Review: Hubspot Academy Digital Marketing Certification Review [What to Know Before Taking]
Intro
No aspiring digital marketer’s journey is complete without making countless visits to Hubspot Academy.
That’s what I learned while taking the course we’re discussing today: the Hubspot Digital Marketing Certification.
What is Hubspot?
If you are not aware, Hubspot is a software company that offers solutions for marketing, sales, and customer service professionals centered around inbound marketing.
But it’s not just a software company. By applying their brilliant inbound methodology and building an extensive repository of content, they’ve become a foremost thought leader in digital marketing today.
They launched their sophisticated learning platform in 2012, offering an enormous library of free trainings, lessons, and certification courses built to educate and enhance how we operate our businesses.
Hubspot Academy is a treasure trove of comprehensive resources for mastering digital and inbound marketing best practices. It certainly rivals any other free learning platform I’ve used so far.
Just by taking the Digital Marketing Certification course at Hubspot Academy, I could see why so many professionals lean on their enterprise-level solutions.
The Digital Marketing Certification Overview
Course Specs:
10 Modules
34 Videos
11 Quizzes
~5 Hours
1 Exam (60 Questions, 3 hrs. max.)
Among the most popular certification courses on the platform, the Digital Marketing certification promises to “teach you how to become an effective digital marketer with an inbound-first mindset.”
It is recommended for marketing professionals, content marketers, and aspiring marketers.
The course starts with a thorough overview of the basics of digital marketing vs. inbound marketing, ultimately championing the importance of the latter.
From there, a different, specialized instructor covers each module with nuance and depth. I felt both challenged and engaged as I knew I was learning important stuff from some of the best.
Key Takeaways:
The difference between Digital Marketing and Inbound Marketing
Inbound Marketing Methodology (Attract, Engage, Delight)
Understanding and Building a Content Strategy
Improving Website Performance
Creating for Customers at Various Points in the Buyer Journey
Developing a Social Media Strategy
Understanding Paid Search Ads
Email Marketing Best Practices
My Impression
This course is delightfully dense. It covers a lot, with every topic opening avenues for digging deeper. It challenged me and pushed me out of my comfort zone.
I had been just a copywriter for so long that covering inbound marketing strategy and all its moving parts felt almost overwhelming!
From learning about speeding up a website from the back end to understanding the YouTube algorithm, I initially questioned whether I was cut out for applying all this knowledge!
After watching the first few lessons, I almost quit. That’s the truth, and something I also know is natural.
Reminder: The fear and anxiety we experience when learning something new is what stops a lot of us from going further. It doesn't have to.
It stopped me for many years until now (I’m 31). But better late than never, so after a few days of digesting what I was getting myself into, I threw myself back into the course and strived to absorb as much as possible.
My professional dreams deserve the effort.
"After watching the first few lessons, I almost quit. That’s the truth, and something I also know is natural."
The Exam
The final exam at the end of this course presents 60 questions, the answers to which cannot be changed once you’ve moved on to the next one. To pass the exam, you need to answer at least 45 questions correctly.
I took the exam twice: once directly after finishing the final video, and again the next day after some more serious studying.
Just before taking the test for the first time, I opted not to use the study guide because I am naive and also because I could not find it.
It’s not in the “Resources” section like the professor states at the end of the course – the study guide is the download icon at the top right corner!
I first scored a measly 43/60 and did not pass. Watch out for the wording of the questions! On my second try, I scored 53/60.
I recommend that if you take the course, click on ALL the resource links and even take the extra classes they provide. I did not and therefore was not aware of some secret YouTube information.
The exam though is not incredibly difficult.
If you listen intently to the course instructors, use the study guide, and utilize the resources offered, you’re sure to do well.
The Verdict
Hubspot surely reinforces its reputation as a digital marketing thought leader with their Digital Marketing Certification Course.
Virtually free of superfluous content, this course is comprehensive enough to be of immediate help to a marketer in the thick of it. It goes without saying that I give this course a 5 out of 5 stars, and it surely defines a new standard for courses I’ll be reviewing in the future.
My primary critique is that this course is aimed toward corporate-style teams and less toward sole proprietors like myself.
It makes sense, though, because their target audience ultimately is businesses that will buy into their software!
Ultimately I am confident that what I learned in this course will help support my career in digital marketing.
Conclusion
As an aspiring digital marketer, I know now that Hubspot Academy is an essential resource for my improvement.
There’s no question why they have grown to become so influential in the digital marketing industry, thanks to their free, comprehensive, and digestible educational content.
They really walk the walk in this regard, and there is a lot we can all learn from them!
If you are interested in taking this course or discovering similar ones, I definitely recommend Hubspot Academy.
I intend to take a lot more courses with them in the future, including Content Marketing, Inbound Marketing, and Social Media Marketing.
What's Next?
To avoid burnout, I will be mixing up my learning journey with both longer and shorter courses from different platforms.
If you're interested in joining me on the path to becoming a digital marketing expert, make sure to watch for updates on my LinkedIn profile!