Digital marketing courses are everywhere. Everyone provides them.
You can take digital marketing courses from universities, third-party organizations, and the platform itself.
But are digital marketing courses worth it?
I have been in digital marketing for 20 years and have been in marketing for longer.
I didn’t have a digital marketing course when I went to college – because digital marketing itself didn’t exist.
So I asked my peers what they thought of digital marketing courses and whether they were worth their time.
Digital marketing courses face challenges
Some marketers consider these courses too basic to be practical.
@beyondthepaid I have a digital marketing course in my master’s program, but it’s too basic, far from practical, and it depends on the type of courses we take in a university degree/program.
— Karthik (@Karthikbv33) March 1, 2022
The college courses I took are outdated and not very applicable to the current state of marketing and e-commerce, which I guess is because marketing and e-commerce change so quickly on an operational level. Pretty good in terms of the School of Strategy.
– Benjamin Wenner (@BN_Wenner) March 1, 2022
Both posters make good points.
In general, college courses, not just marketing courses, can be too theoretical, making them impractical.
It is difficult to apply theoretical concepts in real life.
Digital marketing is changing so fast that, in Wenner’s view, course content can quickly become outdated.
In an internal discussion at work, we discussed how creating detailed process documentation for paid search is a waste of time. Things change so quickly that we spend a lot of time updating them.
To help keep course content fresh, some savvy digital marketing instructors bring real-world practitioners to their courses as guest speakers or instructors to keep course content fresh.
I have spoken in several MSU classes on how to be successful in paid search and paid social.
Learning from real-world speakers is effective because they are up to date with the latest in digital marketing.
Basic Marketing Strategy Still Important
However, marketing strategies are not changing as fast as technical knowledge. Many concepts have not changed at all.
Some of the marketing concepts I learned in my undergraduate course are still in use today, more than 30 years later.
Many advertising professionals refer to David Ogilvy, widely regarded as the “father of advertising.”
Ogilvy was born in 1911. The peak of his career was the Mad Men era of the 1950s and 1960s more than 50 years ago.
However, his maxims about advertising strategy still apply today.
The same quote applies to paid search today as it applies to print advertising in the Ogilvy era:
“On average, five times as many people read the headline as the body. By the time you’ve written the headline, you’ve already spent 80 cents.”
A “how-to” course on setting up Google Ads campaigns or bid management might not be worth it, but a marketing strategy course certainly is.
Many start their careers with digital marketing courses
Although digital marketing seems to change every day, most professionals say that digital marketing courses are worth it.
Some people believe that digital marketing courses are the reason they work in the field today.
My introduction to the marketing course, which was a requirement for my initial international business degree, was actually what got me into the field.Without it it wouldn’t be in marketing @MGSchoon. I don’t use most of what I’ve learned in the past in my day-to-day marketing… 1/2
— Alex Smolen (@alxsmolen) March 1, 2022
My introduction to digital marketing was through a college course. One of my favorite courses.
This was worth it to me as it introduced a lot of concepts/ideas that I’m still using and helped me choose PPC as my area of focus.
— Sean Alley (@selley2134) February 28, 2022
Same Here! Junior.Professor enters class in Google-backed international Google AdWords competition, and the rest is history
– Jeremy Krantz (@JeremyKrantz) February 28, 2022
As Elley and Krantz pointed out above, good teachers also make a difference.
Beyond Digital Marketing Courses
Becoming a successful digital marketer is more than just taking a marketing course.
Several experts see a well-rounded education as the foundation of a successful digital marketer.
Michael StebbinsCo-founded OMCP to bring standards to digital marketing and curriculum, he said:
“There are courses that fill 70 percent of the hard skills that marketers need to practice on the job.
Most digital marketing practices can last forever. For example, landing page agreements with ads, analytics reports related to business goals, or even keyword research methods.
For those entering the industry, the best combination is a combination of three things: completion of an accredited course covering generally accepted practices, completion of some platform courses, and real-life experience. “
Brad Golderswho has been teaching digital marketing courses since 2011, agrees:
“Overall, if people combine digital marketing with a psychology minor (or double major, since there’s a lot of math when you go into a BS in psychology), they seem to be the best fit for PPC.
My background is in Personality Psychology (0 marketing courses) and it has been very helpful for me to run my PPC campaign. “
So will a digital marketing course help me get a job?
The answer goes beyond yes or no.
We’ve established that digital marketing courses can quickly become obsolete, especially those that focus on technical training.
Lessons learned 5 to 10 years ago may be outdated.
That said, candidates, especially those new to the digital marketing field, can fill some hard skills with well-known courses.
However, soft skills such as communication, teamwork and problem solving are more difficult to teach.
Soft skills are critical to digital marketing success.
In fact, OMCP® 2019 Role Description Study Discovering strategy and practical communication is the top priority of most digital marketing disciplines across all job responsibilities.
Consider this.
For employers, strategic and practical communication is more important than technical skills, such as keyword researchbid management, developing audienceand development content.
So, the Marketing Strategy course is definitely worth it.
And work on developing your soft skills.
What should I look for when hiring a digital marketing professional?
If you’re hiring a digital marketing professional, most experts agree to look for hard skills, including digital marketing certifications, and soft skills, such as communication and critical thinking.
according to Matt Bailey SiteLogic:
“When I had my agency, I looked for people who were very good communicators in both writing and speaking, as most of the work was working with clients, constantly presenting, reporting and working with teams. I hired soft skills and Train digital skills.”
Bailey looks for individuals who “have the core of critical and creative thinking necessary to get work done and solve problems.”
Problem solving is an essential part of digital marketing, and people without this ability often struggle in digital marketing roles.
Stebbins advises hiring managers to hire from unlikely majors. “When John Marshall and I were building ClickTracks, our local university didn’t have a strong marketing program. However, our students were interested in joining our web analytics team,” he said.
Stebbins added, “We learned to reliably recruit marketing talent from the economics and genetics for digital analytics. We also learned that sales reps tend to be great PPC and digital advertising experts (with minimal training).”
From my own experience, I’ve found that digital marketing courses and certifications are not good predictors of success.
I’ve had people who passed several certifications that we ended up giving up, and others who came to us without taking a course and did a great job.
In terms of soft skills, in my opinion, the biggest skills a digital marketing professional needs are curiosity.
As Bailey mentioned above, digital marketing involves a lot of problem solving.
To solve a problem effectively, you have to be curious about why the problem exists.
It’s critical to know why a campaign suddenly stopped performing, or why a particular keyword isn’t converting. Watching the performance change, shrugging your shoulders and saying “that’s it” won’t cut it.
Successful digital marketers can think critically and ask “why.”
in conclusion
Digital marketing courses may be helpful.
Completing coursework shows that a person is dedicated and able to complete a task.
Those with proven skills, experience, and educational industry certifications are more invested in their practice.
But courses and certifications are not the end.
Many successful digital marketers have never taken a single course.
as Derek Molins “There is no substitute for a live event,” said the Brainlabs principal.
If you’re not currently working in the field, volunteer for an organization that needs help with digital marketing.
You’ll learn a lot while helping a worthy cause.
Combine digital marketing courses with developing your soft skills and experience, and you’ll have the best chance of success in the field.
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Featured Image: fizkes/Shutterstock
