Marketing in the olden days was considered somehow difficult since it involved more persuading than selling. This is what marketers in subsequent years, called outbound marketing.
Since the introduction of social media platforms some years back, the olden way of marketing, i.e., outbound marketing started to become somehow “irrelevant”. In the year 2020, because of the COVID-19 pandemic that stormed the world, the narrative about marketing changed completely.
Because of the contagious nature of the COVID-19 virus, people had to stay at home and work. This was not a good thing for marketers who were used to the traditional marketing technique of going into the homes and workplaces of their prospective customers.
While traditional marketers were struggling to get clients and customers for their businesses, digital marketers on the other hand were cashing out big time from their work. Since people could not move out of their homes to meet their friends and relatives, they spent most of their time on their mobile phones, and social media to be precise.
Digital marketers were capitalizing on the opportunity that presented itself for them. Most of them were increasing their clientele, customer base, and at the same time, they were making huge sums of money from the comfort of their homes.
Before one can be a marketer in the traditional marketing system, he/she must at least have an HND or Diploma from an accredited institution. In digital marketing, whether you have a Ph.D. or Junior High School Certificate, you can become a digital marketer, all you need to do is to get a digital marketing training and or certificate.
But finding a site or school to gain your digital marketing certificate could be a little bit difficult, especially when you are looking for a free site. Because of this, we have lifted the burden off your head, and in this article, I am going to show you top sites to learn digital marketing for free.
HubSpot Academy
HubSpot is a marketing company in the United States that provides marketing training, software, content management systems, and everything needed for a marketing company. HubSpot Academy on the other hand is an online marketing institution that provides marketing certification and short courses, of which digital marketing is included.
Unlike the other sites and platforms, HubSpot Academy provides you with lecture videos, lecture video transcripts, and lecture slides. The lecturers are experienced digital marketers who have been in the field for a very long time and as a result, teach from experience.
Some of the things you will learn include, buyer journey, buyer personas, Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Pay Per Click (PPC), Cost Per Click (CPC), and a whole list of others. Upon completion of the course, you will be asked to write the final exam and once you get the pass mark which is 75%, you will get a free globally recognized digital marketing certificate.
Google Digital Garage
Google as we all know is the biggest search engine in the world and as such, no one can teach digital marketing better than those who practically do most of the digital marketing and develop the algorithms.
The Digital Marketing course by Google Digital Garage consists of 32 courses which together form the digital marketing programme. Some of the things you will learn include fundamentals of digital marketing, advance digital marketing, business fundamentals, online ads, Google Analytics, etc.
Once you complete all the modules in the program successfully, you will be awarded a Google-endorsed Digital Marketing certificate. Since Google is a big name, you rest assured that getting a digital marketing job wouldn’t be that difficult.
Alison
Alison is a free course website that provides free courses for everyone from all parts of the world. All the courses on Alison are free but once you are done, you can choose to purchase a digital certificate which per the last time I checked was $2.00.
Among the different course catalogue is digital marketing. You just have to search digital marketing in the search bar and all the available digital marketing courses will be listed.
View through the different courses and choose the one that suits what you prefer. Remember, all the courses are free.
Coursera
Coursera is one of the world’s biggest online course sites/platforms. Not only are there short courses and certification courses, but there are also full-online bachelors and master’s degree programs as well.
Unlike the other sites listed above, not all the courses on Coursera are free, some of them are free and some of them have financial aid available. Search for digital marketing in the search bar and the courses will pop up.
Scroll through the courses and choose the free ones or the ones that have financial aid. Apply for the financial aid and you will be given feedback on your financial aid application in 15 days. Once you get the financial aid, complete the courses and the assignments and you will be awarded a free certificate of completion.
Conclusion
Unemployment as we are all aware is a global problem that is affecting both developed and developing countries. Therefore, venturing into digital marketing could be your turning point since getting into it is not that difficult.
Even if you just want the certification for personal reasons, make sure to finish all the course modules and get your certificate. Finally, remember to “try everything, fail everything, and lose nothing” – Unknown.
