Add improved digital marketing to your list of mid-year resolutions. Move over direct messages, because there’s a new DM in town. If you’re thinking of sliding in to this skyrocketing market, I’d like to congratulate you on a thought well done. Recently, a Forrester report found that U.S. spending on digital marketing would reach $146 billion by the year 2023. I’m no mathematician, but that seems like a lot! And 2023? That’s right around the corner. Let’s take a look at why this is the case and what you can do to improve digital marketing for your business or break into the industry as a marketer.
Digital Marketing Is For Everyone
We’ve moved well into the digital age (thank goodness), and it’s essentially a requirement that businesses have digital marketing on their list of things to do and improve upon. Whether you already have a full blown plan for your business or you’re looking to create one, anyone can improve their marketing strategy, and improvement always begins with knowledge.
If you’re not a business owner, but you’re interested in a career in digital marketing, this post is also for you. Or maybe you’re just bored and you accidentally found your way onto our little website here. Hell, this post is for you too. There’s nothing more exciting than customer acquisition and retention. Save, maybe, TPS reports.
Speaking of careers in digital marketing, I did a little research, and I realized that it’s amazing what you can pass off as research nowadays. I also found a bunch of people, claiming to have Masters and Doctorates (I’m sure they do), predict an explosion of growth in the field, and that many degrees can’t be wrong.
Also, further on down the list of results, I found national average salaries for digital marketers on GlassDoor, which is exactly what you’d feel like you ran into if you saw what I saw. According to the site, these guys and girls are raking in nearly $60,000 per year. In fact, based on their data, it looks like, if you work for IBM, you’ll have to wade through piles of cash, just to get to your Lamborghini. Not bad for a job that doesn’t necessarily require a degree. I’ll explain this in a bit. If you just do a quick peruse through any of the popular business sites, you’ll notice that people simply cannot stop talking about this field, and you can take advantage of that.
In order to take advantage, you’re going to need to level up your knowledge, especially if you don’t have a business degree. The good news is that a solid amount of knowledge, plus a good “proof-of-concept” case, above average salesmanship and copywriting, equals IBM Lamborghini money!
To those business owners who think I’ve forgotten about them, your knowledge of digital marketing can push your business forward. If you’re a small business owner, you can absolutely destroy your competition. I’m talking RoboWars, and you’re the one with the hammer and the buzz saw. The hammer is an email campaign and the buzz saw is social media. If you’re the owner of a large firm, your knowledge can help you hire the right people and help you really take the lead and shape the company’s direction.
The following are some resources for learning digital marketing that will set you and/or your company up for success. I’ve also included a bonus resource at the end. It’s a bonus because I said so, and because it doesn’t quite fit in with the “free” theme. However, you paying for it is proof of just how business savvy you are. Trust me.
HubSpot
These links are in no particular order, but if they were, HubSpot would certainly deserve a spot at the top. HubSpot Academy is the first place I think of when I think of learning the ins and outs of digital marketing and marketing, in general. They offer dozens of courses on the subject FOR FREE. I just started another course, Content Marketing, so I can get Rabblry’s game where it needs to be. It takes you through every single aspect. If you need help coming up with a content plan, analyzing the success of your content, generating new content ideas, or anything else content, marketing, or SEO related, HubSpot should be your destination. I’ll make sure to put a review up on the website when I’ve completed my current course.
They also have courses on training, WordPress, ecommerce marketing, digital advertising, and about 50 other topics. Need more reasons to check them out? Alrighty. You can also create chatflows (automated messaging) for your website to get prospective buyers talking to you, access ad and email analytics, set up reminders, create a content library, track help tickets, and they even let you try out their CRM for free. Use their free tools in conjunction with the courses they offer and you can grow your business without spending a penny! If do you decide to go for a paid subscription, they offer TONS of other tools to grow and scale your business, and the pricing is ridiculously good.
Canva
My other favorite marketing tool. Aside from being able to create any kind of digital media (and print) that you could ever dream of for the price of the lint in someone’s pocket, Canva also offers design courses! Amazing!
As I mentioned, they have tons of learning materials on design to help take your knowledge of marketing and brand awareness into the upper echelon of digital marketers. I’m willing to bet that most digital marketers actually don’t have that great of a grasp on design (most), so you should be ahead of the curve. Oh, and just for good measure, they have learning materials on other aspects of business as well.
So, there you have it. Everything you need to learn digital marketing on your own time, for no cost at all. Wait…you say you want more? You’ve completely read through all of Canva’s design literature and you’ve binged right through HubSpot’s marketing courses? Impossible. But if that is somehow the case, which it isn’t, I direct you here for free SEO and SEM eBooks (a ridiculous value at whatever cost), here for free blog posts on SEO, digital marketing, social media, etc., and here for free digital marketing courses and exams all courtesy of SEM Rush.
There Should Probably Be More Free Stuff Though
Wait, you know that’s not all. It couldn’t be. This post isn’t quite excruciatingly long yet. May I also direct you here and here for a complete beginner’s guide to SEO (complete with 7 chapters and a glossary) and an entire SEO learning center? Yes, a whole center dedicated to helping your web site rank where it should. Would all of that be okay with you?
Also, if the mood should strike you, might I recommend pairing your learning center with one of Udemy’s finest? They have courses on everything from digital marketing to branding to analytics and automation.
So, there you have it…everything you need to learn the ins and outs of digital marketing. I wish you much luck on your educational and professional journey.
Images courtesy of Campaign Creators and Merakist