How Much is a Social Media Marketing Course?

When most students are deciding whether to enroll in a social media marketing course, cost is a crucial factor they need to consider. Even while marketing skills can increase your earning potential over the long term and are necessary for various career routes, independent of the field in which you work, some students may need more time to be able or ready to pay for certain training alternatives, especially the most expensive ones. The length of the program, the level of focus, and the training provider are some variables that affect the price of social media marketing courses.

The most costly training option is to learn social media marketing as part of a college or university program, which requires taking numerous unrelated courses. Completing a college degree that includes social media marketing typically costs tens of thousands of dollars, if not more. More intensive courses focusing on social media marketing training, including certificate programs, tend to be more expensive than boot camps or short skill workshops that teach it exclusively. Certificates in content creation or social media analysis typically cost several thousand dollars, whereas social media marketing bootcamps are usually available for under $1,000. Classes in social media marketing skills normally run less than $500 and offer a short study window. On-demand studies and other less costly social media marketing training options are also offered; however, the lower your price, the more likely you will need more training to grasp its potential fully. 

College Social Media Marketing Training: The Most Expensive Option 

A college degree is one of the most expensive options for learning social media marketing. College tuition can be costly, ranging from tens to hundreds of thousands of dollars, depending on the institution, program, and residency status. If you don't live at home while attending college, you must also factor in housing, food, transportation, and other living expenses. Let's not forget about course materials. College courses often require textbooks and other course materials, adding hundreds or even thousands of dollars to your overall cost.

College study is a good option for those interested in pursuing a digital marketing or marketing communications career. However, if you’re interested in learning social media marketing for a current job, more affordable (and shorter) training is available.

Professional Development Programs: Immersive, Career-Focused Classes 

Suppose you’re interested in learning social media marketing alongside other job-relevant skills and don’t want to invest tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars in your study. In that case, certificate programs are an excellent alternative. Certificates, such as the Social Media Marketing Certificate available from Noble Desktop, can be completed in several weeks of part-time study and cost only a fraction of university tuition. Most certificate programs taught in social media marketing are combined with specific social media platforms, including Instagram, Twitter, or TikTok. Certificates typically run between $5,000 and $10,000. Full- and part-time education options are offered to students who must balance their training alongside work or family commitments. 

Certificate study is an excellent way for those new to social media marketing to acquire hands-on training either in person or live online and apply this knowledge professionally upon graduation. These career-focused programs ensure that students leave with a well-rounded skill set that will make them competitive in the job market. In addition to in-class training, certificates also often include professional development incentives, such as 1-on-1 personalized mentoring sessions, career counseling, access to networking events, or resume critiques.

When learning social media marketing, certificate programs are a great method for beginners to get hands-on instruction in person or live online. After graduating, they may immediately use their newly acquired workplace marketing skills. With a well-rounded skill set that will make them competitive in the job market, these career-focused programs ensure that students will be competitive in the job market. In addition to in-class training, certificates also often include professional development incentives, such as 1-on-1 personalized mentoring sessions, career counseling, access to networking events, or resume critiques.

Live Training Classes: Ideal for Beginners 

Live social media marketing classes are the most engaging and interactive way to learn the world of digital marketing. Both boot camps and shorter skills classes are available with a focus on social media marketing. These courses are offered both live online via Zoom or a comparable teleconferencing platform and in person in designated training locations in key cities across the country. In addition to personalized instruction from a teacher with practical experience in social media marketing, students gain a sense of community and camaraderie from other students. Live classes are an affordable option for learning this form of marketing; they usually last just one day. Coursework, which often costs less than $500, is available for all learning levels. 

Bootcamps are another excellent option for live social media marketing instruction. These courses typically include social media fundamentals, such as understanding the different social media landscapes. In a bootcamp, you may explore foundational concepts of content marketing and how they apply to social media. This includes crafting engaging content (text, images, videos) tailored to each platform. Social media marketing also incorporates strategies for building and managing online communities around a brand or product, including fostering communication, responding to comments and messages, and addressing customer concerns. Bootcamps are typically a more affordable study option than independently enrolling in beginner, intermediate, and advanced-level skills classes; some providers offer a discount for those who take all three. 

On-Demand Classes: Excellent Supplements at Reasonable Prices 

On-demand social media marketing is a flexible way for some learners to learn this skill. These asynchronous courses are pre-recorded and placed online, and students can complete their training at their own pace from their own location. On-demand social media marketing coursework can be a great way to learn to work with marketing. Students just starting with social media marketing can pause lessons, rewind them, and even watch them repeatedly as needed. On-demand content is available from many top providers, such as Udemy and Coursera. It ranges from just a few hours to much more involved classes that take weeks to complete. 

Free Resources: Are They for You?

Before investing hundreds or thousands of dollars in social media marketing courses, you may wonder if free resources are available and worth your time. The good news is that educators around the globe post many free social media marketing resources online. Because of how widely used digital marketing is, there are plenty of resources for those interested in learning how to work with social media marketing.

Top providers worldwide upload short videos on platforms like YouTube, where they provide instruction on specific social media platforms or marketing tasks. You can select short video clips that take just a few minutes to watch or opt for more involved video training that takes an hour or longer to view. Tech training companies like Noble Desktop also have free online social media marketing resources like Intro to Instagram Marketing.

It’s important to remember that free online content can quickly become dated. While it can help Marketers find answers to specific questions or provide a basic overview, the cost associated with live study is a sound investment for most learners, particularly those hoping to acquire advanced-level marketing knowledge.

Learn Social Media Marketing with Noble Desktop

If you’re interested in learning the basics of social media marketing or acquiring more advanced digital marketing knowledge, Noble Desktop provides in-person and live online social media marketing courses. These classes are intended for beginners and professionals seeking advanced-level social media marketing training. All Noble courses provide hands-on training in a small class environment, including a free course retake for one year. Coursework is available at different price points.

Noble Desktop offers a Social Media Video Marketing: YouTube course for students seeking to develop their skills in YouTube marketing. This hands-on course teaches students how to effectively use YouTube for social media marketing and create a successful business content strategy. It covers all aspects of video-based social media marketing, from creating a channel and editing content to monetization and using Shopify with YouTube. This one-day workshop will introduce students to current social media marketing trends within video and help them develop a marketing strategy that works for them. Students will begin with an introduction to YouTube, followed by developing a strategy for developing content and creating successful content for YouTube, among others. 

Students who need to build or create a social media marketing portfolio can benefit from Noble Desktop’s Social Media Industry and Portfolio class. In this course, students will create an earned-first creative project for their portfolio as well as update their resumes and social media presence to be prepared for these new social media job opportunities. In this class, students will update their social media presence and resumes and develop an earned-first creative project for their portfolio to prepare for new social media job opportunities. Students will learn how to optimize their online presence through brand research, campaign development, and LinkedIn networking strategies, to name a few. 

Learners looking to develop a paid and organic marketing strategy for Instagram can take the Instagram Marketing Bootcamp. The one-day workshop includes creating engaging content, mastering Stories, leveraging hashtags, capturing content, developing a community, creating a post cadence, and collaborating. Students will also discover how to create a business page, use paid advertising, and integrate Shopify with Instagram. The session looks at platform functioning and advertising in addition to the content. Students create a marketing plan that works for them after learning about the latest social media marketing trends.