The digital revolution has provided unparalleled access to information, and empowered people to do their own research, self-education and learning. Digital Learning Day seeks to celebrate the use of digital technology in learning and in particular highlights innovative and forward-thinking technologies.

Marketing has a strong relationship with technological innovation, being one of the most fluid and dynamic business functions. The rise of the internet heralded a changing digital landscape for marketers. The use of email, advanced search engines such as Yahoo! and Google, and the creation of e-commercial sites such as Amazon and Ebay paved new ways for companies to reach and engage with consumers. Email became an effective inbound and outbound marketing strategy, still favoured by most digital marketers to this day. Search engines became a way for customers to compare products, making more informed purchasing decisions. Search engines, specifically Google, provided marketers the earliest opportunity to implement SEO and PPC strategies, originally utilising techniques such as keyword stuffing, excessive tagging and the use of spammy backlinks to enhance their businesses digital visibility.

Due to the ever-changing landscape of digital marketing, even the most successful marketers can learn something new. 

Online Learning: The State of Digital Marketing

Due to the dynamism of the digital marketing arena, it can sometimes be a struggle to stay informed of digital marketing developments and best practises. There are a number of free, online resources that can be exploited by marketing professionals to manage and enhance their skills. We’ve listed our favourites below. 

Moz

Moz has a brilliantly comprehensive blog, covering a range of topics aimed at demystifying the frustratingly opaque SEO industry. In particular, we highly recommend their 101 series of blogs, which provide the low down on all major aspects of SEO. Covering elements such as identifying terms and phrases that will generate organic traffic to your website, to making your website technically SEO friendly.

As SEO is such a fundamental backbone to your marketing strategy, even a basic understanding of SEO practises will reap you rewards.

If you’re a developer, or if you work alongside them, it may be beneficial to point them towards this resource. A developer with a fundamental understanding of SEO will ensure that SEO is constantly considered during a development project, instead of being an afterthought. This will improve efficiency, as marketers won’t have to make minor, yet time-consuming, adjustments. 

Hubspot

Hubspot is another brilliant resource for junior marketers, as well as seasoned professionals.

For starters, their blog is one of, if not the most popular marketing blog on the internet today. Producing content around a wide array of different marketing disciplines, such as social media marketing, content marketing, search engine optimisation and paid search, Hubspot’s blog has an article relevant to every marketer in the industry.

One of the reasons Hubspot’s blog proves so popular is the value in which they provide readers. Included with the majority of blog articles will be free templates, designed to aid you implement the knowledge you will have just gained.

In addition to their blog, Hubspot offer marketers a variety of free courses and accreditations to prove their knowledge and expertise. These courses, as they are provided by an authoritative organisation, are widely recognised. 

Google Skillshop

Google Skillshop is a one-stop-shop training centre for anyone using Google professional tools and solutions – that’s you marketers. Skillshop provides you with a variety of resources, aimed at growing your knowledge and professional value with flexible, on-demand training.

Once you sign up to Skillshop, you will gain access to a library of free online courses, designed to grow and demonstrate your knowledge in Google professional software.

There are a number of courses available, with the two popular courses being Google Ads and Analytics Academy. With the Google Ads course, you’ll have the ability to gain individual accreditations in Search Ads, Display Ads, Shopping Ads and Video Ads. Each certification will develop your Google Ads skillset further, allowing you to advertise your business online to a greater success.

Analytics Academy will teach you basic and advanced Google Analytics concepts. Becoming proficient in Google Analytics will allow you to grow your business through intelligent data collection and analysis. Upon successfully passing the exam, you will receive your Google Analytics Individual Qualification. As any marketer will tell you, Google Analytics is an essential software to master and will be favoured by employers as well. 

Facebook Blueprint

Facebook Blueprint is Facebook’s online learning platform that offers free, self-paced courses on Facebook and Instagram advertising. With these courses, you’ll learn everything from basic foundation skills for Facebook and Instagram marketing to creative best practises, audience retargeting, ad purchasing, analytics and ad tracking.

With over 90 courses now, Facebook Blueprint is particularly useful if you’re looking to master a specific skill or achieve an objective.

As well as their free courses, Facebook Blueprint offers a variety of certifications. The most popular of which being their Facebook Certified Digital Marketing Associate certification. This certification recognises advanced level proficiency with Facebook’s family of apps and services, aimed at boosting your resume, credibility and career.