B2B marketing evolves at a breakneck pace; with new trends, innovations, and technologies being developed every day, staying ahead of the curve can seem challenging. But keeping your marketing skills sharp and your know-how current is essential for remaining relevant among the competition.
This doesn’t mean you need to start making your own memes or communicating solely through emojis. Or that you need start using strange millennial slang in your content marketing. But it does mean you should be thinking about ways to hone your skills and increase your leads — which may even mean advancing your career at the same time.
Online marketing courses allow professionals to hone their skills on their own schedule, at their own pace, and can be hugely useful in gaining new leads. Below are five of the most popular online courses available.
HubSpot offers a huge range of marketing courses, all of which are free. This is a great resource for those interested in learning more about inbound marketing techniques, which focus on attracting clients through valuable content offerings like blogs and eBooks. These resources directly help users throughout their buying journeys, enabling you to gain leads organically without relying on overtly promotional, “salesy” tactics that can put people off.
Email marketing, another component of the inbound strategy, is also covered in HubSpot; using emails to provide relevant company updates, links to valuable content, and general industry news, companies can target contacts based on their specific interests and stages in the buying cycle.
Another valuable platform for online marketing courses, Quick Sprout University offers various courses in SEO, content marketing, and paid advertising for companies looking to increase their web traffic. After analyzing your website, Quick Sprout pinpoints areas that can be optimized or improved, allowing you to make changes as needed and keep track of what’s working and what’s not.
Their social media courses are particularly robust — great for any company looking to kick-start their social media presence on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, or even Pinterest. Courses like “How to Get More Engagement From Your Facebooks Fans,” “How to Market Your Ecommerce Site on Social Media,” and “How to Grow Your Professional Network on Social Media” are all aimed at one ultimate goal — gaining new leads.
With courses ranging in price from $0 to $10, Udemy offers over 55,000 courses, many taught by renowned instructors. With a huge range of course topics, navigating options can be overwhelming, so focus first on a couple specific subjects you’d like to explore, and pay attention to user reviews to ensure you pick the right class for your specific needs. Topics include SEO, social media, email marketing, e-commerce, and Google Analytics, among many others.
If you’re looking for a super-immersive course, Udemy may be a good option; many classes are over 20 hours long, offering comprehensive, in-depth training.
Google’s Digital Marketing Course, meanwhile, focuses specifically on AdWords, Google’s proprietary advertising platform. This course covers all topics related to AdWords, including keyword targeting and display ads, and is a great place to start for those new to digital marketing. This course covers the key components of digital marketing and explores commonly used tools and technologies. Plus, after completion, you’ll receive AdWords Certification, a globally recognized accreditation that illustrates your expertise in AdWords tools and best practices.
An online learning platform offering a range of business, software, technology, and creative courses, Lynda.com offers valuable digital marketing resources for both experts and beginners. Users can start with a free 30-day trial, and both basic and premium plans are available to meet different budget constraints and company goals. A huge range of digital marketing courses are offered, focusing on SEO, Google AdWords, ad copy, video content, social media promotion, PPC, SlideShare, webinars, branding, and much more.
All of these online marketing courses offer great value and can go a long way in garnering new leads. But for most manufacturers, their most precious resource is time. Looking to hone your digital marketing skills but don’t have the extra hours to spend at the computer? The team at Thomas Marketing Services can help; get in touch with us today to discuss your options.