Digital Marketing Certifications That Can Improve ROI
Take a moment to reminisce on the year 1988, thirty years ago–George H. W. Bush is elected president, the Los Angeles Dodgers won the World Series, the cost of a Super Bowl ad is $600,000, …. and Google wouldn’t be founded for another ten years. Going online to obtain a marketing certificate was unheard of.
During this time, the word “digital” was not in our daily vocabulary. Now, regardless of the profession we serve, a form of digital is mentioned numerous times throughout the day. We now depend on digital in the world of marketing and advertising.
It is important for business professionals to understand how Google, Facebook, Twitter, and others digital platforms operate and how to strategically and effectively utilize them to build brands and increase revenues. These platforms offer marketing certifications that your staff can complete at their convenience to improve their proficiency and results.
Additionally, marketing certifications can help your team be more efficient, improving your bottom line and the return on your marketing investment. There are also less direct benefits to encouraging your team to complete digital certifications; for example, promoting an environment of continual learning and improving morale with a sense of accomplishment when a marketing certificate is complete.
Our team at Callis has put together a list of 5 digital marketing certifications that can help your team perform at a higher level on social media and Google platforms, achieve your goals and provide a greater return on your investment.
Social Media Certifications
A social media presence is crucial for a business in today’s digital world. Social media provides huge platforms for sharing marketing messages. More importantly, social media facilitates an open line of communication between your company, prospects and customers.
Social media marketing certificates can help your team drive social channel interaction and follower growth, build brand awareness and loyalty and increase the return on your investment for payroll and marketing.
1. Hootsuite Academy
Hootsuite is a social listening platform used to manage numerous social media sites in one setting. It has built an academy offering numerous social media marketing certifications. The online Hootsuite Academy offers six courses including Hootsuite Platform Training, Social Marketing Training, Advanced Social Media Strategy, Social Media for Health Care, Social Selling Training and Advanced Social Advertising.
These courses can help your employees streamline their processes for managing your company’s social media channels, equips them with knowledge and tools applicable to their day-to-day content development and management tasks, and should improve their strategy and effectiveness on your social platforms, improving your ROI.
2. Facebook Blueprint
Facebook has created an online academy called Facebook Blueprint. This online marketing certification offers a series of courses (some as short as 15 minutes), webinars and certifications that allow marketing professionals to have a better understanding of Facebook and how to use it effectively.
Facebook Blueprint certifications demonstrate advanced knowledge of Facebook advertising. Two certifications are currently offered – planning and buying, but more are currently being developed. With a sales and planning path and an execution and buying path available, your team members can utilize the course and achieve the certification that is most relevant to their role and responsibilities.
3. Twitter Flight School
Twitter is an important social platform to reach the millennial generation. Almost 40% of users are under the age of 29. Twitter has cleverly developed a Flight School to establish a fundamental knowledge and understanding of Twitter marketing, and best practices to utilize the platform effectively.
Twitter Flight School has numerous courses split into “Flight School Paths”. The paths available include Buying and Execution, Planning and Strategy, Account Leadership, and Executive Leadership. Like Hootsuite and Facebook, Twitter is decreasing the required time associated with completing courses and marketing certifications by allowing registrants to only complete courses relevant to them.
Google is the largest search engine in the world and an obvious leader in the digital marketing platform arena. Google advertising can provide great return for your business if it’s used properly, and if your company is allowed to advertise on their platform (some restrictions apply including firearms, ammunition and other Google-restricted products).
Google has created a Google Analytics Academy and an Academy for Ads to assist advertisers in strategically and effectively marketing their products on the Google platform and network. Google marketing certifications can help develop your marketing team and improve their efficiency and effectiveness in your company’s digital advertising efforts.
One big advantage of advertising in the digital world is that you can easily track your results. Google courses and marketing certifications will not only help your team measure your results and evaluate the effectiveness of campaigns, but will also help in providing actionable steps that can be implemented to optimize your campaign while it’s running, as well as improve future campaigns. This will help your team maximize your budget and provide a greater return on your marketing spend.
4. Google Analytics Certification
Your team can master different levels of expertise and proficiency in Google Analytics by going through Google’s interactive training programs and completing the certification courses. A Google Analytics certification will help your employees implement and manage Google Analytics into a website. In addition, it can help your team interpret results and reports and translate them into effective strategies that can be implemented. This can improve the effectiveness of your digital marketing in many different ways, from SEO to digital advertising, and provide increased return on your investment.
5. AdWords
AdWords in Google can be an effective tool for getting your company in front of a prospective customer that is actively searching online for a product or service similar to those that you offer. Broader brand awareness campaigns can also be utilized to extend your brand’s reach across various components of Google’s vast Search and Display Networks, as well as YouTube. Google recently launched its Academy for Ads. AdWords marketing certifications are now taken and managed through the Academy for Ads (recently available through the Google Partners Program). AdWords certifications can improve your team’s knowledge and ability in creating, managing, reporting and optimizing AdWords campaigns to maximize your marketing investment.
Whether you are a large corporation or a small to mid-sized business, encouraging your team to complete some of these marketing certifications will pay dividends for your brand and your company. Social media and Google have changed the marketing world forever. What are you doing to ensure greater results?
