Why a Social Media Marketing Certification is Worth It

BrainStation is now offering a part-time Social Media Marketing course online and at our campuses in Toronto and Vancouver.

The goal of this course is to help companies and individuals implement a data-driven approach to social media marketing. If you’re not sure why that’s important, or whether you even need social media training, we’ve put together the following blog post.

Here are a few reasons why a social media marketing certification is worth it.

Social Media is Now Mainstream Media

There are now 3.196 billion global social media users, with the number of people using it increasing by almost one million every day in 2018. Facebook alone counts 22 percent of the world’s total population in its base of users (and 68 percent of U.S. adults).

If that doesn’t illustrate the reach social media, consider this: YouTube reaches more 18-49 year-olds than any cable network in the U.S. In fact, YouTube is now used by nearly three-quarters of U.S. adults, and 94 percent of 18- to 24-year-olds. Snapchat, meanwhile, reaches 41 percent of all 18- to 34-year-olds in the US.

Social media is now the medium in which the world consumes pop culture and news. This is especially true when you consider how ingrained it is in the daily life of younger age groups: 88 percent of 18- to 29-year-olds are now using social media.

In other words, if you’re not using social media, you are missing out.

Social Media Trends are Always Changing

While the popularity of social media is unlikely to change, it’s clear that the popularity of individual platforms will; it already has. Facebook, for example, is losing younger users — despite their global reach. According to eMarketer, the number of Facebook users younger than the age of 11 is expected to decline by 9.3 percent in 2018. The number of users aged 12 to 17, and 18 to 24 will also decrease by 5.6 and 5.8 percent, respectively.

So what are they using? 32 percent of teenagers now consider Instagram the most important social network, which makes sense: 90 percent of Instagram users are younger than 35. Americans between the ages of 18 to 24 are also more likely to use Snapchat, Instagram, and Twitter than people in their mid-to-late 20s.

The emergence of new platforms and technology, and changing demographics, tastes and trends will continue to change with time. Staying informed on the latest developments, concepts, and best practices, and adopting a data-driven approach to social media marketing, are two ways to stay ahead of the game, ensuring that you’re always making the best use of your campaigns and resources.

Social Media is Essential for Branding and Marketing

50 million small businesses are now using Facebook Pages, and for good reason: A full 74 percent of Facebook users say they visit the site daily, with 51 percent saying they do several times a day.

This is a large, captive audience, but they do have expectations with regards to the way companies handle social media. In fact, 78 percent who complain to a brand via Twitter expect a response with an hour, and 71 percent of consumers who have had a good social media service experience with a brand are likely to recommend it to others.

Outside of customer service and experience, social media platforms are also playing a direct role in direct purchasing decisions. A whopping 93 percent of Pinterest users, for example, use the platform to plan or make purchases, and the platform actually drives 25 percent of all retail website referral traffic.

You Need to Measure the ROI of Social Media Marketing

Despite its ubiquity, and the sheer amount of businesses using social media for marketing and branding, there is a perception that the effectiveness of social media is difficult to measure.

According to eMarketer, 61 percent of marketers say measuring ROI is their top challenge. Funnily enough, three other challenges in the survey’s top five are directly related to ROI measurement, and would help solve the issue if implemented properly:

• Tying social to business goals (33 percent)
• Tracking results via a dashboard (27 percent)
• Understanding performance across social channels (25 percent)

This is not completely surprising given the inefficient use and management of social media in many organizations. According to one survey, marketers are wasting the equivalent of two days per week on social media admin tasks, with much of the the time related to switching between platforms. 

Data-Driven Social Media Marketing to the Rescue

BrainStations Social Media marketing course focuses on the implementation of a data-driven approach, which addresses many of the pain points mentioned above, as well as the constantly changing nature of social media itself.

The course curriculum, which is is updated daily, focuses on building measurable, end-to-end social campaigns with a variety of platforms, including: Business Manager for Instagram and Facebook, and LinkedIn Campaign Manager.

The course is ideal for:

• Marketing managers and company leaders looking to improve the performance of social media marketing and brand campaigns
  
• Marketing professionals and social media managers who are keen to streamline social media management and use data for content development
  
• Aspiring marketing professionals looking to learn social media best practices, and gain experience with major platforms and tools

Enroll now in BrainStation’s Social Media Marketing course.