The colorful and varied world of marketing, and online marketing in particular, is catching the attention of more and more young people these days, and not by accident. Our world is becoming increasingly digital, so a strong online presence is now indispensable in the life of companies and businesses. All of this means there's a growing need for the experts who can point the way with a steady hand across the shifting terrain of the web. Job opportunities are increasingly plentiful in our country, mainly in the capital, yet the beauty of this profession is that, thanks to its digital nature, it can be done just as easily from a tiny village as from a Starbucks in Germany. All you need is a laptop and an internet connection. But it raises the question: how do I land a job, how do I gain experience, if I don't have any yet? That's exactly what I'm going to help you with now.
Clarify which area interests you
Online marketing has many branches, and each of them can be explored to serious depths, so it's important to clarify for yourself in advance which area is closest to you. The main areas of online marketing are: PPC, Social Media Marketing, Content Marketing, SEO, Brand Management. My advice is that if you're not yet clear on exactly what these areas cover, do your research, because realizing halfway through that a given specialization isn't the closest fit for you can cause a serious headache.
Ways to gain experience and knowledge
I'm going to show you three possible paths you can take to gain your marketing knowledge and experience. These paths will differ according to the amount of financial investment you're up for, from completely free methods all the way to the ones where it's worth cracking open the piggy bank.
The free route
The twenty-first century person is blessed with the privilege of being able to obtain practically any information, from anywhere, at any time, within moments, using a flat device 15 centimeters across. Many people are in a life situation where they either can't afford to, or are afraid to, invest their financial savings into their knowledge. This is where our creativity and determination come into play. Because there are indeed methods that let us gain serious digital knowledge, while in return keeping that certain piggy bank intact.
Out of the countless excellent online marketing courses, blogs, YouTube channels and other resources, I'd like to highlight the very best ones now, the ones you can use to get a foothold in the world of digital marketing.
Best blogs
Neilpatel (in English, mixed topics)
PPC Hero (in English, PPC-focused)
Best free online courses
- On Google's own free course you can learn the basics of using its own systems and earn valuable badges, which can be useful and telling additions to your CV. It'll be especially useful for those drawn to the world of click-based advertising (PPC / pay-per-click). They're the ones who, having learned the operating principles of the Google and Facebook algorithms, will manage ads based on keywords and the interests of demographic groups.
- The WordStream PPC agency's own training material, complete with webinars, downloadable resources and, beyond PPC, a bit of Social course material too.
- On this 3.5-hour, completely free Udemy course you can learn about the basics of SEO. SEO (search engine optimization) experts are the marketers who, by studying Google's algorithms in depth, will be able to improve a given website's position in Google.
Best YouTube channels
So as you can see, the free knowledge available on the internet is almost endless, and in every area you'll find educational, skill-building material that suits your own taste. Because it's free, it's the most cost-effective method, but if you want to inspire trust and come across as knowledgeable in a job interview, it's well worth investing in in-depth, meaty material on a topic. Let me now show you the sites offering courses where, for just the price of a few lunches, you can arm yourself with professional theoretical knowledge in the areas you've chosen.
Paid online courses
- The best-known site offering online courses, where you can get to know every area of online marketing without it demanding huge investment sums from you. The knowledge you buy here is always in your pocket, since a course you've bought once is available in your account at any time. On top of that, of course we also receive the updates made by the creator of the material at no extra charge.
- Just like on Udemy, we can buy courses on several topics. The fundamental difference between the two services is that while on Udemy we pay separately for each course, here a monthly subscription system operates. The subscription is ~4,500 Ft per month and ~30,000 Ft per year. Since online marketing is constantly being updated, expanding and growing, it can be worth thinking in terms of a longer-term investment, so you can also access the fresher courses that arrive later.
- The Netflix of online courses. In return for a subscription costing ~9,500 Ft per month, 13,000+ pieces of video course material open up before you, and among them you'll also find online marketing material to your liking. The first month is free here too, but it's well worth thinking and investing for the long term.
So it's clear that those who want to deepen their knowledge beyond the free material can find a suitable platform even with a relatively low investment. A huge advantage these courses have over the free options is that once you finish a piece of material, a certificate lands in your hand, which you can note on your LinkedIn profile or in your CV, further increasing the trust potential employers place in you.
Finally, let me introduce the courses that demand the greatest financial sacrifice from us compared to the other resources, but which also promise the greatest rewards.
Paid classroom courses
Let's see which Hungarian "classroom" courses and trainings are worth putting our good Hungarian forints into, if we're after reliable knowledge.
Online Marketing Academy – OMA
- Within the framework of OMA's intensive 52-hour course, we can get to know the basics of the areas of online marketing, from Google Ads through email marketing all the way to copywriting.
- On Webler's marketing course, much like at OMA, we can get to know several areas, from PPC topics to the practicalities of Social presence, all in a total of 40 hours over 12 sessions.
- I've left the most comprehensive and most serious course for last. The Pallas 70 Education and Examination Center offers a very substantial 240-lesson training for prospective applicants. They too start from the basics, then progress steadily through the different specialist areas, touching on the most important things to know.
The instructors on these courses are fundamentally not teachers, but online marketing experts. Thanks to their knowledge, experience and background, they're solid and dependable, so there's no need to worry that our invested money will go to waste. A huge advantage of courses like these is that all of the ones listed provide a certificate at the end of the course, proving that we completed it. On top of that, it inspires trust in the person looking to hire us, a symbol of how well-founded our knowledge is.
Now for the last piece of the puzzle. Our attitude.
Mindset
What does a good online marketer's attitude look like? A hugely important question, since most well-prepared agencies and companies looking to hire a digital expert will certainly take into account, in a job interview, the qualities that distinguish the "online worker" from the Digital Expert.
The extremely fast-changing world that characterizes online marketing demands that we stay constantly up to date, so anyone who wants to be successful in their field commits to the fact that their knowledge will require renewal and adaptation almost day by day, which is why constant learning and openness are essential.
It doesn't hurt to have good technical foundations either. There are countless tools out there for online life and work and for making it easier, and it's a big advantage to know the ones most important and practical for us and to be able to apply them day to day. Let's be focused and decisive, let's want to be good. A great many people apply to agencies and companies as online marketers because they don't know which area to work in, they just want to get a taste of something new, but they don't have long-term goals. Don't be like that! Set yourself goals, be ambitious; people like that are rare, which is exactly why they find work more easily.
Summary
So we've seen several different approaches to the path toward becoming an expert. From the completely free ones all the way to those that do mean a financial investment in expanding our knowledge. But all of them have one thing in common. Without humility, a desire to grow and perseverance, none of them will lead to the goal. Let's be clear in our own minds that this is definitely what we want. Let's decide which area truly moves us, and then, depending on our financial means, dive into expanding our knowledge. If you follow the formula above, you'll definitely reach the finish line!