When it comes to staying on top of evolving trends it is important to remember that an education can be your most useful asset. Whatever industry you operate in there is a plethora of educational tools that can help you keep one step ahead of your competitors. These qualifications can also be the difference between securing a new client as if it came down to it, most leaders feel more comfortable establishing a partnership with accredited individuals.
However, these qualifications don’t have to break the bank and there are lots of options for all kinds of needs, from paid to free, knowledge is just a few clicks away. When it comes to designing content, streamlining organisational structures or even conducting email marketing campaigns, there is a treasure trove of free or cheap educational courses. What’s more, unlike traditional qualifications, using these projects can help you learn at your own pace meaning that you can fit personal and professional enrichment in around family or work life.
While not all of these qualifications will give you a sharable certificate, they can still imbue you with the skills you need to adapt your job role. Indeed, some of these even have the option to buy the certificate so that you can share it on LinkedIn and have for prosterity.
Here is a list of some of the top digital educational courses as highlighted by Eskenzi PR:
When you mention the topic of free qualifications, many people rightly cite edX. edX boasts a range of free courses from some of the world’s leading academic institutions. Examples of some member universities on edX include MIT, Harvard, Berkeley, Boston University and more. With more than 2,800 courses, edX has a variety of international partners who can offer you useful accreditation wherever you reside. So far more than 34 million qualifications have been issued representing practically every recognised country. Some examples of edX courses that could be worth keeping an eye on are Strategic Social Media Marketing or Digital Marketing Strategy.
One of my personal favourite virtual academies is HubSpot. Primarily operating as a customer relationship manager (CRM), HubSpot offers users a wide range of qualifications for both their own tools and general topics. These include, strategic social media, or even inbound email marketing. What I love the most about HubSpot is that it offers free certificates that can be shared on LinkedIn. However, one thing to remember is that most of these qualifications have a lifespan of around 2 years meaning that after this you will have to retake the course. However, this can only be a good thing as systems and processes change rapidly on social media.
While this will not be available to everyone, Google Ads has a dedicated training section to noprofits, students or advisors. This will help you to receive free marketing help for you organisation to certify the upcoming generation in Google Ads.
The Appypie Academy also offers a variety of paid or free training tools in a range of topics such as graphic design or even app development. You can view their list of courses here.
Whatever your goal is, there is an open world of educational tools at your disposal. All you need is a few minutes every day and you can learn a new skill that can help you succeed in business and personal life!
