Top 5 Digital Marketing Courses for Newbies

Google's digital tools are the most widely known and used across demographics globally. Part of the Grow with Google initiative, Google Digital Garage is the best place for anyone looking to understand the nuts and bolts of all things digital including marketing. The portal offers training in digital marketing and other realms of digital learning that are inter-linked. The training is carried out in two formats -

Online
It is smartly divided between video tutorials, quizzes and assessments that keep the learning fun and edgy. There are badges to be won at the end of each topic. On completing all the topics you can earn an authentic certification issued by The Digital Garage. The course is free, it is online. All you need is an email id to sign up and you can get started right this minute. It is self-paced and well-designed. A must check out.

Local Coaching
This option offers free (yes free) face-to-face coaching in select cities globally. You can pre-register online for a number of discussions ranging from -
Build a Digital Marketing Plan
Social Media Strategy
Get Your Business Visible on Google
Social Media Roundtable
Know Your Business with Data
An Introduction to Digital Advertising

Digital Unlocked by Google is designed to meet the specific needs of business owners, startups and professionals looking to learn Online Marketing and earn a certification. The online certification offers 26 topics that cover the entire gamut of online marketing, guiding users through everything from search engines, to social media and beyond.
Additionally it also has a section for bonus learning materials that include videos on topics like -

• Increase productivity at work
• Intro to machine learning
• Improve your online business security
• Land your next job
• Intro to Code

Also a Grow with Google initiative, Digital unlocked takes learning many notches higher for entrepreneurs to grow businesses with Digital.

Digital Unlocked - is an initiative by Google in association with FICCI and the Indian School of Business. It organizes workshops in India to provide hands-on lessons and mentoring with everyday experts to help Indian startups, SMEs, innovators professionals unlock exponential growth with crucial digital skills. These skills include -

• using the power of Internet
• creating an online presence
• launching and executing cost-effective and targeted digital marketing campaigns
• reaching out to a wider audience
• increasing sales volumes
• consistently connecting with potential customers
• staying competitive in the market place

The workshop includes the following aspects of training (in the order specified) -

• Introduction to Digital Marketing & Different Digital Media and how they fit into a Marketing Strategy
• Social Media Marketing, Mobile Marketing and E-commerce
• Management techniques that use Web Analytics and other tools

Workshops are conducted in Delhi, Pune and Chennai and participants can register for a Registration Fee of Rs. 1500 per person.

LinkedIn has partnered with Lynda.com to create online training tools and tutorials on its platform. These tools consist of in-depth videos shot by experts covering every aspect of the topic being taught. The topics include essentials like -

• Online Marketing Foundations
• Google AdWords Essential Training (2017)
• Top 10 Social Media Management Tools
• Social Media Marketing: Facebook and Twitter
• Building an Integrated Online Marketing Plan
• SEO: Keyword Strategy
• Learning Web Analytics
• Social Media Marketing: Optimization
• SEO Foundations
• Understanding Strategic Marketing
• Learning Personal Branding
• Learning Internet Marketing
• GDPR for Marketers
• Learning Content Marketing
• Learning Email Marketing
• The Data Science of Marketing
• Brand and Marketing Integration
• Programmatic Advertising Foundations
• Learning to Write Marketing Copy

Users are allowed a free month of training post which they need to sign up for a monthly fee if they wish to continue.
The content is exhaustive and also well-classified based on Level (Beginner, Advanced, Intermediate), Format ( Course, Video, Learning Path), Time to complete and the Software in use.
This is a effective approach to learning because each user has the flexibility to choose their level, format and other requirements based on their individual abilities and time on-hand.

Also LinkedIn and Lynda have done an outstanding job of creating content which can be easily followed and applied. Great resource for self-learners.

Udemy churns out some of the best courses beginners can take to learn online and on-demand. It hosts a wide range of courses around

• Digital Products
• Marketing Strategy
• SEO
• Content Marketing
• Internet Marketing
• Growth Hacking
• AdWords
• Advertising Strategy

These tutorials have been put together by experts and business practitioners that understand the ins and outs of the topics being taught. Not all of these are free. Most are priced at a nominal fee (currently Rs.640). Registration and payment provides life-time access. They are also available in other languages - Spanish, Portuguese, German, French, Italian and Turkish.
The choice of course is extensive with Udemy, making it one of the best online learning platforms for self-starters and individuals keen to to keep up with digital growth worldwide.