The Best Way to Learn Digital Marketing: Self-Study Vs. Online Course
The Best Way to Learn Digital Marketing: Self-Study Vs. Online Course
Do you want to learn digital marketing? There is a growing demand for digital marketing courses in the last few years. Yet digital marketing (also referred to as online marketing and Internet marketing) has been around since the 1990s.
It seems that all this time, it has mainly been a lot of trial-and-error and do-it-yourself for those who want to learn digital marketing. That means digital marketing veterans have learned things the hard way: on their own.
Surely, anyone can learn digital marketing — well, practically anything — through self-study. We live in an explosion of information. There are so many resources online and offline on anything under the sun. There are almost 25 million search results for the key phrase “digital marketing.” So, if there is so much information out there and if the pioneers in digital marketing did everything on their own, why do people consider taking up training courses in digital marketing?
There are 5 advantages that an instructor-led digital marketing course over self-study:
1. Structure
The main advantage of a more formal training program to learn digital marketing over self-study is structure. A well-designed digital marketing course will have learning objectives, training outcomes, content and instructional design, training materials, and validation to measure effectiveness. It’s well-structured, designed to take you from A to Z, step-by-step, from general to specific, theory to application. You know where to start and where to end.
Self-study, on the other hand, can be a bit of a — how do I put this? — a mess. With almost 25 million search results, really, where do you start? With so much information, it will overwhelm you. And even if you get started, what’s the next step? What do you do next?
2. Discipline
The other major advantage of taking a digital marketing course instead of learning things on your own is discipline. Enrolling in a training program forces you to sit down, concentrate, and learn. If you invest in a course, you want to make sure it pays off right? So you will do your best to attend all sessions and make the most out of them.
Now, you can try to learn digital marketing on your own. It will take a lot of discipline and willpower to just get started. Once you begin, will you be able to sustain your initial enthusiasm? Will you invest time reading books, e-books, and articles online, and watching YouTube videos? Or will you get easily distracted watching cat videos, answering Facebook personality quizzes, and sharing memes?
3. Time
If you enroll in a digital marketing training program, you might feel you are wasting time. Instead of working or doing other things, you have to drag yourself to learn for a few hours once a week or so. There is also the time consumed going to the training venue. But think of it this way: there is a time limit to a formal training program. You know exactly how many hours it will take. There’s a beginning and end. And because there is structure and discipline, you actually save time this way.
Contrast this to self-study. Do you think it’s free because it costs nothing? It will cost you time, a lot of time, certainly a lot more time to learn digital marketing than undergoing a training course. You will spend time Googling, time filtering search results, time evaluating whether the content is any good, time reading or watching, and time figuring out what to do next. And yes, time is wasted because of distractions. Plus, because there’s no structure and you’re not sure if you learned what you need to know, it just doesn’t seem to end.
4. Interaction
We are social beings. Yes, even the most introverted among us. We crave interaction and connection. And we learn better if there is a back-and-forth between a lecturer and students, and among students. An instructor-led digital marketing training program offers this kind of interaction. A good lecturer does not just transfer information, he or she facilitates lively discussion. In this environment, you can ask questions, clarify things you find confusing, ask your seatmate for help, talk to the lecturer during a break, learn from other participants who share their own experiences, and work together in small groups to solve problems or answer practical exercises. It’s a rich way to learn digital marketing.
Now if you learn digital marketing through self-study, you basically stare at a book or your computer screen. Fun. Seriously, who can you ask? What might take you hours to figure something out might be answered by a seasoned trainer in a couple of minutes. And while there is a treasure trove of learning materials online as well as brilliant insights from digital marketing gurus, nothing beats the experience of a fellow participant sharing a unique perspective or a lecturer giving his little secrets.
5. Networking
While you don’t enroll in a digital marketing course to network, face it: your class is a network. You have different lecturers who are experienced and could help you in your business or career even after the program. You have fellow students from different backgrounds and industries who may end up being a supplier, customer, or business partner.
Obviously, there are no opportunities to network if you learn digital marketing through self-study. It’s a lonely island, unless you count your cat beside you.
The Verdict
Now, don’t get me wrong. There is a place for self-study. If you are organized and disciplined, and you can spare the time, then go ahead and do it on your own. If you know enough and just want to add to your knowledge and skills, you can just self-study.
But if you are just starting or you feel it will be hard for you to commit learning on your own, then by all means considering enrolling in a digital marketing training course.
The Certified Digital Marketing Professional (CDMP) program is a foundational course from the Digital Marketing Institute (DMI) and is available in the Philippines through DMHQ. That means if you want to have a solid foundation in digital marketing, this is the right training program for you. It has a rigorous and well-structured syllabus, validated by DMI’s Syllabus Advisory Council made up of the world’s biggest Internet companies and digital agencies. It is updated regularly (it’s now on version 9.2).
It’s a 10-module, 15-week, 40+ hour training program conducted once a week, half-day, by seasoned digital marketing practitioners. Yes, you will be devoting over 40 hours of training. But you know exactly how much time you need to devote, time that you also save because the comprehensive course covers all major areas of digital marketing. You are sure you will learn what you need to learn in digital marketing.
And since it’s in a live classroom/online environment, there are plenty of opportunities to ask questions and learn from fellow students. The course is highly interactive, with time for Q&A, group exercises, and classroom discussions. Plus, you get to network with our lecturers and your co-learners.
In the end, for something that can be technical like digital marketing, it’s best to enroll in an instructor-led training program. And then, once you have acquired the necessary knowledge and skills, you can continue learning through self-study or take up more advanced courses online.
Check out our Ultimate Guide to Choosing the Best Digital Marketing Course.
