What is So Important About Continuing My Education?
I will admit I spent half of my life taking education for granted. As a young girl, unless the class was creative I was mostly bored by school. I may have not been as challenged as I should have been, but that is a story for another blog. College proved to be more of a party in my eyes, and my education took a backseat. Well, once I got into the workplace and found my passion for marketing right away, I wanted to learn more wherever and however I could. Twenty-plus years into my career and that yen for learning has only grown.
In the last ten years, I have found that the world of digital marketing (the water I swim in, the air I breathe) changes at a rapid, turbo-charged pace. Now, having celebrated the two-year anniversary of my own agency just last week, I realize that the only way to stay current and not only understand but MASTER the current trends is to stay educated.
So Where Do You Go for Digital Marketing Continuing Education
It is definitely not as hard as you may think to find the best resources for staying current with internet marketing and traditional marketing strategies and techniques. Because the people who are the crème de la crème in internet marketing are out there trying to find you through their own marketing, it is often only a matter of looking in a few places before you find tons more where they came from.
My Favorite Education Sources for Digital Marketing, Social Media Marketing, and SEO
- MOZ
- Amy Porterfield classes, webinars, podcasts, and Facebook page
- Search Engine Strategies Conference (New York is the one I go to, but they are held all over the world now)
- ClickZ website and newsletter
- Social Media Examiner website/blog, podcast, and newsletter
- Social Media Today website, podcasts, and newsletter
- Search Engine Watch website and newsletter
- Search Engine Journal
- Search Engine Land
- Â Search Engine Roundtable
- Jon Loomer blog and Youtube channel
- Mari Smith Facebook page with videos
- [Book] Content Rules: How to Create Killer Blogs, Podcasts, Videos, Ebooks, Webinars (and More) That Engage Customers and Ignite Your BusinessÂ
- [Book] Likeable Social Media: How to Delight Your Customers, Create an Irresistible Brand, and Be Generally Amazing on Facebook (And Other Social Networks)
- [Book] 500 Social Media Marketing Tips: Essential Advice, Hints, and Strategy for Business: Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Google+, YouTube, Instagram, LinkedIn, and More!
- [Book] Guerilla Marketing: Easy and Inexpensive Strategies for Making Big Profits from Your Small Business
The Benefits of Staying Educated in Your Field
As previously expressed, this is a fast-moving, ever-changing field. If you just read one email newsletter a week you aren’t even treading water. I value my private time as much as anyone else, maybe more so. I do work some nights and sometimes we are busy enough that I work weekends. But most of the time I have a good work/life balance. So how do I get the time to stay on top of all of these marketing tips, techniques, and new strategies? I value them as much as I do the time I put into working on a client project. Think of it this way, if you don’t invest time in staying ahead of the curve, someone else is going to be talking to your client about that new strategy and you just might lose them. If you are a mid-sized business marketer or a small business owner it is just as important for you. These new trends could be what cause your competitor to impress your customers right into working with them!
So are you ready to get started? Excellent! Let us know if you decide you need any help.