Improve your online marketing skills with these 10 free and paid online courses

The digital realm requires a deep understanding of consumer behavior, market trends, and staying abreast of technological trends and advancements. For anyone looking to build a career in digital or online marketing, the era where science meets creativity has arrived.

Dr. Jonah Berger is a professor at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and the best-selling author of books such as: Magic spell and catalystbelieves that the right digital marketing course is an important piece of the success puzzle.

“If you already have a product, the class will teach you how to get it to the right customers,” he asserts. Berger emphasizes the versatility of his marketing education, noting that digital can guide entrepreneurs in everything from product design to startup selection.

He advises prospective students to first identify their needs and desired outcomes before choosing a course. “The more the course helps you address your specific tactical needs, the better you will perform,” he explains. He encourages a focus on “modern marketing” trends such as customer centricity and emphasizes a shift towards prioritizing the customer perspective over products and services.

For Berger, truly successful digital marketing lies in “the marriage of data science and behavioral science.” He emphasizes the importance of understanding customer decision-making while leveraging data for deeper insights. This approach is paramount in a landscape dominated by search engines, social media, and omnichannel marketing strategies.

For those interested in working in the online marketing industry, taking courses can be an effective way to build a solid foundation. luck We've compiled a list of free and paid online marketing courses you can take on your home computer to help you add skills to your digital toolbox.

Five free online marketing courses

Sign up for a free course and get the skills you need to get started without spending a fortune. These five free online courses teach digital marketing at an introductory level. Each varies in program length, but offers typical coursework. The list is arranged alphabetically.

1. CareerFoundry: Digital Marketing Program

This is for people who don't have much time but want to step into the realm of digital marketing. To decide if digital marketing is right for you, CareerFoundry can send his free 5-day short course to your email inbox. Each lesson lasts approximately 15 minutes and teaches you the basics of the world of digital marketing and career change. It's worth noting that if you want to choose the paid version, the content you receive is the starting lesson for a more robust $6,900 immersive lesson spanning four to seven months.

2. Google: Digital Marketing Fundamentals

This 40-hour course is offered by one of the most popular search engine companies and teaches digital marketing at an introductory level. Accredited by Interactive Advertising Bureau Europe and The Open University, the 24-module class includes practical exercises.

Tutorials include topics such as making your business easy to find on the internet and reaching customers through email and video. After passing each tutorial, the course will provide him with one final assessment, and if he takes and passes it, he will receive a shareable award to add to his LinkedIn profile.

3. Meta: Blueprint

Meta, Facebook's parent company, offers 36 free courses in its Blueprint program. This program aims to provide learners with a quick self-guided walkthrough and training in digital marketing on sites such as Facebook, Messenger, Instagram and WhatsApp. Topics range from taking your business online and establishing your marketing goals to creating creative Instagram Stories that engage your audience.

4. SimpliLearn: Digital Marketing Strategy

This free course by Simplilearn consists of seven main modules, each containing a series of self-paced video lessons. It aims to provide learners with an introduction to the digital he marketing environment.

In 2 hours, you'll learn about customer segmentation and personas, as well as how to conduct market research and create a marketing calendar. There is a knowledge check after each chapter and a certificate of completion will be issued upon completion of the class. According to the site, more than 25,000 people have enrolled in the course.

5. Udemy: Marketing on Instagram

This introductory course from Three Sixty Academy, offered on the Udemy platform, teaches learners the basics of Instagram marketing and how to grow your follower base and maximize your ROI. This course consists of nine 40-minute tutorials. According to the site, more than 30,000 students have enrolled in the course.

5 Paid Online Marketing Courses

Taking paid courses is an effective way to learn marketing concepts and practical applications. When you pay for a course, you have access to comprehensive content and detailed instructions in a structured learning environment. This will help you understand the subject more deeply and improve your skills. Courses are listed alphabetically.

1. Coursera: Introduction to Digital Marketing

Coursera has an entry-level course that lasts approximately nine hours and is taught by Steve Fritzenkotter, a continuing education instructor at the University of California, Irvine. This course covers everything from search engine marketing to two-way communication with customers, storytelling and reputation management.

The site says it's free to start, but after a seven-day trial period you'll have to pay $49 a month. When you purchase a subscription, you will have access to all lectures, assignments, knowledge checks, discussion forums, and even certificates of completion. Finally, this course has over 10,500 enrollments.

2. eCornell: Assessing Paid Digital Media Opportunities

eCornell's online paid media courses teach you the basics of search engine marketing, email marketing, and video marketing through a paid lens. This course tackles topics such as social media and mobile advertising, and guides you through the process of creating a paid media marketing plan.

This two-week, fully online, instructor-led course is aimed at marketing managers who want to understand the role digital marketing plays within their organization. This course costs $1,199 and is part of eCornell's Digital Marketing program, which includes four courses priced at $3,699. Once you complete the entire program, you will receive a certificate.

3. Harvard Business School: Digital Marketing Strategy

The Harvard Business School Online Digital Marketing course is seven weeks long, self-paced, and includes six modules. Key concepts taught include the evolution of marketing, different approaches to budget allocation, and customer engagement techniques such as storytelling and personalization.

Featured exercises include building a practical budget, calculating customer lifetime value, and advising real businesses on marketing plans. The course costs him $1,750 and is free to apply, but he must be over 18 years old to apply.

4. LinkedIn Learning: Advance as a Digital Marketing Specialist

LinkedIn Learning's Digital Marketing Career Path is a comprehensive program of nine courses. Each of his 10+ hours of content is designed to teach learners how to create effective customer touchpoints, develop content strategies, and gain expertise in SEO and analytics. Upon completing the program, a student receives a certificate that can be added to her LinkedIn profile.

Lectures will be given by industry expert Brad Basole, adjunct instructor at California State University, Northridge, and Marta Dapena-Barron, former marketing instructor at the University of Michigan and Cornell University.

To access this course path, users must register with the service. Subscriptions cost $379.88 per seat per year, and teams require a minimum of two seats.

5. Udemy: Complete Digital Marketing Course — 12 Courses in One

This $199.99 course from Udemy teaches students how to master digital marketing strategy and the fundamentals of social media, SEO, YouTube, email, X (formerly Twitter), Quora, and Facebook marketing. Taught in 17 languages ​​with 22.5 hours of videos and articles, you'll also learn to copywrite, create a website, and perform market research.

According to the site, the course comes with a 30-day money-back guarantee and is aimed at three audiences: individuals looking to improve their skills in preparation for job opportunities, website owners looking to increase traffic and sales, and pre-employment candidates. It corresponds to people. Start up business owners don't know where to start.

Things to consider before enrolling in an online marketing course

If there's one thing you can take away from this article, it's that you have a lot of options when it comes to the types of courses you can take. Too many options can paralyze your analysis, so it's important to remember that some courses may sound great but may not give you the exact results you're looking for. .

Before you spend your hard-earned money or waste your time on marketing courses, consider the following factors.

• practical practice: According to a U.S. Department of Education report, the term “hands-on approach” refers to guided instruction through experience. “Hearing someone say something is one thing; being able to reliably apply it can be a whole other thing,” Berger says. “Learning from others is important, but you also need to be able to apply what you learn.”
• review: Berger says word of mouth is also a powerful tool in deciding what to spend your money and time on. “When making difficult decisions, look at reviews online and talk to people offline to rely on others to understand what others are thinking and help you make better decisions.” Sites like Udemy and SimpliLearn display ratings on the homepage of a course.

So what are the best online marketing courses to take?

The best online marketing course is the one that best suits your needs. You can scroll through thousands of TikTok and YouTube videos to get important information, but taking a structured course will give you the backbone you need to improve your digital marketing skills .

There are options for everyone, whether you want to learn for free or pay to learn. But if you're still on the fence about whether to take his marketing course online, listen to Mr. Berger's advice.

“Marketing touches almost everything we do, and we all have customers. Brand managers sell products, B2B companies sell services, leaders sell ideas, doctors sell Patients try to convince people to take medicine, lawyers try to convince clients to take action, and employees try to convince their bosses.”

He explains that whether we work with clients, spouses or children, we aim to understand them and meet them where they are. “The key is to understand who you're interacting with and provide value to them.” If that sounds interesting to you, digital marketing could be a good career path.

luck We've outlined the path you need to take to become a digital marketer, and we've also compiled a list of 16 entrepreneurial classes you can take online right now.