How Long Does it Take to Learn Facebook Marketing?

Like many aspiringSocial Media Marketers, you might want to learn Facebook marketing but worry that it will take too much time. It is easy to get started on Facebook but takes longer to learn the strategy and best practices. You can pick up the basics quickly, but the more complicated advertising tools will take a few weeks or months. Of course, this depends on several factors. Keep reading about how you can learn Facebook marketing and some resources to help speed the process along.

What is Facebook Marketing?

Facebook is a free social media website that is part of Meta Platforms. Facebook boasts nearly 3 billion global users and is the most popular social network in the world. Facebook users interact with each other by sharing photos, memes, text-based notes, and videos. With Facebook marketing, you can identify and connect with a target audience by posting high-quality content to promote a brand or product. Facebook’s analytical tools can tell you how your campaign is doing so you know if you are reaching your goals. 

Anyone can use Facebook with no costs or fees. Business accounts are free, but many businesses choose to pay for Facebook Ads instead of relying only on organic interactions with followers. Organic results don’t cost you anything, but they can take a long time to show an effect, whereas paid ads can quickly increase sales.

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

What Can You Do with Facebook Marketing?

When you sign up for a Facebook business account, you can use free analytical tools to tap into information from almost 3 billion users to determine your target audience. Once you know who you are trying to reach, set some goals for what you want to do on Facebook, and devise a plan for posting content.

You have many choices as to the type of content you post, including text, photos, videos, links, stories, and pinned posts. Other ways to engage with your audience include Facebook Live gatherings, watch parties, job listings, Messenger and chatbots, raising money for charities, Facebook Q&A, and groups. 

Facebook also has analytical tools through the Facebook Business Insights Suite. This can help you create paid targeted ads through Facebook Ads, or you can use the free Facebook Pixel tool to gather data to use down the road if you decide to run paid ads later.

Average Time it Takes to Learn Facebook Marketing

It takes a few hours to learn the basics of Facebook, but mastering the marketing aspect, particularly with Facebook Ads, can take much longer. It is easy to use Facebook at the personal level but much more complicated to learn at the business level. Beyond simply making posts and reading comments, businesses using Facebook need to develop a strategy, identify a target audience, build relationships with followers, and produce content. 

When you move into the area of Facebook Ads, things are more complicated. The bottom line is that while getting started with Facebook marketing is relatively easy, understanding the best way to use Facebook Ads is more complicated.

Other Factors

Other factors that can affect how long it takes to learn Facebook marketing are your previous experience with marketing and data analysis, how comfortable you are with social media, and how much time you can spend studying. Signing up for a class can make the process go faster.

Marketing Experience

Previous experience with marketing will help you learn Facebook marketing much more quickly. If you know how to craft a message, define an audience, and follow what your competition is doing, you should be able to pick up the details of using Facebook in a few hours. Facebook Ads takes longer to learn, but if you have experience working with data, that will speed things up.

Data Analysis

If you have used any digital marketing tools, like Google Analytics or Google Ads, it will take less time to learn Facebook Ads. If working with data is entirely new to you, you will need to learn how to use the data analytics tools, which can take a few weeks. 

Social Media Savy

Most people these days are familiar with social media and have personal accounts on several platforms. This makes learning Facebook marketing quicker, but there are differences between using Facebook as a private individual and as a business. Picking up on the differences and developing successful strategies for posts or ads can take several months.

Time to Devote to Study

Generally, the more time you have available for studying, the less time it will take you to learn Facebook marketing. Although the basics go quickly, it takes longer to catch on to strategy and the more complicated Facebook Ads. One way to cut down on the time it takes to learn Facebook marketing is to sign up for a class. An experienced instructor knows the best ways to use Facebook marketing and advertising and can teach you shortcuts, tips, and techniques.

Level of Difficulty, Prerequisites, & Cost 

If you like spending time on social media and enjoy using your creativity, Facebook marketing will not be difficult to learn. How difficult or easy it is to learn Facebook marketing depends on how motivated you are and how much time you have to study. Does multitasking come easily to you? Do you enjoy keeping track of data? Is creating content for Facebook followers more fun than working? If these statements resonate with you, it probably won’t be difficult for you to learn Facebook marketing and change careers, especially if you sign up for a certificate course.

There aren’t any prerequisites you will need to know before learning Facebook marketing, although a few skills can make it easier. Comfort with technology and working with numbers will make it easier for you to pick up Facebook marketing analytics tools. Good communication skills and familiarity with social media interactions are a plus, too. 

It is free to open a Facebook account and use the tools that Meta provides. There is an associated cost if you run Facebook Ads, but you can set a cap on spending to stay within your budget. The only other cost for learning Facebook marketing is tuition if you choose to sign up for a class.

Read about how difficult it is to learn Facebook marketing.

Watch a Free Facebook Marketing Course Online

If you are not ready to tackle an entire course, you can start learning Facebook marketing online for free. Free courses can introduce you to the basics of Facebook marketing to help you decide if you want to go further. Try Noble Desktop’s Intro to Facebook Marketing to get started. 

Another free option is Meta’s Blueprint Courses. This is a collection of free classes on different Facebook marketing topics like attracting an audience, building relationships with followers, improving strategy, getting started with paid advertising, and other selections. HubSpot also has a Beginner’s Guide to Using Facebook and a How to Run Facebook Ads class.

Read about more free Facebook marketing videos and online tutorials.

Learn Facebook Marketing with Hands-on Training at Noble Desktop

You can learn Facebook marketing with classes from Noble Desktop. For a solid introduction to Facebook marketing, sign up for the Facebook Marketing Bootcamp. This course will help you switch to a career in the industry. Classes are small, and instructors are experienced with social media marketing. You can retake the course for free up to a year after you first take it. You can attend in-person classes at Noble Desktop’s New York City location or attend live online from anywhere in the world.

For a deeper dive, try Noble Desktop’s Social Media Marketing Certificate. With this class, you can master successful social media marketing tools and techniques across platforms. You will learn about strategy development, content creation, brand building, analytics, and conversion optimization. 

Noble Desktop also offers more detailed courses for those looking to hone their skills on specific channels, such as Email Marketing, Social Media Content Marketing: Blogs & Twitter, and Video Marketing: TikTok & YouTube. Other Noble Desktop resources that can help prepare for a career in Facebook marketing include its digital marketing blog, which has detailed articles about social media marketing, SEO, and other essential tools for digital marketers. Further resources include Noble’s seminar entitled Intro to Facebook Marketing.

Key Insights

• Facebook marketing lets you identify a target audience, set goals, and build relationships with your audience through engagement.
• Learning the basics of Facebook marketing takes a few hours, but mastering the tools and strategy can take much longer.
• Your level of marketing experience, knowledge of data analytics, social media savvy, and amount of time to devote to study all affect how long it takes to learn Facebook marketing.
• You can receive comprehensive Facebook marketing training through an in-person or live online course with Noble Desktop.