The coronavirus pandemic, like most crises, caught the world by surprise. If you’re thinking of what new knowledge you could embrace, look at some of the top social media courses on offer. Nobody expected it this social distancing thing to be this big and impactful, and at such speed. To reduce the chances of the virus being spread further, some governments have taken extreme measures to arrest the spread of COVID-19.
Aside from the strict implementation of social distancing and advising people to wash their hands for at least 20 seconds after doing just about anything, especially outside the home, some countries have implemented community quarantine procedures as a means to control and manage the surge of COVID-19 cases. This has effectively kept people at home for weeks, thereby leading to stress and a general feeling of restlessness.
But for busy entrepreneurs and marketing professionals, the coronavirus pandemic and subsequent community quarantine meantime for marketing training — especially if they have working remote teams. And what better way to do this than by enrolling in free social media courses and other related training?
Not sure where to start? Read on to learn about these free online social media marketing courses (and related marketing training) you should be taking advantage of now.
Marketing training in the “age of COVID-19”
Whether you’re interested in learning alone as a new business owner or are requiring your remote teams to gain new knowledge related to their roles in your company, it makes perfect business sense to take advantage of valuable free online learning content.
It’s not only cost-effective and timely but also helpful and can add depth to what you already know. For your dedicated marketing team, these free social media marketing courses may be of interest:
If Google, Bing and Yahoo are your go-to search engines, Class Central is a resource for online education for everyone, including marketers looking for extra training right now.
Founded in late 2011 by Dhawal Shah, Class Central is a listing site for thousands of online courses. It focuses on free or free-to-audit courses from various universities, although the site also features a couple of paid ones. These courses are made available on massive open online course (MOOC) platforms that are highly accessible and easy to use.
Some of the free online marketing training (specifically social media marketing courses) lessons offered include:
- University of Pennsylvania and Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania – Introduction to Marketing (paid certificate available)
- Galileo University – Marketing Digital: Content & Community Manager (paid certificate available)
- University of Pennsylvania – Viral Marketing and How to Craft Contagious Content (paid certificate available)
- Curtin University – Digital Branding and Engagement (paid certificate available)
- University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign – Digital Media and Marketing Principles (paid certificate available)
- Rutgers University – Social Media Data Analytics (paid certificate available)
Some of these courses require as little as two to three hours per week (for five weeks), while others need learners to dedicate more time (about eight hours or more). Make sure you browse through Class Central as they have plenty of excellent listings from different learning institutions.
2. Udemy free online courses
The online learning platform Udemy offers both paid and free online courses for students and professionals. Although mostly paid, there are free digital marketing-related online courses available on Udemy. Examples of these include:
- Social Media Marketing – Free Training for Beginners
- Free Digital Marketing, SEO, Social Media Marketing Course
- How To Build And Make A WordPress Website From Scratch 2020
- Enhancing Photos for Complete Beginners
- Photo Editing on the Cheap
- How to Start a Podcast
They actually have a wide variety of free online courses listed on their site, so feel free to browse. Signup is also free, and all you need to supply are your name and email address.
3. Social Creators: 5-Day Video Storytelling for Social Media Challenge
Focused on training you to use your iPhone or Android smartphone for taking high-quality videos and using these for storytelling, the “5-Day Video Storytelling for Social Media Challenge” covers the following topics per day:
- 7 Essential Guidelines for Using Your Smartphone to Make Videos
- How to Film Outdoors and Indoors Using Natural Lighting
- Making Better Videos With High-Quality Audio and Video
- Creating the Video Storytelling Habit
- Storytelling Flow: The Video Creation Challenge
You can sign up for this short course using only your name and email address. One of the most popular social media courses available online.
4. On Coursera: University of Pennsylvania’s “Viral Marketing and How to Craft Contagious Content”
Another popular learning platform, Coursera provides access to hundreds of free and paid online courses.
You can enroll for free in the “Viral Marketing and How to Craft Contagious Content” course offered by the University of Pennsylvania. This course focuses on the science behind how things catch on and go viral. You’ll also learn to apply the same principles to your marketing strategy by creating buzz and virality in your campaigns.
The course requires one hour per week for four weeks to cover the following topics:
- What Makes Ideas Sticky?
- How Social Influence Shapes Behavior
- The Power of Word of Mouth
- Social Networks
5. Google Analytics Academy
With Google being the most widely used browser and search engine, Google Analytics is an important tool you can use for tracking online advertising spending. By learning it in-depth, you’ll know which content you publish and what social media channels are paying off in terms of leads and conversions.
Free Google Analytics courses include the following:
- Google Analytics For Beginners
- Advanced Google Analytics
- Google Analytics For Power Users
- Getting Started With Google Analytics 360
- Introduction To Data Studio
- Google Tag Manager Fundamentals
Although the Google Analytics platform is quite technical, learning its fundamentals is crucial for social media managers and anyone managing a business website.
6. Facebook Blueprint
For companies that do a lot of Facebook and Instagram marketing, Facebook offers an online training program comprising over 90 courses about advertising on Facebook and Instagram. This program, called “Facebook Blueprint,” requires only a Facebook login from interested learners.
Most of the courses take only about 15 to 50 minutes, and they are designed to help digital marketers master the various tools and ad formats used on Facebook. Every time a new feature is rolled out on Facebook, courses are subsequently updated so that learners are able to catch up and maximize these features for their campaigns. Maximize the time in self-isolation to a top productive ever.
With newbies and intermediate learners in mind, the different course topics cover lessons as basic as creating a Facebook Page to higher-level topics like targeted advertising, monetizing content and advanced buying options. You’ll also get the chance to learn more about Messenger for business and Instagram advertising.
HubSpot is a software and services provider involved in marketing, sales and customer service. It’s also a great resource for digital marketing content, including free social media marketing courses.
Some of the courses they offer that come as single lessons include:
- Understanding Social Media in HubSpot
- Understanding Social Media Promotion
- Developing a Social Media Strategy
- Social Media Listening and Monitoring
- Building a Content Strategy for Social Media
- Extending Your Reach on Social Media
- Using Social Media to Build One-to-One Relationships
- Introduction to Social Media Advertising
- Essentials for Continued Success with Social Media
These lessons can last from 17 to 47 minutes and are presented by dedicated instructors. HubSpot Academy also offers a free Social Media Certification course that lasts for four hours and 24 minutes. Signup is free and easy, usually requiring only your Google login or your name and email address.
Courses and training for every need
There are so many free and paid online training resources and social media courses available that are designed to enhance the education and experience of people in different professions, as well as assist business owners in their own setups. LinkedIn, for example, offers free trials for businesses with remote teams or that provide work-from-home (WFH) options.
Whatever your needs, there’s bound to be an available marketing course online. Make the most of the time you have on your hands by asking your marketing team to enrol in basic marketing training or free social media courses.