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.
While I’ve known Greg for years from our time together in the marketing scene, I’ve only recently had the chance to work with Trinity Web Media on a client project. Not only was the team professional and their work spot on, they were amazingly quick to respond and required very little hand-holding along the way. I chalk that up to their past experience and a deep understanding of best-in-class services.
I have hired Greg and the Trinity team multiple times for work on my own websites, and have also hired them to work on behalf of multiple clients. He is simply a pleasure to work with, in every respect. Smart but without the giant ego of some developers, Trinity Web Media works with his clients to achieve their vision in the best way possible — with careful attention to their interests, and thoughtful recommendations based on his expertise. • Susan Baier – Founding Marketing Strategist – Audience Audit