Where is the best place to turn to for further learning on digital and social media? PB’s social media editor Chris Halpin takes a closer look at the options available

Recently, I got an email from one of our readers asking whether a particular online course they had seen advertised would be worth signing up for. The course offered a “complete” package, covering digital marketing, websites, social media and more. What’s more, it was being offered at a heavily reduced rate, and was now “only” £10.

In theory, that would be a great deal, but the reality is slightly different. For starters, these types of course are almost always offered at a discounted rate. But it’s their effectiveness that’s the real concern, and questions have to be asked as to whether you should be paying for them at all.

Further detail

In doing my own research, I’ve found these courses often do a good job of aggregating a lot of content and presenting it in one format. Because they’re trying to cover such a broad range of topics, there’s usually not a great amount of detail on any one subject.

Therefore, they’re not ideal if you’re looking to sharpen a particular skill set.

That’s not to say these kinds of courses aren’t useful at all, though. If you’re a complete novice when it comes to marketing your business online, there might be some benefits to taking a broad-minded approach to learning the basics.

With that being said, you often don’t have to pay to get ahead when it comes to online learning resources.

There’s some really informative and in-depth information that’s offered for free by some leading names online.

Google’s Digital Garage is a great starting point for anyone looking to grow their career or business online. It offers a wide range of topics, starting from the basic fundamentals, through to more specific and advanced subjects.

The catch, if there is one, is that there are a quite a lot of references throughout to Google tools and services. But these tools are ones that you probably will encounter at some point along a digital marketing journey anyway, so they don’t feel out of place.

If you’re looking at getting further ahead on social media, then Hubspot Academy is another great service that offers free courses, broken down to individual social platforms. If you’re particularly focusing on upping your Instagram game, for example, there’ll be a course specifically tailored to this.

Similar to the Digital Garage, there’s a few references to Hubspot tools along the way – but again, they’re not intrusive enough to detract from the overall content.

While all these courses are set up to allow you to learn at your own pace, there may be some people who feel they can’t commit to a full course. If time is tight, there’s a wealth of individual articles and reports published regularly about social platforms and the web as a whole.

As we approach the new year, think about general searches for “social media reports 2020” – and take your pick from the dozens of results you’ll be offered