Marketing Management Online Courses | 10 Online Marketing Courses for Entrepreneurs

Since the beginning of time, entrepreneurs have been the ones to pave the way for new businesses. They are the ones who see a need for a product or service, and decide to fill that need themselves rather than wait for someone else to do it. And while the world may look increasingly uncertain right now, especially with the pandemic looming, entrepreneurs have never been more important.

If you are looking to enter the online marketing (OM) arena and want to become a digital marketer, you have come to the right place. Here are 10 online marketing courses for entrepreneurs that can get you started on your way to a successful career in this lucrative field.

Marketing

What is marketing? Simply put, marketing is all the activities used to communicate the value of a brand or a product to consumers. In today’s world, the lines are blurred between marketing and digital marketing – online marketing.

The theory behind online marketing is that you can target the right audience (usually people within a certain demographic) with a digital marketing campaign, and have those individuals engage with your brand or product through various channels (e.g., social media, email, phone, etc.).

The goal of your online marketing plan is to attract, engage, and retain paying customers via digital platforms (e.g., social media, email, phone, etc.). To achieve this, you’ll need to consider all the different types of customers you might have (e.g., millennials, Gen-Z, baby boomers, etc.), as well as the different platforms they might use (e.g., WhatsApp, Snapchat, Facebook, Instagram, etc.).

Digital Marketing & E-commerce

In the last 10 years, the field of digital marketing has grown dramatically. Back in 2008, digital marketing was considered a “pure play” in the digital world – meaning it was entirely contained to online marketing. Nowadays, however, many people are seeing the value of digital marketing and incorporating it into their overall marketing strategy.

E-commerce marketing, or online marketing for merchants, is a form of marketing that focuses on increasing consumer demand for a product or service, through digital means. This could include anything from advertising, to email marketing, to affiliate marketing, to online stores.

If you are new to the field, it might be hard to know where to begin. Do you need a digital marketing diploma to be able to do this job? What training should you get in order to enter this field? While there is no direct relation between digital marketing and e-commerce, it is still somewhat of a grey area. A lot of the techniques and strategies behind digital marketing can be applied to e-commerce marketing, so it wouldn’t be a stretch to call someone with a digital marketing background an “e-commerce Marketer.”

One of the best places to begin if you are new to the field is HubSpot, the all-in-one marketing platform that helps businesses of all sizes and stages run their marketing campaigns, from conception to distribution, with greater efficiency.

Another fantastic resource for beginners is the Digital Marketing Jobs Board. This job board was created by the team at Bluebook, and it acts as a one-stop-shop for all your online marketing needs. You can look for jobs in digital marketing, as well as, gain extra training, and even find a mentor to help you get started. You can also access a community of experienced marketers to ask questions and get feedback on your plans.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

Every business, large or small, wants to be seen by potential customers when they type in keywords or navigate through search results. When it comes to SEO, this is known as “organic search engine optimization,” or simply “organic SEO.”

When someone uses a search engine to look for a product or service, the results that appear on the first page are usually considered “organic” results, and they receive a boost from the search engine in order to keep their prominent position.

SEO is a form of marketing that helps businesses gain visibility in organic search results. Although SEO can be used to promote any type of product or service, it usually focuses on providing value and quality content to attract and retain customers via the search engines.

Search Engine Marketing (SEM)

Similar to SEO, SEM stands for “search engine marketing.” However, instead of focusing on gaining visibility in organic search results, SEM campaigns help businesses gain popularity on social media platforms. For example, if you are a shoe store, you might want to run a social media campaign that incorporates a hashtag like #shoematchmaybenothings, which could help your shoes gain popularity on social media platforms like Twitter.

SEM is a type of marketing that allows you to target the right audience and increase brand awareness. Because it piggybacks on social media platforms, it is often considered a “free social media campaign,” which means it doesn’t require a lot of investment (time or money).

Content Marketing

If you are reading this, it’s almost certain that you have at least some familiarity with the term “content marketing.” Simply put, content marketing is the process of creating and distributing informative, explanatory, or entertaining content to attract, engage, and retain customers.

Content marketing can be used to promote any type of product or service, but it is often associated with digital marketing, as most forms of content are created and arranged online. As a form of online marketing, content marketing builds credibility by providing unique insights into the world of the product or service, as well as, educating people about new concepts.

Some of the content you’ll find on a typical content marketing website might include:

Product reviews (e.g., Netflix Review)
Why-buy-decision letters (e.g., Honeywell)
White papers (e.g., Google)
Marketing collaterals for email marketing (e.g., HubSpot)
Financial analysis (e.g., Glassdoor)
Video tutorials (e.g., HubSpot)
FAQs (e.g., HubSpot)

If you are new to the field, it might be difficult to know where to begin with content marketing. Does someone need to write all the copy for your blog posts? Do you need to come up with ideas for new content on a regular basis? While there is no direct relation between content marketing and entrepreneurship, many would argue that every entrepreneur is somehow involved in content marketing.

Email Marketing

If you’ve been reading this blog for any length of time, you know that we here at Thrive focus a lot on email marketing. Why? Email marketing is still one of the most efficient and effective forms of marketing there is. Unlike social media, where your content might only last for a few minutes before someone decides it’s not worth replying to, or search engine optimization, where your content might only surface for customers that are already familiar with your business, email marketing allows you to connect with new audiences and keep them satisfied, engaged, and coming back for more. It’s a fantastic tool for digital marketers.

Email marketing is essentially “direct mail marketing done digitally,” which means you can target the right audience with content that is sent via email, rather than through direct mail.

The best place to start if you are new to the field is HubSpot, the all-in-one marketing platform that helps businesses of all sizes and stages run their marketing campaigns, from conception to distribution, with greater efficiency.