The 10 Best Content Marketing Certifications To Level Up Your Career
“Every company is now a media company,” said every digital marketing guru on LinkedIn. Ever. Tired, but true! More companies are investing in producing content over traditional ad campaigns, with 84.5% of US companies with at least 100 employees planning to leverage digital content marketing strategies. It’s no wonder more and more marketing tech is catching on, and interest in accredited content marketing certification is gaining momentum.
With all that said, it’s a great time to hone your craft and snag a job in content marketing (as I did, just a few months ago!). If you’re thinking about making the switch, don’t overlook the value you can get from a content marketing certification program to help you get a leg up on the competition, add to your knowledge and skills, and create a robust content marketing strategy.
For those looking to advance in their careers, any inbound marketing certification is invaluable. In this article, I’ll start by sharing the best content marketing certifications, then back it up with answers to frequently asked questions about advantages, the different types available, and how to select the most suitable one for you.
The Best Content Marketing Certifications
Whether you're looking for a free or paid course, online or in person, read on for some of the top courses and programs with duration and cost included.
Hubspot Academy Content Marketing Certification
The king of inbound and all things content management, Hubspot’s certification is a free course that allows you to learn from the very best, no matter how many years of experience you have. Hubspot has built up one of—if not the most—reputable blogs and content marketing resource libraries on the internet.
Husbot Academy’s Content Marketing Certification covers various in-depth topics, including SEO optimization, social media management, analytics tracking, narrative construction for lead capture, and beyond. This high-quality, free certification offers practical activities to give learners a tangible understanding of crafting successful inbound marketing campaigns and writing effective content.
It’s also offered in multiple languages in addition to English including German, Spanish, and French. Best of all? You can finish it in just one day.
- Type: Content marketing certificate
- Duration: 8 hours
- Format: Online
- Cost: Free
BrainStation Digital Marketing Certificate
The BrainStation Digital Marketing Certificate covers the fundamentals of digital marketing, such as SEO, website design, email campaigns, and social media tactics. Longer and more thorough than the option above, it also explores how to evaluate success through various analytics tools.
Trusted by over 100,000 marketers, it offers a unique way of learning from expert educators. It utilizes a project-based learning approach to gain hands-on experience as you go, which could be useful to include in a content marketing portfolio (which it would behoove any content marketer to have!)
- Type: Digital marketing certificate
- Duration: 8 weeks
- Format: In-Person or Online
- Cost: $3,250 or 12 payments of $290 USD
LinkedIn Learning Content Marketing Foundations
Taught by expert marketing consultant Brian Honigman, this LinkedIn Learning course covers how a well-crafted content marketing strategy can greatly increase the visibility of your brand, help build credibility, and create an enduring relationship with your audience.
You'll learn the basic content marketing concepts and benefits from ideation to execution and content promotion, then walk through a step-by-step plan for organizations of all sizes to succeed with this online marketing approach.
From this short, introductory course, you’ll end up knowing how to create a content plan, choose content types, and develop an editorial calendar. You will also learn the secrets of great content writing, editing, and design.
- Type: Content marketing certificate
- Duration: 1 hour
- Format: Online
- Cost: $29.99 USD
SEMrush Academy Content Marketing Fundamentals
Another authority on SEO and content, SEMrush is an SEO tool that offers an online video course through its academy, covering the fundamentals of content and search engine marketing.
This course, led by a global marketing executive, Ashley Segura, is designed for anyone who wants to include content marketing in their overall marketing strategy but is unsure about where to start. Course content walks you through content marketing, starting out with the business goals of content to measuring success and advanced tips.
- Type: Content marketing certificate
- Duration: 1-2 hours
- Format: Online, Video-based
- Cost: Free
Hootsuite Social Marketing Certification
Through this social media certification program, you can develop expertise in managing social media accounts across multiple networks, a key element for any successful content marketing strategy. From mastering platform basics and understanding etiquette rules—all the way up through designing cohesive multi-channel strategies & analyzing data from each network—this course by the leading social media management tool, Hootsuite, has it all.
If you take this course, prepare for a 60-question assessment at the end that you have 60 minutes to complete. Once you pass, you’ll be able to add the certification to your resume and LinkedIn profile.
- Type: Social media marketing certificate
- Duration: 3.5 hours
- Format: Online
- Cost: $199 USD
Digital Marketing Institute’s Digital Marketing Professional
Digital Marketing Professional is a course offered by the Digital Marketing Institute, and it's a great option if you’re looking to learn from a highly reputable organization in the marketing realm. As we mentioned before, digital marketing certification covers a number of associated topics, so you'll receive a breadth of knowledge spanning all aspects of digital marketing.
Co-authored with the American Marketing Association (was anyone else in that club in college?!) they offer digital marketing certifications in the USA, Canada, and Mexico. An online course, they continuously are updating the content so that you can harness cutting-edge digital marketing and soft skills. In this program, you can expect to learn everything from Google Ads (PPC), Analytics, and Facebook Ads, to content marketing, SEO, and more.
- Type: Digital marketing certificate
- Duration: 30 hours or 8-10 weeks
- Format: Online
- Cost: $1,368 USD
Copyblogger Certified Content Marketer
As one of the oldest and most respected names in the industry, Copyblogger's program focuses on teaching professionals to write engaging pieces optimized to deliver maximum value to readers while simultaneously driving conversions.
With over 20 years of experience helping businesses craft impactful messaging around their product services, this intensive curriculum helps to ensure you're equipped to handle any challenge thrown your way. And if you take this course, you can benefit from the added value of being able to attend exclusive Q&A sessions and access the Copyblogger staff in an online forum.
- Type: Content marketing certificate
- Duration: TBD
- Format: Online
- Cost: TBD
Product Marketing Alliance Core: On-Demand
From research to optimization, Product Marketing Certified: Core explores the fundamentals of the product marketing discipline. Afterward, you’ll have a richer understanding of the what, why, and how of every product marketing principle.
This online certification covers everything from research to OKRs, pricing to positioning, and Jobs-to-be-Done to optimization, messaging, and Go-to-Market strategies. It also covers how you can fit in with the rest of your team and how to best interface with stakeholders and cross-functional leaders.
If you’re looking to transition into the space, it’ll arm you with that key foundational layer of know-how to hit the ground running. For junior product marketers, it’ll up-skill you in areas you might not have quite so much practical experience. For veterans, it’s a great refresher on current trends and potential new practices.
For content marketers, since it gives a deep dive into product positioning, it is especially useful when you are trying to form a solid foundational message that underlies all of their content.
- Type: Product marketing certificate
- Duration: Self-paced
- Format: Online
- Cost: $1,299 USD
Coursera’s The Strategy of Content Marketing
Whether you're just getting started or looking to refine existing processes, Coursera's course offering is a powerful, combined effort between Copyblogger and UC Davis. The combination provides invaluable insight into modern-day approaches when comes to creating relevant and interesting content that customers actually want to consume.
It promises to leave no stone unturned, ensuring you will be ready to take action without hesitation. The course curriculum covers not only foundational principles but practical frameworks for mapping the customer journey, devising what types of strategic content to make, and managing it once it’s released.
- Type: Content marketing certificate
- Duration: 21 hours
- Format: Online
- Cost: Free without a certificate, $49 to earn the certificate
Udemy Content Marketing Masterclass
Last but not least, we have the course that is available on Udemy: Content Marketing Masterclass. According to the course creator, “You'll learn exactly what it takes to plan and execute a content marketing strategy that drives your business forward in this class. By the end, you'll have all the tools you need to successfully market your products and services in the digital world.”
The course will cover a lot of ground, which is why it’s a great choice if you’re looking to learn as much as you can about content marketing without breaking the bank. Plus, it has a 30-day money-back guarantee in case it doesn’t meet your expectations.
- Type: Content marketing certificate
- Duration: 3.5 hours
- Format: Online, with access on mobile and TV
- Cost: $139.99
Answers to Frequently Asked Q's
Alright, now that you've got the goods, you may want a little more information about how to choose the right one for you. Read on for the purpose and benefits of content certification, plus how to narrow down courses by type.
What Is Content Certification?
Content certification is a type of course that you can take to become trained in the art and science of content marketing. It assures any prospective employer that you have received a thorough education in content marketing and can be entrusted with implementing a holistic plan from strategy to execution.
Content marketing offers numerous benefits for businesses, including increased brand awareness, improved customer loyalty, higher search engine rankings, and more qualified leads. This type of marketing can be in lieu of traditional advertising by providing educational resources about your product or service and other related topics.
What Are The Benefits Of Certification?
Explore a Wide Range of Industries
One of the best things about content marketing is that it can open doors to any industry you’d like to work in, whether that be cosmetics, travel, neuroscience, SaaS, real estate… anywhere that piques your interest!
That’s because it doesn’t matter if you sell manure or medicine, someone is looking for information about that product online—and the content marketer’s job is to provide exactly that. If you can develop content that resonates with your audience, you will be a valuable contributor to any marketing team.
This is why content marketers are highly sought after by companies. With a content marketing certification, beginners can easily transition between industries with minimal effort and quickly adapt to new roles. You can also branch out into more specialist areas like social media marketing, video marketing, inbound marketing, etc.
Grow Your Professional Network
You might have heard someone say, “Your network is your net worth!” In my experience, this is true. Some beginner content certification courses have expert guest lecturers who host office hours, which provides an invaluable opportunity to network with people who might be hiring or can help put you in touch with a company that is looking to hire. You can also meet other aspiring content marketers who can become a part of your professional network.
As a content marketer on a team of one, I know that I have greatly benefited from staying abreast of what’s going on in the wider content marketing community through webinars, networking on Linkedin, engaging in communities like SuperPath, and taking certification courses. I’ve been able to interchange ideas with other content marketers and come up with better strategies and pieces of content as a result.
Stand Out Amongst Your Peers
With more and more companies on the hunt to find rockstars in digital marketing and content marketing, the job market is getting competitive. Having a content marketing certification helps make you stand out amongst other candidates when applying for jobs or promotions.
It gives potential employers more assurance that you’re dedicated to your practice and know what it takes to produce successful campaigns. This will help them reach their goals faster than if they hired someone without any prior training or credentials related to content marketing strategies and tactics.
Pro tip: make sure you add your certification to your LinkedIn profile!
Build Your Skills and Confidence
Since the marketing landscape is ever-changing, the opportunity to learn never ends. Even if you’ve been in content marketing for years with proven results, you’ll never be done learning about content marketing. With up-to-date certification, you can feel confident that you’re up to speed on the latest and greatest tools, framework, strategies, tactics, etc.
If you pick a course that has expert lecturers, you can further build your confidence, knowing that you’re learning from best-in-class marketers who can also answer your questions and provide feedback.
Increase Your Market Value and Negotiate a Better Salary
The 2018 Marketing Hiring Trends Report highlighted that 69% of companies decided to hire more marketers in 2018, with the highest demand being in digital advertising (45%), content creation and curation (42%), and content strategy (39%).”
Working in B2B SaaS, I have seen this reflected in the market over the past few years, as startups and lean teams move toward spending less on paid ads for set time periods and more on building out content marketing teams whose efforts produce ever-green assets.
While more companies are looking to hire content and digital marketers, current estimates say that the demand for digital marketing specialists outstrips the currently available supply, with 56% of the companies in one survey saying they needed more people with digital marketing expertise.
This is good news if you’re looking to negotiate! Even better, the pay is higher for those who possess a certification. According to Robert Half Technologies’ 2021 Salary Guide, an entry-level Marketing Manager with no certifications can expect to earn $67,000 per year while an experienced, certified Marketing Manager earns approximately $116,500.
Bottom line? Getting certified, whether you have some marketing experience under your belt or not, is sure to help boost your market value. Having invested in your education, you can negotiate a higher salary than someone who hasn’t.
How Do I Become A Certified Content Marketer?
Okay, that six-figure salary looks pretty good, doesn’t it? So how do you get certified? You’ll need to undergo a certification program that requires you to complete a series of courses and exams before certification is granted.
Fortunately, the majority of programs do not list any prerequisites. All you need to have is an enthusiasm for content marketing and learning online.
Before diving in, first determine which is the best kind of content marketing course for you. Then, evaluate a few different options, whittling them down until you find the one that best suits your budget, needs, and goals.
Let’s take a look at the types of content marketing certification courses:
Types Of Content Marketing Courses
Content Marketing
A general content marketing certification will give you a complete overview of everything the discipline encompasses, from understanding consumer behavior, generating content ideas, and measuring success. You’ll learn the difference between good and great content, and when it’s a good idea to incorporate various content types into your strategy (a podcast vs a webinar series, etc.)
By completing a general content marketing certification, you will have a solid foundation that will prepare you for your first job in the field. You’ll understand core concepts on how to devise a solid long-term content strategy, instead of just making content on the fly and hoping it sticks.
SEO Content Marketing
If you breeze through a general content marketing certification and want to take it a step further—or if you already have real-world content marketing experience—consider taking an SEO content marketing certification course as an added layer that will further set you apart from the crowd.
In this type of marketing certification, you will learn how SEO and content marketing overlap and how to make content that is optimized for search. Learn the difference between blog posts and pillar pages, and content repurposing do’s and don’ts. By better understanding the technical mechanics of SEO and applying them to your content, you can boost organic traffic to your content and improve its ROI—something that any hiring manager can get behind!
Social Media Marketing
An important aspect in any content marketing plan, social media marketing specifically has been on the rise in recent years. According to Statista, social media ad spend stood at approximately 230 billion U.S. dollars in 2022, with spending expected to surpass the 300-billion-dollar mark by 2024.
With more new platforms gaining momentum (hello, TikTok), marketing teams are having to adjust their strategy (and hiring) for specialists in social content. The right social media marketing course will walk you through not only the different platforms available, but the types of content that performs best on each and how you can leverage key insights and trends to find success.
Product Marketing
At the intersection of product and marketing is the product marketing role, and with it, product marketing certification. While it's fairly new in the world of B2B marketing, the rise of product-led growth has helped it to spread like wildfire.
According to Daniel Kuperman, Head of Core Product Marketing and Go-to-Market at Atlassian, “Product marketing is finally catching on as the must-have role for companies that want to grow and open new markets. In the year to come, I expect to see more companies expanding their PMM hiring efforts and for the market to become even more competitive.”
It is vital for companies that sell sophisticated products to have a product marketer in the house who can help to best research the product’s competitive landscape, position it, write compelling copy, and generate effective bottom-of-the-funnel content like case studies featuring the product in order to increase its market share. From my experience, if you have good skills in product marketing, they can translate to content marketing and vice versa.
To complement my own content marketing skills, I took a product marketing certification course just last year through the Product Marketing Alliance. It helped me to learn different ways to aid my then company in its product marketing efforts since we had a very lean team.
Later that year, I got a raise and a promotion. Coincidence? I think not!
Digital Marketing
Last but not least, another route to learning content marketing is through a broader digital marketing course. This is because content is at the heart of any digital marketing campaign, since teams use it to convey their message. It's also something that can be used to entice and capture new leads
Certify Your Knowledge
With the job market we find ourselves in, right now is the time to invest in ourselves and get better at the skills that are most in demand, no matter what the economy is doing. When it comes to content marketing, tools may arise to facilitate certain aspects, but if you have an understanding of the underlying strategy and achieve mastery therein, you will not be replaced!
While marketing will always be a skill that every company needs, it can prove difficult for hiring managers to determine who is really worth their salt and who isn’t. A content marketing certification or inbound marketing certification can help you establish credibility and give you the marketing training that lends to the confidence, skills, and increased market value to earn a higher salary.
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