SHOULD YOU DO AN MBA IN DIGITAL MARKETING OR A COURSE IN DIGITAL MARKETING?

AN MBA IN DIGITAL MARKETING V/s A COURSE IN DIGITAL MARKETING

What should you choose?

With digital marketing becoming one of the most popular career choices in the market today, the big question that comes up in front of every aspirant is whether to go in for an MBA in digital marketing or to enrol for a course in digital marketing.

Qualification Criteria:

• To do an MBA in digital marketing, you need to be a graduate first. The admission process is based on merit and some institutes also take into consideration your CAT test results.
• However, there are no criteria to enrol for a course in digital marketing. You could be a student, a high- school drop-out or somewhere in your mid-career, it just doesn’t matter. You can still enrol yourself for a course in digital marketing with the best digital marketing institutes in your city or even online.

Fees for MBA & Course:

• The average 2-year fees for an MBA degree in digital marketing vary from INR 2,20,000/- to INR 20,00,000/-.
• A course in digital marketing from a reputed institute will cost you a total of INR 25,000/- to INR 5,00,000/-

(Prices mentioned don’t include applicable taxes)

Course Time Frame:

• An MBA in digital marketing is a 2-year long course.
• A certificate course in digital marketing can be done in a span of 3-6 months.

While doing a course in digital marketing, you do not need to leave your job or college work and dedicate all your time to doing the course. You can choose from options like weekend batches or weekday batches; online coaching or classroom training.

An MBA also offers different options: You can opt for distance learning, an executive MBA or a part- time MBA. But you still have to go through the 4 semesters and write your exams to get your degree.

Course Curriculums:

When you do an MBA in digital marketing, your course syllabus will be a combination of the usual management subjects and digital marketing subjects. You will gain an understanding of the role digital marketing plays for a business in today’s world.

The MBA Syllabus:

Sem 1:

Business Accounting, Managerial Economics, business research methods, basics of marketing, legal aspects of running a business and an elective subject.

Sem2: Marketing, financial, operations and human resource management, Industry analysis- desk research, business systems, geopolitics & the world economic system and a few more subjects.

Sem3: Your real study of digital marketing will begin from the 3rd semester onwards where you have subjects like an introduction to digital marketing & e-commerce, social media management, digital branding, content management, email marketing, search engine marketing. Other general subjects include strategic planning, performance management, start-up and new venture management.

Sem4: Advanced social media marketing, search engine optimization, web analytics, mobile marketing, digital marketing strategy, inbound marketing, sales & distribution management, online reputation management, affiliate marketing, brand planning & consumer insights

Project work, assignments, case studies are also included and some institutes also make you undergo an internship.

Source

Syllabus of the digital marketing certificate course:

Practical Exposure:

Digital marketing is a field where maximum weightage is given to the amount of practical experience you have. You will only learn exactly what is what till you don’t begin working on live projects.

• After you do your MBA in digital marketing, you will still require training while you are on your job as the degree program has more of an academic approach.
• If you have done a certificate course in digital marketing, you will be immediately hireable and the amount of on-job training required will be much less due to the course content being designed in such a way that it focusses on building your technical, analytical, creative and marketing skills- those which are required to build a career in digital marketing.

Placement Support:

Placement support is offered by MBA colleges as well as digital marketing institutes. If you are pursuing an MBA in digital marketing your placement will depend on the type of institute you have done your degree from and the type of project work and practical exposure the institute offers.

Most reputed digital marketing institutes offer placement support to their students. Some students get placed in reputed companies and digital marketing agencies while doing the course. Most digital marketing tie-up with digital marketing institutes to hire the best talent due to the dearth of digital marketing professionals in the current market.

If you are looking to freelance or open up your own consultancy, pursuing a certificate course in digital marketing works out much better as you can start working as soon as your course is over or even while your course is going on.

To conclude, doing a certificate course in digital marketing  is a better option compared to an MBA in digital marketing unless your MBA institute is highly reputed and has faculty with many years of practical experience in the digital marketing industry and you are at a stage where you need to do your post graduation.

• Digital marketing is a field which is constantly evolving. Earlier we saw it go through the age of information and now slowly transitioning into the age of technology. Social media algorithms keep changing and evolving and so do SEO techniques. It is a known fact that SEO in 2000 is not the same anymore as SEO in 2018.

Digital marketing institutes adapt faster to changes in the digital marketing scenario as changing course curriculums in colleges is a process which takes much more time.

• In digital marketing, most of your learning is done when you actually get involved in projects and do things practically. So, it becomes important to learn digital marketing subjects from someone who has practically applied their knowledge and gained a sea of experience over the years.
• Teachers in digital marketing institutes are from the industry and institutes itself either have their own agencies or are associated with other agencies so opportunities for doing an internship or gaining some practical exposure is much easier before you apply for a job in digital marketing. This will also help you figure out what part of digital marketing you enjoy doing and would like to further pursue a career in.

It is practical experience and your performance that puts you in a better negotiating position over your peers. If you have additional professional digital marketing certifications from Facebook Blueprint, Google Adwords etc., that further increases your chances of advancement in your digital marketing career.