An analogue guy in a digital marketing world — How to start catching up?
Imagine it is 2021 and you have studied marketing more than a decade ago and still have no idea how a Facebook marketing campaign works or how companies push their products or services in the Google search results? Not ideal to put it mildly. Well, in this case the person left behind is me.
So far, I have worked in sectors which heavily relied on “analogue” marketing tools to build personal relationships. Sending physical Christmas cards to business partners or bringing small gifts to meetings with our clients has been my way of doing “analogue” marketing. With the Corona pandemic many companies got into trouble, including mine. So, what happens if the company does not survive the crisis? What if I will have to look out for a new job?
Well, the answer is quite clear to me: Use some of the spare time to prepare for new challenges. Being a marketeer, inevitably I will be confronted with more and more facets of digital marketing. It seems obvious that an online digital marketing program should be the route to take.
Now the question is, which of the numerous online trainings is right for me. After doing extensive research I found a winner: Udacity´s Digital Marketing Nanodegree (DMND) program . Let me summarize some criteria that back up my choice of this online training over other programs:
- Flexibility: I must do the training at my own pace and at times that I can choose for myself. Remember, having a job on the side still requires a lot of attention and time. Udacity’s program gives you the flexibility to study whenever you want while you can create a study plan for yourself and set personal deadlines.
- Real-world relation: A theoretical training without any practical examples as I remember from some of my university classes? No, thank you. The DMND program teaches about real-life projects in cooperation with renowned companies which exemplify the theoretical background.
- Project reviews: The curriculum contains 11 sections. Each topic is being concluded with a mini project which adds a nice practical component to the program. You get feedback from experienced reviewers for each project.
- Launch live campaigns: Some of the projects include launching live Facebook or Google Ads campaigns for instance. Is there a better way to learn about these tools than creating your own campaigns?
Obviously, it takes more than just completing an online program, but it is a first big step away from being just the analogue guy in a digital marketing world.
