“FREE” is the keyword that would have attracted and brought a lot of you here. While a lot of you would have visited this blog after reading “Learn Digital Marketing” in the title.
In either case, you won’t be disappointed if you genuinely follow what you are going to read below.
But before even thinking of “How to learn digital marketing?”, let us first understand “What is digital marketing?” and “Why to learn digital marketing?”
If you already know the answers to “What” and “Why”, you can skip that section and directly scroll to “How”. But if you have even the slightest confusion regarding it, then I would recommend you to read everything.
This is going to be a lengthy read. If you cannot spare a few minutes for your career and cannot patiently read this completely, I would recommend you to exit now itself.
What is Digital Marketing?
Today, digital marketing is a buzz word.
Everyone wants to do it. Students want to learn it. Professionals want to switch their careers to digital marketing. Brands want to implement digital marketing. Freelancers want to provide digital marketing.
It’s all around.
Open a social media platform and you will find several people offering digital marketing consulting and training. You would also come across a lot of fake digital marketing gurus.
People and influencers showcase digital marketing as the future.
Everyone talks about it. But a very few understand the fact that digital marketing is a part of “Marketing”. And unless one understands what marketing is, one cannot master digital marketing.
If you know the basics of marketing, then you can learn digital marketing & excel but the vice versa might not be possible. A person who doesn’t have any idea of what marketing is cannot claim himself or herself as a digital marketer.
But that is happening in this digital age.
This is the reason that makes me write this blog which will act as a one stop guide for digital marketing enthusiasts.
In the simplest terms, I would define digital marketing as “Marketing with the help of digital mediums”.
“Digital marketing encompasses all marketing efforts that use an electronic device or the internet. Businesses leverage digital channels such as search engines, social media, email, and other websites to connect with current and prospective customers.”
HubSpot Blog
If you are completely new to digital marketing, I would recommend you to read the following article – What is Digital Marketing?
Why to Learn Digital Marketing?
If you are thinking of learning digital marketing just because everyone else is doing it, it might not help you.
Whether be it digital marketing or something else, when you learn something; there should be a purpose behind it. Yes, learning new things is a good habit.
But learning with a purpose helps you learn it better.
The purpose can be as simple as to have an edge over the other candidates who would be applying for the job along with you or it can be to start something of your own in the future.
It can be anything.
So, before moving to “How to Learn Digital Marketing?”, give an answer to yourself that why do you want to learn it.
I want to learn it
- To have an additional skill in my profile
- To have a backup income source
- And because it fascinates me!
And now, through this blog, I share what I learn to help digital marketing enthusiasts & businesses who want to implement digital marketing.
Why do you want to learn it?
Maybe introspect about it for a while before moving ahead.
That was an advice on a personal level.
Now, let me try to give you a few reasons for which you must learn digital marketing.
- Irrespective of your field/domain, you can market yourself in a better way – Personal Branding
- There is a gap between the demand and supply of “skilled” digital marketers. You will find every other person doing it but not all can produce the desired results as there is a lack of genuine talent.
- You can start freelancing & trust me, there are several people who have left their full-time jobs to become a freelance digital marketer.
- You can grow in the same job. Every brand is focusing on digital marketing & if an existing employee upskills, it not only helps the brand but also the employee grow internally in the company.
- You can do digital marketing for your business if you are an entrepreneur or you can do it for your friends or family members who have their businesses.
The reasons are endless. If you are still not convinced with the “Why” part, then think about it, or maybe we can talk about it too.
You can comment below or reach out to me on LinkedIn/Instagram and I would be happy to help you find that “Why” you must learn digital marketing.
If you know what digital marketing is and why you want to learn it, you have won the half battle. But the rest half is still left and that is how you can learn it for FREE.
How to Learn Digital Marketing for FREE?
Depending on who you are, your current occupation, and aspirations, the learning path will differ. I am trying to simplify the digital marketing learning path to the extent I can.
You would have heard a lot of influencers and experts saying “Learn By Doing”.
Yes, they say it right. You need to learn digital marketing too by actually doing it. But how?
The way a student is learning digital marketing might not work for an experienced professional. And the way an entrepreneur learned it might not help a student or a professional.
Remember, every individual is different and has to take a different route.
How can a college student learn digital marketing?
If you are a college student, you have much more flexibility to learn and explore new things. Yes, a working professional doesn’t have that flexibility and time to experiment so much as a college student can.
Irrespective of the degree you are pursuing, you can explore and learn digital marketing.
And the best way to learn digital marketing while at college is by doing internships. Internships will not only help you learn, earn and help you grow in digital marketing but also help you a lot during your placements.
But no one will give you an internship directly. You will have to study the basics of digital marketing on your own, build your resume and apply.
Internet has a lot of resources which you can utilize to learn digital marketing.
Don’t spend money on those courses or coaches who say that they will make you an expert in ‘x’ days or earn ‘x’ dollars in ‘y’ days. Don’t run behind quick money.
But where can you begin learning digital marketing online for free?
Start with Top 10 Digital Marketing Certification Courses For FREE. I highly recommend you to start with these free certification courses by HubSpot, Google, Facebook, etc.
Besides, you can also refer to the free digital marketing course of Sorav Jain.
Once you are well-versed with the basics of digital marketing, then you need to decide the area of your interest. You cannot learn entire digital marketing all at one go. It’s a step-by-step and time-consuming process. You need to identify your interest first.
If you are interested in SEO, then further study SEO. Learn about the SEO techniques, tools like Google Analytics, Google Keyword Planner, Ubersuggest, etc. Apply for SEO internships and gain experience.
Similarly, if you are interested in Social Media Marketing, I would recommend you to start your own social media page, learn social media tools and then apply for SMM Internship.
Likewise, if you are interested in content writing, then start your own blog. Participate in inter-college article/content writing contests. Apply for content writing internships.
I hope you are understanding what I am trying to say.
Whether be it SEO, Social Media Marketing, Content Writing, or any other thing, the first step is to learn about it. Then try to apply what you have learned by starting a blog or a social media page. That is implementing what you learned.
Once you would have done this much, you would have some content to write in your resume plus you have content for your interview too. This will obviously give you an added-advantage over the other candidates who would have done expensive digital marketing courses.
How?
Your passion would be clearly visible in your profile when you would have learned things by your own using the free authentic resources and implemented the same in some or other ways.
In this digital world, anyone can buy a course, click on Next-Next, give some quizzes and get a course completion certificate. But what would differentiate you from those course purchasers is the sheer discipline for learning digital marketing.
Yes, learning from free resources require discipline. You need to be consistent enough.
I would highly recommend you to do 2-3 internships during your graduation. It is not necessary that all your internships should be in SEO only or SMM only. You can experiment. Do internships in various domains.
Yes, if you are sure about 1 thing then go ahead with it.
But I would suggest you to experiment a bit during college days. Try various things.
Now the most important part – You must do all this along with your regular academics plus extra curricular activities. Just because you are learning digital marketing, you must not ignore your primary degree course for which you are enrolled in the college.
Your primary degree is important.
Listening to Ted Talks or podcasts where entrepreneurs come and say they are college dropouts look cool but it isn’t cool for everyone. Just because there are several college dropouts who made it big doesn’t mean every college dropout makes it big.
To summarize how college students should learn digital marketing,
- Learn digital marketing (Do a couple of those free digital marketing certifications I mentioned above).
- Implement whatever you have learned by making a social media page or a blog or doing some project.
- Make a one-page resume by mentioning your certifications, skills, projects you have done, extra-curricular activities, etc.
- Apply for internships and do multiple internships before your placements.
- Reach out to me if you are stuck. Ready to help 🙂
How can a working professional learn digital marketing?
Being a working professional, I can understand that you do not get much time after your work. But you need to learn it if you are interested in it.
Paying for high cost digital marketing programs won’t help.
You need to analyze your current role. Is your current role related to digital marketing in any way?
Let me give you my example. When I was working as a web developer at TCS, I wanted to move in some digital marketing project.
Web Development and SEO go well together. I got into a project where there were SEO-related requirements too along with web development. This was possible due to supportive seniors.
Likewise, you need to look around within your organization. Reach out to your manager/reporting head and express your interest. But when?
Only when you are confident and eager to learn & grow in some particular field.
I was already having my blog, some previous SEO experience and knowledge too. Hence, it was easier for me to make that move.
But how can a working professional who has recently discovered his/her interest in digital marketing move to digital marketing?
- Learn the basics (Do a few of the free digital marketing certifications I have mentioned above)
- Start something of your own. I started this blog and started scaling it on weekends.
- Showcase your expertise to your bosses, to the world on LinkedIn, to your colleagues, etc.
- Ask for a movement internally. If that is not possible, look out for opportunities outside. But this will be a risky switch if you don’t have enough experience. So start freelancing first and then when you are confident about your skills and experience, make a move.
Being a working professional, you have that money to spend which students don’t have. But do not spend that hard earned money on fancy courses.
Spend it on building your portfolio/blog, running ads, email marketing, etc.
You might not see the results immediately but you will definitely learn and see the results gradually.
Conclusion
I tried my best to give you as detailed guidance as I can in this blog. Learning digital marketing doesn’t require a lot of money. All it requires is a passion to learn and an active internet connection.
Learn consistently. Implement what you have learned. Showcase the results to others. Repeat!
Comment below if you need any further help in learning digital marketing for FREE. Alternatively, you can also reach out to me on LinkedIn.