Bonafide Marketing Genius

Online Marketing Certified Associate (OMCA)

The following is an article from the O’Reilly blog about the Online Marketing Certified Associate (OMCA) certification. The post provides an overview of the curriculum and certification process, and discusses how the certification matches up against other alternatives.

Marketing For Online Marketers: Overview

If you’re reading this, I assume you’re either an online marketer who’s looking for a marketing certification or are considering applying for one. Congratulations! You’ve come to the right place. Here, we’ll cover everything you need to begin your studies toward becoming an Online Marketing Certified Associate (OMCA).

First, let’s discuss what it means to be an Online Marketing Certified Associate (OMCA). The certification is designed for marketers who already have some experience in digital marketing (such as social media or email marketing) and want to gain more theoretical knowledge and develop their skillset. The certification is also a good fit for B2B marketers who want to become more familiar with the world of E-commerce.

The qualification implies a basic familiarity with the following concepts and theories:

  • digital marketing
  • marketing analytics
  • marketing research
  • segmentation
  • targeting
  • multichannel marketing
  • growth hacking
  • user experience (UX)
  • user interface (UI)
  • search marketing
  • social media marketing
  • content marketing
  • brand awareness
  • e-commerce
  • internet marketing
  • market research methods
  • marketing analytics
  • communications strategy
  • behavioral economics
  • digital marketing analytics
  • online marketing analytics
  • marketing automation
  • analytics
  • semantic analysis
  • user experience design (UxD)
  • user analysis
  • multivariate analysis
  • marketing planning
  • marketing research methods
  • executive summary
  • organogram
  • competitive analysis
  • project proposal
  • capstone

Curriculum

The following is a list of what you’ll learn in the four-year-cycle:

  • marketing basics
  • online marketing
  • marketing analytics
  • marketing research
  • segmentation
  • targeting
  • multichannel marketing
  • growth hacking
  • user experience (UX)
  • user interface (UI)
  • search marketing
  • social media marketing
  • content marketing
  • brand awareness
  • e-commerce
  • internet marketing
  • market research methods
  • marketing analytics
  • communications strategy
  • behavioral economics
  • digital marketing analytics
  • online marketing analytics
  • marketing automation
  • analytics
  • semantic analysis
  • user experience design (UxD)
  • user analysis
  • multivariate analysis
  • marketing planning
  • marketing research methods
  • executive summary
  • organogram
  • competitive analysis
  • project proposal
  • capstone

Certification

After you graduate from the program, you’ll have two choices. You can either sit back and relax, or you can pursue the certification and show employers you’re actively pursuing new learning opportunities.

If you choose the latter, you’ll need to pass a certification exam at the end of your studies. There are two options for certification:

  • Certified Online Marketing Associate (COMA): For marketing professionals who are looking to validate their knowledge of digital marketing. This certification is offered by the American Association of Advertising Agencies (4A’s) and is internationally recognized.
  • Certified Digital Marketing Professional (CDMP): For marketers who want to specialize in digital marketing and are looking to validate their skillset. This certification is offered by the American Association of Advertising Agencies (4A’s) and is also recognized internationally.

What Is Marketing Analytics?

Marketing analytics is the combination of measurement, analysis, and reporting functions that are used to assess the success of marketing campaigns. It provides a platform to analyze data, such as performance of advertisements and website metrics, to discover patterns and make informed decisions about future marketing strategies.

What Is Marketing Research?

Marketing research is the structured process of collecting data about consumer behavior, buying trends, and marketing effectiveness to make informed marketing decisions. This entails collecting information from different sources, analyzing it, and presenting the findings in a clear and concise manner.

How Is Marketing Data Different From Marketing Analytics?

Data is essentially information that has a predefined meaning. For example, we know what a kilogram is (1,000 grams) and what a gram is (‘one tenth of a kilogram’). However, numbers are not as precise as you might think when it comes to marketing. This is where marketing analytics steps in to offer a more precise measurement of success. In the example of weight loss, although you may lose a specific weight (in kilograms), you might not have achieved the goal you had in mind when you started the diet. The same goes for sales. For instance, you may sell a certain number of units of an item, but you may not have achieved the revenue you were projected to get based on previous trends. Another important difference between the two is that marketing analytics is performed primarily for internal uses while marketing data is usually provided to external clients for analysis. This can be a hassle, especially if you have to maintain multiple sets of data.

Marketing And The Blockchain

The intersection of marketing and the blockchain is rapidly growing. Marketers are looking for ways to integrate the two together to gain a competitive advantage. One of the first applications of blockchain technology in marketing was the Ethereum blockchain’s marketing platform. In February 2018 alone, over 25 marketing management and advertising firms pledged over US$25,000 to be a part of this exciting new space.

The intersection of marketing and the blockchain is rapidly growing. Marketers are looking for ways to integrate the two together to gain a competitive advantage. One of the first applications of blockchain technology in marketing was the Ethereum blockchain’s marketing platform. In February 2018 alone, over 25 marketing management and advertising firms pledged over US$25,000 to be a part of this exciting new space.

The benefits of the Ethereum marketing platform are that it acts as an entire marketing database on the blockchain. Marketers can store and track all of their marketing data, such as adverts, website traffic, social media activity, etc., all in one place. This allows them to easily analyze and report on the performance of their campaigns, and determine which methods are most effective. Some of the other features of the Ethereum marketing platform include:

  • full campaign tracking
  • user-friendly dashboard
  • secure storage
  • multinational compliance
  • immediate project reporting
  • audit trails for tracking records
  • API access
  • open source
  • mobile-friendly
  • affiliate program

On the negative side, users need to buy Ethereum to use the platform, which some feel is a barrier to entry. Also, since the data is stored on the blockchain, hackers could potentially access the entire database, unless proper measures are taken to secure it.