Just a few years ago, you’d have been forgiven for thinking that social media was just another internet fad, that would be gone as quickly as it had burst onto the scene.
One area that no one could have predicted social media would truly shine in is marketing, but there’s no denying that with that massive reach, and the highly focused targeting possibilities social networks offer in both paid and organic advertising, they are a great marketing asset for businesses of all sizes.
However, whilst 72% of adult internet users are now using Facebook (Pew Research Center, 2015), only 45% of marketers think that their Facebook efforts are effective. (Social Media Examiner, 2015).
The figures are probably similar for the other main social media channels with regards to how well marketers think they are using them (if not lower). So, if you’re not already taking advantage of this vast, laser-focused marketing bonanza, or you don’t know where to start, it might be time to take a social media training courses.
Here I’ve compiled a list of what I consider to be the best FREE Online Social Media Training Courses. I hope they help! And if you would like to recommend any others, please leave a comment at the end of the post.
Quick Reference Social Media Training Courses Links
- HubSpot Academy’s Inbound Marketing Certification
- HubSpot Academy’s Business Writing Course: Master High-Impact Writing With Bestselling Author Daniel Pink
- HubSpot Academy’s Free Social Media Certification Course
- Facebook Blueprint
- Social Media Quickstarter
- DS106: Digital Storytelling and Social Media
- Educate Your Audience and Sell Your Expertise Using Social Media
- Social Media Courses on GFC Learn Free
- The Canvas Network’s Social Media: Various Modules
- Quintly’s Social Media Analytics Course
The Best Free Online Social Media Training Courses
HubSpot Academy’s Inbound Marketing Certification
About this Course:
This is absolutely the course to get started with. It provides the strategic context for all of your social media use – Inbound Marketing. Hubspot is a technology that is favoured by people who work in digital marketing, so it’s no surprise that their Inbound Certification course is very in depth. That being said, it’s never a bad thing to get the inside track on what the professionals are doing! This course covers a lot more than just social media, and, when you’ve worked through the videos and course materials at your own pace, you can take the exam and get certified!
Courses & Topics Covered:
- Inbound Marketing Fundamentals
- Planning a Long-Term Content Strategy
- Creating a Blog Post
- Creating Topic Clusters and Pillar Pages
- Understanding Social Media Promotion
- Developing a Conversational Growth Strategy
- Understanding Conversions
- Creating a Conversion Optimisation Strategy
- Understanding Lead Nurturing
- Aligning Your Marketing With Sales
- Applying a Customer Marketing Approach
About this Course:
In a business context, if you want to engage with people on social media you need great writing skills. You’ll need to deploy those skills across the social networks you are using as well as on the website and/or app (e.g. in your blog) that you are driving people towards. So this is the course to do next. It’s fundamental.
Daniel Pink takes an author’s approach to writing, and he teaches the process well. From the concept through outlining, to first drafts, editing and second drafts, he covers everything the professional author would do to create polished pieces.
So while you might not win a Pulitzer after taking this course, you will be producing better writing! About Dan Pink Daniel Pink is a New York Times bestselling author of business books.
He also contributes to world-renowned business and tech sites like Fast Company and Wired, and he’s been published in print media like the Harvard Business Review and The New York Times. It’s safe to say that if you’re going to learn business writing from anyone, Daniel Pink is a good choice!
Courses & Topics Covered:
- Learn Prewriting Strategies with Bestselling Author Daniel Pink
- Learn Writing Tips with Bestselling Author Daniel Pink
- Learn Editing & Proofreading Tips with Bestselling Author Daniel Pink
About this Course:
Now to start diving specifically into learning about social media. It’s another course from HubSpot (our favourite marketing platform). This fantastic social media course covers everything you need to know in an easy to follow format.
Learn the basics and more, from strategy to measuring results, and discover how you can master social media marketing yourself. Then, get certified! It’ll help you test your understanding prove that you know your stuff to anyone that asks.
- Developing a Social Media Strategy
- Social Media Listening and Monitoring
- Building a Content Strategy for Social Media
- Extending Your Reach on Social Media
- Using Social Media to Build One-to-One Relationships
- Understanding the Basics of Digital Advertising
- Measuring Your Social Return on Investment
- Essentials for Continued Success with Social Media
About this Course:
Facebook is, without a doubt, the granddaddy of social networks, and this massive free course is the perfect way to get started driving targeted traffic from groups and pages to your website, and your door.
Since Facebook has shifted from a free for all in the past to a more commercially focused advertising platform in recent years, it’s a good idea to master the tricks and tips before you commit your credit card!
The Facebook Blueprint course is the perfect social media training course for this platform and will teach you the basics and beyond.
Courses & Topics Covered:
- Get started with Facebook
- Get started with advertising
- Learn advanced buying options
- Target the right audience
- Build awareness
- Drive consideration
- Generate Leads
- Promote my app
- Increase online sales
- Increase in-store sales
- Choose ad formats
- Get creative inspiration
- Manage Ads
- Measure ad performance
- Learn about Messenger
- Learn about Instagram
- Distribute and monetise content
About this Course:
If you want to get a great overview of all the big names in social media, then the Social Media Quickstarter social media training course is a good choice. It’s not as in-depth as some single network courses, but it does offer quick and not so nasty overviews of the big networks, with step by step guides and tips to hit the ground running. If you want to start as soon as possible, start here! Courses &
Topics Covered:
Facebook 101
- Facebook Glossary
- Facebook Page vs. Facebook Profile
- Choosing the Right Type of Page
- Set Up Your Facebook Page
- What Should You Say to Create Better Facebook Content?
- How to Promote Your Facebook Page
- Adding Photos to Your Page
- Choosing the Right Facebook Cover Photo
- You as Your Brand Page
- How to Schedule Facebook Posts
- Introduction to Facebook Insights
- How to Show Up in the Facebook News Feed
- How to Find the Best Time to Post on Facebook
- How to Convert Your Facebook Profile to a Facebook Page
- Common Facebook Mistakes to Avoid
- How to Use Facebook to Grow Your Email List
- One Mistake You Don’t Want to Make When Running a Facebook Ad
- Facebook Advertising Ideas
Twitter 101
- Setting Up a Twitter Profile
- A Simple Approach to Effectively Use Twitter
- Twitter Search Basics
- How to Use Hashtags
- Using Images on Twitter
- How to Create Twitter Lists Step-by-Step
- Twitter for Customer Service
- Twitter for Brand Awareness
- Twitter for Increasing Sales
- Hosting Tweet Chat
- How to Track Progress with Analytics
- Common Twitter Mistakes
LinkedIn 101
- Getting Started on LinkedIn
- Adding Connections on LinkedIn
- Using LinkedIn Groups
- Adding a Company to LinkedIn
- Posting on LinkedIn Effectively
- How to Build Authority on LinkedIn
- How LinkedIn Can Help You Find Your Next Great Employee
- Common LinkedIn Mistakes
Pinterest 101
- An Introduction to Pinterest
- Getting Started on Pinterest
- How to Decide What to Pin
- How to Create the Perfect Pin
- How to Get Found on Pinterest
- How to Promote Your Pinterest Page
- How to Use Pinterest Analytics
- Top 10 Pinterest Questions
- Pinterest for Nonprofits
- Pinterest for B2B’s
- Common Pinterest Mistakes
- Pinterest Glossary
Instagram 101
- An Introduction to Instagram
- Getting Started on Instagram
- Secrets to Instagram Success
- How to Increase Your Instagram Engagement
- How to Boost Your Brand Identity With Instagram
- Why You Should Switch to an Instagram Business Account
- What You Need to Know About Instagram Stories
- Instagram for Nonprofits
- Examples of Businesses on Instagram
Google+ 101
- Why Use Google+?
- Getting Started On Google+
- Google+ Profile, Page, and Local Listing
- Google+ and SEO
- How to Participate on a Google Hangout
- Google+ for Marketing Consultants
YouTube 101
- How to Upload a YouTube Video
- Getting Started on YouTube
- 6 Examples of YouTube Videos
- How to Promote Your Videos
- How to Embed a Video
- Common Video Mistakes
- YouTube Analytics
Snapchat 101
- A Beginner’s Guide to Snapchat for Business
- 7 Creative Ideas for Using Snapchat to Market Your Business
- 6 Easy Ways Your Business Can Get Snapchat Followers
- How to Master Your First Snapchat On-Demand Geofilter
DS106: Digital Storytelling and Social Media
About this Course:
One of the tricks to mastering social media marketing is to understand the nature of relationship marketing. This is not advertising the way it was done in the Mad Men era! In fact, it sometimes doesn’t look like advertising at all!
The Digital Storytelling and Social Media training course takes university-level creative writing skills and updates them for use in the modern world. Because by sharing stories on social networks, you build relationships with fans and leads, and that, in turn, creates more business.
Courses & Topics Covered:
- Bootcamp
- Getting Through Bootcamp and Personal Cyber Infrastructure
- What’s The Meaning of Digital Storytelling?
- Listening to Audio
- Telling Stories in Photos 6. It’s All By Design
- Advanced Audio And Radio Show Production
- Telling Stories Within the Web
- Reading Movies
- Making Movies
- Timer and Mashup
- Final Project and Wrap Up
Educate Your Audience and Sell Your Expertise Using Social Media
About this Course:
Credibility, and building a reputation as an expert in your field has been a cornerstone of internet marketing almost as long as the internet has existed. Social media has just made it easier to find and connect with the audience who most needs your expertise.
This course helps business owners to tap into the “influencer” phenomenon, and build a reputation as the go-to person in their field.
Courses & Topics Covered:
- Empathise: Getting To Know Your Customer
- Define: Defining Their Problem and Unique Value Proposition
- Design: Ideation and Creative Brainstorming
- Prototype: Rapidly Prototyping Your Offer
Social Media Courses on GFC Learn Free
About this Course:
If you’re a complete novice, then the courses on The Goodwill Community Foundation are the perfect place to start your social media training.
Courses include everything from blogging to social media marketing, Skype, Whatsapp and many other modern technologies.
They do start with the very basics though, so if you’re already somewhat well versed in these technologies, you may find them a little too simple.
Courses & Topics Covered:
- Blog Basics
- LinkedIn Basics
- YouTube
- Facebook for iPhone
- WordPress Resources
- Skype
- Snapchat
- Meetup
The Canvas Network’s Social Media: Various Modules
About this Course:
The Canvas Network is well known for its online learning offerings, and while the social media training course it was offering has ended for official students, that doesn’t mean you can’t take advantage of this world-class resource!
All of the course notes and resources for this world-class training program are still accessible (FREE!) and they offer a great, broad-based look at everything from blogging to social media and even technologies like RSS feeds.
If you’re looking for information on how to integrate social media into an online marketing funnel, this is a great place to start.
Courses & Topics Covered: Modules on almost anything you can think of!
Quintly’s Social Media Analytics Course
About this Course:
While most social media training courses focus on how to use the platforms in question, the Quintly course is much more concerned with how you track, measure and use the data and analytics information you get from using these types of marketing.
Since modern day marketing is based on S.M.A.R.T. goals, and since measuring, tracking and refining your marketing tactics is a big part of that, this course can definitely help anyone to get more bang out of their social media buck.
Courses & Topics Covered:
Introduction to Social Media Analytics
- Video: Welcome!
- Course overview
- What is Social Media Analytics
- Asset: Social Media Landscape chart
- Quiz: Social Media Landscape
- Why your business needs Social Media Analytics
Social Media Analytics Cycle: Step 1
- Situation analysis of existing footprint
- Video: How to approach situation analysis
- Compare your Social Media appearances and that of your competition
- Asset: Differentiation between Social Networks for data collection
Social Media Analytics Cycle: Step 2
- Identify your data-based goals
- Find KPIs that fit your goals
- Video: Show and explain different metrics
- Asset: Possible action points for your goals
- Quiz: Differentiate between metrics and decide
Social Media Analytics Cycle: Step 3
- Video: Build the foundation for reporting
- Decide on the audience for different reports
- Automating reports
- Video: How to automate reports
- Quiz: Which kind of report do you see?
Summary
- Congratulations
- Video: Summary
- Asset: Social Media Analytics Cycle
Summary
Social media marketing is a fast-paced world, much like the internet itself. There’s always something new and exciting to master, and the tactics that worked last year are old news now.
While you might not be able to stop studying the art and science of digital marketing after just one course, there definitely are plenty of free, quality resources that can get you started, up the learning curve, and ready to take on this exciting form of marketing.
So take some time, learn some tricks, and maximise your digital marketing ROI.
If it’s too much to handle, then give us a call and our expert team can manage it for you.
