Thinking About Doing a Digital Marketing Course? Read This Before You Do It
How to choose the correct digital marketing course? What exactly can I expect from such a course? How many certifications will I need to do? And so on and on. Endless questions must be going through your mind.
Relax, take a deep breath, and keep reading to have all your queries answered.
1. “Digital Marketing” is Not Just One Thing
Digital marketing is made up of several components. Essentially, every digital means by which one tries to lessen the distance between consumer and product/service comes under digital marketing.
The digital space is infinite and to establish a presence there is not an easy task, this is where digital marketing comes in.
2. Various Components of Digital Marketing
Since the field is so widespread, it consists of several components that work in tandem to make it effective:
Strategy
All the endless campaigns that are planned in order to turn leads into loyal customers are carried out based on the digital marketing strategy.
Website Creation
Every business, or even an individual, hoping to establish themselves online needs a good and well-functioning website to aptly display their work/products.
Content Creation
It refers to the contribution of any type of information to media, especially to digital media. Examples are social media posts, blogs, website content, etc.
Social Media
All the different social media platforms form one of the most effective forms of information relaying and engagement channels.
Advertising
The marketing tactic that involves paying for space to promote a product, service, or cause is called advertising, and needless to say, it’s vital to digital marketing.
Email Marketing
The often underrated practice, email marketing generates the highest ROI among all the different digital marketing channels.
Influencer Marketing
This is the age of influencers and influencer marketing is a great channel that contributes actively to the growth of brands.
Ecommerce Marketing
Ecommerce marketing is the practice of using promotional tactics to drive traffic to your online store and has helped many get their online business going.
Video Marketing
Video marketing refers to the use of videos by businesses, companies, or individuals to market their products and/or services, expand their audience and increase sales.
Analytics
This part of digital marketing takes care of the ‘results’ part of the whole marketing process and ensures that all your hard work is amounting to something.
3. Identify Your Interest Area
Before going in and learning digital marketing, you need to understand what areas of this vast subject appeal to you the most.
What Are You Good At?
Since there are so many areas to choose from, you need to sit down and decode where your affinity lies.
Creative Areas
Copywriting, advertising, social media marketing, and all such channels require creativity.
Analytical Areas
SEO analysis, monitoring and creating strategies, and other such components of digital marketing require quality analytical skills.
Mixed Areas
Besides these, there are other channels that require a mix of different skill sets such as creativity and management skills for PPC advertising.
4. Understand the Level of Expertise Required
As you move forward, determine what your objective is behind doing the course or what’s the level of expertise you hope to achieve.
All Courses are not intended for the Same Audience
There are different courses for different purposes and not intended for the same audience.
When to Go for “Advanced” Training?
Only if you have a fundamental knowledge of the subject should you go for advanced training in the field as you’ll be going in with a fixed goal in mind.
Match the Course Outcomes with Your Requirements
Ensure that whatever you hope to achieve out of the course – be it hands-on training, or internships, or placement – is a part of it.
5. The Problem with Many Courses
As a digital marketing that has been active for over six years now, we’ve noticed a few discrepancies in the way many institutes teach this course:
No Holistic Approach
Not many institutes understand that students need to be educated about the complete marketing process and how each element is connected to the bigger picture.
They Try to Teach you All at Once
A lot of information influx without giving students ample time to absorb the information leads to inadequate education.
Siloed Approach
Many are unwilling to divulge the whole information which leads to inconsistencies in the knowledge provided.
Missing the “Creative Connection”
Creativity is one of the pillars on which digital marketing rests. Many institutes don’t help students in developing their creative skills and developing that ‘creative connection’.
Not Enough Practical Exposure
No practical exposure equals no real-time practice and this only results in underprepared students.
No Clarity on Where to Apply
Another great problem that has been found in many courses.
6. Learning Everything is a Myth
Quality education is so often overlooked in the guise of ‘wanting to know it all’.
It’s not How Many, It’s About How Well You Know
Whatever course you choose, never compromise on the quality of your education in a bid to know everything.
T Shaped Approach
For marketers, this is the approach that needs to be followed. It just means a marketer who has broad knowledge covering a wide range of digital tactics with in-depth knowledge in 1 or maybe 2 specific areas.
Big Picture and Details
While learning, you need to keep the big picture in mind and be mindful of what you learn as it should prove to be helpful in your marketing journey.
7. Too Many Certifications
There is such a thing as too many certifications since you might just be wasting your time and not even getting the results you want.
Every Platform Has Their Certifications.
All the different platforms – Google, Facebook, Hubspot, SEMRush – have their own certification systems.
Pick a Handful of Relevant and Certifications and Write The Exams
You can also do your research, find the certifications that you deem will help in furthering your career, and clear those.
Just Having Certifications Doesn’t Guarantee the Results
Like we’ve said before, just getting certifications upon certification won’t guarantee results. Ensure that you’re putting your time and money to good use and choosing wisely.
8. How to Choose a Digital Marketing Course
You can use the following points as a checklist when searching for a good and dependable digital marketing course:
Decide – Self Paced Course (or) Instructor-Led
Even before you opt for a course, decide whether you’ll be able to learn better yourself or will require the guidance of industry experts.
Check for the Experience
If you do choose to go for an instructor-led training experience, ensure that the institute has been around for some time and knows what it’s doing.
Understand their Passion & Purpose
While this might seem superfluous, for those who operate with passion and a set purpose, it is reflected in everything that they do. You’ll be able to determine it.
Understand their Training Process
This is the most integral part of the selection process. Their training methods need to resonate with you since you’ll be investing considerable time with them.
Understand their Placement Process
Another important thing. Try to learn as much about their placement process as you can since the goal isn’t just to learn but become a professional digital marketer.
Understand their After Course Assistance
They should also provide after-course assistance like Simpliskills does because even after you become a digital marketer, you might still have doubts from time to time that need to be cleared.
Conclusion
Here’s to hoping that we’ve been able to address some of your questions and helped you in achieving at least some clarity. There are a lot of options out there since the digital marketing industry is growing at such a fast pace.
So whenever you’re confused, try going for an option that’s reliable. Should you choose to study it yourself, go for tutorials from established marketers, and if you want to go for an institute, choose one which has experience in teaching digital marketing. Join our Full Time Digital Marketing Course with Placement Assurance.