Must-Do Online Certifications & Courses for B2B Marketers
While marketers can be pretty sharp, we don’t know everything. Heck, even Watson the supercomputer ended up losing a game of Jeopardy, and if Watson doesn’t know everything, how can we expect ourselves to?
As we advance in our careers, we have to make sure that we’re constantly learning and keeping up with the changing trends. Reading content from thought leaders is a great way to start, but online courses and certifications can take your education a step further.
Many online certifications can be great resume boosters and will keep you focused on advancing your knowledge. Here are a few that all B2B marketers should check out:
Free Certifications
HubSpot
HubSpot offers a handful of different certifications including Inbound Marketing, Email, and Sales with a plan to add a Content Marketing certification soon. If you’re a HubSpot customer, you can also get HubSpot certified.
Alison
Alison offers hundreds of free online certifications and courses – not just limited to marketing topics. Two free certifications with great peer ratings are the Diploma in Social Media Marketing and the Diploma in Web Business Development and Marketing.
If you want to become a Google master, check out their certifications in Analytics and AdWords as well as their Online Marketing Challenge course. These courses are not for the Google faint of heart. They’re lengthy and in-depth which is why they’re awesome.
Paid Certifications
Coursera & edX
Through Coursera and edX, you can access classes and certifications from many top universities. While you can do many of the classes for free, there is a fee to receive the official certification. These courses are perfect if your company gives you a budget for further education as you can get Ivy-League-level coursework without the Ivy League pricetag.
Other Continued Learning
If you’re just interested in learning more about marketing and don’t care about obtaining a certificate, check out these continued learning sites and courses:
Lynda.com
Lynda.com is a subscription service for online learning. Many of the courses are written by industry experts (including our pal at Everstring, Dayna Rothman) and they’re always publishing new courses. The marketing section is incredibly robust; you can filter down by software, topic, skill level, and even author if you have a favorite. You can even try out Lynda.com for 10 days to see if it’s right for you or your organization.
Constant Contact Social Media Quickstarter
If you want to learn the basics of social media marketing, Constant Contact’s quickstarter is right up your alley. They have created lessons on every major social media platform as well as information on how to get listed online/get reviews. If you’re a seasoned marketer, it may not be right for your skill level, but it’s great for anyone who is making the switch to marketing or wants to learn more about social media.
Are there any we missed? What are your favorite online courses and certifications? Let us know in the comments!