Can I Learn Digital Marketing Fast?

Now that digital marketing is accessible to anyone and there’s no doubt many people are still asking themselves if they can learn it quickly. It is something that anyone can learn with the right guidance. But you may want to note, first of all, the term digital marketing itself is dead. If you’re still wondering about the meaning of it, you are well behind. The term is so broad that you really need to learn basic concepts such as SEO, PPC, email marketing, content writing and more. 

I hope this article will show you what digital marketing entails and how you can quickly become proficient in it. So if you’re looking to ramp up your digital marketing knowledge fast, read on for all the information you need!

What is Digital Marketing?

Any marketing method used online is digital marketing. It’s the process of using online channels to promote and sell products. It includes everything from creating and managing a website to running digital advertising campaigns. It’s rather harder to find practical marketing methods that are not digital for most international businesses, as traditional (analog) marketing involves offline communications, such as telesales, and running trade shows and conferences.

The Basic Digital Marketing Methods You Can Learn

Here are some of the most common types of digital marketing that you can start looking into:

1. Search Engine Optimization (SEO):

This is the process of optimizing your website for Google search or video for YouTube with the goal of earning higher rankings and getting more organic traffic.

2. Pay-per-click (PPC) Advertising:

This is a form of online advertising where you pay a small fee each time someone clicks on your ad. Typically, the two most effective PPC ads are Google ads and Facebook ads. 

3. Social Media Marketing (SMM):

You may already know what it is. Just like connecting with social followers, you build business relationships (get as many potential buyers/customers on your side) by promoting your brand on multiple social networks. 

4. Content Marketing:

This is a type of marketing that involves creating and sharing content (such as blog posts, infographics, videos on YouTube, etc.) in order to attract attention and drive traffic back to your website.

Content marketing is closely linked to SEO because the keywords that you use should be picked up by search engines making your blog or YouTube posts rank higher.

5. Email Marketing:

This involves sending promotional or informative emails to a list of subscribers who have opted in to receive your messages. Email marketing can be used to nurture leads and build relationships with customers or promote new products or deals.

When Is Analog Marketing Useful?

Analog (offline) marketing methods include

• Print ads,
• Direct mail,
• Billboards,
• TV commercials, radio spots,
• Personal interactions like face-to-face networking.

As you can imagine, analogue marketing methods are generally costly compared to digital marketing methods. Especially billboards and TV commercials take up a huge budget and cannot be easily achieved by individual marketers. 

Otherwise, analogue marketing is useful in several situations such as when;

• You are targeting an older demographic: Older adults are not as engaged with technology as younger generations, so you'll need to use traditional methods to reach them. 
• You are trying to reach a local audience. While online advertising can target people in specific geographic areas, it can be difficult to reach everyone in a particular city or town. Using offline methods like flyers or newspaper ads can help you get your message in front of a wider audience.
• You're targeting a rural audience: People who live in rural areas might not have access to high-speed internet or they might not use social media as much as people who live in urban areas. 

Is Affiliate Marketing Digital Marketing?

Yes. Affiliate marketing is a marketing method but also an established business model itself, where you earn revenue by promoting someone else’s product. It can be done offline, but a large majority of affiliate marketing takes place online, so it is digital marketing.

Advantages of Digital Marketing

As you can see, digital marketing is more versatile than traditional marketing, and individual marketers can take advantage of it for many reasons. Such as;

1. You can reach a large audience.
2. It’s cost-effective - you can reach more people for less money than traditional marketing methods.
3. You can track results and measure success easily.
4. Digital marketing is interactive, so you can quickly adapt your strategies based on feedback from your target audience.
5. Because all you need is to be online - you don’t need physical materials or need to travel - it’s easy to get started.
6. You can use digital marketing to build relationships with your customers and create a community around your brand.
7. You can use data from your digital marketing campaigns to improve future campaigns’ chances of success..

How to Learn Digital Marketing Fast

If you take relevant steps systematically, it is possible to learn digital marketing fast. The good news is that you can learn the techniques from plenty of resources without spending a lot of money or time. 

1. Don’t Neglect The Basics

As mentioned earlier, there are several aspects of digital marketing such as SEO and email marketing. Not every method is necessary, but you must at least know what they are and how each one works so that you can choose the most suitable methods for your business. 

This depends on how you want to approach your target market and also hugely depends on your budget. Focusing on the basic fundamentals is therefore crucial.

2 STOP Searching For How-To Guides

Literally, thousands of digital marketing guides can be found on Google and YouTube, and they will help you gain some knowledge and skills to some extent. But it’s an information overload.

What can be easily found on search engines is already found by thousands of other digital marketing beginners, so this is not a quick way.

3. Use Thrive University

So where can you find the resources? Try Thrive University for FREE.

Hundreds of paid marketing training programs are out there that can teach you in-depth techniques. But as a beginner, it’s hard to decide which methods you should follow to start with. If you spend money on a digital marketing strategy that fails to yield results for your brand, you are wasting your time and money.

Thrive University is full of learning materials, allowing you to gain some of the most essential digital marketing techniques at no cost.

That’s why I particularly recommend it. Thrive will allow you to build up all the fundamentals before you consider investing your money in training.

4. Go Practical Right Away

Build a website right away, even if you don’t know what you’re doing. The key to learning digital marketing fast is nothing else but getting hands-on experience. 

You are not moving forward much just by taking information. You will only truly learn as you apply different strategies and techniques to your website. It doesn’t matter if your site doesn’t look professional enough in the beginning. All the shortcomings can be improved by trial and error and listening to feedback from others.

5. Join a Genuine Online Community

There may be many online communities full of experienced marketers, but the majority of them freely allow you to promote your business within the community, which is NOT good. Because members end up spamming each other.

Join a genuine community where promotion is banned. Communities such as Wealthy Affiliate are purely dedicated to helping people learn digital marketing. Members are happy to share their knowledge and help beginners get started.

6. Keep Following The Latest Trends

Unlike traditional (analog) marketing, digital marketing trends change quickly as people’s perception change quickly through media.

Also, search engine algorithms change every few years or so, which means what worked 3 years ago no longer works. This is not just for beginners, but every successful entrepreneur keeps an eye out for the changes. So be determined to stay up-to-date with the best practices to keep your skills current.

Other Digital Marketing Resources

As I mentioned above, Thrive University has a university-worth volume of lessons across all aspects of digital marketing, such as creating a website that converts, email marketing, e-commerce, SEO and so on. 

Here are some other learning resources that can help you get the ropes quickly.

Google's Grow My Business Course is good, offering over 100 lessons on all things digital marketing, including search engine optimization (SEO), social media, and Google Analytics.

The HubSpot Academy offers a comprehensive certification program in digital marketing that covers topics such as LinkedIn marketing, inbound marketing and email marketing as well as problem-solving techniques.

Wealthy Affiliate is perfect because it not only offers training but it comes with the essential tools. The training includes; 50 Online Entrepreneur Certification course lessons, 70 Affiliate Bootcamp lessons, plus 1,000 webinar masterclasses, accessible at any time. Plus;

• A genuine (spam-free) community that helps you 24/7
• Live chat 24/7
• One website can be built for free (premium members can build up to 10 websites.)
• Premium SEO keyword tool.

It's free to join, so it's a great resource for long-term planning.

Can I Learn Digital Marketing Fast? Final Words

Learning digital marketing is not as daunting as you think. If you learn the fundamentals systematically, you can become proficient within a few months. Just like any other business operation, digital marketing is an ongoing process. Even professionals are always looking for ways to improve their skill set or stay up-to-date with the latest trends.

So keep that in mind, you can start now, don’t get agitated whatever happens. Keep learning at your own pace, and you’ll definitely get there.