.
Would you want to hire this marketer for your business? No. And you don’t want to be that marketer either.
You want to be the marketer that proves their knowledge. By having a test at the end of your certification, you’ll prove your marketing knowledge because if you didn’t have this knowledge, you wouldn’t have been able to get the certification.
Sometimes tests are a good thing. Sometimes.
How Will Marketing Certifications ACTUALLY Help?
Online marketing certifications are better than degree programs and college classes because they are up-to-date, led by experienced experts currently executing marketing strategies, and give you the time freedom to be able to start practicing your skills immediately.
Once you’ve found the online marketing certification you’re interested in, you might find yourself hovering over the Buy button wondering—is this actually going to help me?
And that’s why you want to make sure you can confidently answer yes on the above 3 questions, because if you can your marketing certification WILL actually help.
Your online marketing certification will:
- Train you in critical marketing tactics/disciplines
- Keep you up-to-date on the latest in marketing
- Build your resume out to impress any prospective employer OR client/customer
- Give you new skills and boost your abilities
- Make you a better marketer
If you’re looking to become a certified marketer, DigitalMarketer offers certifications and masterclasses from industry leaders on content marketing, paid traffic, social media, and more. Our teachers are active marketers, our content is updated regularly, and each certification ends with a test to showcase your expertise.
