This is going to be one of the most informative articles ever written for individuals who are keen to pursue their career in Digital Marketing.
Before you make your mind and think of joining a training institute for a Digital Marketing Course read the following article and then act.
Why You Need to Think Before Choosing a Digital Marketing Course & Training Institute?
You might be wondering why you need to scratch your head before choosing a digital marketing course from a given training institute.
Well! There are solid reasons why you need to do a little bit of research before you take a plunge.
Boom in a Digital Marketing Industry
Although very new but Digital Marketing is a booming industry in the country and around the world. As the internet penetration grows among Indians you will see more and more companies shifting from traditional marketing like TV, Newspaper, Radio to Digital Marketing.
Hence there is a buzz around it! You might have listened this quite often like “Digital Marketing is a Hot Career Choice” or “Digital Marketers are Paid Well!” etc.
So there is a genuine boom and you need to know about the industry in general first.
Myriads of DM Institutes to Choose From
Because of this sudden boom in the industry we have seen mushrooming of myriads of Digital Marketing Institutes all over the country.
Usually most of these institutes are not very capable enough to teach their students but they are still willing to offer the course because it has become a huge business.
Hence you got to be careful while choosing an Institute that is not just well reputed but also offers a certification that guarantees you a job upon completion of the course.
Finding the Most Appropriate Course from a Best Institute at a Best Price
Most of you who are new to this field need guidance so you can find a right combination of digital marketing course from a right institute.
I’m sure after reading the following article you will be able to make a right decision and choose an appropriate course from a best possible institute at a right price.
There are two aspects to digital marketing first one is finding the right course and the second is finding the right Institute.
How to Choose the Most Appropriate Digital Marketing Course?
So lets us see how we can help you choosing a right digital marketing course and a right digital marketing institute.
1. What is Your Objective and Requirements for this Course
Ask yourself why do you want to do this digital marketing course?
Do you want to do because you just want to gain some extra knowledge? Or you want to become a professional digital marketer after completing the course.
Do you want to take a course that will help you getting a high paying job or want to start your own business from Home?
What is your background? Are you a college student, a working professional, a housewife or just a knowledge seeker?
Do you want to learn just basics of digital marketing or Want to go all the way up?
Once you know the objective you are going to choose a course accordingly.
2. A Comprehensive Course with All the Modules & Up-to-Date Syllabus
Once you are clear about the objective you need to ensure that the course you are going to take is comprehensive and up to date that includes all the latest modules.
For example, if you are going for Advanced SEO course then the course must teach the most advanced techniques for ranking a website in search engine and not some old school SEO methods that do not give any ranking.
Likewise the course must encapsulate all the aspects of digital marketing like Blogging, Social Media Marketing, Email marketing, SEM etc.
3. Duration of the Course, Kind of Assignments & Projects Would be Provided
A digital marketing course is only good if it has well designed assignments that check a student’s learning. If you are choosing a course that doesn’t check what you are learning then the course is of no use.
Hence assignments are very important.
Secondly a digital marketing training must offer live projects which can give a perspective about the real world. How actually digital marketing is implemented in the real world?
Thirdly a course must not be too short or too long. Just 3 to 4 months is more than enough.
4. Choosing Between A More Generic Course and Specification in a Particular Area
If you are a serious candidate and want to make a full time career or start a new business or want to grow a company in a big way then you got to look out for specifications.
A generic course will teach you basics and give you an overall idea but if you choose a specification then you actually learn how to implement it in a real world.
For example, a more specific course in Google AdWords or PPC will teach you how you create ads and manage your campaigns successfully within the allotted budget.
Similarly if you are looking for digital marketing jobs then going either for SEO or social media is better. Although there are many other types of jobs as well.
So this is more complicated and you need a specification.
5. Fee Structure for Various Modules
There is a high probability that you end up paying more! Most of these institutes are just a rip off. They charge you way more for what they teach.
Most of the institutes charge an average of 30,000 to 100,000 for a 3 months to 6 months duration course.
But if you take everything into account, a good digital marketing course from a reputed institute should not be priced more than 40,000 in tier 1 cities and 25,000 in tier 2 cities.
Hence choose a course with a complete fee breakdown module by module.
Now you need to compare different courses from different institutes in your city for their syllabus and fees.
After comparison you must be able to choose the most appropriate combination of course from a reputable institute at a right price.
6. Premium Tools and Freebies
This is one of the most important factor in choosing a digital marketing course. What premium tools and other freebies are provided along with the course.
Some of these are-
- A self hosted website or a self-hosted WordPress blog with a .com or .in domain like yourname.com for practice during the course.
- Premium WordPress themes & plugins
- Keyword research tools like Ahrefs
- Social Media Marketing & Management Tools
So this is how you will choose a digital marketing course!
How to Find the Best Digital Marketing Training Institute in Your City
Thorough research for a course must be complemented by a thorough research in finding the best training institute.
1. Start with Asking Your Friends, Colleagues and Relatives
Start by asking your friends and other colleagues who have already completed Digital Marketing course from a particular institute.
Find out what are their experiences about the course, faculty, teaching style, the whole environment, fees and their support after the completion of the course.
Check what's the current status of your friends who have completed the course from that institute.
2. Search the Institute Online including Social Media & Read the Reviews
If you feel you still need more to find out about the institute then you need to go online and perform some background check?
Learn what other students have to say about the institute who completed the digital marketing course there. Read about their reviews and try to connect with them in person.
This will help you to proceed further.
3. Check Out for the Infrastructure and Faculty of the Institute
Once you have narrowed down the list of institutes you need to go and pay a visit to the institute.
Learn about their faculty in great details. For example, who are the faculty members, their experience & knowledge in this field and how well they teach? Questions like these!
You got to meet them personally and find out how well they communicate with you.
Also learn about the infrastructure like classrooms, sitting arrangements with air conditioned rooms, number of computers, teachers per student, projector is used or just a whiteboard.
4. Training Approach for the Institute – Practical or Theoretical?
An institute is only good for you if it gives you a lot of practical training. Digital marketing is 90% practical and only 10% theory.
If they are teaching you just theory with no or very few practical classes then the course is of no use. If you want to learn real world examples and projects then practical is more important than theory.
Many of the institutes write on their website that they teach 90% of 100% practical but in reality they teach theory.
Ask them what do you mean by practical training?
100% practical training means you are implementing each and every thing by doing it online.
5. Authenticate the Affiliation of the Institute and Certification of the Course
This is very important! Certification is the most important outcome of the course.
Ask following questions.
What certifications are offered after completion of the course?
Are they recognized by the industry? Is it affiliate to Google? Do they have any value or weightage once you enter the job market?
Does the course syllabus support the requirements of clearing the certification?
And finally who is providing these certifications?
You need to ask these questions to the institute you are planning to join. If you don’t get the straightforward answer then don’t join.
6. Placement Assistance or Internship with a Reputed Company is Very Important
Lastly, an institute must assist you with a placement in a reputed company. The course must ensure that you get a decent paying job in any given company.
If you can’t get a job at least they can help you with internship. Once you complete a 3 or 6 months internship, you can get a good job in digital marketing.
So before you pay some Rs 50,000/- to Rs 75,000/- for a digital marketing course read this article and make sure you perform all the necessary due diligence and then proceed any further.
