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Most Popular Online Courses

Class Central just released a roundup of the most popular courses of the year. As you'd expect, the complete list of 100 includes lots of Covid-19 related courses on topics like contact tracing and moving lessons online (as well as perennial favorites like test prep and English as a second language). But it also contained some gems well suited to entrepreneurs and other professionals looking to expand their skills and improve their lives in 2021: How to Learn Online from edX. "Learn essential strategies for successful online learning."Excel/VBA for Creative Problem Solving, Part 1 from University of Colorado Boulder. This course is "aimed at learners who are seeking to augment, expand, optimize, and increase the efficiency of their Excel spreadsheet skills by tapping into the powerful programming, automation, and customization capabilities available with Visual Basic for Applications (VBA)," explains the course description. Crash Course on Python from Google. "This course is designed to teach you the foundations in order to write simple programs in Python using the most common structures."Finding Purpose and Meaning In Life: Living for What Matters Most from University of Michigan. The course title pretty much says everything you need to know. Everyday Excel, Part 1 University of Colorado Boulder. A more basic Excel class for "learners who are seeking to learn Excel from the ground up."Exercising Leadership: Foundational Principles from Harvard University. "Mobilize people to tackle tough problems and build the capacity to thrive through the dangers of change."Introduction to Business Management from King's College London. "Discover how to manage people, money and information, and gain confidence and insight into your own management style." Computer Programming for Everyone from University of Leeds. "Discover the art of computer programming and learn what code can do."Data Analytics for Decision Making: An Introduction to Using Excel Bond University. Another opportunity to become an Excel master. "It's not enough to gather information; to stand out you must know how to use data to improve real-life decisions," insists the course description. AI for Everyone: Master the Basics from IBM. "Learn what Artificial Intelligence (AI) is by understanding its applications and key concepts including machine learning, deep learning and neural networks."Introduction to Social Media Marketing from Facebook. "This course lays the foundation of social media marketing."Introduction to Data Science from IBM. "Learn about the world of data science first-hand from real data scientists."Learn to Code for the Web from University of Leeds. "Ever wondered what's behind your favorite websites and apps? Get to grips with the basics of coding in HTML, CSS and Java Script."Understanding Medical Research: Your Facebook Friend is Wrong from Yale University. A timely one that answers an important question: "How can you tell if the bold headlines seen on social media are truly touting the next big thing or if the article isn't worth the paper it's printed on?"Write Your First Novel from Michigan State University. In case you want to unleash your inner author in 2021. Project Management: Beyond the Basics The Open University. "Build your existing project management knowledge and develop the skills to manage teams and deliver effective projects."Writing and Editing: Word Choice and Word Order from University of Michigan. "This course will teach you how to use your written words to become more persuasive." Creating a Great User Experience for Mobile Apps University of Leeds. "Discover the essentials of user experience and design and bring your product to life by building your own mobile app."Resilience Skills in a Time of Uncertainty from University of Pennsylvania. Another timely offering. The Path to Happiness: What Chinese Philosophy Teaches us about the Good Life from Harvard University. "Why should we care about Confucius? Explore ancient Chinese philosophy, ethics, and political theory to challenge your assumptions of what it means to be happy, live a meaningful life, and change the world." Overcoming Imposter Syndrome: Identify the Patterns Undermining Your Confidence from University of Southern Queensland. "Explore what Imposter Syndrome is, what causes it and strategies you can use to overcome it."Foundations of Modern Finance I from Massachusetts Institute of Technology. "A mathematically rigorous framework to understand financial markets."Excel Fundamentals for Data Analysis from Macquarie University. "As data becomes the modern currency, so the ability to analyze the data quickly and accurately has become of paramount importance," according to the course description. Entrepreneurship: From Business Idea to Action from King's College London. "Improve your knowledge of entrepreneurship and discover how to plan, develop, nurture, and build a successful business." Managing Mental Health and Stress from Coventry University. This course aims to help you "thrive at home during the coronavirus outbreak." Financial Decision Making from University System of Maryland. "Learn how corporate leaders make effective decisions to maximize profitability and achieve strategic organizational goals."Introduction to Networking from New York University. Just what it says on the tin, self-paced. Foundations of Mindfulness from Rice University. "This course provides a broad overview of the fundamental concepts, principles, and practices of mindfulness." Social Media Management from Facebook. "This course equips you with critical content creation and management skills," promises the course description. Introduction to Web Development from Raspberry Pi Foundation. "Discover web development and learn to build your own interactive websites using HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. Supported by Google."

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Published - Mon, 24 Jan 2022

Created by - Obiechina Okoro

Must Have Digital Skills 2022

Traditional media jobs continue to decline, but writers and artists with digital media skills can find high demand for their work.1 The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects that jobs in advertising, promotions, and marketing will grow 6% by 2029.2 If you’re an editor, writer, or graphic designer, you may be able to transition to a new career path by tweaking your skillset. Jobs That Require Digital Media SkillsDigital media job titles include: social media manager, web content manager, multimedia specialist, digital media specialist, content test specialist, game designer, media planner, blogger, digital engagement specialist, brand coordinator, content coordinator, content writer, graphic designer, digital content editor, social media communications strategist, digital photographer, public relations specialist, broadcast news analyst, technical writer, and marketing coordinator.However, honing your digital media skills can help you land a job even if you don’t aspire to one of these job titles. Even more traditional marketing and advertising roles often encompass duties related to social media, web analytics, and content strategy.How to Include Skills on Your ResumeWhen you create a resume and accompanying cover letter for a job application for a digital media position, you’ll need to incorporate as many industry-specific keywords as possible into your text. Many employers scan job applications digitally, using automated applicant tracking systems that are programmed to give priority to particular keywords.Using keywords to describe your digital media skills works the same way as adding a hashtag to a tweet—these terms are easily spotted by parsing systems and ensure that your resume earns a high placement among its competitors.Digital Media Skills ListHere's a list of digital media skills for resumes, cover letters, job applications, and interviews. Required skills will vary based on the job for which you're applying, so also review our list of skills listed by job and type of skill.Communication SkillsIn any digital media role, you’ll need to call upon strong verbal and written communications skills to convey information and build relationships with target audiences and clients.Client relationsClient servicesCollaborationCopywritingEditingEngagementInterviewingManaging vendor relationshipsNewslettersPitchingPresenting proposalsProofreadingSocial mediaStorytellingWritingContent Management SkillsContent management requires a versatile skillset—not only must you be able to write and edit digital content, but you’ll also need solid analytical and planning skills, knowledge of marketing and web metrics, and the ability to spot and capitalize upon emerging trends.Content management systems (CMS)Content programmingContent promotionContent strategyContent curationImage managementProject managementMarketing SkillsThe internet has completely changed the landscape of business-to-consumer and business-to-business marketing. Gone is the age when companies could rely solely upon print, broadcast, direct mail, and telemarketing strategies to advertise their products and services. Instead, digital marketing specialists must be adept in marketing skills such as search engine marketing (SEM), search engine optimization (SEO), social media marketing (SMM), and email marketing.Ad targetingBrand positioningBrand strategyBusiness storytellingClosing media dealsDemographicsDigital marketingDigital media testingDigital productionDigital strategyRights and clearancesEmail marketingResearchSocial advertisingTechnical Computer SkillsHere are a few of the most common software programs and technical skills that employers list in their job advertisements for digital media specialists.Adobe AnalyticsAdobe Creative CloudAdobe IllustratorAdobe InDesignCampaign management softwareHTMLJavaMicrosoft AccessMicrosoft ExcelMicrosoft OfficePhotoshopPowerPointWordPressSoft SkillsWhether you work in a business or a home office as a digital media specialist, you’ll need to demonstrate the following abilities in order to ensure that digital content development cycles remain on track.Ability to meet deadlinesAttention to detailCritical thinkingDecision makingHandling criticismMultitaskingOrganizational skillsPrioritizingProblem solvingTeamworkTime managementWorking independentlyWebsite and Graphic Design SkillsWebsite development and graphic design skills are sought-after competencies in digital media job candidates.AnimationCreating interactive charts, graphs, and mapsCSSIncorporating video with textImplementing tracking codesInteractive mediaDigital video camerasOptimizationPhotographyUsability testingWeb Analytics SkillsThese are the skills required to help guarantee that the digital content you produce remains competitive and captures top rankings on search engines.Assessing campaign performanceGoogle AnalyticsInterpreting numerical dataIdentifying key performance indicatorsMetricsSetting benchmarks

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Published - Mon, 24 Jan 2022

Created by - Obiechina Okoro

You Need to Study Digital Marketing in 2022

You must’ve heard the term digital marketing here and there. It has become a buzzword recently. And why wouldn’t it?Digital marketing has evolved drastically with time. And the internet has expanded considerably too. As a digital marketer, you’ll have to promote businesses over the internet.All the online ads you see, the content you read, and the images you see online are in one way or another related to the work of a digital marketer.Just like this, we’ll be discovering a few other reasons as to why digital marketing career choices are great for you.Digital Marketing: What is it?The methods and techniques you use to promote a product or service online, will fall under digital marketing. Just like traditional marketing, it’s main goal is to attract an audience and generate leads.Digital marketing has many domains including social media, search engines, email, etc. With time, the complexity and importance of digital marketing roles have also increased.It’s an ever-evolving field so the techniques that were effective a few years back might not be useful today. As a digital marketer, you’ll be using multiple tools and techniques to promote businesses.What are the Career Opportunities in Digital Marketing?As we mentioned earlier, digital marketing is a broad sector with a variety of sectors present in it. So, whether you’re a creative person or a technical one, you’ll find something for yourself in this field. Here are some of the prominent digital marketing skills and their roles:Search Engine OptimizationGoogle receives around 60,000 searches per second every day. People search on these platforms to get answers. And with the help of SEO, you can make sure that when they search for something related to your website, they find it. Businesses are focusing on SEO to get more traffic for their websites. If your audience is huge, then you can have more customers as well. SEO depends on multiple factors such as the loading speed of the website, keyword optimization, etc. As an SEO manager, you will have to identify the reasons why your website is performing poorly SEO-wise and fix the same. SEO takes time to show results but a better rank in SERPs can help in strengthening the brand and generate more awareness. Social Media MarketingSocial media platforms are a gold mine for digital marketers. Take, for example, Facebook, which has around 2 billion monthly users. Other social media platforms also have millions of users all across the globe.These platforms let the marketers go where the audiences are. They can communicate with their prospects directly and create thriving followings for their brand. For example, Wendy’s is famous for its witty Tweets.As their tweets get popular among Twitter users, their brand popularity also increases. This way they are able to stay in touch with their customers and offer a better experience to the same. Digital marketers have to perform such tasks and manage the social media presence of their clients. Content MarketingContent marketing refers to the creation and promotion of valuable content for the audience. It helps in establishing trust in the audience and attracting new visitors. All the content you see online, whether it’s a blog article or a YouTube video, is a result of content marketing. Brands are able to help their prospects by solving their real-life problems through high-quality content. As a digital marketer, you’ll have to plan, create and promote the content for different brands. You’ll also have to identify which form of content would be perfect for the company as well as which platforms would suit it the most. Content marketing is mainly popular among B2B marketers. Blogs of various companies including Outbrain and Neil Patel are great examples of content marketing. This role requires creativity and a clear understanding of the brand’s requirements. Email MarketingCompanies use email marketing for both outbound as well as inbound marketing. They release ads on emails to reach customers where they are. And they create email newsletters for turning followers into customers.As a digital marketer, you’ll have to increase the number of newsletter signups, create compelling content for the newsletters and convert the subscribers into customers. Email is still one of the most powerful online tools for lead generation. That’s why companies are so dependent on email marketing. You will also have to make yourself familiar with different email marketing tools such as MailChimp. The above were only a few of the many sectors present in digital marketing. Each of them helps a brand in a unique way and as a digital marketer, you will have to master them. Reasons to choose a Career in Digital Marketing:Everything is getting digitalized. Companies in all sectors are focusing on developing a robust online presence.And for that purpose, they are hiring digital marketers. In digital marketing career growth is also fast. That’s why so many people are opting for a career in digital marketing.Here are a few other reasons why you should study this skill:High Demand for Digital MarketersAround 69% of companies were going to hire more marketers, according to a report by Marketing Hiring Trends.The report also found that there is a considerable gap between the supply and demand of digital marketing professionals. The demand stood at around 59%, but the supply was only 19%.It means companies are dying to hire digital marketers. And learning an in-demand skill never hurts. It only means that you can get better-paying jobs with more security after learning such a highly demanded skill.Great Growth ProspectsDigital marketing skills will keep seeing an increase in demand in the near future. Why?And that’s because the digital economy is growing 10x faster than the offline economy.There are many reasons why digital marketing skills will keep rising in demand. Companies know how beneficial the internet and digital platforms are. Digital marketing lets them reach a wider audience, scale their business further, and generate more revenue.Setting up a business online, running ad campaigns, developing content strategies are a few of the tasks a digital marketing expert does to provide such results.But without trained digital marketing professionals, they can’t do these tasks. That’s why the demand for these skills will continue to increase.Start Your Own Business (or Promote the Existing One)Digital marketers have ample knowledge of multiple online tools and platforms. They can start websites, create products, and sell them to the targeted market.If you study digital marketing skills thoroughly, you can start an online business yourself if you want. Or, you can even become a digital marketing consultant and start a freelancing business.For people wanting to become entrepreneurs, learning digital marketing is imperative.You’d be able to reduce the costs of your business’s promotion, target the right audience, and measure your progress better with the help of this knowledge.Get Better PayWant to increase your salary? Start learning digital marketing.As we mentioned earlier, there is a massive demand for digital marketing professionals. Because of the high demand, the pay for digital marketing roles is also high.You can get better roles in the organization because of your expertise, which can help you enhance your salary.Digital marketing managers earn around 5 to 10 lakh per year. Social Media Managers earn about 6 to 8 lakh rupees per year, as well.Wouldn’t a pay raise be amazing?Easy to Start a CareerIf you want to become an engineer, you will need to get a degree in engineering. If you want to become a pilot, you will have to go to aviation school and get a license.But if you want to become a digital marketer, you will only need to practice the essential online marketing techniques, create a portfolio, and you’ll be good to go.You don’t need to get another degree or go to college to start a career in this field. Entering the sector is quite easy.Plus, the digital marketing community is amicable and full of amazing people. So, if you ever have a question, you can ask around or look it up online, you’ll find an answer.If you want to start a new career, digital marketing would be a great choice.Full of VarietyWere you using WhatsApp in 2011? Or were you using Google Assistant to look up stuff in 2015?The answer would most probably be no.These examples show how fast the internet changes. It changes every year, and these changes aren’t negligible, they’re the opposite. And digital marketers have to adapt themselves to these changes constantly.So they are always learning new stuff and mastering new techniques. If you’re looking for a field that is full of novelty and variety, then you should go for digital marketing.A Technical and Creative FieldDigital marketing requires a unique combination of both creativity and technical knowledge. You’ll be writing eye-catching headlines for ad campaigns, and you’ll also be checking the analytics of the campaign.Because this field is vast, it has a variety of sections, each of which requires a unique skill set. For example, a content marketer should know how to write amazing blog articles. On the other hand, a social media marketer should know how to run a great promotion campaign.

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Published - Mon, 24 Jan 2022

Created by - Obiechina Okoro

Reasons Why You Should Consider Studying Online

Are you planning to graduate and enroll at a particular university? Maybe you should choose a School online. But then you should naturally ask, why should I study online? Online programs are beneficial for several reasons including updating your skills. Find out more reasons in this post to study online in 2022.Currently, more than 6.5 million students worldwide are enrolled in online courses. Today, you can study everything online, from a part-time MBA to a full-time undergraduate degree, to short-term training on a specific topic. It is one of the alternatives for classic higher education that is growing fastest and is the most popular.The co-founder of the online community #JobAdviceSA said and I quote “there is intense competition for the best jobs in the job market today”. As a job seeker, you need to stand out. He says that you can achieve this by wishing to continue learning, even if you have completed your studies and are entering the world of work.Are you looking for reasons to study online and obtain a degree from an online university? Well, here is why:Reasons to Study OnlineLocation:Location is the First reason to Study Online. If you are already working, or there are other reasons why you might not be able to be present on campus to obtain a degree from a traditional university, then online education provides you with the possibility to follow courses from the comfort of your home.Whether you’re in the Northern Pole region or traveling around the world, you can always keep your lessons up to date – if you have an internet connection.Cost of Study: Online training programs often charge significantly less than traditional schools. You also save travel and accommodation costs on campus, and you often do not need training materials to invest in. The Major costs in Online Short Courses are Tuition Fees and Money for Internet Plans.Time-Saving:Online degree programs give you the possibility to combine independent learning with your work or family. The online courses are specially designed for self-study and are often personalized to fit the needs of individual students.You can set your own schedule and learn at your own pace. You can also set a 4-year course in a traditional university to a 2-year course; it all depends on your choice.Choice:With the growing need for online education, there has been an increase in available online and distance study programs, giving you a great choice of different Subjects, programs, Schools, tutors to choose from.Easy access:Online universities sometimes have fewer or even no formal requirements that need to be fulfilled in order to access courses. The major requirement is a working Internet Connection that allows you to download and have access to courses and class activitiesTechnical Assistance: Studying online does not mean you are left alone in your self-study environment. Most online programs are designed in such a way that you receive great support and Assistance from university tutors and individual feedback to keep you focused on your studies. In an Online School setting, the Student’s reply to courses is the number one priority to the Tutors.NetworkingOnline courses introduce you to students from all over the world who are interested in a career in the same field in which you work. They will establish not only professional contacts but also friends with people from different countries and cultures.ExcellenceParticipating in online classes allows you to stand out from the crowd. You can choose unique courses that students attending their university program cannot access. When you learn something new, you also learn skills such as self-employment, personal motivation, time management, and so on.Tim Barry said: “Taking courses online, even if they are not licensed, will show a potential employer that you have taken the initiative to improve your skills and make yourself much more attractive as an employee. potential.”Good Team Player (Multi-tasking):If you study online, you will be better able to stand out by applying. They prove that you can achieve something yourself. And if you work while learning, you not only have a degree, but you also have rewarding work experience, while others have just graduated.Career courseIf you are already employed, online studies will help you continue your career. You can continually add skills to your resume that you can already apply while continuing to learn. This shows that you are ambitious and ready to take on new challenges and that you join the shortlist of promotions, salary increases, and other benefits.Updated InformationYou cannot teach an outdated topic in an online setting. The Information is on the Internet fresh daily unlike the traditional Schools where tutors teach with notes prepared over 4 years ago.This Post has enumerated the Benefits of Studying online. I think from the next 10 years the traditional Classroom system will be totally replaced by studying online.

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Published - Mon, 24 Jan 2022

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