What beats experience when it comes to learning? The best training course for digital marketing is life, your experiences and all that is around your world. With a keen eye for human observation of how people interact with brands is all that you need to get started with your marketing learning adventure.
Ok, sure if you want to learn about tools and other digital marketing tactics there are online and traditional courses. But when it comes to the nitty-gritty of what effective digital marketers do nothing is a substitute for hands-on learning. Hands-on learning, trials and tribulations, and failure. Yes, failure.
“The best teacher is experience and not through someone’s distorted point of view” – Jack Jack Kerouac
How Do You Get Experience Without Experience
There are a couple of ways I traded in my traditional (classroom) marketing education for real-world practical knowledge. When social media became social media and the world turned from spray and pray marketing to focused digital marketing I was fortunate enough to have people around me who unselfishly shared knowledge with this rookie. (To this day, I hope you know who you and how grateful I am — Thank you.)
Here are some ways and places I honed my skills.
Meetup Groups
Social Media Club
WordCamp (For WordPress Knowledge)
Small Local Conferences (or Unconferences)
Co-working/Collaborative Workspaces
Marketing Happy Hours
Internships
Getting a Mentor
The opportunities the above list provide for little or no cost is worth the investment of time. Marketers love talking about marketing. Find someone you click with, be respectful of their time and connect. More than any other industries, typically, digital marketing professionals are very generous with their knowledge. Most times they are like me and learned from other good people and are willing to pay it forward.
Give it a go, be little social and let’s see your experiences are the best training course for digital marketing.
