Which Digital Marketing Training Format Is Right for Me?

As more sales move online, businesses and entrepreneurs increasingly look to digital marketing to promote products. Digital Marketers use social media, search advertising, and email marketing to identify a target audience, connect with them, and drive website traffic. When comparing types of Digital Marketing training, there are many factors to consider.

Everyone learns differently, and choosing the right training is critical to your experience. This article discusses different formats of Digital Marketing training, how they compare, and how to determine which is best for you.

What is Digital Marketing?

Digital marketing uses online channels and tools to promote products and services. As the popularity of the internet continues to grow, digital marketing has become one of the most effective ways to publicize a business and help it succeed. Knowledge of digital marketing can be an asset to entrepreneurs and owners of businesses large and small, and many companies are hiring Digital Marketers to conduct research, build brand loyalty, and create community. Digital Marketers also analyze data collected from online marketing efforts to make a business more efficient and profitable.

Because it is based on data, digital marketing is highly targeted and measurable. With digital marketing, you can adapt and make changes in real-time to reflect your advertising. You can also create targeted ads to ensure products and services reach an interested audience.

Using analytics, you can quickly tell how many people see your ads, how they react, and what action they take. Measuring your success (and where you need to improve) can help overall strategy. Plus, digital marketing levels the playing field, allowing businesses of any size to compete for clicks. Additionally, there’s a low barrier to entry: you can start your paid digital marketing campaign for a minimum amount and build as the company grows.

Read more about what digital marketing is and why you should learn it.

What Can You Do with Digital Marketing?

Marketing has changed drastically since the advent of the internet. While early ways to promote a business included yellow page listings, print advertisements, and ads on buses and billboards, many marketing efforts have now moved online. With digital marketing, you can adapt and make changes in real-time to reflect your advertising. You can also create targeted ads to be sure your products and services reach an interested audience.

Digital marketing efforts are highly measurable. Using analytics, you can quickly tell how many people see your ads, how they react, and what action they take. Measuring your success (and where you need to improve) can help you develop your overall strategy. Plus, organic digital marketing levels the playing field, allowing businesses of any size to compete for clicks.

Additionally, there’s a low barrier to entry to advertise with digital marketing. You can start your paid digital marketing campaign for a minimum amount and build as your company grows. Digital marketing offers the unique chance to control where you spend those crucial advertising dollars.

Training Formats for Digital Marketing

You can learn digital marketing in-person, live online, on-demand, or through free tutorials. The method you choose should depend upon how you learn best and what you plan to do with your digital marketing education.

In-Person Digital Marketing Training

Some people prefer to attend in-person classes at a bricks-and-mortar location when learning new information. If you like to interact face to face with your instructor and classmates, this would be a good option for you when it comes to learning digital marketing. In an in-person class, you can ask the instructor questions, get help when you have difficulties with assignments, and make connections with other students and do some networking. Of course, there are drawbacks to in-person classes, too. You will need to factor in the time spent commuting to the site and finding parking or paying for transportation, and sometimes the class schedule isn’t convenient.

Noble Desktop offers a Digital Marketing Certificate in person in New York City from their state-of-the-art campus in Midtown Manhattan. Students use classroom computers with the necessary tools already downloaded to their workstations, and the instructor is in the room with the students. Other in-person training options in the US include Brainstation’s Digital Marketing Certificate, General Assembly’s Digital Marketing Course, and Georgetown School of Continuing Studies’ Digital Marketing Strategy Bootcamp.

Live-Online Digital Marketing Training

Live online digital marketing classes, bootcamps, and certificate programs provide the same advantages as their in-person counterparts: they’re interactive, comprehensive training courses led by expert instructors. Virtual courses offer flexibility for attendees who may not be able to travel to in-person classes so that students have the chance to master digital marketing from the comfort of their homes or offices. Thanks to virtual options, aspiring digital marketers can benefit from online classes taught and delivered anywhere, no matter where the school or the student is based.

You can take Noble Desktop’s Digital Marketing Strategies Bootcamp or Digital Marketing Certificate either in-person or live online. With a real-time virtual instructor, you can ask questions and get help when you need it. Other live online digital marketing classes include Thinkful’s Digital Marketing Flex, Jelly Academy’s Digital Marketing class, and Digital Marketing Ops from The Bridge.

Free Online Courses & Tutorials

If you are unsure if digital marketing is for you, free courses and tutorials can help you decide. You can check out Noble Desktop’s YouTube channel, where you will find The Pillars of Digital Marketing Success and other introductory tutorials.

You can find plenty of free digital marketing video courses online. Google offers a class called Fundamentals of Digital Marketing as well as free tutorials on its digital marketing products. HubSpot Academy offers a free course on search engine optimization, as does SEMRush. If you want to explore social media marketing, you could watch a free video on the subject from Constant Contact.

Read about more free digital marketing videos and online tutorials.

On-Demand Classes

Some companies offer on-demand digital marketing classes that you can take according to your own schedule. You can watch the videos from work or home and move at your own pace. Udacity offers a class called Become a Digital Marketer, and Udemy offers VIP Digital Marketing Master. One advantage to asynchronous video classes is that you can go back and watch the material as many times as you need to if you are having trouble with a concept.

Comparison of Digital Marketing Training Formats

You can learn digital marketing in different environments: in-person, live online, or on-demand online. Each setting has its own advantages and disadvantages, and your choice of how to study digital marketing will depend upon your comfort level, the time you have to devote to study, and how much you want to interact with students and an instructor. Don’t worry that you won’t learn as much in an online class as you would in an in-person class. Research shows that students learn just as well (and sometimes even better!) when taking virtual courses.

In-person instruction and live online classes are the most engaging and interactive formats. Students can ask questions and get immediate feedback, receive guidance on building portfolios, and interact with like-minded peers. Face-to-face training offers additional bonuses like networking opportunities and computer labs with up-to-date software.

Live online digital marketing classes, bootcamps, and certificate programs provide the same advantages as their in-person counterparts: they’re interactive, comprehensive training courses led by expert instructors. Virtual courses offer flexibility for attendees who may not be able to travel to in-person classes, so students have the chance to master digital marketing from the comfort of their homes or offices. Thanks to virtual options, you can benefit from online classes taught anywhere, no matter where the school is based.

On-demand learning is typically the most affordable option and can be a good way to start learning the basics, but this method doesn’t offer the benefits of live instruction and has the potential to be outdated; however, you can watch videos at your own pace from anywhere with a stable internet connection.

Is it Possible to Teach Yourself Digital Marketing?

How you choose to learn digital marketing is up to you. You can watch free video tutorials like Noble Desktop’s Pillars of Digital Marketing to get an introduction, but afterwards the best plan is to sign up for a class. You can take in-person classes or choose live online instruction. Some people prefer to attend brick-and-mortar sessions when learning new information. They prefer having an instructor in the room and like to get to know other students. Unfortunately, that option isn’t always available. If you can’t find an in-person digital marketing class, you can take one online.

On-demand classes are the most prevalent, and one of their greatest advantages is that many are free. These classes are prerecorded, and you can watch them whenever and wherever is convenient. YouTube hosts hours and hours of on-demand classes on digital marketing. The main drawback to most on-demand classes is that you can’t contact the instructor and ask questions or get help if you need it.

One of the best ways to learn digital marketing is through live online classes. This hybrid model blends the best of in-person classes with the convenience of online instruction. You have access to a real-time live instructor, but you don’t have to commute and can take the class from anywhere with internet access. Live online classes usually run at the same time as an in-person class, and tuition costs are the same.

How to Decide the Best Way to Learn Digital Marketing

What is the best way to learn digital marketing? That is up to you to decide. You can take an in-person class or study through a live online program. You can choose courses that meet during the week, on the weekends, or in the evenings. And you can select the level where you feel comfortable starting.

If you are just getting started with digital marketing, you might be more interested in a general overview of the key features of digital marketing, such as what it is, how you do it, and what tools you need. Many free introductory seminars, like The Pillars of Digital Marketing Success from Noble Desktop, offer this high-level survey for digital marketing beginners.

Once you understand the fundamentals of digital marketing, you might want to learn more to drive traffic to your website or help a friend with a small-business marketing project. You can sign up for a bootcamp course that covers digital marketing in depth, like one of Noble Desktop’s digital marketing bootcamps. These bootcamps deliver targeted instruction on a specialized subject such as Google Analytics, Digital Marketing Strategy and Web Optimization, or SEO.

If you want to master digital marketing for a new career or pivot from another industry, a digital marketing certificate course can help you stand out from other candidates. Noble Desktop’s Social Media Marketing Certificate covers the major social media platforms and their analytics and advertising programs, plus how to manage content and boost business. This full-length course includes 1-on-1 mentoring and assistance with designing and assembling your professional portfolio.

Noble Desktop’s Digital Marketing Certificate course includes hands-on instruction as you develop an actionable, multi-tiered digital marketing campaign optimized through SEO (Search Engine Optimization), social media, paid search, content marketing, and email marketing. You do not need any prior knowledge of digital marketing to complete this course, and you will get 1-on-1 mentoring and help creating a digital marketing portfolio.

Learn Digital Marketing with Hands-on Training at Noble Desktop

Noble Desktop’s digital marketing courses teach skills that can help you start a career in the industry. Classes are small, with expert instructors, and you can retake a course for free up to a year after you take it. Those ready to dive into the field can attend in-person classes at Noble Desktop’s New York City location or attend live online digital marketing courses from anywhere in the world.

Noble Desktop also offers more detailed courses for those looking to hone their skills on specific channels. Students can take individual classes on Facebook Marketing, Email Marketing, Social Media Content Marketing: Blogs & Twitter, and Video Marketing: TikTok & YouTube. Students can also study for a Digital Marketing Certificate and learn a comprehensive set of tools and skills for digital marketing. Another Noble Desktop resource that can help prepare for a career in digital marketing includes its digital marketing blog, which has detailed articles about social media marketing, SEO, and other essential tools for digital marketers. Students can also watch Noble’s seminar on The Pillars of Digital Marketing Success, which is available on YouTube.

Key Insights

• You can learn digital marketing for free by watching video tutorials and studying on your own, but signing up for a paid class can take you much further.
• You can choose from in-person instruction, live online classes, or on-demand videos.
• Learning digital marketing on your own is possible, but taking classes is much more efficient.
• You can choose the format of class you study according to what you want to do with digital marketing skills.