Microsoft and Google have announced new initiatives to help people acquire skills and certifications for digital marketing careers.
Here’s what’s new.
Microsoft Advertising
Microsoft have outlined changes to their learning and certifications offerings, saying they had reimagined and relaunched their Learning Lab and MACP (Microsoft Advertising Certified Professional) certification scheme to make these more valuable and easier to use.
MACP certification
Based on user feedback, Microsoft has moved from one exam to three new, specialised certification exams. These explore different areas and each comes with its own digital badge:
- Microsoft Advertising Search Certification
- Microsoft Advertising Native & Display Certification
- Microsoft Advertising Shopping Certification
Each certification has a 50-question exam. If you pass all three you qualify for Microsoft’s highest-level certification and digital badge:
- The Microsoft Advertising Certified Professional
The digital badges can be shared through your social media and their authenticity is verifiable with Microsoft Advertising.
You can jump straight to the exam if you’re already experienced in the relevant area. Those starting from scratch have resources to help them, with a Learning Path for each exam. There’s also a preparation course for each exam which includes:
- How the exam works.
- What topics you’ll need to know about.
- 25 practice questions with answer feedback to help you focus your studies.
If you were MACP certified as of April 2022, you should head to Microsoft’s FAQ page to find out how to access your legacy PDF certificate and claim your new Microsoft Advertising Search Certification digital badge.
Learning Lab
Microsoft has also relaunched its Learning Lab, again taking note of user feedback, to make it “more modern and simple” with everything in one place rather than a long list of courses.
New features are:
- Learning Paths: These bring together key concepts you need to develop your skills as a digital marketer with Microsoft Advertising for each topic in one place. This includes learning courses, a preparation course for each exam, and the exam.
- Events: Attend live virtual events led by Microsoft Advertising experts or watch the recent ones on-demand.
- Your Dashboard and Trophy Case: You can see the badges you’ve earned and the courses you’ve taken all in one place.
Google Digital Marketing Certificate
Google has launched a new professional qualification in digital marketing, available on Coursera.
The 7-course Digital Marketing and E-Commerce Certificate is designed to equip learners with the skills needed for jobs in this sector, including: digital marketing specialist, e-commerce specialist, and marketing coordinator.
No prior experience or qualification is needed. The entry level course is designed to prepare learners to launch a career in digital marketing and e-commerce. A blog post on Coursera detailing the new course said it could be completed in under six months, with 10 hours of study weekly. The certificate costs $39 per month.
The course is taught by Google experts and includes: how to develop digital marketing and e-commerce strategies, attract customers, measure marketing and customer activity, and build successful e-commerce stores.
Students will be provided with hands-on experience with key tools including: Canva, Constant Contact, Hootsuite, HubSpot, MailChimp, Shopify, Twitter, and Google.
As with Google’s other certifications, those completing the course in the US will have access to a job platform where they can apply directly for positions with a pool of employers.
Google also announced that it was offering eligible businesses in the US up to 500 scholarships to Google Professional Certificates on Coursera. Go to https://www.coursera.org/google-certificates-for-business to find out more.
