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Social Media Marketing (SMM): What It Is, Pros and Cons

Social media marketing (SMM) uses social media and social networks—like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram—to market products and services, engage with existing customers, and reach new ones.

Why Is Social Media Marketing So Powerful?
Connection: Social media enable businesses to connect with customers in ways that were previously impossible.

Interaction: The dynamic nature of the interaction on social media—whether direct communication or passive “liking”—enables businesses to leverage free advertising opportunities from eWOM (electronic word-of-mouth) recommendations between existing and potential customers.

Customer Data: A well-designed social media marketing (SMM) plan delivers another invaluable resource to boost marketing outcomes: customer data. SMM tools have the capacity not only to extract customer data but also to turn this gold into actionable market analysis.

Pros
✅ May help companies enhance brand recognition easily

✅ Offers companies more cost-effective solutions with great exposure

✅ May be leveraged to increase website traffic and real-time feedback

✅ May be leveraged for targeted or specific engagements

Cons
❌ May be time-consuming to set up and maintain

❌ May be unpredictable, as different platforms may change algorithms

❌ May result in negative feedback displayed in a very public fashion

❌ May be difficult to fully understand the true ROI

Top 6 Digital Marketing Courses

1. Google Fundamentals of Digital Marketing Course
Google has an online course platform (Digital Garage) offering free courses on several subjects related to career or business development.

One topic that is covered in detail is Digital Marketing training. In particular, Google offers the following online marketing training courses:

* Fundamentals of Digital Marketing (includes a digital marketing certification)
* How to Start an online business
* How to make sure customers find you online
* How to promote a business with online advertising (Google Ads)
* How to expand a business to other countries
* Mobile Marketing
* Promote a business with content marketing
* Social Media Advertising
* YouTube Course (Includes certification)

2. Udemy Digital Marketing Complete Course
Udemy is one of the biggest online learning platforms. They offer courses on many subjects covering all areas of marketing, from SEO to Google Ads and Sales.

One course that covers Digital Marketing in detail is the Complete Digital Marketing Course Bundle, which includes 12 courses. Topics include:

* Market Research
* WordPress Setup
* SEO
* SEO Writing
* YouTube Marketing
* Google Ads
* LinkedIn Marketing
* App Marketing
* Email Marketing
* Google Analytics
* Social Media Marketing
* Facebook Ads

3. Coursera Digital Marketing Specialization
Another digital marketing training academy worth considering is Coursera. They offer several digital marketing courses covering all digital marketing channels, from SEO to social media marketing and paid advertising.

One popular option is the Digital Marketing Specialization offered by the University of Illinois.

The digital marketing specialization includes six courses, each taking around 20 hours to complete, and the total cost to finish all courses is $592. The courses cover the following areas:

* Differences between analog and digital marketing
* Introduction to Digital tools and digital media
* Digital marketing analytics theory
* Digital marketing analytics practice
* Online marketing strategies
* Video Marketing
* Social and email marketing

4. Udacity Digital Marketing Course
Another premium digital marketing training course is Udacity’s Digital Marketing Nanodegree program.

It covers everything you need to know to become a digital marketer, including:

* Online Marketing Fundamentals
* Content Strategy
* Social Media Marketing
* Social Media Advertising with Facebook Blueprint
* Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
* Search Engine Marketing with Google Ads
* Display Advertising
* mail Marketing
* Measure and Optimize with Google Analytics

5. Simplilearn Digital Marketing Specialist Course
This Digital marketing course is offered by SimpliLearn and covers a number of Digital Marketing disciplines and tools.

It’s a course for beginners and includes the following:

* SEO
* Social Media
* Pay-Per-Click (Facebook and Google Ads)
* Conversion Optimization
* Web Analytics
* Content Marketing
* Email Marketing and Mobile Marketing

The Digital Marketing Specialist course is a premium course with a premium price of $1,499.

6. HubSpot Digital Marketing Training Course
Another option to learn digital marketing online and get certified by a renowned company is Hubspot Digital Academy.

Hubspot is one of the leading companies in the digital marketing industry with various tools, including CRM, SEO tools, content marketing, and sales.

Hubspot’s Online Digital Marketing Course covers the following topics:

* Digital Marketing Fundamentals
* Content Marketing
* SEO Strategy
* Website Performance
* Video Marketing Strategy
* Social Media Strategy
* Paid Advertising
* Email Marketing

Registration is free, and you get a recognized certification upon course completion.

Our greatest weakness lies in giving up.
The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time.
~ Thomas Edison

The 5 Best Careers in Digital Marketing You Can Apply For

Want to start your career in digital marketing, but are unsure which field is right for you? Here are the best digital marketing careers to consider.

1. Social Media Manager
If you spend most of your time on social media channels, staying on top of the news and conversations, and have a solid understanding of various platforms, this role might be the best for you.
As a social media manager, you can work for large corporations and startups across various industries and manage their official accounts and activities on social media. Moreover, you can even choose to assist influencers and celebrities by setting up and handling their social media profiles.

2. Content Writer/Copywriter
A well-written content or copy helps you boost engagement and escalate your brand’s reach online.
As a content writer, you’ll be writing for a specific purpose, whether educating the audience or raising awareness about your brand. On the other hand, being a copywriter will require you to write to persuade the audience to buy your product or service.

3. PPC Specialist
Pay per click or PPC is one of the online marketing techniques used to drive traffic to a website, where an advertiser pays every time the ad is clicked.
A PPC specialist is responsible for planning advertising campaigns, monitoring existing campaigns and optimizing them, and reviewing analytics to create performance reports.

4. SEO Specialist
Search Engine Optimization or SEO is optimizing your website to rank higher on search engine result pages.
In order to become an SEO specialist, you will need to have knowledge of how search engines work, understand and work on strategies, keep up with industry trends, try and test various methods that work, and monitor analytics.

5. Digital Marketing Manager
A digital marketing manager handles a wide variety of tasks and marketing channels, which requires an arsenal of tools and software.
However, large organizations usually have a digital marketing manager devoted to a specific area of digital marketing.