How to Apply Digital Marketing Certification Content

Applying Principles from a Digital Marketing Certification 

In my prior post on teaching with digital marketing certificates in the undergraduate degree programs at St. Edward's University, I spoke about the available digital marketing certificates, such as Hubspot, HootSuite, Google Analytics and how they could be integrated into a course in Digital Marketing or other University-level courses.  However, as some readers noted in their comments, certifications are just a piece of paper, albeit electronic, and don't  provide real-world application of digital marketing that can aid in the transition to practice.

Certifications Are Like a Driver's License

For example, getting a certificate in AdWords is a bit like getting a driver's license.  When I got my license, I could operate a car, but I lacked the experience to drive in different types of traffic and handle the more challenging aspects of driving.  A driving license let me practice so I could get better.  The same principle applies in digital marketing certification.

Practice Makes Perfect

Therefore, a certificate in Google AdWords or Analytics is not that meaningful without practice in the discipline.  So I wanted to share how, in our classes, students practice these skills.  Let's talk about the major certifications we use in our classes here at St. Edward's University and how students apply these skills.  All of these certification programs are free to the students.  There are others, but we focus on the ones that are of high quality and are available at no cost.

Students and their clients in Social Media class, Fall 2016, St. Edwards' University

Applying HubSpot Inbound Marketing Certification and Google Analytics

Many of the digital marketing classes are taken by three majors:  Marketing, Entrepreneurship and Digital Media Management.  In the Digital Marketing and Analytics class, each student effectively plans, implements and measures a digital marketing campaign.  The students write weekly blog posts on a topic related to their major or their personal passion in Blogger, which can easily be linked to Google Analytics under settings . They write about the information in Google Analytics and and Blogger statistics each week as they promote their blog and practice with posting different types of content.  The project Students comment on where their traffic is coming from and relate that to the personas from their blog

This project allows students to practice the good blogging principles of HubSpot Inbound Marketing certification such as the use of white space, headings, the effective use of headings and good titles.  Students also learn the basics of analytics that prepares them to become analytics certified in our Marketing Metrics class. The Google Analytics certification allows students to practice on an e-commerce database provided by Google, which is another great way to practice their certification knowledge.

Applying Google AdWords Certification

Google Adwords certification is great and gives students a resume builder and an understanding of paid search. To apply these concepts,  one approach is simply to have the students create sample ads and critique them in class. Another approach is to use a marketing simulation.  

However, arguably the best way to practice AdWords is to have the students compete in the Google Online Marketing Challenge (GOMC) or to work with a client on a project.  In the challenge, students get a $250 budget to work with a company that has not had a paid search campaign on AdWords at least in the last six months.  In a client project scenario, I have worked with companies that provided a similar budget and we have worked on paid search campaigns of interest to them.  Each approach has it's pros and cons, which I will discuss in another blog post.

The good news is that Google now allows students to take AdWords Certification for free, which involves passing the Fundamentals exam and an exam on one other on a topic such as search, video or mobile advertisements.  In fact, Google recommends that students become AdWords certified before or during the GOMC.  We have restructured our courses so that students do the GOMC in the senior course in the Marketing major, having previously been certified in the required Digital Marketing and Analytics course.  I know other Universities where the challenge in the sole focus of a course and I have taught it that way also. The projects can be done simultaneously, but, as I covered in a prior blog post in this series (check out the blog archive), the Challenge is so time consuming that involvement in it can take away from other classroom learning in digital marketing.

Applying Hootsuite Platform Certification

In our social media classes, students also write a blog related to their professional aspiration in the context of a personal branding exercise and plan. Students then use the Hootsuite social media management tool, which is available while they are getting Hootsuite Platform certified, to promote that blog and their personal brand.  This free certification is just how to use the tool and a bit about social media, but does not include the Social Media Marketing Certification, which is now, unfortunately, a paid exam. They learn how to use the Hootsuite. platform and also how to analyze the effects of their posts.

Students also apply the Hootsuite Certification material when they work with real-life clients in the second half of the class.  In addition to making suggestions as to how to manage the process of a social media management tool, students recommend which platforms to use and how frequently to post.  Clients have then implemented these suggestions and had applicable results in just a few weeks of working with students in our class. 

Plan, Implement, Measure

In all of these examples of applications of certification, the students learn how to plan, implement and measure a marketing campaign, whether it be it be promoting their personal brand, launching a blog or creating a paid search campaign.  Certification programs on their own are not effective in helping students understand the material or get jobs after graduation.  These projects provide application for deeper learning and professional preparation. We also incorporate HubSpot Inbound Sales and Salesforce Trailhead in to our Sales class, but I will cover this approach in a later blog post.  

Please let me know what other approach you take in your classes to apply the tools of digital marketing certifications. All of these certifications an be used in conjunction with textbooks that I have co-authored with Cengage to bridge the gap between theory and practice. Comment on this blog, email me at dblatz@stedwards.edu or catch me on social media.  Good luck!

Three Approaches to Incorporating Industry Certification in Undergraduate Marketing

How to Approach Digital Marketing Certifications

This past September 14-16th, at the Marketing Management Association Conference in Providence, Rhode Island, there were several sessions, including my own, focused on incorporating certifications in digital marketing platforms and techniques in to the Marketing Curriculum in undergraduate programs in business schools.  We teach digital marketing and analytics, social media marketing, marketing metrics and traditional marketing topics at St. Edward's University. However, all of the courses have a digital marketing element and many incorporate industry certification. These approaches are to have the students complete the certification on their own, incorporate a certification in to one course or incorporate certifications throughout the curriculum at The Munday School of Business at St. Edwards's University in Austin, Texas.  There are pros and cons to each approach but the benefits of certification to students are clear.

Benefits of Certification

I coordinated the pre-conference workshop on teaching digital marketing with Dr. Janna Parker from James Madison University and Dr. Leila Samii from Southern New Hampshire University. The benefits to certification appear to be indisputable.  Students who receive certifications in industry programs such as Hootsuite™ for social media management or HubSpot for Inbound marketing get a real world experience and also get a badge or a certificate for their resume or LinkedIn profile.  For digital marketing, where comparatively few students receive this type of certification, at this point certification can be a true point of difference.  The types of certification we discussed at the Conference were Google AdWords, HubSpot Inbound and Hootsuite Platform certification.  The above graphic shows how we have incorporated certifications or 'badges' throughout or Marketing undergraduate curriculum. The three approaches discussed at our presentation and at the conference are outlined underneath this paragraph.

Three Approaches

1) Make certification optional.  In this approach, certifications are optional at the end of particular courses and are mentioned in the course but not integrated.  A benefit of this approach is that students get to choose the certification that are really of interest to them. However, from experience I found that few students take advantage of this option.

2) Use the certification as the final exam.  A colleague of ours, Archana Kumar from Montclair State University, discussed using the Google AdWords Fundamentals exam as a final examination in a retail course where the students promoted an e-commerce website using AdWords. Students took the examination in class and reported a good pass rate by studying for the examination as for any final.

3) Integrate certification in to the course.  This is the approach I am taking this semester with our Digital Marketing and Analytics course.  Students are getting HubSpot Inbound certified because the course focuses on web/mobile design and conversion optimization, email and social media marketing.  The HubSpot modules mirror what is happening in class, although with less of an emphasis on mobile technology. and the general structure of the HubSpot inbound methodology is similar to that used in our class.  During the course the students watch the module and will take the HubSpot Inbound examination.
Students are also studying Google AdWords and getting certified in that program. The AdWords training videos are excellent and include many  Unfortunately, we don't have the time to have them work on a project using AdWords so that might be a more difficult certification project to manage. I will certainly keep everyone posted on our progress.  We just started the process this week and everyone in class became a Google Partner and is ready to go.

How it Works in Class

Using certifications in class is relatively easy.  Each of the vendors has a website where the students sign up for a free account.  Hubspot Academy includes transcripts and PowerPoint slides for its videos, making it the easiest certification to adapt to classroom use. Hootsuite Academy has a series of videos and a learning guide where the students can take notes.  AdWords has a website complete with other resources for getting certified.  With some creativity, each of these tools can be adapted to the classroom.  Students can provide proof of certification to earn class points. 

Pros and Cons

In general, these industry certifications work well.  One clear benefit to the instructor is not having to record all the information or keep it updated. Everything is done by the industry vendor.  However, that means that when the vendor makes changes, the instructor has to be flexible and so does the class. I have had vendors change certification modules in the middle of the semester and it has sometimes been an inconvenience to the class.  Clear communication and using the experience as a learning tool helps ease any problems encountered. Overall, the benefits for the students seem to outweigh and personal inconveniences. 

Industry Certifications Still New

In summary, there are many approaches to integrating certifications in to our Marketing curriculum to benefit our students.  As these industry partnerships are new, there is a learning curve and time will tell which approaches are the most effective.  Do you have any ideas/experiences  on the subject?  For more about our "Teaching Digital" workshop, check out the MMA site.  There is also more detail on my presentation on Slideshare.  For information on certifications, look upHubSpot Inbound certification, Google AdWords and Hootsuite Academy.  If you would like to look at sample syllabi, send me an email at dblatz@stedwards.edu and I can put you on our distribution list.