[ Discussion ] How to Deal with Fake Digital Marketing Institutes

Before this Corona situation, we had opened up a weekend internship program at Go Lead Digital (which is currently put on hold)

We received a very positive response from all over India, from newbies to experienced marketers who were looking to polish their skills.

I talked and chatted with many individuals, and one common query which I noticed was dealing with fake digital marketing courses and institutes.

One marketer said, “Sir, the digital marketing course I did don’t feel justice to me for the price I had paid them. Even the placement they provided was with lesser than average pay. I feel like I’ve been robbed. I even tried to get in touch with one of the superiors but no use. I once tried to post a review on their Google listings, but I realized they asked all the new joinees to post 5-star reviews for the institute. And I’m scared if I post it on social media, they’ll catch me and whatnot. They are at higher positions, and I can’t fight that.”

DO YOU ALSO FEEL THE SAME?

Regrettably, the training institutes are growing day by day to suffice the developing demand for professional expertise education.

To meet these’s demand, multiple private businesses have evolved up with their institutes, which challenge to deliver business-oriented training to students.

Most of these DM courses do set you a place of a job.

Still, the dilemma is that the government does not approve of these DM courses, and the certification offered by them is not guaranteed to be accepted by other fellowships or recognized in the industry.

This post intends to make you aware of what should be focused on while selecting the right digital marketing institute and tackle with fake training institutes.

LET’S DISSECT WHAT EXACTLY DEFINES BY A ‘FAKE INSTITUTE.’

1) Look over the Track Record: Make some history research and know how long the training institute has been active. And do they have a good continuous track record of implementation of training? And also, check user-generated content about them such as reviews, online visibility, brand presence, etc. — this will reveal their training standards.

2) Request information with Alumni: Request the previous batch students who have already completed their training from these institutes you chose for. As they have significant experience and know the teaching techniques of the institute, this will provide you with an earnest evaluation of whether to move forward with the institute or not.

3) Training techniques: The institute you prefer must possess well-specified training techniques, and study materials like video tutorials, PowerPoint presentations, audio podcasts, and additional supporting study materials.

These methods will help you understand even complicated topics easier with less effort. Whether it would only be theoretical or practical or hands-on learning would be involved. Even after you complete the course, the study material you provided to you should guide and help you like the best references.

4) Instructors & DM Trainers: Along with proper course materials, it is imperative to know about the digital marketing experts who will be training you in the course period. You can alwasys check their professional profile, which is vital to understand their relevant industrial experience that you are looking for.

5) Standard Fees Structure: Analyze and compare with other training institutes out there regarding the fee structure to get a right scale of a reasonable standard.

6) Course Modules: Make a comparison of the curriculum with other institutes to know which institute has not altered its curriculum over the past years? Are their course modules regularly updated with the industry advances? Course modules analysis and comparison will help you not to spend months of your training with outdated knowledge or technology.

7) Placement Opportunities: Some of the efficient digital marketing institutes assure placement opportunities. However, these institutes have no guarantee on placements, but they do support students with placements assistance upon their course completion. Make sure you have an intention to know more about the placement opportunities of the institute before you join.

BETTER BE SAFE THAN FEELING SORRY!

Before starting your DM course, do thorough research on the digital amrketing instutute, whether it will suffice your needs of furnishing with the best-specialized provision to complete the course successfully and to get a job.

In today’s time, there are hundreds of online opportunities for marketers who want to learn how to improve their skills.

Blogs, industry revelant sites, YouTube, case studies, and content libraries are some of the ways that marketers keep up with the changing nature of the industry.

Until seven years ago, there were no online courses that marketers could take to help them learn and master their craft.

Personally, I haven’t done any certifications or courses yet, had been striving in the industry with knowledge and experience.

Digital marketing is the most practical thing, which can be learnt only by real hands-on experience.

As the digital space is continuously evolving channels such as SEO, Google Ads, Facebook, Instagram, etc. keep changing their algorithm and rules frequently, so by the time you finish your course there’s a high chance that there might be new rules and strategies instead of the old ones.

So my 2 cent is to start with a blog/website on your topic of interest and invest time and money (only if required) in it.

I started learning and improving my SEO, Content, and Social media skills using my blog created at Blogger (Blogspot) platform.

Six months of proper (hard + smart work) will take you much far rather than listening to courses, and of-course you would be saving money too !!

Finally, I would only like to conclude by saying that it’s all about your money and your career so be wise to spend your money by choosing a better course and institute at an affordable price. And choose the institute which gives proper value for your money.

Rest all is a dream to wander your way out of your track.

Don’t ever feel afraid to speak your mind and share your experience with a course or institute. It’ll help others to make their choices about it too.

Request you to make sure you always have a data backup and evidence to your claims about the institute to avoid any defamation case.

And inform your close friends and family about the situation. Be vocal about it, and never be afraid to stand your ground if you know you’re RIGHT!

Fellow marketers, let me know your thoughts below.