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Teaching the course allows me to experiment with various techniques that we then adapt for training our clients to adopt and execute inbound marketing strategies using HubSpot's marketing platform.
It's a great way to build a lab, but what gets me really excited is have the opportunity to help about 50 students each semester to successfully complete their Inbound Marketing Certification.
As you can guess, my recommendation is a resounding yes.
You and your team's success is rooted in not simply being familiar with the philosophy and methodology of Inbound Marketing, but truly internalizing it to the degree that alters the culture of your marketing organization.
Before ever investing into HubSpot or any other marketing automation platform, you should start by engaging in basic (and free) training that will help you avoid multiple pitfalls and mistakes that are commonplace when companies are just getting started.
Learn how to be successful inbound marketers with an Inbound Readiness Workshop.
Understanding the importance of elements like buyer personas and lifecycle marketing, as well as where they fit in terms of your overall marketing strategy and execution can save dozens if not hundreds of wasted hours and human attention.
Working through the Inbound Marketing Certification with your team also helps build understanding and executive buy in that will minimize your ramp up time and the costs associated with the learning curve of getting your inbound marketing program running and deliver leads and customers.
The learning resources provided by HubSpot Academy in the Inbound Marketing Certification course are the critical first step in helping my students and clients begin to bridge the marketing skills gap. This recent research shows that today's marketing students are simply not graduating with the knowledge and skills that agencies and brands are seeking.
The same is true for more traditional marketers currently employed in companies who've not followed the path towards digital marketing or marketing automation. To put this in perspective, VenturBeat estimates that the marketing automation market is currently driven by about 70 technology platforms and is has accrued less than 5% penetration across the overall business landscape.
Make no mistake, the marketing skills gap is real, and it's a wide chasm.
Skills lacking from today's marketing workforce can include any or all of the following:
If any of those previous bullet points aren't familiar to you, earning your Inbound Marketing Certification should be your very next step.
You can tap into HubSpot Academy and all of the media assets and learning materials provided in the course for no cost, other then your time invested in watching videos, reading resources and studying for your final exam.
Flipped Learning is a pedagogical approach where direct instruction (the theory) moves from the classroom space to the individual learning space via learning resources.
The classroom is then transformed into a dynamic, interactive learning environment where the educator guides students as they apply concepts and engage creatively in the subject matter.
In class and with clients, I use HubSpot's Inbound Marketing Certification materials as the homework, supplementing the course materials with additional reading from books, research reports, blog posts and various content offers that support quick compression of the concepts.
Class sessions are dedicated to active working time in small teams on various content projects and challenges that help the students put the theory they are learning into immediate action. Immediate application is a critical factor in building adoption and proficiency of new skills.
It's during these working sessions where, as the instructor, I get to see the light bulbs start to go off.
After spending the majority of my consulting career coaching corporate marketers and teaching at the university-level, I'm a vocal advocate of the Flipped Classroom approach and how quickly it drives learning and adoption.