I’ve been into the Digital Marketing Industry since I was 17 years old and now, I run an agency named echoVME, one of India’s oldest Digital Marketing agencies. I’ve also headed 250+ workshops by far and have trained professionals throughout the country. Through my days of running an agency and training, I’ve come across people from different walks of life, aspiring to take up Digital Marketing as a career but, there still is an ambiguity about a digital marketing certification being important or not for them to take this path.
Honestly, Digital Marketing Certification doesn’t really matter. Yes, this is the bitter truth about the Digital Marketing industry. Be it from Digital Vidya or Edupristine or UpGrad or any premium institute, a Digital Marketing Course certificate doesn’t really matter.
Hold On!
Neither do your certificates from Google or Facebook or Hubspot change anything.
Here are the reasons:
None of the above certifications certify that you’re a capable Digital Marketer.
None of these certificates have lifetime validity because what you had learnt a year ago might not work today!
So, why should I get these certifications?
In a fish tank, a Gold fish is always looked up to! When you hold a certificate you distinguish yourself immediately, from the whole lot. The mindset still says, you know more than anyone else because you hold a certification.
In this article I will be telling why a certification is essential and where to get one that can land you with a job. The common questions that follow ones that go like “Is a digital marketing certificate essential?” are,
What is the minimum required qualification to enroll for a Digital Marketing certification course?
Digital Marketing as such requires no minimum qualification, although some institutes ask for a Higher Secondary level qualification. Mostly, it requires only basic computer and internet surfing skills. Many Digital Marketing professionals are college drop outs or they still hold arrears – This is interesting right?
I am a sales person. Will a Digital Marketing certification help me accelerate my career?
Considering you are an entry-level sales person, taking up Digital Marketing at the very inception of your career would kick-start your growth in the domain. With the percentage of the total budget spent for Digital Marketing going only uphill, with every passing year.
About 90% of the brands spend 15% of their total budget for Digital marketing .
Shifting your career path to the digital world is undeniably the safest bet you could make.
If you are an experienced sales professional, you already have most of the things in place. You simply have to integrate whatever you’ve done with Digital Marketing. Make your presence on social networks, connect with your existing customers, keep them engaged & start mining for prospective customers.
Social Selling is increasingly important thing in companies. Social selling on Twitter and Social selling on LinkedIn is a very hot topic. Learning Digital Marketing as a sales person will also help you do your database research, market research better and activate drip marketing all across. For a sales person understanding of Digital Marketing will only help them climb their ladder much quicker.
I am a student. How far will a certification in Digital Marketing take me through with my career?
Choosing to take up a career in Digital Marketing is one of the best options you would have as a student, if your interests lean towards being creative and a rave sales person. A certification would help you in bridging the gap between your degree and area of interest. Save the skill acquisition, the Digital Marketing payscales are also quite attractive and sky-rocket when you add up years to your experience. More than Digital Marketing Certificates, Digital Marketing Courses makes a cut for students who want to build their career. I have compared Top 5 Digital Marketing Courses in India and you might want to pick the best of 5 to start your career.
Will a certification alone be enough to take me all the way through my career?
Like any other industry, Digital Marketing is also a place where you’d have to keep yourself updated with continuous learning. A certification course would serve as an entry ticket by laying a strong foundation of what and where to get things. It will also add weight to your resume for interviews when you try to get into the industry. Along with certification, experience, knowledge and ability to implement practically matters.
Does any of the institutes offer 100% placements after taking their Digital Marketing Course?
Umm, actually not! But, they offer 100% placement assistance. That looks like a new terminology right? Well, they will help your profile reach to the right companies, they will help you with profile polishing and resume building but they won’t get you placements.
Does it matter where or whom I get the certification from?
Yes, it does! While there is a huge number of training institutes offering Digital Marketing certifications, there is a notion that obtaining a certification has become saturated. I’d like to reiterate the fact that when the certification is done through a proper channel and guidance, it can definitely boost your confidence and chances of being employed.
Agencies like echoVME, Digital Vidya, UpGrad & Edupristine allocate budgets for practice and hands-on training. They also train students with industrial professionals, which give the trainees an opportunity to have a sneak-peek into how the industry actually works.
There are two kinds of certificates:
- Free Digital Marketing Certificates that you can crack by learning their tutorials.
- Certificates coming from premiere institutes like UpGrad, Digital Vidya and Edupristine.
Is Internship a Great Way to Learn Digital Marketing?
Well, an internship is a fantastic way to learn digital marketing and get certified for experience from leading companies. Digital Marketing Agencies are the right places to get started. Digital Marketing Agencies can help you handle multiple clients at the same time. Even if it’s a low paying job, you should enter agencies to learn more and switch multiple domains internally to learn every aspect of Digital. As an intern you make it clear to agency that you are here to learn and ask questions, appropriate questions. The more you ask, the more you learn.
Will I be able to specialize in a particular domain of Digital Marketing through a certification?
You could venture into the field by equipping yourself with a particular certification but, getting yourself a 360 degree digital marketing certificate would present you with a bunch of different domains to choose from. My advice would be to gobble up the entire menu and go ahead with whichever fits your taste. Also, there are various courses that you can adapt to which will help you in learning Digital Marketing step by step and you should start with having your own blog first and then move towards Search Engine Optimization, Search Engine Marketing and Social Media Marketing.
Is there a list of certifications that are basic and serve as the foundation for a career in Digital Marketing?
- Adwords Search Certification By Google
- Shopping Advertising Certification By Google
- Youtube Video Certification
- Mobile Advertising Certification By Google
- Adwords Display Certification By Google
- Google Analytics Certification
- Google Tag Manager Certification
- Hubspot Academy’s Inbound Certification
- Hubspot Content Marketing Certification
- Bing Ads Accredited Professional Certification
- Hubspot Email Marketing Certification
- Facebook Blueprint Certification
Do I have to obtain a certificate from an institute that offers class-room training as well?
Not necessarily. There are institutes that have quality video content and webinar sessions that would suffice for your understanding of key concepts. They also have forums where you can discuss and get your doubts cleared. Some institutes also hold live chat sessions with the instructors. I run a Free Digital Marketing Course and there are about 40,000+ subscribers for the same. You might want to register to get your basics of Digital Marketing right. I promise, you will learn a lot.
Register for Free Digital Marketing Course
Will enrolling for a certification in an institute aid me in networking with the professionals in the industry?
Yes, almost all the top training institutes ensure that their trainees are well connected to each other and also with the alumni. They also make sure that you are in touch with industrial experts by inviting them to guest sessions and also for webinars. Their dedicated placement cells put you in touch with the recruiters with their recruitment drives and job fairs. You are also more likely to interact with other professionals on the forum they invite you to stay in touch. It’s an evolved learning process.
What’s the salary package?
Well, I have answered this question earlier in ‘Digital Marketing Career In India’ – I have done a complete study on the job scenario in this article. You might want to read. (Full Article)
Is Class room training better than virtual training?
Human touch is the best element ever. I enjoy class room training more than a virtual one. Why? Because I am learning with people and it makes it all the more interesting. I like it when my professors are watching me listen and when they raise appropriate questions. However, digital marketing classroom trainings are very less in India. I organize 2 days Social Media Marketing bootcamp under the banner ‘Social Media Road Show’ and then I teach people virtually. With virtual training programs it’s easy for me to scale, class room trainings are always a riskier element as you need to invest in infrastructure. I would personally suggest you to take class room trainings and learn things practically than taking a course virtually and dozing off when the instructor is teaching.
Should I take the cheat sheet while taking up my Digital Marketing Certifications from Google, Facebook and more?
Remember, you are taking these certifications to test your knowledge. Even if you get recruited because of these certificates you will be judged on how much you know and not what you have got in hand.
More questions?
I would love to take your questions. Please feel free to share in the comment section below.
Hey
I came across your post today and it was a great post.
Thanx for sharing 🙂
I thought your idea on whether certificates matter or not was a great point
and something i see a lot of people struggle with.
All the best.
Well, This is very helpful. Thanks for your post. I Highly appreciate this..
Actually I was also tense with certifications matters or not but now I am ok with my work. I currently working for Digiarise Web developement and seo company
It’s a great post. Very helpful to learn lot of things. We advertise the digital marketing jobs from all over India
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